itp: i tl;dr about Blaine Anderson (in: the Substitute)
THIS IS A BLAINE ANDERSON POST: THE SUBSTITUTE VERSION
This is a post about Blaine Anderson. It was going to be about all the episodes he’s in so far, but it got to 1,500 words about “Never Been Kissed” so I thought I’d do it episode by episode instead.
DISCLAIMER: I’ve seen a lot of hate regarding Blaine recently and, well, I just kinda wanted to talk about him. Because, in my eyes, a lot of it is a little unjustified, a little bit too much - and I just wanted to talk. Don’t like Blaine? Don’t read this post. Trust me. You won’t like this post if you don’t like Blaine Anderson. Also, this post is just the way I view Blaine and the way I perceive the thoughts of the character. Even if you like Blaine you might not agree with everything here.
Blaine isn’t in this episode much, but I still think there’s a lot to talk about here. This isn’t going to be as long as “Never Been Kissed”, just because there’s less to say because there’s less Blaine… I thought it wasn’t going to be as long, but whoops! LONGER! I talk a lot anyway. I tend to do that, I think, so please bear with me. It’s going to sound a little derpy and weird, but that’s because I’m talking about characters I’m less… ‘In tune’ with, I think.
He’s mentioned when Kurt and Mercedes are getting lunch together near the beginning of the episode. Mercedes brings up Bowling and Kurt says he can’t because Blaine wants to hang out. Let me talk about this conversation a little!
Mercedes: “Are you two going out? Because I think you need to come clean.”
Okay, so, this is a simple line, but I think there’s a lot you can take from it. Already, Kurt has talked about Blaine enough for Mercedes to think they’re close enough to be dating. I mean, you wouldn’t assume your best friend was dating someone unless they hung out a lot/were talked about a lot, right? So already Blaine is having an a pretty big impact on Kurt’s life. I always had this image of Kurt wanting to keep Blaine for himself, so this was a big deal, at least for me. He talks about Blaine more than you would a normal friend; Blaine is that important to Kurt already.
Kurt: “… Not another Jesse/Rachel traitor scenario to overcome. Please, Mercedes, mums the word.”
But, there we go. Mercedes is the only one that knows of Blaine because of her status as Kurt’s BFF. So while Kurt is hanging out with Blaine a lot more it’s not as big as Rachel and Jesse - because, at this point, maybe, Kurt doesn’t see Blaine as a boyfriend. I mean, of course there’s the potential, and maybe Kurt sees that, but right now their friendship is far too fresh and their relationship is too new. Blaine, at the moment, it just someone that Kurt wants to spend time with - a friend that he needed.
Kurt: “It’s just nice to have someone to talk to.”
Mercedes: “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kurt: “It means someone like me.”
Obviously, Kurt means someone who is gay. But, beyond that, there’s more - that we know but, of course, Mercedes doesn’t. Someone like Kurt as in someone who knows what it feels like to be bullied because of your sexuality, someone who is male and enjoys musicals, someone he can talk to about his pain and loneliness because they understand it on a deeper level. While the rest of the Glee club could understand the pain of being bullied, they probably can’t grasp how it feels to be bullied for your sexuality rather than your choice of school club. Blaine can understand that; he can be the person Kurt turns to talk about these things, whereas he can’t do that with Mercedes and the others.
Blaine is Kurt’s bullying go-to guy, and that is a special thing. Kurt doesn’t talk about his feelings or anything - but, maybe, he does with Blaine. He shrugs off Mercedes “knowing how lonely he’s been”, turning the conversation away from it… But would it be the same with Blaine? Blaine is making Kurt happier - and we can see that in this episode. Normally, he’s the last to join in with group numbers, shying away until the end. During “Forget You” he’s one of the first to be up and dancing… That speaks for itself, in my mind.
During the next scene with Mercedes, we can hear Kurt being a little more optimistic. Maybe it’s too much for me to say that this is because of Blaine, but previous to this he’s been quite pessimistic, down on himself - but here he’s saying that “love is just around the corner”. He’s trying to set Mercedes up with Anthony because then she’d have someone like Blaine - someone similar to her to talk to and spend time with, because there’s only so much that Kurt can understand about Mercedes. He’s happy and smiling up until the point that Karofsky comes.
Kurt: “… Blaine got us tickets.”
