(no subject)
Glee! tonight:
Multi-character storyline focus. Multiple issues on the table. Shaking up of the Status Quo.
Oh yeah, must be Sectionals' time. BRING IT.
First: the mini-crises: Tina/Mike and Britany/Artie. Miscommunication, assumptions made, easily resolved with a happy ending so far. Sometimes drama isn't big, it's the little things, a wee bit of crisis of confidence. Communication is key, problem fixed, win-win for all involved.
If only all problems could be so easy. Because that leads us to the issue of Rivalry.
It struck me, watching the Kurt and Rachel friendship blossom, WHY? Why now? When they should be bitter rivals, right? And that question got asked by the characters themselves, and answered. Because ... they were no longer rivals. Sure, their teams were rivals, but they were no longer vieing for that solo spotlight that only one of them could have. This time... they could both have a solo. Or not. Their teams shut them down, they didn't shut the other out. Ego is part of it, undeniably. Hey, there is nothing wrong with knowing one has talent and going for it. But -- they both got the reminder: don't make it so personal. It's not always about you. Desperately grabbing for that spotlight isn't always the way to go.
Of course, there are differences in their situations too. Kurt is facing the question of conformity. Bird in a cage, he wears a uniform. Not encouraged to stand out, but to blend in. Question is: after spending years hiding who he is, he got a taste of freedom in being HIMSELF. Through and through, freedom of self-expression. And for Kurt -- it IS personal. Something for him to think long and hard about.
And there's Rachel. Making it personal with Finn's so-called "betrayal" when the incident in question came at a time when it wasn't personal. But the response she chose made it deeply personal to Finn. Not just tit-for-tat, as she intended, but she hit a sore spot that she didn't actually mean. Damaged something she didn't intend to. Why? Back to that question of rivalry. Because the issue for her became about a rival, instead of her friendship with her boyfriend. She got "mean", and that's something you don't do to a friend, even when they've disappointed you and hurt you.
Isn't the issue of rivalry why Rachel has such a antagonistic relationship with Quinn and Santana in the first place? Egos and rivalry. They all see themselves as the top diva, and there's only room for one. Still, there's been time when friendship bridged the wall ego created. We've seen it before. We see it now with Rachel and Kurt, finding new ways of reaching out to each other because they're finally admitting that maybe they have more in common than they ever wanted to admit to before. It opens the door for down the road, fixing the cracks in this Glee club family that have sprung up.
Love of performance. There's one common ground right now for them to hold onto. Glue to keep things together even when the last thing they feel like doing is stepping out on that stage and pretending everything is FINE. Because when the music starts -- all those issues fade away, even if just for a few minutes. Caught up in the moment, there's a joy that New Directions finds and expresses... it's infectious.
Contrast their performance with watching Kurt perform with the Warblers. He wore a stage smile, with sad eyes.
Watching Rachel be the first to leap to her feet and give Kurt and his group a standing O -- because friendship and loyalty do mean something to her, even if there are times she doesn't always get it right.
Watching Kurt be the first to leap to his feet and give New Directions a standing O -- because friendship and loyalty do mean something to him, even if there are time he doesn't always get it right himself.
They give hope that Glee club can overcome obstacles of ego and rivalry, find that common ground, that friendship and honesty that strengthens and supports and only makes one better for it.
Sure, we're left with questions about the status quo -- on several fronts. But at the end of the day, it's not about egos and rivals. It's about the unsung heroes being a family of misfits. There's drama, there's pain, there's loss -- but they're not alone. Everyone is in the same boat, to varying degrees on different days. Be it getting stuck in an outhouse for several hours and realizing that you're not quite the badass you project yourself as being -- and maybe realizing that you're not the bad guy you could be either, or betraying someone you never meant to betray, hurting someone else by trying to make changes for yourself, or wondering if you're betraying yourself by conforming to a fit that's not fitting so comfortably.
The question for the backhalf of this season seems to be set up: How will the Glee club roll with the changes?
