Glee Reviews: Throwdown (pt.2)
And here it is, the much awaited second half. Enjoy!
OH MAN OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD. IT’S RIDE WIT ME. DEEP BREATHS.
So Ride Wit Me is the first time we see the Glee kids interacting, all as one big group, without a chaperone. Let me be clear here- the kids still don’t like each other. In fact, even next episode, when Puck is sucking Rachel’s face, he still doesn’t like her. But they sneak off to sing with each other. There’s no bones about it- the kids are joining together and singing because they miss each other. They don’t like each other unless they’re singing, so they sneak off to sing together. And honestly? These kids look happier now, unchaperoned, than they have the whole season so far.
It’s interesting to see what friendships DO exist though- Clearly Artie doesn’t hate Rachel as badly as Mercedes and Kurt do, since they jam together. Brit Brit, Tina, and Kurt get yet another background moment. Then there are the kids to jam with like, everyone- Mercedes, Mike, etc.
They even put up with each other’s lame jokes- Kurt’s comment was kind of funny, but then he kept on going, and the laughter starts getting forced- but they’re still all there for each other right now.
Anyways, Rachel takes the lead for the “White people”, and Artie for Sue’s Kids (of course). Will waltzes in right as Sue’s Kids are leaving, and gives them a cheery “I miss you guys” before getting down to business. He tells the kids that he’s found the perfect song, but Rachel of all people decides that they should talk about how the group is being split and the morale issue. If ever a moment succinctly summed up character development, it was this one (Wanting to be their friend rather than a star in The Rhodes Not Taken, changing her goal from a star to Sectionals in Vitamin D, etc.)
Will, however, is going to ignore this issue because he is playing into Sue’s hands whilst believing that he is doing the exact opposite. He tells them to stop worrying about that sort of thing because that’s JUST WHAT SUE WOULD WANT DUN DUN DUN. He goes on to try and curry more favor with the kids (“If it was up to ME, we’d all be together”), and tells them to focus on doing their song.
He further goes on to say that Sue’s kids are singing about hate, and while that’s technically true, it’s not true in the manner that Will means it here, and honestly the dude needs to learn to LISTEN to song lyrics. Just how many times does Will do this- for instance, in Ballad, when he sings Don’t Stand So Close To Me/Young Girl, where some more prudent lyric pruning would have made his intention much clearer, was that because he didn’t quite grasp the lyrics that he was singing?
So while we have Sue ostensibly singing about Hate… we have Will ostensibly singing about Love? And while Ride Wit Me is far and away the best song this episode, No Air is probably far and away the worst. What’s it about? Well, it’s SUPPOSED to be about some all consuming love, how you can’t be apart from each other, you need each other like oxygen. And while the song definitely goes there with the song- it’s basically explicit, We have longing looks and ridiculous dream sequence singing to each other down the hall moments between Finn and Rachel . But it’s kind of a grossly codependent relationship, and I can’t decide whether Finchel was supposed to be sort of not right from the beginning or if I’m letting current canon color my perceptions here.
What I DO know, is that this is just as much Will and the club as Hate On me was Sue and the club- Will needs to have performing and music in his life, and it’s a rather unhealthy relationship that he has with it- one that he fosters in his Glee club, to my dismay. Time and again Will encourages his kids to pursue performing as if that’s their only chance, only dream worth dreaming. Regardless, Will can’t live without the Glee Club (Finn is his best friend), and this song tells us that.
The best part about this song, however, is that Will is marginalizing half his club- Quinn even points this out before doing it for Sue’s agenda. Will says that if it were up to him, he’d have them all perform together, but… even with his 5 kids, he’s promoting Finn and Rachel, his perfect showchoir couple. I love how Quinn is spending the whole song glaring at the back of Finn and Rachel’s heads. Well, and Will’s. A+ Fabray. It’s even funnier because Puck and Brittany are REALLY into it.
Will, of course, thinks this is fantastic. But then Quinn busts out and into the middle of the stage and quite loudly asks “What about us? Do you expect us to just sway back here like props?” Which is a sentiment that she already felt, but is also something that Sue is using for her plan.
Which is another reason Sue’s so diabolical this episode- she’s not just playing the whole club, she’s not just intentionally doing the wrong thing despite knowing what the right thing is- she’s using complaints the club has already to further her plan. Interestingly, this means that she acknowledges more complaints the club has than Will does.
Anyways, Quinn drops a purposefully nonchalant dig at Will’s treatment of minorities to Puck and Brit Brit, and they look troubled. And then we smear into Sue’s office where she’s consoling the two for being left out for being… Jewish and Dutch. “Can you imagine in this day and age being discriminated against?” Uh… yes, Sue. Yes I can. And I’m sure a lot of these kids can too. Sue makes a big show of how they were mistreated for their minority statuses, but you can tell it’s a ruse because she wasn’t aware of Puck’s until this conversation, apparently (Who knew?), and Brit Brit can clearly be seen WTFing about the Dutch thing (Sure, Sue. THAT’S what makes Brittany a minority). So again: NOT ACTUALLY BEING ACCEPTING.
So Sue scoops two of Will’s kids. And it’s impressive considering Will’s gues as to what kids Sue would get maybe extended to 8, if we count Finn and Kurt, but Sue still managed to get 9. In your face Will.
Of note: She scoops Puck for being Jewish, but not Rachel. That’s because she knows Will, and she knows Rachel- Will has to have his golden couple front and center, and Sue used that in her plan to win Puck and Brit Brit. But he also doesn’t listen to her. Meanwhile, Rachel would have undermined Sue’s operation if she’d been one of Sue’s kids, and Sue does in fact treat her as a threat to be neutralized- better to leave her trapped under the thumb of Will Schuester.
I think that the best part of this whole thing is how it ties in later- even with only 3 kids, Schue doesn’t move things around so that all 3 are getting focus- he leaves it at the duet, leaving Quinn out on the sidelines. Marginalization. But more than that, it’s something that Will struggles with all series- he talks a big game about including everyone, but time and again it’s Finn and Rachel front and center.
Chez Schue. Terri is digging out a pregnancy pad and staring overwroughtly into the mirror. I think the fact that she’s clearly in over her head and regretting ever starting this whole thing being touched on frequently goes a long way towards making Terri sympathetic. However, this moment of introspection is going to cost her. The door opens, and Will is home, and she is looking distressingly non-preggo. She hastily puts the pad under her shirt, but it… looks like she shoved something under her shirt. Terri spends the time freaking out and trying to escape to I guess the bathroom to fix the pad. Will asks what’s for dinner, and Terri tries to brush past him and tells him to get something from takeout.