Mercedes: “Us, as in, all of us?”
Kurt: “I think he could only score two.”
I don’t think Blaine could only score two. I don’t think that Kurt mentioned Mercedes and his plans at all, and so Blaine only got two tickets. Blaine wasn’t being mean or ignoring Mercedes or anything - I think Kurt deliberately didn’t mention the girl because he wanted to hang out with Blaine alone. I do not see Blaine as a character who would deliberately ignore or shun another, or go to a performance without one if he thought that she wanted to go. He knows what it’s like to be bullied, I think, and he knows what it’s like to not be included - there’s no way he would ever, ever not include Mercedes if he thought she wanted to come. I truly believe that Kurt wanted to be a little selfish here; keep Blaine to himself for a little longer, just because he could. It’s not, in my mind, Blaine’s fault, or Blaine being a jerk - it’s something he had no idea about because Kurt wanted to hold their friendship close and private for a little while more.
And then, we have in person Blaine!
This lunch-date scene was so, so important. First and foremost, it was Kurt introducing Blaine to one of the most important people in his life - Mercedes. His best friend, his diva buddy, his, later to be seen, sleepover-girl. I think this is important, considering how private Kurt can be; the fact that he wants Blaine to meet his best friend is a big, important step. Almost like getting approval or something. That’s huge.
Firstly, the opening conversation? Gold. Two gay guys talking about gay marriage and connecting with each other? Awesome. I loved the fact that they were able to talk about these things - I don’t think Kurt gets to talk about ‘political issues’ much with anyone else, so him being able to chat about this stuff is pretty darn awesome in my book. Blaine is just as interested and verbose as Kurt, bringing things into it and debating back; it’s a proof of his intelligence.
But, then, Blaine does something that I find important and interesting: he asks Mercedes what she thinks. It’s pretty obvious that she’s bored and kind of out of it (the fact that she didn’t keep up with the change from Don’t Ask Don’t Tell proving it) but Blaine tries to draw her back into the conversation. I think Blaine seemed to get that she felt rather third-wheely; he and Kurt were chatting along and he tried to bring her back in. think that was just proof of Blaine’s kindness, and his need to make everyone feel accepted and included.
Secondly, the “favourite Vogue covers” game. I liked the fact that Blaine had this side of his personality - before this we’ve seen him as a sweet, kind, outreaching gentleman that comes from an all boys school with steep tuition. I don’t know, but I felt that giving him an obvious love for Vogue made him more of a human than he’d been before; there was more to him and that was awesome. The fact that he and Kurt had the same cover was an adorable circumstance, methinks.
Blaine: “I was just talking about the Buckeyes - I’m a college football fan. I like sports too, you know.”
Kurt: “Oh, way to break the stereotype!”
I am so, so sure that the reason why Blaine brought football up, even though Kurt is obviously not a massive fan of it, was to try and talk to Mercedes. She was obvious completely and utterly uninterested in their conversation, and Blaine wanted to fix that. Maybe sports wasn’t the right move, but he wanted to try and talk about something “less gay”; the fact that Mercedes was day dreaming “gay, gay, gay” coming out of their mouths seconds ago leads me to think that, anyway. I think Blaine really, really wanted Mercedes to like him, and he was trying so hard to work around his interests to talk to her, too. Maybe he understood that she was important to Kurt so he needed to get to know her as well; what’s important to Kurt should be important to him, too.
It was nice to see that he was “breaking the stereotype” too. He’s not identical to Kurt, and they’re not two gay guys that have everything in common. The contrast between Vogue and the football was important; they don’t have a million and one thing in common but they’re still friends. Just like New Directions - not all of them like sports, not all of them love musicals, not all of them are footballers or cheerleaders, but they’re connected by the things they love and the things that make them who they are. It’s the same for Kurt and Blaine.
The joking manner as they discuss Patti LuPone’s new book, the roll of the eyes and the look to Mercedes - it was adorable, but there’s more to it too. I felt like he was looking to her to see if she had or not, and Kurt took it as him saying ‘no’ - until he said that he had, of course. I felt like Blaine was seeing if he could bring Mercedes back into the conversation but, seeing that she had no idea about the book, was forced to just say that he had and enjoy the excitement and rush that Kurt had seconds after. I felt bad for Blaine - it seemed as though it was impossible to make both Kurt and Mercedes happy during that conversation, and it must have been hard to balance as the ‘newcomer’ in their friendship.
