Gleecap: Theatricality (S1E20)
Fast-Forward Count: 0
Why is the VO recap guy trying to be cute? We don't need that. Get to the point.
Of note: Will spends a lot of his time in the Principal's office.
Anyways, so Will and Tina are sitting before Figgins who has learned that Tina is a goth and will surely turn into a vampire and become obsessed with the occult. And Twilight. Anyone wanna guess which of those I consider the most dangerous? Apparently a bunch of McKinley Twatlighters, led by a befanged Lauren Zizes (Why, Lauren? WHYYYYYYY? I claim character assassination. Is that possible before she becomes the sarcastic, jaded, Puck-banging Lauren we all know from the future?) attacked Creepy Jacob (hah, Jacob) in order to get RPattz's attention. This is the cause for some distress for Figgins who is now outlawing the goth look and Tina better fall in line.
And Figgins thinks vampires are real and Tina may turn into a bat. Yeah.
Okay, Tina, time to turn to everybody's favorite fashionista for new look advice. Oh Kuuuuuuuurt...
Oh, hey. And we do go to a Hummel scene, though not one where he plays What Not To Wear (For Fear Of Vampires Edition) with Tina, sadly. Kurt and Burt welcome Carol and Finn to their new home. In Kurt's basement bedroom. Yeah. Finn is about as pleased as you'd expect. At least his dad's ashes aren't currently within flush-able distance.. Anyways, Burt asked the Hudson's to move in with them and Carol happily accepted. Without talking it over with her son in private first. Ouch, Carol. I kinda thought better of you. And once again Carol, Burt, and Kurt conspire without Finn's input or knowledge and then ambush him. And we all know that he won't handle this very well.
Anyways, the Hummel's house is twice the size of the Hudson's (and yet Kurt needs to sleep in the basement?) and has 2.5 bathrooms. Having just scrubbed my tub and cleared my shower drain of yuck, I'm less enthusiastic about the idea of extra bathrooms to clean than I might otherwise be, personally. Finn is in agreement, not that I think he wears the rubber gloves in the family. And apparently Finn and Kurt are going to have to share the basement bedroom. Again, I point out that this house is twice the size of the Hudson's and has 2.5 bathrooms, but only one other non-basement bedroom? What? I'm pretty sure the Hudson's house was not a refrigerator box. This makes no sense.
*plugs fingers into ears* LALALALALALALA - Glee logic - LALALALA.
Okay, I'm better now. So Finn isn't pleased with the new arrangements and Kurt is thrilled and suggests they redecorate to better flatter Finn's skin tone (Burt offers $300 to devote to the cause) and surprisingly that was not one of Finn's major concerns. Oh, I bet I can guess what he's worried about. Kurt's hopeless crush on Finn is going to play heavily into this episode, isn't it?. Fire up The Button, guys, I think it's gonna be a long night.
Not that way, don't you dare send me links.
Back in school, the glee club tried to help Tina come up with a new look. Their suggestions?
Santana: Biker chick
Finn: Cowgirl
Mercedes: Hood rat
Quinn: Computer programmer
Brittany: Cross-country skier
Puck: Catholic schoolgirl (I'm not even going to bother feigning surprise)
Brittany part II: Happy meal, no onions. Or a chicken.
All of these lovely options are immediately shot down.
Noticeably-absent Rachel (not really, I didn't realize she wasn't there until she walked in panicking) bursts into the room to have a plotz about their competition, Vocal Adrenaline. The Enemy is apparently planning a Gaga number (as evidenced by a back order on twinkle lights and red Chantilly lace). I think I'm probably missing something about this reference. I don't bother to look it up because at this point Kurt get's the following zinger:
Kurt: ″Lady Gaga is a woman, She's only the biggest pop act to come along in decades. She's boundary pushing. The most theatrical performer of our generation. And she changes her look faster than Britt changes sexual partners.″
Brittany: ″It's true.″
Well, Kurt. I guess you would know, sort of.
Anyways, this diatribe inspires Will to make this week's lesson Gagariffic. And also the club hasn't selected a number for Regionals yet. What? How are you twits going to win and have a second season if you aren't even bothering to decide on, never mind rehearse your competition performances? Argh, Show! *sigh* And I'm breathing, breathing. Okay. The girls (+ Kurt) are excited about Gaga, the boys (sans Kurt) are less so. Rachel is literally flailing around with ideas. Aww.
So Rachel, Quinn, and Mercedes sneak into Vocal Adrenaline's rehearsal to spy in The Enemy's number and watch Shelby/Idina Menzel run them through their number. She is upset that they are letting their costumes do all the work for them, citing that, ″Theatricality isn't about crazy outfits. It's not enough to douse yourselves with gasoline - you have to light yourselves on fire to make it work!″ And, for the record? I SO CALLED THAT! AGES AGO!
And then she goes on for a while about radiating emotion and theatricality (that's gonna be tonight's buzzword, isn't it?) to a bunch of kids prancing around with spiky red bags covering their faces. Riiiiiiight. Idina decides to give them an example and dives into ″Funny Girl″ in E flat. Exactly what Rachel would have chosen.
