Spoilers ahead for Tuca & Bertie Episode 4,
Spoilers ahead for Tuca & Bertie Episode 4, “The Sex Bugs.” Much like Abbi and Ilana from Broad City (which is, in many ways, the spiritual predecessor of this show), Tuca and Bertie are total opposites. The former is a confident go-getter who never follows instructions, while her best friend is a chronic-apologizer with general Anxiety Disorder. But they balance each other out, as is evidenced in Tuca & Bertie Episode 4. While they’re on a quick errand, the songbird becomes overwhelmed by what she deems a stressful environment, which she can only express through a musical number. Bertie’s “I’m Losing My Sh*t” song is a realistic portrayal of someone on the verge of a panic attack and the people around her who just don’t get it.
The songbird is having what Tuca calls “A Case Of The Berties.” In fact, the timid songbird was supposed to give a work presentation but began spiraling out about what could go wrong, eventually calling in sick to avoid the problem altogether. Speckles immediately knows what’s happening, saying that she’s having a “pre-panic attack,” where she spins out over something small. This, apparently, happens a few times a month.
Tuca, on the other hand, needs sex bug medication and drags her best friend to the grocery store, which proves too overwhelming for the anxious bird to handle. The toucan leaves her best friend unattended in the grocery aisle while she applies the sex bug creams in the bathroom. Bertie proceeds to have a panic attack, which is portrayed through song. While she explains that she’s “losing her sh*t for so many reasons,” the other shoppers double as a skeptical Greek chorus, returning that she actually has “no reason” to freak out like she is.
When they ask her what exactly she’s afraid of, Bertie hesitates, then sings, “Uh, there are too many fears to name / snakes, earthquakes, blood, and hurricanes.” To the outside, these worries are entirely irrational, and the songbird becomes frustrated that no one understands her completely valid fear of snakes! “Look at these dang *ssholes making fun of my pain,” Bertie sings.