And then we have another flash of the “COURAGE” sign, and the Dalton Warblers banner hanging in Kurt’s locker. I can’t believe I forgot to mention this stuff in the last one, but I guess it’s okay to talk about it here, too. Blaine is a source of inspiration to Kurt right now and, maybe unfairly, Kurt is putting him on this kind of pedestal. He’s something Kurt can look forward too, a reminder that life isn’t always going to be hard, and that he can have courage and be strong and look after himself. (The texts tie in with this, too). I think it’s adorable that Kurt does this, but it reminds us of what we’ve seen of Blaine so far: he does seem perfect, in-tune with Kurt in almost every way, connected as friends on a deep level even after such a short time. He doesn’t seem to have any flaws yet - he’s a strong, brave, kind, sweet, pure boy that wants nothing more than to help Kurt.
What Kurt says: “I’m not breaking it off with Blaine. I really like him… Two weeks ago I thought there was no way I’d ever find someone like Blaine. And there he was!”
What Kurt means: “I’m not ending my friendship with Blaine. I really like him, and I connect with him on a way I haven’t with anyone before. Two weeks ago I thought I would always be alone, that I would never have a friend like him - but there he was, just waiting for me to find him!”
Kurt needs Blaine; he needs someone strong, and proud, and ‘out’ who can listen to him and understand. There are romantic undertones here, of course, but I think what Kurt meant was that he never thought he would find someone who was both gay and proud of it - in ‘Duets’ he said that all he wanted was to walk ‘hand-in-hand with the person that he liked’. I think meeting Blaine gave Kurt hope; hope that he could find someone strong and proud like Blaine is to hold hands with and love. He’s the only out guy in school, but it won’t always be that way, and Blaine reminded him of that.
‘Someone like Blaine’; someone sweet, charming, inspirational and, most importantly, proud. That’s what Kurt needed to see, I think; someone real who was proud of who they are and was proud to say to strangers ‘hey, I’m gay’ like he did. At the moment, Blaine is nothing more than a perfect inspiration for Kurt, and someone we look forward to learning more about - and, boy, do we ever.
Originally posted here at tumblr!
This is a post about Blaine Anderson. It was going to be about all the episodes he’s in so far, but it got to 1,500 words about “Never Been Kissed” so I thought I’d do it episode by episode instead.
DISCLAIMER: I’ve seen a lot of hate regarding Blaine recently and, well, I just kinda wanted to talk about him. Because, in my eyes, a lot of it is a little unjustified, a little bit too much - and I just wanted to talk. Don’t like Blaine? Don’t read this post. Trust me. You won’t like this post if you don’t like Blaine Anderson. Also, this post is just the way I view Blaine and the way I perceive the thoughts of the character. Even if you like Blaine you might not agree with everything here.
Blaine isn’t in this episode much, but I still think there’s a lot to talk about here. This isn’t going to be as long as “Never Been Kissed”, just because there’s less to say because there’s less Blaine… I thought it wasn’t going to be as long, but whoops! LONGER! I talk a lot anyway. I tend to do that, I think, so please bear with me. It’s going to sound a little derpy and weird, but that’s because I’m talking about characters I’m less… ‘In tune’ with, I think.
He’s mentioned when Kurt and Mercedes are getting lunch together near the beginning of the episode. Mercedes brings up Bowling and Kurt says he can’t because Blaine wants to hang out. Let me talk about this conversation a little!
Mercedes: “Are you two going out? Because I think you need to come clean.”
Okay, so, this is a simple line, but I think there’s a lot you can take from it. Already, Kurt has talked about Blaine enough for Mercedes to think they’re close enough to be dating. I mean, you wouldn’t assume your best friend was dating someone unless they hung out a lot/were talked about a lot, right? So already Blaine is having an a pretty big impact on Kurt’s life. I always had this image of Kurt wanting to keep Blaine for himself, so this was a big deal, at least for me. He talks about Blaine more than you would a normal friend; Blaine is that important to Kurt already.
Kurt: “… Not another Jesse/Rachel traitor scenario to overcome. Please, Mercedes, mums the word.”