Rachel is incredibly moved by this performance. Could she be doing the math? Or looking in a mirror? Or, more likely, at her script? Anyways, Rachel is unable to resist the siren song of her mother, walks up the aisle towards the stage, and introduces herself to Idina as her daughter. (!)
They have an incredibly awkward conversation wherein they discuss regrets and stardom and tonight's episode title and buzzword, theatricality. They are sitting in the auditorium's audience seats, a row and several seats apart from each other. Shelby is uncomfortable and sad and decides that she shouldn't have done this, it isn't turning out how she'd hoped and expected. They were supposed to be happy and floating on clouds, and she walks away. Rachel, still in shock, is further saddened. And probably feeling pretty rejected right about now. Oh, Rachel :(
Finn approaches Will, who is doing Gaga research. Finn is the emissary for the boys (sans Kurt) about feeling ignored and mistreated having to do everything the girls want to do. Aww, is it the boys turn now since the girls had their Madonna episode? Anyways, Will agrees with them and they decide to switch gears to something the boys will like, too.
Puck and Quinn are talking about their impending parenthood. Puck wants to name the kid Jack(ie) Daniels. Quinn reiterates that the last thing she wants to do is raise a baby with Puck and that is why she's giving the kid away in the first place. Ouch.
Tina and Kurt are Gaga-fabulous in champagne bubbles and a silver spacesuit while walking the hallways of McKinley when Karofsky and asshole-jock-who-is-not-Karofsky slam them into a locker. Kurt, indignant, immediately speaks up... for Tina. The jocks are totally allowed to pick on him all they want, but to push around a girl? So not on. Value yourself more please, Kurt! (For real, too, not just the I'm too good for you mask that you put on every morning) Kurt and the jocks have a discussion about theatricality and expressing oneself, and the jocks threaten them with a beating if they continue to flaunt their theatricality around the hallways of McKinley. I'm not sure if they called Kurt 'Hummel' or 'homo.' Fuck, guys, you idiots are total scum, aren't you? And then they walk away with some crack about Supercuts taking walk-ins and giving each other a manly high-five as though they were clever. I don't get why that is supposed to be funny. And this scene makes me vaguely nauseated.
I have heard that the bullying is going to get waaaaaaaay worse in future episodes, and I'm not sure how I am going to be able to handle it. I am distressed already.
Glee club. The girls and Kurt are all dressed Gaga-fabulous and looking, at the very least, entertaining and fun. I'm pretty sure Brittany has a silvery lobster on her head. Uhhhhhh. Anyways. Quinn and Mercedes drop the Shelby/Idina-is-Rachel's-mom bomb on the club and Puck instantly decides that Rachel will abandon them all for Vocal Adrenaline and they'll be totally screwed. Rachel walks in just in time to refute this claim and tell the class that her dad's are moving her therapist into the spare bedroom. I'm glad she was open about her woes with her dads, I imagine that she'll need all the support she can get after that little reunion scene.
I will note that Rachel is wearing a dress made out of beanie babies (or something) and I have no idea what she's supposed to be wearing. Mercedes thinks it's the Kermit the Frog look. I googled it and was scarred. A plushie falls off Rachel's dress and Kurt snarks, ″And we have a jumper.″ *snerk* I can just see her walking the halls of McKinley shedding beanie babies with every step, leaving a confused Figgins trailing behind her and snatching them up like breadcrumbs and wondering if he needs to ban fairy tales next for fear of the students turning to cannibalism.
And now the girls (and Kurt) are singing ″Bad Romance″ and it is entertaining to see then strut their stuff in these costumes. Considering they have supposedly come up with their costumes on their own, they'd be pretty great cosplayers, it took dedication. The entire cast of Glee playing various Doctor Who incarnations and companions? Star Wars? Final Fantasy? Anyways, it's nice to see Tina, Quinn, Mercedes, and Santana have lead parts in the song instead of it being entirely Rachel and Kurt's show. Sadly, no obvious Britt parts though. Woe.
Finn is playing dress-up in the McKinley High bathrooms with black facepaint stuff when Karofsky and not-Karofsky exit the stalls and begin to hassle him about how he must now be gay with Kurt and that they have all the time in the world to educate Finn (with their fists) about how lame he is to be in the glee club. And that he needs to get out of ″their″ bathroom and go to the girls room, since clearly Finn is now a girl.
I would like to point out to Karofsky and not-Karofsky that they are the ones going to the bathroom together. Like girls.
These dickwits are totally fueling Finn's soon-to-be epic freakout, aren't they?
