Glee Rewatch 2014: Bash
Things that happened:
1. This episode isn't bad, but it is so frustrating in what it doesn't give us.
2. No One Is Alone is so pretty. The three part harmonies absolutely slay me.
3. (But why is Sam there? Or rather, why are Mercedes and Artie not there?)
4. I'm a broken record, but the way Chris tells a story with his face is amazing. He looks like he's about to cry and we don't even know (explicitly) why.
5. I keep wondering why the scene between Rachel and Sydney separates them by mesh. I want to know what that means.
6. That is a massive bowl of cereal, Sam.
7. Sam and Blaine canonically read fanfic. Good to know.
8. MERCEDES HE HAS MILK AND CEREAL ALL OVER HIS FACE, WHY.
9. So Mercedes is basically the only person who has friends outside of the main cast of the show.
10. Oh, Sam, why. I am those girls.
11. I love how this number lets Rachel and Blaine shine at their most crazily diva-est.
12. But you can totally tell that Tibideaux isn't impressed. (Blaine is so embarrassed afterwards. Even when Rachel argues he doesn't say a word, he just shuts his mouth and won't meet anyone's eyes. He's not used to his performances going wrong.) (...You know, besides the Gap Attack.)
13. "You don't listen and you don't take direction." Very true.
14. I mean really, Rachel should have deferred her schooling from the moment she got the show. It was her own ambition that made her think that she could handle so many full time responsibilities at once - and perhaps her naivete. She hasn't yet learnt how to be sensible in the real world, how to act adult by being realistic. Which maybe, more than anything, shows the ways in which she is 'not ready'.
15. I feel like I probably shouldn't say anything about the whole Mercedes/Sam conflict, being white. What Mercedes says makes a lot of sense, although I feel there are valid counter-arguments that Sam failed to make.
16. "A dean who doesn't like or support me..." Sweetie, she admitted you to NYADA on a second invalid audition and gave you a spot in the Winter Showcase. You were one of her favourites, and you let her down.
17. "...grow up and be an adult." And the interesting thing here is the ways in which Rachel's own actions are expressions of immaturity, not the opposite like she thinks.
18. Oh no.
19. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
20. This is supposed to be my happy show. /o\
21. That red scarf around his neck is incredibly striking. A slash of red blood.
22. "It's really hard to be a straight white male these days."
23. And they're in the loft just... because...?
24. Very interesting cinematography here. The way they cut the faces is very jarring and unsettling. And that red flashing light.
25. "If you'd been with him he would have done the same thing." And that's important - because Rachel thinks that calling Kurt 'safe' was what spurred him into action to prove her wrong, but Blaine thinks that he would have done it anyway. Because fighting for what he thinks is right is an integral part of Kurt's character, and he never has been safe, not really. And if you watch that scene, you can see that there's really no hesitation before he jumps right in. He doesn't think it over, he just goes straight in. It's not about risks - it's not about him at all. It's about helping that person.
26. Oh Blaine. The way he curls up in bed with him, has his arm almost protectively over his body. That's his heart on the hospital bed there.
27. Colorblind is an original song, so good on Amber Riley (and it's a great song too), but it's still so fucking frustrating to have to watch this scene when all I want to know about is Kurt. The pacing just feels wrong - we've gone from Kurt unconscious from morphine in a hospital bed, and now we're back to the Samcedes drama? And they do the whole song too, while Nothing's Gonna Harm You went for like a minute and we didn't even get to see most of Blaine's initial reaction. They cut so much important stuff to promote Amber. It's just frustrating, and the change in dynamic so does not work. Like, okay, interracial relationships is a valid talking point, but Kurt being bashed is a much more immediate plotline and needed more focus to be done justice without making it seem like it was brushed aside. But instead, we got this as our A plot, and it just does not work for me.
28. "I played football, Kurt!" "So did I."
29. "I don't know what his story is, I only know what mine is, and I've been fighting those guys for a really long time." Reasons why this whole thing was not about taking risks. ("I'm not afraid of you!")