Will for his part is not going to stand for no dinner, so he grabs Terri by the “Standard Female Grab Area” (Right by the elbow), and tells her that he doesn’t expect her to cook, but he expects her to take care of dinner. Which… you know what, I don’t know what that means. I guess her asking him to call for something was too much for Will, and he wants to make sure that she calls for the food? Or something? Idk what the distinction means otherwise. I think it’s basically another one of the “I don’t want to take it out on you, Terri, I just don’t want to feel as powerless in my own home as I do at school” variant, where he’s all “I don’t want x, but I want x”. Will is confusing.
Terri, however, sees him being forceful and asks what’s up, because Will is basically a doormat (You have to be liked). Will admits that Terri told him to stand up for himself and fight dirty, and that she was right, and that that’s why he’s feeling so fired up. He thinks Sue is begging him for mercy (So, so not what Sue is doing right now), and getting a one up on her makes him feel great. Terri takes this news with some grace (“I have my moments, huh?”), and tries to walk away because as distracted as Will is, he’s still going to notice the missing baby bump at some point.
But Will drops a bomb of his own: He scheduled a meeting with Dr. Woo for that Friday, without consulting Terri, and Terri realizes that she’s in big trouble. She turns around with a forced smile, but Will is just super happy to finally meet his baby “boy”, and Terri’s troubles double because now she has to come up with a fake baby ultrasound, AND a sex change for the baby.
Will walks off after graciously telling Terri to order whatever she wants for dinner. No, wait. He tells her to order what she wants, so long as it isn’t what he DOESN’T want. Ugh. Will, stop sucking.
O FORTUNA. Another Will and Sue showdown. Will asks Sue who she thinks she is, but Sue is ready for that. She simply shoots back that now Will knows what it’s like to lose his kids too. Will tells her that he can’t do a song with three kids, which is just false, he could do a song with ONE kid, and Sue is ready for that too- she tells him that of course he can’t with an attitude like that. Sue, however, prepares to cut him a deal- her team (The Cheerios) for his (Snot faucets). In true negotiation fashion, Sue has left what his “team” actually is- whether it’s the whole club, or it’s just Puck and Brit Brit (Knowing Sue, the latter). But Schuester is done with this parley. He tells her she’ll have to pry the F’s out of his cold dead hands. And Sue tells him that she can’t wait.
Her supremely unconcerned look is probably the best part. Like Quinn, Sue is very good at taking her frothing, animal rage and hiding it behind a calm exterior. Adult kid parallels and stuff.
Dr. Woo is back! And trimming a bonsai tree. He quotes stats on doctor suicide, and then says that his bonsai relaxes him. Terri, because she wants on his good side but is not particularly sensitive, tells him that she had a huge crush on the Karate Kid (Who, you know, wasn’t actually Asian, and has nothing to do with Obstetrics, but whatever). Kendra, however, was over this conversation like, yesterday (I forget how much I love Kendra), and asks if they can cut the crap.
Woo for his part is not intimidated, and does, in fact, cut the crap. He asks why these ladies are here, since neither is preggo. And Kendra proceeds to be the worst human being in like, record time. She tells him that he delivered all three of her kids, and that they’re all stupid, ADD, and Ginger. (and if we weren’t sure that she was reducing her kids to single aspects, we need only remember that ‘Ginger’ is later on Emma’s shirt in BTW, and how being stupid and having “mental illnesses” is treated in canon.) Dr. Woo patiently tries to tell her that Red hair is a recessive gene, but Kendra believes that he gave her too much Pitocin, which screwed up her kids’ DNA. For those of us playing along at home: Pitocin is a synthetic version of Ocytocin, which is a hormone released during birth to help cause uterine contractions. It’s relatively harmless. And has nothing to do with DNA.
Woo patiently tells her that that’s not a theory, she just made that up. Which is true. Man, Woo has the patience of a saint. He then gets in a sly dig at Kendra by asking Terri if Kendra’s on any new psychotropic medication (re: Hallucinogens, Depressants, Stimulants, etc. You know. Recreation drugs, mostly), and Terri, bless her, answers honestly because she doesn’t realize what Woo just asked her. Kendra, however, does, and tells him that’s offensive. Which of course clues in Terri, who asks if she’s alright.
Kendra decides to break it down for him- Her husband is the tax guy for some midsize law firms in Lima (Probably the ONLY law firms in Lima), and she’s threatening him with a lawsuit. This tells me one of several things- Kendra has Ex-Cheerio written all over her, so it’s nice to see they still hold power in Lima. The law in Lima is basically complete shit- a law suit like this would never fly irl. Lima adults suck really really badly (But we knew that already). Woo scoffs that they’ll never win, but Kendra has already thought of that, and tells him that she doesn’t have to- There’s only two OBs in town, and she just has to raise a fuss about Woo, and then everyone will be going to Dr. Chen (Quinn’s OB, most likely). What’s sad is that this works. Woo calls it outrageous, but then capitulates to their demands. Ugh.
Smackdown time. Quinn vs. Rachel. Quinn tries to engage (With more trans jokes, wow original Fabray), but Rachel doesn’t want to have a confrontation. Quinn knows a feeble dodge when she sees one, though, and tells Rachel to step off her man. They’re having a kid together, and Rachel needs to leave Finn alone. Rachel tells her that she’s right, and that she only helped with the Jacob thing because she’s in love with Finn. And then she goes on to drop the bomb that she knows that Quinn is the one cheating, and oh goodness.
It’s pretty brilliantly staged, actually- Quinn (and the audience) immediately leap to how Quinn cheated with Puck, because they were just talking about relationships. So of course Quinn bites the bait and follows Rachel to find out what she means. If Rachel’d said anything else Quinn could have just blown her off. But of course, Rachel meant spying for Sue. Of course. She goes on to say that Quinn can deny it all she wants, but she knows it’s true. So of course Quinn denies it, because that’s going to work.