Once again, Rachel sneaks into Vocal Adrenaline rehearsals, which Idina calls her on, but without much irritation or anything. Rachel reveals her disastrous beanie baby dress and tells Idina that since her dads can't sew she could really use a mom right now. While I find the fact that the show is saying that only moms can help out with costuming troubles somewhat annoying (I know a LOT of LARP fellas who are very handy with a sewing machine and who can wield a needle and thread with nearly as much skill as they handle a sword or ax), I like that she's trying to find some ground for them to meet on and something to bond over. And really, if you want costuming help, who better than a show choir director, I suppose, mom or not. It works, too, because Rachel looks awesome in her new Gaga-licious outfit.
Time for The Boys (sans Kurt) and their KISS performance, complete with makeup and costuming. And screeching. And when did McKinley High spring for pyrotechnics? Is this is a present from Bryan Ryan/NPH or April Rhodes/Kristin Chenoweth? I must also note that the girls are a far better and more enthusiastic audience than the boys are. The boys look ridiculous and yet I had a lot of fun watching them. MATT HAD A LINE! Restrain yourselves!
Tina: ″And Finn kept sticking his tongue out and I couldn't stop picturing him licking stuff. It was disturbing.″
Sweetheart, I totally agree.
Anyways, Karofsky and Company continue to harass Kurt and Tina in the halls and damage his costume. While he is busy bedazzling his shoes, Kurt asks Finn if he could talk to his neanderthal friends and ask them to keep their abuse focused on his flesh, not his costume. Dude, Kurt. Priorities. They are in the Kurt/Finn basement bedroom of Finn's despair (dude, have they already moved in? Glee's timeline is wonky.). Finn is upset and asks Kurt why he can't work harder to blend in and why he always has to make a spectacle of himself. I point this out because it's a) insulting and annoying, and b) said by a guy still wearing his KISS makeup. Is this an example of irony, or just hypocrisy?
Anyways, Finn's bubbling discomfort and fear of catching Teh Gay continue to rise and he exits stage laundry-room to remove the rest of his makeup without Kurt's help.
Does Kurt still have an active crush on him at this point? Even though he himself has pointed out the fruitlessness of the act? Or is it more left-over emotions kinda leaking through?
Will and Idina are talking. About Rachel. Will correctly identified that Rachel is more invested in their reunion than Idina is and that is information that can absolutely destroy someone like Rachel who has many of Idina's great qualities, but none of her hardness and self-defense. Yet, at least. Idina shares that she can't have any more kids and really, truly wanted a daughter, but that she thought of Rachel as the baby she caught just a glimpse of in infancy, rather than the ″adult″ she is now. Will urges Idina to share her feelings with Rachel. Oh god, this is going to be heartbreaking, isn't it? Poor Rachel.
The Hudson-Hummel redecorated basement-boudoir. Kurt, inspired by some reference I don't recognize, has managed a miracle with a budget of only $300. Finn does not appear to appreciate the effort. He looks pretty freaked out, in fact. And everything he's been trying and failing to deal with is about to burst out. He's uncomfortable around Kurt because Kurt is gay. And has had a really obvious crush on Finn. Finn puts his underwear on in the shower when Kurt is around and doesn't want to get dressed in front of him. He worries about ″that stuff″ because of Kurt, and he doesn't want to deal with it in his own room.
* * *
[So I'm going to interrupt the scene, with the helpful use of the pause button mid-speech, for Em's discussion time. Yes, I am sure I am stealing from the impact of this scene, but this is how I've rolled since episode 4 or so and, as usual, I have a few things to say that will take some typing-time not allowed between lines. I pause a lot to write up reaction paragraphs, which is why I have a lot of questions that are almost-immediately answered after I write them and hit play again. Whatever, deal. So-
On the one hand, Finn is freaked out and under pressure from the jockholes and dealing with Burt and Carol's relationship and his own sense of renewed loss of his own father, and probably still the fallout from the whole Quinn-Puck-baby debacle, and he has all the emotional-resources, tact, and subtlety of a bland melon. His reaction feels somewhat accurate for the character this show has set Finn up to be (at least lately), as well as voicing a lot of the ″common concerns″ people have voiced for not getting rid of DADT, resisting openness and permitting bullying in schools, anti-acceptance, etc. (AKA the piss-poor excuses for why they are going to continue their discrimination.)
On the other hand? Oh come on you dimwit moron. Kurt is not going to attack you in your sleep, FFS! This is so freaking hard to watch but I am trying not to reach for The Button since I've been told to wait for this scene. Besides, it isn't embarrassment squick, it's more the pain/unfairness/argh aspect of it that's the most hurty right now.
And if this scene goes where I think it's going, how the hell is the show going to recover the Kurt and Finn positive brotherly relationship that they are supposed to have in season 2? Or so I am told.
Edit/addition from the future: This opinion over on TwoP has some insight into this scene and how Kurt and Finn are both teenagers and that sometimes means they are very dumb and emotionally stunted and both have responsibility for how this scene played out. And how Burt is awesome. You don't have to buy it, I just find it interesting.
Anyways, back to the action.]
* * *
So Kurt reaches his breaking point too and yells back at Finn that it's just a stupid room and they can redecorate if Finn wants too. Finn agrees in a nasty way and then begins pointing out objects in the room and calling them 'faggy'. Clearly, what he is really doing is calling Kurt a fag.