But, there we go. Mercedes is the only one that knows of Blaine because of her status as Kurt’s BFF. So while Kurt is hanging out with Blaine a lot more it’s not as big as Rachel and Jesse - because, at this point, maybe, Kurt doesn’t see Blaine as a boyfriend. I mean, of course there’s the potential, and maybe Kurt sees that, but right now their friendship is far too fresh and their relationship is too new. Blaine, at the moment, it just someone that Kurt wants to spend time with - a friend that he needed.
Kurt: “It’s just nice to have someone to talk to.”
Mercedes: “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kurt: “It means someone like me.”
Obviously, Kurt means someone who is gay. But, beyond that, there’s more - that we know but, of course, Mercedes doesn’t. Someone like Kurt as in someone who knows what it feels like to be bullied because of your sexuality, someone who is male and enjoys musicals, someone he can talk to about his pain and loneliness because they understand it on a deeper level. While the rest of the Glee club could understand the pain of being bullied, they probably can’t grasp how it feels to be bullied for your sexuality rather than your choice of school club. Blaine can understand that; he can be the person Kurt turns to talk about these things, whereas he can’t do that with Mercedes and the others.
Blaine is Kurt’s bullying go-to guy, and that is a special thing. Kurt doesn’t talk about his feelings or anything - but, maybe, he does with Blaine. He shrugs off Mercedes “knowing how lonely he’s been”, turning the conversation away from it… But would it be the same with Blaine? Blaine is making Kurt happier - and we can see that in this episode. Normally, he’s the last to join in with group numbers, shying away until the end. During “Forget You” he’s one of the first to be up and dancing… That speaks for itself, in my mind.
During the next scene with Mercedes, we can hear Kurt being a little more optimistic. Maybe it’s too much for me to say that this is because of Blaine, but previous to this he’s been quite pessimistic, down on himself - but here he’s saying that “love is just around the corner”. He’s trying to set Mercedes up with Anthony because then she’d have someone like Blaine - someone similar to her to talk to and spend time with, because there’s only so much that Kurt can understand about Mercedes. He’s happy and smiling up until the point that Karofsky comes.
Kurt: “… Blaine got us tickets.”
Mercedes: “Us, as in, all of us?”
Kurt: “I think he could only score two.”
I don’t think Blaine could only score two. I don’t think that Kurt mentioned Mercedes and his plans at all, and so Blaine only got two tickets. Blaine wasn’t being mean or ignoring Mercedes or anything - I think Kurt deliberately didn’t mention the girl because he wanted to hang out with Blaine alone. I do not see Blaine as a character who would deliberately ignore or shun another, or go to a performance without one if he thought that she wanted to go. He knows what it’s like to be bullied, I think, and he knows what it’s like to not be included - there’s no way he would ever, ever not include Mercedes if he thought she wanted to come. I truly believe that Kurt wanted to be a little selfish here; keep Blaine to himself for a little longer, just because he could. It’s not, in my mind, Blaine’s fault, or Blaine being a jerk - it’s something he had no idea about because Kurt wanted to hold their friendship close and private for a little while more.
And then, we have in person Blaine!
This lunch-date scene was so, so important. First and foremost, it was Kurt introducing Blaine to one of the most important people in his life - Mercedes. His best friend, his diva buddy, his, later to be seen, sleepover-girl. I think this is important, considering how private Kurt can be; the fact that he wants Blaine to meet his best friend is a big, important step. Almost like getting approval or something. That’s huge.
Firstly, the opening conversation? Gold. Two gay guys talking about gay marriage and connecting with each other? Awesome. I loved the fact that they were able to talk about these things - I don’t think Kurt gets to talk about ‘political issues’ much with anyone else, so him being able to chat about this stuff is pretty darn awesome in my book. Blaine is just as interested and verbose as Kurt, bringing things into it and debating back; it’s a proof of his intelligence.
But, then, Blaine does something that I find important and interesting: he asks Mercedes what she thinks. It’s pretty obvious that she’s bored and kind of out of it (the fact that she didn’t keep up with the change from Don’t Ask Don’t Tell proving it) but Blaine tries to draw her back into the conversation. I think Blaine seemed to get that she felt rather third-wheely; he and Kurt were chatting along and he tried to bring her back in. think that was just proof of Blaine’s kindness, and his need to make everyone feel accepted and included.