Rachel goes on to say that Sue’s not on anyone’s side but her own (Which… is stretching the truth a bit. Sue’s big on family, but it’s hard to become part of hers- I think the only students that get there are Becky and Kurt. MAYBE Brit Brit, but that’s not as in focus), and that when Sue finds out about her “situation” she’ll probably rip that uniform off Quinn in a hot second. She goes on to say that every time Quinn gives her information, she empowers Sue to do more damage to the club, which is all that Quinn has right now. She goes on to say that Quinn should recognize who her true friends are (Rachel, you just told her that you didn’t help her for her, but for Finn. You are not yet one of them), and that she should practice more, because she has a lot to express.
What’s that? Quinn has a lot that she wants to say? Why yes. Yes she does. There is in fact, a lot that Quinn wants to say that she keeps bottled up, and for various reasons. But mostly because that’s what she has to be to survive in WMHS. Quinn has a very carefully created persona that she’s used to navigate the hellhole that is Lima, but in the process it’s stripped her of her ability to honestly express herself- Lima itself has silenced her. Everyone around her has her playing a part from a script.
So of course her song here is all about that. Remember how I said Say A Little Prayer was sort of drenched in desperation? Well this song is somehow even MORE desperate. It starts right after her confrontation with Rachel, and incorporates Cheerios practice, a fantasy sequence in the auditorium, Sue, Santana, and Brittany, and Finn and Rachel in class. Essentially, she is singing this song in all walks of her life at school- ostensibly our whole world at this point, so Quinn feels the lyrics of this song can apply to her whole life. Now listen to what is being said here. “You don’t really love me, you just keep me hanging on.”
Oh, Ouch.
Essentially, the girl feels like she’s got no options, she’s not wanted anywhere, and she’s only tolerated. Given everything that we’ve learned about Quinn in the future (Lucy, Wanting a perfect thing in her life, her relationship with religion, her relationship with her family), this song makes perfect sense. But we don’t know any of that stuff yet.
This is what’s called “foreshadowing”. It’s pretty fantastically done.
But of course, this was a dream sequence- not the first one in the show, and certainly not the last one. But so far, the only people to receive one are the girls- First Rachel in Showmance (There’s no way she was singing Take A Bow in the hallway, get real), then Mercedes in Acafellas, and now… Quinn, in Throwdown.
I’m curious as to what learning to dream sequence means- It’s plot significant in most cases, and distinctly tied to character growth- Think Brittany/Britney and Brit Brit- her Brittany fantasies MEANT something (and were her first dream sequences). Think Blaine in Michael.
Food for thought at least.
Anyways, the sequence ends, and Quinn tells everyone to take 5. Leaving her standing all alone out in the middle of the field. You know who else has a moment like this? Puck, in Preggers. Being popular sucks, doesn’t it. It means you’re playing by a script instead of doing or saying what you want, at least at WMHS.
Auditorium. Rachel has on her showface, and is wishing everyone well before the performance. Sue tells her to pipe down and sing (only not as nicely). Will tells her she can’t talk to kids like that, which is sort of patronizing, but whatever. Sue thinks it’s a crock of shit, and of course makes ridiculous faces at Will. We get a single line into the song, and Sue decides it’s time for her kids to leave.
Finn asks if there’s a fire, and Sue says there isn’t- that’s the problem. The song sucks. She goes on to start doing pity porn because she’s directly homaging (Still not sure that’s the right term) Jerry’s kids, and says it’s bad enough her kids are living in squalor, but they don’t need to be bored to death too. Mercedes tells her that her dad is, in fact, a dentist (Highest suicide rate for a medical professional. I wonder why we had that anecdote and then this one), but Sue is actually ignoring the students she is “championing”- once again underscoring how rotten her whole stance is.
And then we get to Sue and Will yelling at each other. Only it’s not in slowmo at the start, and it’s basically the two of them ripping into each other over all the things that suck about each other- and to be completely honest, the kids were over this like, forever ago. So Finn calls out “enough”, and the kids dogpile on the adults- this minority business is crap, they hate them fighting, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy, etc. So all the kids flounce (Notably, Puck, Matt, and Mike still have to carry Artie in and out of the Auditorium), leaving Sue and Will standing sheepishly by themselves in the auditorium.
Woo’s office. Schue is wondering what the Vagina Screen is doing up, since he’s seen it before, and he’s testy from school and once again letting it bleed over into his home life. Woo tells him it’s standard operating procedure (I’ve never been to on Obstetrician, but I’m gonna guess that no, no it isn’t). Then he pointedly asks if Mr. Schue is upset. Because even though he’s being blackmailed, he doesn’t want to like it. Mr. Schue just says work sucked, but Terri wants him to forget about school for like 5 seconds, and girl has a point- Will is kind of married to his job.
Will apologizes, and then asks them to have a DVD of the proceedings. Woo looks annoyed, but goes over to get one. It’s all very transparent and obviously off, the whole sequence here, but for once Will’s obliviousness is useful to someone- Terri gets this whole thing to go off without a hitch. Woo spends the whole time being flip and sullen, and prompting Terri and being prompted by her, but we basically finally get to the point where Will is staring at the sonogram of his daughter, and he starts to cry.
Terri thinks it’s because Will wanted a boy and is now getting a girl, but Will is too busy being in awe of the miracle of life- he’s just too happy that they’re finally getting a child of their own. He’s overjoyed. And as weirdly bad a person Will is, I think he’d give his kids the moon, and I can’t decide whether that would balance out or not. Suffice to say, Terri seizes on this chance as quickly as she can- She wants him to remember this moment, because in this moment, they were happy and wanted for nothing. It’s all very touching, and it sucks that Terri actually really cares for Will, even if in her own twisted way, and it’s all gone to crap over a situation that originally wasn’t her fault (The hysterical pregnancy. The lying about it was totally her fault).
Sue’s office. Will comes in to talk to Sue about the auditorium debacle. Sue wanted to come talk to Will too, but she “has no idea where his office is” (This, in case we are not aware, is a lie- Will’s office is ATTACHED TO THE CHOIR ROOM. But more specifically, it’s a tailored lie- it’s a lie to make it seem as though Will respects Sue more than she respects him, because he went to the trouble of figuring out where her office is, which she didn’t. It firmly places Will as “beneath her”. Do we see now why Sue lies?).