Oh my god, this is so bad. This is so, so bad.
Anyways, with the first use of the slur, Kurt actually jumps a bit and the expression on his face is so very, very eloquently painful. And then Burt walks in and rips Finn a new one. Typing it out cannot really do it justice, so here you go:
The hand on Kurt's shoulder there at the end and Kurt's fingers reaching up to touch his dad's are what broke me.
I love that Burt's speech isn't just calling out Finn, but also himself on his past actions and all the time it's taken for him to change and be more accepting, and to realize exactly how harmful that attitude is. He's basically standing up and telling Finn that he needs to smarten up a lot faster than he himself did. And declaring right there in front of Kurt how important Kurt is and that, even when the rest of the world is going to make his life hell, Kurt's home needs to be a safe space for him and Burt will do whatever is necessary, even at personal cost, to make it so. Kurt is his son and his priority. *bawls *
And now we have to go back to glee club after that. Damn.
They are still in their Gaga costumes. Tina's balls keep falling off. Kurt sympathizes: he's totally been there. *significant glance at Finn* Anyways, Kurt feels sorry for Finn and his tiny mind. He'd thought he was different. Finn claims that he is different. At the very least I think this may finally lay to rest any further Kurt-Finn UST, right? Please? Give me some hope?
Anyways, Puck has something to say to Quinn (whose fake, super-long pink eyelashes are very distracting) about responsibility and parenthood and the realizations he's made. Offscreen, I would assume, since these two have had very little non-″comedic″ screentime lately. Puck (+ the boys, sans Kurt) sing ″Beth″ by KISS (wait, really?) to Quinn (and her eyelashes) and it's really pretty. Hee, and Will ″conducts″ in the background, all caught up in the song. I have to admit that I sometimes do that when listening to my iPod. I can't help it and even the fact that I have no conducting training can stop me. The rest of the non-singing, non-Quinn glee club raise their hands in the air with invisible candles and sway.
It wasn't until Puck has his little semi-public heart-to-heart with Quinn about naming the baby Beth and asking to be there when she's born that I realize that Finn is up there supporting Puck with the guys, which is pretty damn supportive, given the history there.
More Rachel and Idina heart-to-hearts. Better than Finn's foot-to-mouth, I guess. Anyways, Idina is curious where Rachel's dads got her name from, and apparently she was named after Friends. Like, the TV show. Dude, is Friends really that old now? *shudder* Anyways, a solemn Rachel knows why Idina is there: to say goodbye. They both admit that they aren't what they each need right now and Idina points out that, while she is Rachel's mother, she isn't her Mom. They don't slam the door on a future meeting or relationship, but it isn't the right time. Lea Michele is pretty awesome, isn't she? I flail around a lot about Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer's facial expressions, but Lea is killing me here, too.
And then Rachel and Idina sing a ballad-y ″Poker Face″ duet. It's... kinda weird? But it's them, so they did a good job. I love them harmonizing. All the 'muffin' and 'love glue-gunning' lines are a little... O_o though. And when they finish, Idina tells Rachel that she is really good and then leaves.
Back in glee, the kids are still KISSy Gaga fabulous and wondering what the lesson of the week was, which Will, clearly on track for Teacher of the Year, hasn't got a clue about. And then Goth Tina is back! Yeah, Tina! She apparently got vampire gothy on Figgins' ass and told him (complete with vampire fangs, mind you) that her scary Asian vampire father was pissed and would bite Figgins' face off unless he let Tina be herself. Figgins' relented instantly. Tina, incidentally, is gorgeous.
A little on the late side, Artie notices that both Kurt and Finn are missing as well. Cut to the hallway where Karofsky and not-Karofsky are threatening Kurt again. Kurt: ″Fine. You wanna hit me? You wanna beat me up? Go ahead. But I swear to you, I will never change. I'm proud to be different, it's the best thing about me.″
. . . I love you.
Asshole jocks are all prepared to play fist-meet-face when they are stopped. By Finn. Wearing a floor-length, fire-engine red latex ball gown and mask (seen here on Gaga). Uhhhhhhhh. Okay. So Finn says he's started to learn his lesson and stands up to the bullies and is soon backed up by the entire Glee club. The asshole jocks are rather less confidant against an entire posse of bedazzled glee clubbers, but do threaten to bring their buddies to the next rumble to even the odds. It's totally Sharks vs. Jets, y'all.
Obnoxious Will slow-claps his way down the hallway to congratulate the kids on learning the Lesson of the Week. Okay, ya know what, Will?
1. The slow clap is more of an insulting and sarcastic thing than a supportive one
2. You didn't make up this lesson, stop taking credit.
3. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU WERE CLEARLY NOT STOPPING THIS OVERT BULLYING AND PHYSICALLY THREATENING SITUATION??? You are useless!
They all walk off down the hallway to (finally!) start working on their Regionals prep and Kurt and Finn take turns fondling each others' impressive shoulder pads. No, that is not a euphemism.
