Alex Spencer

I hadn't really thought of it that way, but that all makes perfect sense. (And is an excellent chunk of TV criticism to wake up to of a Sunday.)

I also think that maybe even original Greg wouldn't work in the show anymore. When the show started the romantic expectations of that type of character (Jim from The Office, etc) were expected, whereas now men reckoning with toxic masculinity is maybe more compelling?

Basically, I'm finding it hard to see that the show isn't wanting us to root for Nathaniel because of a) how long he's been Rebecca's primary love interest, b) how much screentime/character growth he's had, and c) how much that character has to say about contemporary masculinity.

Tbf (and I guess this is to your point about Nathaniel now filling the Greg role) Greg as a character was all about toxic masculinity as well, right? The punch a wall stuff. But obviously that's now gone from him – and as you say, we didn't get to see that process.

I really liked this episode's return to 'oh yeah, Greg is a grumpus, in a slightly pretentious the-lad-from-"You", better-than-other-people I-was-the-only-guy-in-my-small-town-school-who-read-Salinger kind of way', because... without the toxicity, I'm not quite sure who he is.

He's just a love interest - like Josh was. He isn't afforded much of the interiority which is given to Nathaniel or Josh Season 4.

And (I'm starting to get a bit lost in the thread of this) how much of that do you think is intentional on the show's part?

With New Greg? I think it's intentional. Part of me thinks it's a romantic comedy trope to delay the R/N reunion in the final episodes, but also I think it's exploring the 'what if' of G/R which the show left hanging.