Multi-character storyline focus. Multiple issues on the table. Shaking up of the Status Quo.
Oh yeah, must be Sectionals' time. BRING IT.
First: the mini-crises: Tina/Mike and Britany/Artie. Miscommunication, assumptions made, easily resolved with a happy ending so far. Sometimes drama isn't big, it's the little things, a wee bit of crisis of confidence. Communication is key, problem fixed, win-win for all involved.
If only all problems could be so easy. Because that leads us to the issue of Rivalry.
It struck me, watching the Kurt and Rachel friendship blossom, WHY? Why now? When they should be bitter rivals, right? And that question got asked by the characters themselves, and answered. Because ... they were no longer rivals. Sure, their teams were rivals, but they were no longer vieing for that solo spotlight that only one of them could have. This time... they could both have a solo. Or not. Their teams shut them down, they didn't shut the other out. Ego is part of it, undeniably. Hey, there is nothing wrong with knowing one has talent and going for it. But -- they both got the reminder: don't make it so personal. It's not always about you. Desperately grabbing for that spotlight isn't always the way to go.
Of course, there are differences in their situations too. Kurt is facing the question of conformity. Bird in a cage, he wears a uniform. Not encouraged to stand out, but to blend in. Question is: after spending years hiding who he is, he got a taste of freedom in being HIMSELF. Through and through, freedom of self-expression. And for Kurt -- it IS personal. Something for him to think long and hard about.
And there's Rachel. Making it personal with Finn's so-called "betrayal" when the incident in question came at a time when it wasn't personal. But the response she chose made it deeply personal to Finn. Not just tit-for-tat, as she intended, but she hit a sore spot that she didn't actually mean. Damaged something she didn't intend to. Why? Back to that question of rivalry. Because the issue for her became about a rival, instead of her friendship with her boyfriend. She got "mean", and that's something you don't do to a friend, even when they've disappointed you and hurt you.
Isn't the issue of rivalry why Rachel has such a antagonistic relationship with Quinn and Santana in the first place? Egos and rivalry. They all see themselves as the top diva, and there's only room for one. Still, there's been time when friendship bridged the wall ego created. We've seen it before. We see it now with Rachel and Kurt, finding new ways of reaching out to each other because they're finally admitting that maybe they have more in common than they ever wanted to admit to before. It opens the door for down the road, fixing the cracks in this Glee club family that have sprung up.
Love of performance. There's one common ground right now for them to hold onto. Glue to keep things together even when the last thing they feel like doing is stepping out on that stage and pretending everything is FINE. Because when the music starts -- all those issues fade away, even if just for a few minutes. Caught up in the moment, there's a joy that New Directions finds and expresses... it's infectious.
Contrast their performance with watching Kurt perform with the Warblers. He wore a stage smile, with sad eyes.
Watching Rachel be the first to leap to her feet and give Kurt and his group a standing O -- because friendship and loyalty do mean something to her, even if there are times she doesn't always get it right.
Watching Kurt be the first to leap to his feet and give New Directions a standing O -- because friendship and loyalty do mean something to him, even if there are time he doesn't always get it right himself.
They give hope that Glee club can overcome obstacles of ego and rivalry, find that common ground, that friendship and honesty that strengthens and supports and only makes one better for it.
Sure, we're left with questions about the status quo -- on several fronts. But at the end of the day, it's not about egos and rivals. It's about the unsung heroes being a family of misfits. There's drama, there's pain, there's loss -- but they're not alone. Everyone is in the same boat, to varying degrees on different days. Be it getting stuck in an outhouse for several hours and realizing that you're not quite the badass you project yourself as being -- and maybe realizing that you're not the bad guy you could be either, or betraying someone you never meant to betray, hurting someone else by trying to make changes for yourself, or wondering if you're betraying yourself by conforming to a fit that's not fitting so comfortably.
The question for the backhalf of this season seems to be set up: How will the Glee club roll with the changes?