Why is the VO recap guy trying to be cute? We don't need that. Get to the point.
Of note: Will spends a lot of his time in the Principal's office.
Anyways, so Will and Tina are sitting before Figgins who has learned that Tina is a goth and will surely turn into a vampire and become obsessed with the occult. And Twilight. Anyone wanna guess which of those I consider the most dangerous? Apparently a bunch of McKinley Twatlighters, led by a befanged Lauren Zizes (Why, Lauren? WHYYYYYYY? I claim character assassination. Is that possible before she becomes the sarcastic, jaded, Puck-banging Lauren we all know from the future?) attacked Creepy Jacob (hah, Jacob) in order to get RPattz's attention. This is the cause for some distress for Figgins who is now outlawing the goth look and Tina better fall in line.
And Figgins thinks vampires are real and Tina may turn into a bat. Yeah.
Okay, Tina, time to turn to everybody's favorite fashionista for new look advice. Oh Kuuuuuuuurt...
Oh, hey. And we do go to a Hummel scene, though not one where he plays What Not To Wear (For Fear Of Vampires Edition) with Tina, sadly. Kurt and Burt welcome Carol and Finn to their new home. In Kurt's basement bedroom. Yeah. Finn is about as pleased as you'd expect. At least his dad's ashes aren't currently within flush-able distance.. Anyways, Burt asked the Hudson's to move in with them and Carol happily accepted. Without talking it over with her son in private first. Ouch, Carol. I kinda thought better of you. And once again Carol, Burt, and Kurt conspire without Finn's input or knowledge and then ambush him. And we all know that he won't handle this very well.
Anyways, the Hummel's house is twice the size of the Hudson's (and yet Kurt needs to sleep in the basement?) and has 2.5 bathrooms. Having just scrubbed my tub and cleared my shower drain of yuck, I'm less enthusiastic about the idea of extra bathrooms to clean than I might otherwise be, personally. Finn is in agreement, not that I think he wears the rubber gloves in the family. And apparently Finn and Kurt are going to have to share the basement bedroom. Again, I point out that this house is twice the size of the Hudson's and has 2.5 bathrooms, but only one other non-basement bedroom? What? I'm pretty sure the Hudson's house was not a refrigerator box. This makes no sense.
*plugs fingers into ears* LALALALALALALA - Glee logic - LALALALA.
Okay, I'm better now. So Finn isn't pleased with the new arrangements and Kurt is thrilled and suggests they redecorate to better flatter Finn's skin tone (Burt offers $300 to devote to the cause) and surprisingly that was not one of Finn's major concerns. Oh, I bet I can guess what he's worried about. Kurt's hopeless crush on Finn is going to play heavily into this episode, isn't it?. Fire up The Button, guys, I think it's gonna be a long night.
Not that way, don't you dare send me links.
Back in school, the glee club tried to help Tina come up with a new look. Their suggestions?
Santana: Biker chick
Finn: Cowgirl
Mercedes: Hood rat
Quinn: Computer programmer
Brittany: Cross-country skier
Puck: Catholic schoolgirl (I'm not even going to bother feigning surprise)
Brittany part II: Happy meal, no onions. Or a chicken.
All of these lovely options are immediately shot down.
Noticeably-absent Rachel (not really, I didn't realize she wasn't there until she walked in panicking) bursts into the room to have a plotz about their competition, Vocal Adrenaline. The Enemy is apparently planning a Gaga number (as evidenced by a back order on twinkle lights and red Chantilly lace). I think I'm probably missing something about this reference. I don't bother to look it up because at this point Kurt get's the following zinger:
Kurt: ″Lady Gaga is a woman, She's only the biggest pop act to come along in decades. She's boundary pushing. The most theatrical performer of our generation. And she changes her look faster than Britt changes sexual partners.″
Brittany: ″It's true.″
Well, Kurt. I guess you would know, sort of.
Anyways, this diatribe inspires Will to make this week's lesson Gagariffic. And also the club hasn't selected a number for Regionals yet. What? How are you twits going to win and have a second season if you aren't even bothering to decide on, never mind rehearse your competition performances? Argh, Show! *sigh* And I'm breathing, breathing. Okay. The girls (+ Kurt) are excited about Gaga, the boys (sans Kurt) are less so. Rachel is literally flailing around with ideas. Aww.
So Rachel, Quinn, and Mercedes sneak into Vocal Adrenaline's rehearsal to spy in The Enemy's number and watch Shelby/Idina Menzel run them through their number. She is upset that they are letting their costumes do all the work for them, citing that, ″Theatricality isn't about crazy outfits. It's not enough to douse yourselves with gasoline - you have to light yourselves on fire to make it work!″ And, for the record? I SO CALLED THAT! AGES AGO!
And then she goes on for a while about radiating emotion and theatricality (that's gonna be tonight's buzzword, isn't it?) to a bunch of kids prancing around with spiky red bags covering their faces. Riiiiiiight. Idina decides to give them an example and dives into ″Funny Girl″ in E flat. Exactly what Rachel would have chosen.