She tells him that she’s stepping down from co-director, and says that Glee is “too fruity” for her. Sue says that she can’t stand the sight of kids getting emotional (unless from exhaustion- I imagine she sees that a lot with her Cheerios), and Will, because he and Sue are weird inverses and therefore very much alike, knows that she means the kids sticking up for Glee club in the auditorium and not the kids expressing themselves via music. Sue agrees, then asks if she can be kept on in an advisory position. You know, show her your setlists and stuff, no big deal, it’s not like she was out to get you fired or take your job or ruin your club to reclaim her budget or anything. And Will, the gullible idiot, agrees.
We get another piece of dubious past regarding Sue (She was a VJ for a few years, apparently), and Will asks why he feels like this is a trap. Uh, because it is? Sue tells him it’s because he doesn’t trust her, which is also true, but not as damning to Sue- in fact, it puts it all back on Will, instead of Sue. It’s rather clever. She goes on to say that she knows she has extreme methods (I’ll say), and that she doesn’t care about the kids’ feelings, but she cares about teaching.
And that’s one of the truest things Sue has said since the series started. Time and again, Sue is all about having people learn lessons. It’s just not always a nice lesson. But she genuinely cares about her students (just not about being nice to them). Enough to research statistics about arts and sports. Enough to change the school lunches to be healthier. Enough to take slushies out of kids’ hands, to extend an aegis to students wearing her uniforms. I honestly think Sue’s a good teacher (And person, under that crusty exterior. But everyone in Glee is one of these under it all, because everyone in life is one). Just not a nice, or forgiving, or conventional one. (Or, occasionally, legal one).
Sue also loves winning, of course.
Will agrees, and then says “Who’s to say that everything I do is 100% on the ball”, which is just a gross generalization- people in the world seem to have a problem with being wrong, or in the wrong, and I think that’s weird, because we’re wrong about so much that getting upset over it would probably just ruin life for me, but whatever. Sue immediately responds “no one would say that”, which Will takes as I guess an insult instead of a fact of life, so whatever. Will tells her that he thinks it was right to shine the spotlight on the fact that all the kids are minorities.
Oh goodie, Glee is finally having the explicit and implicit morals of the episode tie together. He’s about to say because they often get silenced for that very reason, and we’ll learn an important lesson about pity sensationalism and marginalization and how to talk about things like how we treat minorities and-
“Because you’re all minorities. You’re in the Glee club.”
…
………….
………………….
Okay, how about fucking no.
First of all, that statement equates minority statuses- that is to say, being one minority is the same as being another. Second of all, it equates a voluntary decision (the CHOICE to join a club) with something that you are, more often than not, born with. Or at the very least, can’t take back, like joining a club. Third of all, it shows that Will LEARNED NOTHING from this week, because rather than talk about what he’s going to do to ensure more equality, he spews forth how they have to rely on and support each other because they’re minorities and that’s what you have to do because big man Will Schuester isn’t going to help them out any and oh no I’ve gone crosseyed.
Anyways, he goes on to say that it shouldn’t matter that the kids are Jewish, Latina, unable to tell their rights from their lefts. And that’s totally true- it shouldn’t matter. But that’s not what this is about, explicitly or implicitly. The problem doesn’t go away when this fact is acknowledged, and Will is just unbelievably lazy to think that this is all it’s going to take. One talk and it’s done.
April swears she’s going to quit drinking, Will.
He’s halfway through his prepared speech when he calls Quinn’s name, and Sue, who thinks this is schlock (We get a brief reaction shot of her at the start, and she is not on board with this speech), cuts through it with two words: “[Quinn] is pregnant.”
The room falls silent. The kids because they understand the implications of this statement. Will, more than likely because this is not following his script for inspiration.
Sue goes on to apologize to Quinn and tell her that it’ll be all over the blogosphere (Jacob’s blog, basically) by this afternoon, and that now everyone will know. She adds a wry, sad, “including me” at the end of that, and if ever we needed more proof that Sue’s Cheerios are protected and cared for by Sue, this would be the moment- Sue is betrayed that Quinn didn’t come to her about this. And then Sue bounces, before she has to deal with the aftermath of what she’s just done.
SLAM. Jacob’s locker. Rachel is asking how he could run the story, knowing how much pain it would cause. Um, Rachel, you knew he was willing to run the story already. You just want to know why your blackmail didn’t work.
Well, it didn’t work because Sue found your panties in Jacob’s locker, weaseled the story out of him, and out of shock and betrayal, wanted to lash out at the world. Specifically Quinn. (Bonus continuity: Tenure is mentioned here-in specifics, that Sue doesn’t have it yet, and that it exists for teachers at WMHS. So to all of you saying The Spanish Teacher made no sense: Suck it, it’s been consistent with the verse since Throwdown)
Jacob has the decency to apologize to Rachel, and we pan to Quinn and Finn standing in the hallway, Quinn crying into Finn’s chest while he brokenly tells her that it’s going to be okay, because they’re just kids and he was barely handling this before and he has no idea how to even begin to handle it now, and I just have a lot of feels for them right now, because wow that sucks. Suddenly the whole world knows, and Sue’s revoked her protection, and all Quinn has is the Glee club and Rachel told her that, but suddenly it doesn’t seem all that important to have reminded Quinn of that to put her in her place earlier this episode, because no one deserves this.
And we start to go into one of the, in my opinion, best choreographed numbers in the whole series- Keep Holding On. The choreography is simple and elegant and I just really love this number okay? Anyways, the lyrics of the song are as fitting as always- “There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can do, there’s no other way when it comes to the truth”. We got our pregnancy truth bomb dropped, and there’s nothing to do or say about it- all Quinn and Finn can do is keep holding on. But the club is there for them. “You’re not alone, together we stand.” As I’ve said before, the closing numbers are usually very, very explicit. It’s nice of Glee to do that, to make sure at least one song isn’t coded and secretive.
This number, being in black and white, is a great place to note that ND in season 1 tended to showcase how they were different- Don’t Stop has them all in jeans and red shirts, but all different styles. Here they’re all in black and white, but in all different styles. Like A Prayer- red shirts, all different styles. True Colors. Give Up the Funk, where they’re all originals for real. It’s always auditorium performances by the whole club, and never actual competition numbers- they’re all in matching costumes then. The notable exceptions to this trend season 1? Hello, Goodbye and One, both times that Rachel and Finn were at contention. Interesting.
“We’re not going to win because we’re better dancers than Vocal Adrenaline. We’re going to win because we’re different.”