Secondly, the “favourite Vogue covers” game. I liked the fact that Blaine had this side of his personality - before this we’ve seen him as a sweet, kind, outreaching gentleman that comes from an all boys school with steep tuition. I don’t know, but I felt that giving him an obvious love for Vogue made him more of a human than he’d been before; there was more to him and that was awesome. The fact that he and Kurt had the same cover was an adorable circumstance, methinks.
Blaine: “I was just talking about the Buckeyes - I’m a college football fan. I like sports too, you know.”
Kurt: “Oh, way to break the stereotype!”
I am so, so sure that the reason why Blaine brought football up, even though Kurt is obviously not a massive fan of it, was to try and talk to Mercedes. She was obvious completely and utterly uninterested in their conversation, and Blaine wanted to fix that. Maybe sports wasn’t the right move, but he wanted to try and talk about something “less gay”; the fact that Mercedes was day dreaming “gay, gay, gay” coming out of their mouths seconds ago leads me to think that, anyway. I think Blaine really, really wanted Mercedes to like him, and he was trying so hard to work around his interests to talk to her, too. Maybe he understood that she was important to Kurt so he needed to get to know her as well; what’s important to Kurt should be important to him, too.
It was nice to see that he was “breaking the stereotype” too. He’s not identical to Kurt, and they’re not two gay guys that have everything in common. The contrast between Vogue and the football was important; they don’t have a million and one thing in common but they’re still friends. Just like New Directions - not all of them like sports, not all of them love musicals, not all of them are footballers or cheerleaders, but they’re connected by the things they love and the things that make them who they are. It’s the same for Kurt and Blaine.
The joking manner as they discuss Patti LuPone’s new book, the roll of the eyes and the look to Mercedes - it was adorable, but there’s more to it too. I felt like he was looking to her to see if she had or not, and Kurt took it as him saying ‘no’ - until he said that he had, of course. I felt like Blaine was seeing if he could bring Mercedes back into the conversation but, seeing that she had no idea about the book, was forced to just say that he had and enjoy the excitement and rush that Kurt had seconds after. I felt bad for Blaine - it seemed as though it was impossible to make both Kurt and Mercedes happy during that conversation, and it must have been hard to balance as the ‘newcomer’ in their friendship.
And then we have another flash of the “COURAGE” sign, and the Dalton Warblers banner hanging in Kurt’s locker. I can’t believe I forgot to mention this stuff in the last one, but I guess it’s okay to talk about it here, too. Blaine is a source of inspiration to Kurt right now and, maybe unfairly, Kurt is putting him on this kind of pedestal. He’s something Kurt can look forward too, a reminder that life isn’t always going to be hard, and that he can have courage and be strong and look after himself. (The texts tie in with this, too). I think it’s adorable that Kurt does this, but it reminds us of what we’ve seen of Blaine so far: he does seem perfect, in-tune with Kurt in almost every way, connected as friends on a deep level even after such a short time. He doesn’t seem to have any flaws yet - he’s a strong, brave, kind, sweet, pure boy that wants nothing more than to help Kurt.
What Kurt says: “I’m not breaking it off with Blaine. I really like him… Two weeks ago I thought there was no way I’d ever find someone like Blaine. And there he was!”
What Kurt means: “I’m not ending my friendship with Blaine. I really like him, and I connect with him on a way I haven’t with anyone before. Two weeks ago I thought I would always be alone, that I would never have a friend like him - but there he was, just waiting for me to find him!”
Kurt needs Blaine; he needs someone strong, and proud, and ‘out’ who can listen to him and understand. There are romantic undertones here, of course, but I think what Kurt meant was that he never thought he would find someone who was both gay and proud of it - in ‘Duets’ he said that all he wanted was to walk ‘hand-in-hand with the person that he liked’. I think meeting Blaine gave Kurt hope; hope that he could find someone strong and proud like Blaine is to hold hands with and love. He’s the only out guy in school, but it won’t always be that way, and Blaine reminded him of that.
‘Someone like Blaine’; someone sweet, charming, inspirational and, most importantly, proud. That’s what Kurt needed to see, I think; someone real who was proud of who they are and was proud to say to strangers ‘hey, I’m gay’ like he did. At the moment, Blaine is nothing more than a perfect inspiration for Kurt, and someone we look forward to learning more about - and, boy, do we ever.
Originally posted here at tumblr!