Rachel is incredibly moved by this performance. Could she be doing the math? Or looking in a mirror? Or, more likely, at her script? Anyways, Rachel is unable to resist the siren song of her mother, walks up the aisle towards the stage, and introduces herself to Idina as her daughter. (!)
They have an incredibly awkward conversation wherein they discuss regrets and stardom and tonight's episode title and buzzword, theatricality. They are sitting in the auditorium's audience seats, a row and several seats apart from each other. Shelby is uncomfortable and sad and decides that she shouldn't have done this, it isn't turning out how she'd hoped and expected. They were supposed to be happy and floating on clouds, and she walks away. Rachel, still in shock, is further saddened. And probably feeling pretty rejected right about now. Oh, Rachel :(
Finn approaches Will, who is doing Gaga research. Finn is the emissary for the boys (sans Kurt) about feeling ignored and mistreated having to do everything the girls want to do. Aww, is it the boys turn now since the girls had their Madonna episode? Anyways, Will agrees with them and they decide to switch gears to something the boys will like, too.
Puck and Quinn are talking about their impending parenthood. Puck wants to name the kid Jack(ie) Daniels. Quinn reiterates that the last thing she wants to do is raise a baby with Puck and that is why she's giving the kid away in the first place. Ouch.
Tina and Kurt are Gaga-fabulous in champagne bubbles and a silver spacesuit while walking the hallways of McKinley when Karofsky and asshole-jock-who-is-not-Karofsky slam them into a locker. Kurt, indignant, immediately speaks up... for Tina. The jocks are totally allowed to pick on him all they want, but to push around a girl? So not on. Value yourself more please, Kurt! (For real, too, not just the I'm too good for you mask that you put on every morning) Kurt and the jocks have a discussion about theatricality and expressing oneself, and the jocks threaten them with a beating if they continue to flaunt their theatricality around the hallways of McKinley. I'm not sure if they called Kurt 'Hummel' or 'homo.' Fuck, guys, you idiots are total scum, aren't you? And then they walk away with some crack about Supercuts taking walk-ins and giving each other a manly high-five as though they were clever. I don't get why that is supposed to be funny. And this scene makes me vaguely nauseated.
I have heard that the bullying is going to get waaaaaaaay worse in future episodes, and I'm not sure how I am going to be able to handle it. I am distressed already.
Glee club. The girls and Kurt are all dressed Gaga-fabulous and looking, at the very least, entertaining and fun. I'm pretty sure Brittany has a silvery lobster on her head. Uhhhhhh. Anyways. Quinn and Mercedes drop the Shelby/Idina-is-Rachel's-mom bomb on the club and Puck instantly decides that Rachel will abandon them all for Vocal Adrenaline and they'll be totally screwed. Rachel walks in just in time to refute this claim and tell the class that her dad's are moving her therapist into the spare bedroom. I'm glad she was open about her woes with her dads, I imagine that she'll need all the support she can get after that little reunion scene.
I will note that Rachel is wearing a dress made out of beanie babies (or something) and I have no idea what she's supposed to be wearing. Mercedes thinks it's the Kermit the Frog look. I googled it and was scarred. A plushie falls off Rachel's dress and Kurt snarks, ″And we have a jumper.″ *snerk* I can just see her walking the halls of McKinley shedding beanie babies with every step, leaving a confused Figgins trailing behind her and snatching them up like breadcrumbs and wondering if he needs to ban fairy tales next for fear of the students turning to cannibalism.
And now the girls (and Kurt) are singing ″Bad Romance″ and it is entertaining to see then strut their stuff in these costumes. Considering they have supposedly come up with their costumes on their own, they'd be pretty great cosplayers, it took dedication. The entire cast of Glee playing various Doctor Who incarnations and companions? Star Wars? Final Fantasy? Anyways, it's nice to see Tina, Quinn, Mercedes, and Santana have lead parts in the song instead of it being entirely Rachel and Kurt's show. Sadly, no obvious Britt parts though. Woe.
Finn is playing dress-up in the McKinley High bathrooms with black facepaint stuff when Karofsky and not-Karofsky exit the stalls and begin to hassle him about how he must now be gay with Kurt and that they have all the time in the world to educate Finn (with their fists) about how lame he is to be in the glee club. And that he needs to get out of ″their″ bathroom and go to the girls room, since clearly Finn is now a girl.
I would like to point out to Karofsky and not-Karofsky that they are the ones going to the bathroom together. Like girls.
These dickwits are totally fueling Finn's soon-to-be epic freakout, aren't they?
Once again, Rachel sneaks into Vocal Adrenaline rehearsals, which Idina calls her on, but without much irritation or anything. Rachel reveals her disastrous beanie baby dress and tells Idina that since her dads can't sew she could really use a mom right now. While I find the fact that the show is saying that only moms can help out with costuming troubles somewhat annoying (I know a LOT of LARP fellas who are very handy with a sewing machine and who can wield a needle and thread with nearly as much skill as they handle a sword or ax), I like that she's trying to find some ground for them to meet on and something to bond over. And really, if you want costuming help, who better than a show choir director, I suppose, mom or not. It works, too, because Rachel looks awesome in her new Gaga-licious outfit.