30. Burt. *hugs*
31. Kurt is Burt's son. <3
32. In the scene where they go to visit the shrine again, it sort of looks like Kurt is limping. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but if not then good work to Chris for that little addition.
33. Blaine needs physical contact to feel okay again.
34. Kurt, on the other hand, needs space.
35. First Kurt solo of the season!
36. (Sometimes I get annoyed at how few solos Kurt has, but then I remember how Chris, and by proxy Kurt, generally likes to use them as a big scene to express some serious emotional storytelling, which makes his songs rarely less than spectacular. That makes me feel a little better, much as I want to hear his voice on every song ever.)
37. There is a moment, just as Kurt turns around, and his face... I don't even know how to describe it. It is calm, and sure, and content. Kurt Hummel knows who he is, and he is not afraid. This encounter hasn't broken him, but strengthened him. That is the face of a person who has walked through the flames, and learnt a lot, and made it out on the other side.The way Chris tells stories with his face in just a single second... I cannot.
38. Oh, Burt singing along. <3 I wonder how many times he heard this song wafting up out of his basement when Kurt was still at home.
39. Kurt Hummel is still here.
Songs
No One is Alone
Grade: A+
Download: Yes
You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)
Grade: B+
Download: No
Broadway Baby
Grade: A
Download: Yes
Not While I'm Around
Grade: B+
Download: No
Colorblind
Grade: B
Download: No
I'm Still Here
Grade: A
Download: Yes
- Rachel is struggling to keep up with the strain of rehearsals, school and the diner. One of her assessments clashes with a tech rehearsal and so she reschedules the rehearsal to do her midterm performance, which happened to be a duet with Blaine. Only, the assignment was a solo, so they automatically fail before Tibideaux gives them another go. But Rachel can't reschedule because of tech rehearsals, and so she ends up dropping out of NYADA.
- Sam desperately wants to be with Mercedes, but she's having difficulties with the fact that he is white. She has some good points, but eventually she realises that it doesn't matter what other people think, because she wants to be with him. They officially start dating.
- Rachel and Kurt have a huge blow out when Kurt finds out about her dropping out, and she accuses him of being immature and safe. Earlier that week they'd attended a shrine thing for someone who was gay bashed, and Rachel is proven wrong when Kurt comes across another person being bashed. He runs in to intervene, and the other person runs of, leaving them to fall on him. He ends up in hospital, and exits stronger than ever.
1. This episode isn't bad, but it is so frustrating in what it doesn't give us.
2. No One Is Alone is so pretty. The three part harmonies absolutely slay me.
3. (But why is Sam there? Or rather, why are Mercedes and Artie not there?)
4. I'm a broken record, but the way Chris tells a story with his face is amazing. He looks like he's about to cry and we don't even know (explicitly) why.
5. I keep wondering why the scene between Rachel and Sydney separates them by mesh. I want to know what that means.
6. That is a massive bowl of cereal, Sam.
7. Sam and Blaine canonically read fanfic. Good to know.
8. MERCEDES HE HAS MILK AND CEREAL ALL OVER HIS FACE, WHY.
9. So Mercedes is basically the only person who has friends outside of the main cast of the show.
10. Oh, Sam, why. I am those girls.
11. I love how this number lets Rachel and Blaine shine at their most crazily diva-est.
12. But you can totally tell that Tibideaux isn't impressed. (Blaine is so embarrassed afterwards. Even when Rachel argues he doesn't say a word, he just shuts his mouth and won't meet anyone's eyes. He's not used to his performances going wrong.) (...You know, besides the Gap Attack.)
13. "You don't listen and you don't take direction." Very true.
14. I mean really, Rachel should have deferred her schooling from the moment she got the show. It was her own ambition that made her think that she could handle so many full time responsibilities at once - and perhaps her naivete. She hasn't yet learnt how to be sensible in the real world, how to act adult by being realistic. Which maybe, more than anything, shows the ways in which she is 'not ready'.
