Glee 5x04 "A Katy or a Gaga"
I found this episode to be a whiplash-inducing combination of charming and... not. I am perfectly willing to concede that my reaction may have less to do with the ep itself than with my own personal tastes; I don't like Katy Perry's songs unless Blaine (or Darren) is singing them, and thus far the only Lady Gaga song I've liked is "Born This Way," so I was decidedly not the target audience for this ep.
That said, the parts that I did like, I liked a lot. I loved that Kurt's starting a band, I loved that Santana and Dani are excited about the band, and I was shrieking with delighted laughter at the contrast between Santana's and Kurt's reactions to the Starchild audition. I appreciate that the show's letting Kurt wish, just a little bit, to be more mainstream, and I'm glad that Rachel insists that staying true to his fabulous self is the way to go. Blaine being a proud Katy Perry and Marley and Unique being BFF-y were my favorite aspects of the McKinley bits of the ep. Starchild-turned-Elliot is charming, and he and Kurt are adorable; I was amused by Santana's pointed mention that Kurt has a fiancé. I didn't read Kurt as flirtatious there, and I'm not convinced Santana did either, but she makes sure Elliot knows what's up; I approve. I also approve of the band hanging out in the Bushwick loft and chatting. More of this, please!
I was annoyed-verging-on-angry that Kurt didn't get a single line in the performance of the band he started, but this is typical of Glee; Kurt's honored in absentia as McKinley's biggest Gaga, which apparently this week is an awesome thing to be, but how often did he get solos when he was actually at McKinley? Especially in competition performances? Mm-hmm.
Most of the rest of the ep I found either boring (Jake, Bree, Will, Sue, Sam/Penny -- I love Sam, but Sam/Penny is a big DO NOT WANT for me for sooooo many reasons), irritating (Will suspended Marley? really? REALLY?) or cringeworthy (everything about "Applause" and the McKinley half of "Roar" -- what are those, diapers? and what is up with that choreography?). But, again, some of that's probably just me, and some of it should probably be attributed to overly high expectations; the problem with hiatus is always that I get to spend weeks focusing on my favorite elements of the show (in the form of fic, gifsets, etc.), which allows me to forget that, fond as I am of the show, it is seldom a whirlwind of nonstop awesome for me. I've recalibrated now, so next week should be a better experience.
As usual, I am unspoiled for all upcoming episodes and would like to remain that way, so please: no spoilers (including casting spoilers), song titles, episode titles, info from promos or interviews, etc.
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