I love this show.
OH MAN OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD OH MAN OH GOD. IT’S RIDE WIT ME. DEEP BREATHS.
So Ride Wit Me is the first time we see the Glee kids interacting, all as one big group, without a chaperone. Let me be clear here- the kids still don’t like each other. In fact, even next episode, when Puck is sucking Rachel’s face, he still doesn’t like her. But they sneak off to sing with each other. There’s no bones about it- the kids are joining together and singing because they miss each other. They don’t like each other unless they’re singing, so they sneak off to sing together. And honestly? These kids look happier now, unchaperoned, than they have the whole season so far.
It’s interesting to see what friendships DO exist though- Clearly Artie doesn’t hate Rachel as badly as Mercedes and Kurt do, since they jam together. Brit Brit, Tina, and Kurt get yet another background moment. Then there are the kids to jam with like, everyone- Mercedes, Mike, etc.
They even put up with each other’s lame jokes- Kurt’s comment was kind of funny, but then he kept on going, and the laughter starts getting forced- but they’re still all there for each other right now.
Anyways, Rachel takes the lead for the “White people”, and Artie for Sue’s Kids (of course). Will waltzes in right as Sue’s Kids are leaving, and gives them a cheery “I miss you guys” before getting down to business. He tells the kids that he’s found the perfect song, but Rachel of all people decides that they should talk about how the group is being split and the morale issue. If ever a moment succinctly summed up character development, it was this one (Wanting to be their friend rather than a star in The Rhodes Not Taken, changing her goal from a star to Sectionals in Vitamin D, etc.)
Will, however, is going to ignore this issue because he is playing into Sue’s hands whilst believing that he is doing the exact opposite. He tells them to stop worrying about that sort of thing because that’s JUST WHAT SUE WOULD WANT DUN DUN DUN. He goes on to try and curry more favor with the kids (“If it was up to ME, we’d all be together”), and tells them to focus on doing their song.
He further goes on to say that Sue’s kids are singing about hate, and while that’s technically true, it’s not true in the manner that Will means it here, and honestly the dude needs to learn to LISTEN to song lyrics. Just how many times does Will do this- for instance, in Ballad, when he sings Don’t Stand So Close To Me/Young Girl, where some more prudent lyric pruning would have made his intention much clearer, was that because he didn’t quite grasp the lyrics that he was singing?
So while we have Sue ostensibly singing about Hate… we have Will ostensibly singing about Love? And while Ride Wit Me is far and away the best song this episode, No Air is probably far and away the worst. What’s it about? Well, it’s SUPPOSED to be about some all consuming love, how you can’t be apart from each other, you need each other like oxygen. And while the song definitely goes there with the song- it’s basically explicit, We have longing looks and ridiculous dream sequence singing to each other down the hall moments between Finn and Rachel . But it’s kind of a grossly codependent relationship, and I can’t decide whether Finchel was supposed to be sort of not right from the beginning or if I’m letting current canon color my perceptions here.
What I DO know, is that this is just as much Will and the club as Hate On me was Sue and the club- Will needs to have performing and music in his life, and it’s a rather unhealthy relationship that he has with it- one that he fosters in his Glee club, to my dismay. Time and again Will encourages his kids to pursue performing as if that’s their only chance, only dream worth dreaming. Regardless, Will can’t live without the Glee Club (Finn is his best friend), and this song tells us that.
The best part about this song, however, is that Will is marginalizing half his club- Quinn even points this out before doing it for Sue’s agenda. Will says that if it were up to him, he’d have them all perform together, but… even with his 5 kids, he’s promoting Finn and Rachel, his perfect showchoir couple. I love how Quinn is spending the whole song glaring at the back of Finn and Rachel’s heads. Well, and Will’s. A+ Fabray. It’s even funnier because Puck and Brittany are REALLY into it.
Will, of course, thinks this is fantastic. But then Quinn busts out and into the middle of the stage and quite loudly asks “What about us? Do you expect us to just sway back here like props?” Which is a sentiment that she already felt, but is also something that Sue is using for her plan.
Which is another reason Sue’s so diabolical this episode- she’s not just playing the whole club, she’s not just intentionally doing the wrong thing despite knowing what the right thing is- she’s using complaints the club has already to further her plan. Interestingly, this means that she acknowledges more complaints the club has than Will does.
Anyways, Quinn drops a purposefully nonchalant dig at Will’s treatment of minorities to Puck and Brit Brit, and they look troubled. And then we smear into Sue’s office where she’s consoling the two for being left out for being… Jewish and Dutch. “Can you imagine in this day and age being discriminated against?” Uh… yes, Sue. Yes I can. And I’m sure a lot of these kids can too. Sue makes a big show of how they were mistreated for their minority statuses, but you can tell it’s a ruse because she wasn’t aware of Puck’s until this conversation, apparently (Who knew?), and Brit Brit can clearly be seen WTFing about the Dutch thing (Sure, Sue. THAT’S what makes Brittany a minority). So again: NOT ACTUALLY BEING ACCEPTING.
So Sue scoops two of Will’s kids. And it’s impressive considering Will’s gues as to what kids Sue would get maybe extended to 8, if we count Finn and Kurt, but Sue still managed to get 9. In your face Will.
Of note: She scoops Puck for being Jewish, but not Rachel. That’s because she knows Will, and she knows Rachel- Will has to have his golden couple front and center, and Sue used that in her plan to win Puck and Brit Brit. But he also doesn’t listen to her. Meanwhile, Rachel would have undermined Sue’s operation if she’d been one of Sue’s kids, and Sue does in fact treat her as a threat to be neutralized- better to leave her trapped under the thumb of Will Schuester.
I think that the best part of this whole thing is how it ties in later- even with only 3 kids, Schue doesn’t move things around so that all 3 are getting focus- he leaves it at the duet, leaving Quinn out on the sidelines. Marginalization. But more than that, it’s something that Will struggles with all series- he talks a big game about including everyone, but time and again it’s Finn and Rachel front and center.
Chez Schue. Terri is digging out a pregnancy pad and staring overwroughtly into the mirror. I think the fact that she’s clearly in over her head and regretting ever starting this whole thing being touched on frequently goes a long way towards making Terri sympathetic. However, this moment of introspection is going to cost her. The door opens, and Will is home, and she is looking distressingly non-preggo. She hastily puts the pad under her shirt, but it… looks like she shoved something under her shirt. Terri spends the time freaking out and trying to escape to I guess the bathroom to fix the pad. Will asks what’s for dinner, and Terri tries to brush past him and tells him to get something from takeout.