Time for The Boys (sans Kurt) and their KISS performance, complete with makeup and costuming. And screeching. And when did McKinley High spring for pyrotechnics? Is this is a present from Bryan Ryan/NPH or April Rhodes/Kristin Chenoweth? I must also note that the girls are a far better and more enthusiastic audience than the boys are. The boys look ridiculous and yet I had a lot of fun watching them. MATT HAD A LINE! Restrain yourselves!
Tina: ″And Finn kept sticking his tongue out and I couldn't stop picturing him licking stuff. It was disturbing.″
Sweetheart, I totally agree.
Anyways, Karofsky and Company continue to harass Kurt and Tina in the halls and damage his costume. While he is busy bedazzling his shoes, Kurt asks Finn if he could talk to his neanderthal friends and ask them to keep their abuse focused on his flesh, not his costume. Dude, Kurt. Priorities. They are in the Kurt/Finn basement bedroom of Finn's despair (dude, have they already moved in? Glee's timeline is wonky.). Finn is upset and asks Kurt why he can't work harder to blend in and why he always has to make a spectacle of himself. I point this out because it's a) insulting and annoying, and b) said by a guy still wearing his KISS makeup. Is this an example of irony, or just hypocrisy?
Anyways, Finn's bubbling discomfort and fear of catching Teh Gay continue to rise and he exits stage laundry-room to remove the rest of his makeup without Kurt's help.
Does Kurt still have an active crush on him at this point? Even though he himself has pointed out the fruitlessness of the act? Or is it more left-over emotions kinda leaking through?
Will and Idina are talking. About Rachel. Will correctly identified that Rachel is more invested in their reunion than Idina is and that is information that can absolutely destroy someone like Rachel who has many of Idina's great qualities, but none of her hardness and self-defense. Yet, at least. Idina shares that she can't have any more kids and really, truly wanted a daughter, but that she thought of Rachel as the baby she caught just a glimpse of in infancy, rather than the ″adult″ she is now. Will urges Idina to share her feelings with Rachel. Oh god, this is going to be heartbreaking, isn't it? Poor Rachel.
The Hudson-Hummel redecorated basement-boudoir. Kurt, inspired by some reference I don't recognize, has managed a miracle with a budget of only $300. Finn does not appear to appreciate the effort. He looks pretty freaked out, in fact. And everything he's been trying and failing to deal with is about to burst out. He's uncomfortable around Kurt because Kurt is gay. And has had a really obvious crush on Finn. Finn puts his underwear on in the shower when Kurt is around and doesn't want to get dressed in front of him. He worries about ″that stuff″ because of Kurt, and he doesn't want to deal with it in his own room.
* * *
[So I'm going to interrupt the scene, with the helpful use of the pause button mid-speech, for Em's discussion time. Yes, I am sure I am stealing from the impact of this scene, but this is how I've rolled since episode 4 or so and, as usual, I have a few things to say that will take some typing-time not allowed between lines. I pause a lot to write up reaction paragraphs, which is why I have a lot of questions that are almost-immediately answered after I write them and hit play again. Whatever, deal. So-
On the one hand, Finn is freaked out and under pressure from the jockholes and dealing with Burt and Carol's relationship and his own sense of renewed loss of his own father, and probably still the fallout from the whole Quinn-Puck-baby debacle, and he has all the emotional-resources, tact, and subtlety of a bland melon. His reaction feels somewhat accurate for the character this show has set Finn up to be (at least lately), as well as voicing a lot of the ″common concerns″ people have voiced for not getting rid of DADT, resisting openness and permitting bullying in schools, anti-acceptance, etc. (AKA the piss-poor excuses for why they are going to continue their discrimination.)
On the other hand? Oh come on you dimwit moron. Kurt is not going to attack you in your sleep, FFS! This is so freaking hard to watch but I am trying not to reach for The Button since I've been told to wait for this scene. Besides, it isn't embarrassment squick, it's more the pain/unfairness/argh aspect of it that's the most hurty right now.
And if this scene goes where I think it's going, how the hell is the show going to recover the Kurt and Finn positive brotherly relationship that they are supposed to have in season 2? Or so I am told.
Edit/addition from the future: This opinion over on TwoP has some insight into this scene and how Kurt and Finn are both teenagers and that sometimes means they are very dumb and emotionally stunted and both have responsibility for how this scene played out. And how Burt is awesome. You don't have to buy it, I just find it interesting.
Anyways, back to the action.]
* * *
So Kurt reaches his breaking point too and yells back at Finn that it's just a stupid room and they can redecorate if Finn wants too. Finn agrees in a nasty way and then begins pointing out objects in the room and calling them 'faggy'. Clearly, what he is really doing is calling Kurt a fag.
