 " Jealous " has received critical acclaim . Ludovic Hunter @-@ Tilney from the Financial Times concluded the song was similar to Beyoncé 's previously recorded ballads in the sense that it made her albums " uneven " . However , he argued that " Jealous " had an " intriguing dynamic " between invincibility and vulnerability , with the latter being convincingly executed by the singer for the first time . Editor Caitlin White for the website The 405 found the song to offer a glimpse into the singer 's flaws and insecurities . Similarly , James Montgomery writing for MTV News , felt that the song offered a view of the same states , adding , " she is not always perfect , a point she drives home on tracks like ... ' Jealous ' " . A writer from the website Fuse concluded that the feeling of jealousy expressed in the song were rare for the singer , and added " we didn 't even know [ it ] was an emotion she experienced " . Mesfin Fekadu from the Associated Press noted the song to be " self @-@ explanatory " and found the singer more honest than in her previous work . Kevin Fallon from The Daily Beast found the song 's theme about jealousy to be relatable to many people and different from the rest of the album 's central theme about sex . Claire Lobenfeld of Complex felt " Jealous " took the album from its risqué nature to a " softer side " , further describing it as a " grown @-@ up sequel to ' Freakum Dress ' " . 