Will for his part is not going to stand for no dinner, so he grabs Terri by the “Standard Female Grab Area” (Right by the elbow), and tells her that he doesn’t expect her to cook, but he expects her to take care of dinner. Which… you know what, I don’t know what that means. I guess her asking him to call for something was too much for Will, and he wants to make sure that she calls for the food? Or something? Idk what the distinction means otherwise. I think it’s basically another one of the “I don’t want to take it out on you, Terri, I just don’t want to feel as powerless in my own home as I do at school” variant, where he’s all “I don’t want x, but I want x”. Will is confusing.
Terri, however, sees him being forceful and asks what’s up, because Will is basically a doormat (You have to be liked). Will admits that Terri told him to stand up for himself and fight dirty, and that she was right, and that that’s why he’s feeling so fired up. He thinks Sue is begging him for mercy (So, so not what Sue is doing right now), and getting a one up on her makes him feel great. Terri takes this news with some grace (“I have my moments, huh?”), and tries to walk away because as distracted as Will is, he’s still going to notice the missing baby bump at some point.
But Will drops a bomb of his own: He scheduled a meeting with Dr. Woo for that Friday, without consulting Terri, and Terri realizes that she’s in big trouble. She turns around with a forced smile, but Will is just super happy to finally meet his baby “boy”, and Terri’s troubles double because now she has to come up with a fake baby ultrasound, AND a sex change for the baby.
Will walks off after graciously telling Terri to order whatever she wants for dinner. No, wait. He tells her to order what she wants, so long as it isn’t what he DOESN’T want. Ugh. Will, stop sucking.
O FORTUNA. Another Will and Sue showdown. Will asks Sue who she thinks she is, but Sue is ready for that. She simply shoots back that now Will knows what it’s like to lose his kids too. Will tells her that he can’t do a song with three kids, which is just false, he could do a song with ONE kid, and Sue is ready for that too- she tells him that of course he can’t with an attitude like that. Sue, however, prepares to cut him a deal- her team (The Cheerios) for his (Snot faucets). In true negotiation fashion, Sue has left what his “team” actually is- whether it’s the whole club, or it’s just Puck and Brit Brit (Knowing Sue, the latter). But Schuester is done with this parley. He tells her she’ll have to pry the F’s out of his cold dead hands. And Sue tells him that she can’t wait.
Her supremely unconcerned look is probably the best part. Like Quinn, Sue is very good at taking her frothing, animal rage and hiding it behind a calm exterior. Adult kid parallels and stuff.
Dr. Woo is back! And trimming a bonsai tree. He quotes stats on doctor suicide, and then says that his bonsai relaxes him. Terri, because she wants on his good side but is not particularly sensitive, tells him that she had a huge crush on the Karate Kid (Who, you know, wasn’t actually Asian, and has nothing to do with Obstetrics, but whatever). Kendra, however, was over this conversation like, yesterday (I forget how much I love Kendra), and asks if they can cut the crap.
Woo for his part is not intimidated, and does, in fact, cut the crap. He asks why these ladies are here, since neither is preggo. And Kendra proceeds to be the worst human being in like, record time. She tells him that he delivered all three of her kids, and that they’re all stupid, ADD, and Ginger. (and if we weren’t sure that she was reducing her kids to single aspects, we need only remember that ‘Ginger’ is later on Emma’s shirt in BTW, and how being stupid and having “mental illnesses” is treated in canon.) Dr. Woo patiently tries to tell her that Red hair is a recessive gene, but Kendra believes that he gave her too much Pitocin, which screwed up her kids’ DNA. For those of us playing along at home: Pitocin is a synthetic version of Ocytocin, which is a hormone released during birth to help cause uterine contractions. It’s relatively harmless. And has nothing to do with DNA.
Woo patiently tells her that that’s not a theory, she just made that up. Which is true. Man, Woo has the patience of a saint. He then gets in a sly dig at Kendra by asking Terri if Kendra’s on any new psychotropic medication (re: Hallucinogens, Depressants, Stimulants, etc. You know. Recreation drugs, mostly), and Terri, bless her, answers honestly because she doesn’t realize what Woo just asked her. Kendra, however, does, and tells him that’s offensive. Which of course clues in Terri, who asks if she’s alright.
Kendra decides to break it down for him- Her husband is the tax guy for some midsize law firms in Lima (Probably the ONLY law firms in Lima), and she’s threatening him with a lawsuit. This tells me one of several things- Kendra has Ex-Cheerio written all over her, so it’s nice to see they still hold power in Lima. The law in Lima is basically complete shit- a law suit like this would never fly irl. Lima adults suck really really badly (But we knew that already). Woo scoffs that they’ll never win, but Kendra has already thought of that, and tells him that she doesn’t have to- There’s only two OBs in town, and she just has to raise a fuss about Woo, and then everyone will be going to Dr. Chen (Quinn’s OB, most likely). What’s sad is that this works. Woo calls it outrageous, but then capitulates to their demands. Ugh.
Smackdown time. Quinn vs. Rachel. Quinn tries to engage (With more trans jokes, wow original Fabray), but Rachel doesn’t want to have a confrontation. Quinn knows a feeble dodge when she sees one, though, and tells Rachel to step off her man. They’re having a kid together, and Rachel needs to leave Finn alone. Rachel tells her that she’s right, and that she only helped with the Jacob thing because she’s in love with Finn. And then she goes on to drop the bomb that she knows that Quinn is the one cheating, and oh goodness.
It’s pretty brilliantly staged, actually- Quinn (and the audience) immediately leap to how Quinn cheated with Puck, because they were just talking about relationships. So of course Quinn bites the bait and follows Rachel to find out what she means. If Rachel’d said anything else Quinn could have just blown her off. But of course, Rachel meant spying for Sue. Of course. She goes on to say that Quinn can deny it all she wants, but she knows it’s true. So of course Quinn denies it, because that’s going to work.