Oh my god, this is so bad. This is so, so bad.
Anyways, with the first use of the slur, Kurt actually jumps a bit and the expression on his face is so very, very eloquently painful. And then Burt walks in and rips Finn a new one. Typing it out cannot really do it justice, so here you go:
Click to view
The hand on Kurt's shoulder there at the end and Kurt's fingers reaching up to touch his dad's are what broke me.
I love that Burt's speech isn't just calling out Finn, but also himself on his past actions and all the time it's taken for him to change and be more accepting, and to realize exactly how harmful that attitude is. He's basically standing up and telling Finn that he needs to smarten up a lot faster than he himself did. And declaring right there in front of Kurt how important Kurt is and that, even when the rest of the world is going to make his life hell, Kurt's home needs to be a safe space for him and Burt will do whatever is necessary, even at personal cost, to make it so. Kurt is his son and his priority. *bawls *
And now we have to go back to glee club after that. Damn.
They are still in their Gaga costumes. Tina's balls keep falling off. Kurt sympathizes: he's totally been there. *significant glance at Finn* Anyways, Kurt feels sorry for Finn and his tiny mind. He'd thought he was different. Finn claims that he is different. At the very least I think this may finally lay to rest any further Kurt-Finn UST, right? Please? Give me some hope?
Anyways, Puck has something to say to Quinn (whose fake, super-long pink eyelashes are very distracting) about responsibility and parenthood and the realizations he's made. Offscreen, I would assume, since these two have had very little non-″comedic″ screentime lately. Puck (+ the boys, sans Kurt) sing ″Beth″ by KISS (wait, really?) to Quinn (and her eyelashes) and it's really pretty. Hee, and Will ″conducts″ in the background, all caught up in the song. I have to admit that I sometimes do that when listening to my iPod. I can't help it and even the fact that I have no conducting training can stop me. The rest of the non-singing, non-Quinn glee club raise their hands in the air with invisible candles and sway.
It wasn't until Puck has his little semi-public heart-to-heart with Quinn about naming the baby Beth and asking to be there when she's born that I realize that Finn is up there supporting Puck with the guys, which is pretty damn supportive, given the history there.
More Rachel and Idina heart-to-hearts. Better than Finn's foot-to-mouth, I guess. Anyways, Idina is curious where Rachel's dads got her name from, and apparently she was named after Friends. Like, the TV show. Dude, is Friends really that old now? *shudder* Anyways, a solemn Rachel knows why Idina is there: to say goodbye. They both admit that they aren't what they each need right now and Idina points out that, while she is Rachel's mother, she isn't her Mom. They don't slam the door on a future meeting or relationship, but it isn't the right time. Lea Michele is pretty awesome, isn't she? I flail around a lot about Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer's facial expressions, but Lea is killing me here, too.
And then Rachel and Idina sing a ballad-y ″Poker Face″ duet. It's... kinda weird? But it's them, so they did a good job. I love them harmonizing. All the 'muffin' and 'love glue-gunning' lines are a little... O_o though. And when they finish, Idina tells Rachel that she is really good and then leaves.
Back in glee, the kids are still KISSy Gaga fabulous and wondering what the lesson of the week was, which Will, clearly on track for Teacher of the Year, hasn't got a clue about. And then Goth Tina is back! Yeah, Tina! She apparently got vampire gothy on Figgins' ass and told him (complete with vampire fangs, mind you) that her scary Asian vampire father was pissed and would bite Figgins' face off unless he let Tina be herself. Figgins' relented instantly. Tina, incidentally, is gorgeous.
A little on the late side, Artie notices that both Kurt and Finn are missing as well. Cut to the hallway where Karofsky and not-Karofsky are threatening Kurt again. Kurt: ″Fine. You wanna hit me? You wanna beat me up? Go ahead. But I swear to you, I will never change. I'm proud to be different, it's the best thing about me.″
. . . I love you.
Asshole jocks are all prepared to play fist-meet-face when they are stopped. By Finn. Wearing a floor-length, fire-engine red latex ball gown and mask (seen here on Gaga). Uhhhhhhhh. Okay. So Finn says he's started to learn his lesson and stands up to the bullies and is soon backed up by the entire Glee club. The asshole jocks are rather less confidant against an entire posse of bedazzled glee clubbers, but do threaten to bring their buddies to the next rumble to even the odds. It's totally Sharks vs. Jets, y'all.
Obnoxious Will slow-claps his way down the hallway to congratulate the kids on learning the Lesson of the Week. Okay, ya know what, Will?
1. The slow clap is more of an insulting and sarcastic thing than a supportive one
2. You didn't make up this lesson, stop taking credit.
3. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN YOU WERE CLEARLY NOT STOPPING THIS OVERT BULLYING AND PHYSICALLY THREATENING SITUATION??? You are useless!
They all walk off down the hallway to (finally!) start working on their Regionals prep and Kurt and Finn take turns fondling each others' impressive shoulder pads. No, that is not a euphemism.