15. I feel like I probably shouldn't say anything about the whole Mercedes/Sam conflict, being white. What Mercedes says makes a lot of sense, although I feel there are valid counter-arguments that Sam failed to make.
16. "A dean who doesn't like or support me..." Sweetie, she admitted you to NYADA on a second invalid audition and gave you a spot in the Winter Showcase. You were one of her favourites, and you let her down.
17. "...grow up and be an adult." And the interesting thing here is the ways in which Rachel's own actions are expressions of immaturity, not the opposite like she thinks.
18. Oh no.
19. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
20. This is supposed to be my happy show. /o\
21. That red scarf around his neck is incredibly striking. A slash of red blood.
22. "It's really hard to be a straight white male these days."
23. And they're in the loft just... because...?
24. Very interesting cinematography here. The way they cut the faces is very jarring and unsettling. And that red flashing light.
25. "If you'd been with him he would have done the same thing." And that's important - because Rachel thinks that calling Kurt 'safe' was what spurred him into action to prove her wrong, but Blaine thinks that he would have done it anyway. Because fighting for what he thinks is right is an integral part of Kurt's character, and he never has been safe, not really. And if you watch that scene, you can see that there's really no hesitation before he jumps right in. He doesn't think it over, he just goes straight in. It's not about risks - it's not about him at all. It's about helping that person.
26. Oh Blaine. The way he curls up in bed with him, has his arm almost protectively over his body. That's his heart on the hospital bed there.
27. Colorblind is an original song, so good on Amber Riley (and it's a great song too), but it's still so fucking frustrating to have to watch this scene when all I want to know about is Kurt. The pacing just feels wrong - we've gone from Kurt unconscious from morphine in a hospital bed, and now we're back to the Samcedes drama? And they do the whole song too, while Nothing's Gonna Harm You went for like a minute and we didn't even get to see most of Blaine's initial reaction. They cut so much important stuff to promote Amber. It's just frustrating, and the change in dynamic so does not work. Like, okay, interracial relationships is a valid talking point, but Kurt being bashed is a much more immediate plotline and needed more focus to be done justice without making it seem like it was brushed aside. But instead, we got this as our A plot, and it just does not work for me.
28. "I played football, Kurt!" "So did I."
29. "I don't know what his story is, I only know what mine is, and I've been fighting those guys for a really long time." Reasons why this whole thing was not about taking risks. ("I'm not afraid of you!")
30. Burt. *hugs*
31. Kurt is Burt's son. <3
32. In the scene where they go to visit the shrine again, it sort of looks like Kurt is limping. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but if not then good work to Chris for that little addition.
33. Blaine needs physical contact to feel okay again.
34. Kurt, on the other hand, needs space.
35. First Kurt solo of the season!
36. (Sometimes I get annoyed at how few solos Kurt has, but then I remember how Chris, and by proxy Kurt, generally likes to use them as a big scene to express some serious emotional storytelling, which makes his songs rarely less than spectacular. That makes me feel a little better, much as I want to hear his voice on every song ever.)
37. There is a moment, just as Kurt turns around, and his face... I don't even know how to describe it. It is calm, and sure, and content. Kurt Hummel knows who he is, and he is not afraid. This encounter hasn't broken him, but strengthened him. That is the face of a person who has walked through the flames, and learnt a lot, and made it out on the other side.The way Chris tells stories with his face in just a single second... I cannot.
38. Oh, Burt singing along. <3 I wonder how many times he heard this song wafting up out of his basement when Kurt was still at home.
39. Kurt Hummel is still here.
Songs
No One is Alone
Grade: A+
Download: Yes
You Make Me Feel (Like a Natural Woman)
Grade: B+
Download: No
Broadway Baby
Grade: A
Download: Yes
Not While I'm Around
Grade: B+
Download: No
Colorblind
Grade: B
Download: No
I'm Still Here
Grade: A
Download: Yes