Rachel goes on to say that Sue’s not on anyone’s side but her own (Which… is stretching the truth a bit. Sue’s big on family, but it’s hard to become part of hers- I think the only students that get there are Becky and Kurt. MAYBE Brit Brit, but that’s not as in focus), and that when Sue finds out about her “situation” she’ll probably rip that uniform off Quinn in a hot second. She goes on to say that every time Quinn gives her information, she empowers Sue to do more damage to the club, which is all that Quinn has right now. She goes on to say that Quinn should recognize who her true friends are (Rachel, you just told her that you didn’t help her for her, but for Finn. You are not yet one of them), and that she should practice more, because she has a lot to express.
What’s that? Quinn has a lot that she wants to say? Why yes. Yes she does. There is in fact, a lot that Quinn wants to say that she keeps bottled up, and for various reasons. But mostly because that’s what she has to be to survive in WMHS. Quinn has a very carefully created persona that she’s used to navigate the hellhole that is Lima, but in the process it’s stripped her of her ability to honestly express herself- Lima itself has silenced her. Everyone around her has her playing a part from a script.
So of course her song here is all about that. Remember how I said Say A Little Prayer was sort of drenched in desperation? Well this song is somehow even MORE desperate. It starts right after her confrontation with Rachel, and incorporates Cheerios practice, a fantasy sequence in the auditorium, Sue, Santana, and Brittany, and Finn and Rachel in class. Essentially, she is singing this song in all walks of her life at school- ostensibly our whole world at this point, so Quinn feels the lyrics of this song can apply to her whole life. Now listen to what is being said here. “You don’t really love me, you just keep me hanging on.”
Oh, Ouch.
Essentially, the girl feels like she’s got no options, she’s not wanted anywhere, and she’s only tolerated. Given everything that we’ve learned about Quinn in the future (Lucy, Wanting a perfect thing in her life, her relationship with religion, her relationship with her family), this song makes perfect sense. But we don’t know any of that stuff yet.
This is what’s called “foreshadowing”. It’s pretty fantastically done.
But of course, this was a dream sequence- not the first one in the show, and certainly not the last one. But so far, the only people to receive one are the girls- First Rachel in Showmance (There’s no way she was singing Take A Bow in the hallway, get real), then Mercedes in Acafellas, and now… Quinn, in Throwdown.
I’m curious as to what learning to dream sequence means- It’s plot significant in most cases, and distinctly tied to character growth- Think Brittany/Britney and Brit Brit- her Brittany fantasies MEANT something (and were her first dream sequences). Think Blaine in Michael.
Food for thought at least.
Anyways, the sequence ends, and Quinn tells everyone to take 5. Leaving her standing all alone out in the middle of the field. You know who else has a moment like this? Puck, in Preggers. Being popular sucks, doesn’t it. It means you’re playing by a script instead of doing or saying what you want, at least at WMHS.
Auditorium. Rachel has on her showface, and is wishing everyone well before the performance. Sue tells her to pipe down and sing (only not as nicely). Will tells her she can’t talk to kids like that, which is sort of patronizing, but whatever. Sue thinks it’s a crock of shit, and of course makes ridiculous faces at Will. We get a single line into the song, and Sue decides it’s time for her kids to leave.
Finn asks if there’s a fire, and Sue says there isn’t- that’s the problem. The song sucks. She goes on to start doing pity porn because she’s directly homaging (Still not sure that’s the right term) Jerry’s kids, and says it’s bad enough her kids are living in squalor, but they don’t need to be bored to death too. Mercedes tells her that her dad is, in fact, a dentist (Highest suicide rate for a medical professional. I wonder why we had that anecdote and then this one), but Sue is actually ignoring the students she is “championing”- once again underscoring how rotten her whole stance is.
And then we get to Sue and Will yelling at each other. Only it’s not in slowmo at the start, and it’s basically the two of them ripping into each other over all the things that suck about each other- and to be completely honest, the kids were over this like, forever ago. So Finn calls out “enough”, and the kids dogpile on the adults- this minority business is crap, they hate them fighting, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy, etc. So all the kids flounce (Notably, Puck, Matt, and Mike still have to carry Artie in and out of the Auditorium), leaving Sue and Will standing sheepishly by themselves in the auditorium.
Woo’s office. Schue is wondering what the Vagina Screen is doing up, since he’s seen it before, and he’s testy from school and once again letting it bleed over into his home life. Woo tells him it’s standard operating procedure (I’ve never been to on Obstetrician, but I’m gonna guess that no, no it isn’t). Then he pointedly asks if Mr. Schue is upset. Because even though he’s being blackmailed, he doesn’t want to like it. Mr. Schue just says work sucked, but Terri wants him to forget about school for like 5 seconds, and girl has a point- Will is kind of married to his job.
Will apologizes, and then asks them to have a DVD of the proceedings. Woo looks annoyed, but goes over to get one. It’s all very transparent and obviously off, the whole sequence here, but for once Will’s obliviousness is useful to someone- Terri gets this whole thing to go off without a hitch. Woo spends the whole time being flip and sullen, and prompting Terri and being prompted by her, but we basically finally get to the point where Will is staring at the sonogram of his daughter, and he starts to cry.
Terri thinks it’s because Will wanted a boy and is now getting a girl, but Will is too busy being in awe of the miracle of life- he’s just too happy that they’re finally getting a child of their own. He’s overjoyed. And as weirdly bad a person Will is, I think he’d give his kids the moon, and I can’t decide whether that would balance out or not. Suffice to say, Terri seizes on this chance as quickly as she can- She wants him to remember this moment, because in this moment, they were happy and wanted for nothing. It’s all very touching, and it sucks that Terri actually really cares for Will, even if in her own twisted way, and it’s all gone to crap over a situation that originally wasn’t her fault (The hysterical pregnancy. The lying about it was totally her fault).
Sue’s office. Will comes in to talk to Sue about the auditorium debacle. Sue wanted to come talk to Will too, but she “has no idea where his office is” (This, in case we are not aware, is a lie- Will’s office is ATTACHED TO THE CHOIR ROOM. But more specifically, it’s a tailored lie- it’s a lie to make it seem as though Will respects Sue more than she respects him, because he went to the trouble of figuring out where her office is, which she didn’t. It firmly places Will as “beneath her”. Do we see now why Sue lies?).
She tells him that she’s stepping down from co-director, and says that Glee is “too fruity” for her. Sue says that she can’t stand the sight of kids getting emotional (unless from exhaustion- I imagine she sees that a lot with her Cheerios), and Will, because he and Sue are weird inverses and therefore very much alike, knows that she means the kids sticking up for Glee club in the auditorium and not the kids expressing themselves via music. Sue agrees, then asks if she can be kept on in an advisory position. You know, show her your setlists and stuff, no big deal, it’s not like she was out to get you fired or take your job or ruin your club to reclaim her budget or anything. And Will, the gullible idiot, agrees.
We get another piece of dubious past regarding Sue (She was a VJ for a few years, apparently), and Will asks why he feels like this is a trap. Uh, because it is? Sue tells him it’s because he doesn’t trust her, which is also true, but not as damning to Sue- in fact, it puts it all back on Will, instead of Sue. It’s rather clever. She goes on to say that she knows she has extreme methods (I’ll say), and that she doesn’t care about the kids’ feelings, but she cares about teaching.
And that’s one of the truest things Sue has said since the series started. Time and again, Sue is all about having people learn lessons. It’s just not always a nice lesson. But she genuinely cares about her students (just not about being nice to them). Enough to research statistics about arts and sports. Enough to change the school lunches to be healthier. Enough to take slushies out of kids’ hands, to extend an aegis to students wearing her uniforms. I honestly think Sue’s a good teacher (And person, under that crusty exterior. But everyone in Glee is one of these under it all, because everyone in life is one). Just not a nice, or forgiving, or conventional one. (Or, occasionally, legal one).
Sue also loves winning, of course.
Will agrees, and then says “Who’s to say that everything I do is 100% on the ball”, which is just a gross generalization- people in the world seem to have a problem with being wrong, or in the wrong, and I think that’s weird, because we’re wrong about so much that getting upset over it would probably just ruin life for me, but whatever. Sue immediately responds “no one would say that”, which Will takes as I guess an insult instead of a fact of life, so whatever. Will tells her that he thinks it was right to shine the spotlight on the fact that all the kids are minorities.
Oh goodie, Glee is finally having the explicit and implicit morals of the episode tie together. He’s about to say because they often get silenced for that very reason, and we’ll learn an important lesson about pity sensationalism and marginalization and how to talk about things like how we treat minorities and-
“Because you’re all minorities. You’re in the Glee club.”
…
………….
………………….
Okay, how about fucking no.
First of all, that statement equates minority statuses- that is to say, being one minority is the same as being another. Second of all, it equates a voluntary decision (the CHOICE to join a club) with something that you are, more often than not, born with. Or at the very least, can’t take back, like joining a club. Third of all, it shows that Will LEARNED NOTHING from this week, because rather than talk about what he’s going to do to ensure more equality, he spews forth how they have to rely on and support each other because they’re minorities and that’s what you have to do because big man Will Schuester isn’t going to help them out any and oh no I’ve gone crosseyed.
Anyways, he goes on to say that it shouldn’t matter that the kids are Jewish, Latina, unable to tell their rights from their lefts. And that’s totally true- it shouldn’t matter. But that’s not what this is about, explicitly or implicitly. The problem doesn’t go away when this fact is acknowledged, and Will is just unbelievably lazy to think that this is all it’s going to take. One talk and it’s done.
April swears she’s going to quit drinking, Will.
He’s halfway through his prepared speech when he calls Quinn’s name, and Sue, who thinks this is schlock (We get a brief reaction shot of her at the start, and she is not on board with this speech), cuts through it with two words: “[Quinn] is pregnant.”
The room falls silent. The kids because they understand the implications of this statement. Will, more than likely because this is not following his script for inspiration.
Sue goes on to apologize to Quinn and tell her that it’ll be all over the blogosphere (Jacob’s blog, basically) by this afternoon, and that now everyone will know. She adds a wry, sad, “including me” at the end of that, and if ever we needed more proof that Sue’s Cheerios are protected and cared for by Sue, this would be the moment- Sue is betrayed that Quinn didn’t come to her about this. And then Sue bounces, before she has to deal with the aftermath of what she’s just done.
SLAM. Jacob’s locker. Rachel is asking how he could run the story, knowing how much pain it would cause. Um, Rachel, you knew he was willing to run the story already. You just want to know why your blackmail didn’t work.
Well, it didn’t work because Sue found your panties in Jacob’s locker, weaseled the story out of him, and out of shock and betrayal, wanted to lash out at the world. Specifically Quinn. (Bonus continuity: Tenure is mentioned here-in specifics, that Sue doesn’t have it yet, and that it exists for teachers at WMHS. So to all of you saying The Spanish Teacher made no sense: Suck it, it’s been consistent with the verse since Throwdown)
Jacob has the decency to apologize to Rachel, and we pan to Quinn and Finn standing in the hallway, Quinn crying into Finn’s chest while he brokenly tells her that it’s going to be okay, because they’re just kids and he was barely handling this before and he has no idea how to even begin to handle it now, and I just have a lot of feels for them right now, because wow that sucks. Suddenly the whole world knows, and Sue’s revoked her protection, and all Quinn has is the Glee club and Rachel told her that, but suddenly it doesn’t seem all that important to have reminded Quinn of that to put her in her place earlier this episode, because no one deserves this.
And we start to go into one of the, in my opinion, best choreographed numbers in the whole series- Keep Holding On. The choreography is simple and elegant and I just really love this number okay? Anyways, the lyrics of the song are as fitting as always- “There’s nothing you can say, nothing you can do, there’s no other way when it comes to the truth”. We got our pregnancy truth bomb dropped, and there’s nothing to do or say about it- all Quinn and Finn can do is keep holding on. But the club is there for them. “You’re not alone, together we stand.” As I’ve said before, the closing numbers are usually very, very explicit. It’s nice of Glee to do that, to make sure at least one song isn’t coded and secretive.
This number, being in black and white, is a great place to note that ND in season 1 tended to showcase how they were different- Don’t Stop has them all in jeans and red shirts, but all different styles. Here they’re all in black and white, but in all different styles. Like A Prayer- red shirts, all different styles. True Colors. Give Up the Funk, where they’re all originals for real. It’s always auditorium performances by the whole club, and never actual competition numbers- they’re all in matching costumes then. The notable exceptions to this trend season 1? Hello, Goodbye and One, both times that Rachel and Finn were at contention. Interesting.
“We’re not going to win because we’re better dancers than Vocal Adrenaline. We’re going to win because we’re different.”
I love this show.