Yes, the choreography for "Cool" is the best this show has seen in a long time, if not ever. (I'm still waiting for a Harry/HeMo duet. When they were featured in Regionals or whatever they didn't perform a routine so much as fifty billion tricks, which is better than nothing but not exactly what I wanted.) They only had four hours to rehears the routine? Damn, props to them, especially Harry! You could tell he lacked the insane technical training the other dancers had, but he pulled off some very difficult tricks very well.
I thought Mercedes was in the wrong when she gave Mr. Schue attitude. Her intentions were fine, and Schue needed a wake-up call about how he never really gave her the same spotlight he did to Rachel, but I don't think you should that much disrespect to your teacher - no matter how incompetent or shitty they may be. I also didn't like her "you're making me look bad!" complaint when she was struggling with the dance move. I'd rather she acknowledged that it was a weak point for her than try to shift the blame over to someone else. That said, everything else she did that episode I am fine with. Yes, she deserves to have her time in the spotlight, and no, she was not getting it before. Yes, she is talent competition for Rachel and should be treated as such rather than a backup singer while Rachel gets 90% of the solos. Yes, double-casting one role while happily single-casting the others, even when the other male lead had more than one person auditioning, smacks of indecision and taking the easy way out. If you're going to double cast for one role, you better double cast for at least every other role that had multiple auditions, or it will reek of favoritism. Frankly, if Kurt got upset over the double-casting whilst he got shunted off into a lesser role I would support him.
It surprises me a little that Harry hadn't heard of some of the moves. He's always had quite good technique in the simple dance numbers before - although when he's off on his own with HeMo, I do notice that the difference in technical experience does show - so I assumed he'd taken ballet and jazz classes. Although I suppose for some of the more wildly French terms it'd be confusing if you hadn't previously seen it. I'm not gonna lie, I've been disappointed by Zach's choreography before - especially "Thriller/Heads Will Roll": when the spazzy editing was taken away, the choreography was painfully simple especially considering they had professional dancers at their disposal - but this one was much better. It seems to me that Zach is better doing jazzy/Broadway numbers rather than pop. Which is fine, because jazzy/Broadway is more in tune with a show choir anyway.
Yes! I don't understand why HeMo hasn't done any jazz/ballet/contemporary dances. I understand that vocally she is behind the other girls and is best suited for pop numbers which are less challenging, but that doesn't mean she can't do a great jazzy or lyrical performance to someone else singing. I don't understand why they haven't tapped into that; she's incredibly talented, and it'd be refreshing to see that style of dance on the show.
Mercedes was definitely a brat to Will, and I wished she'd handled her frustration with the Glee club's favoritism of Rachel better. I will cut her slack, though, because she reacted much in the way a frustrated teenager would react (save Mike, probably, who was raised in a strict Asian household and probably has respect toward one's elders hardwired into his brain). And for all the bratty attitude she gave, she got plenty of retaliation from it so I'm fine with it. Like when Kurt was being a bratty teenager last season, the only thing that bothered me about it was that he wasn't called out on it nearly as much as he should have been. The kids on this show are certainly allowed to have bratty outbursts, so long as they are later forced to acknowledge their missteps and show growth.
Yeah, I didn't like how no one argued that Rachel and Mercedes had performed equally well. I certainly felt Mercedes's performance was more genuine - although this could be because I'm well attuned to Rachel/Lea's look-sad-while-crying, belt-out-a-note-and-squeeze-eyes-shut, now-sing-with-eyes-open-and-filled-with-tears routine and I can't even tell when she means it anymore (hell, I can't even tell if it's supposed to be a Rachel thing or if this is just what Lea herself does) - so I personally liked Mercedes's solo better. Although, if it were a callback wouldn't they want them to sing one of Maria's songs? So they could judge not on vocal talent/emoting/etc, but rather on who portrays Maria better? Hell, maybe even have a duet with a Tony hopeful - or Artie, even, who can certainly sing Tony's part on the fly. But anyway, I didn't like that no one tried to argue that Mercedes wasn't better. It just validated Mercedes's motives for turning down the role - not only to Mercedes, but to the audience as well. I get that it allows Rachel to be backed into a corner of uncertainty that she's never experienced before - awarded a role she doesn't entirely deserve, running for President at the cost of putting her closest relationships on shaky ground, and the overwhelming uncertainty of getting into that fine arts school looming over her head - but it doesn't exactly make me feel sorry for her. Well, the fine arts school, sure, but the Maria bit and the President candidacy? She mostly dug her own grave with those.
I thought Mercedes was in the wrong when she gave Mr. Schue attitude. Her intentions were fine, and Schue needed a wake-up call about how he never really gave her the same spotlight he did to Rachel, but I don't think you should that much disrespect to your teacher - no matter how incompetent or shitty they may be. I also didn't like her "you're making me look bad!" complaint when she was struggling with the dance move. I'd rather she acknowledged that it was a weak point for her than try to shift the blame over to someone else. That said, everything else she did that episode I am fine with. Yes, she deserves to have her time in the spotlight, and no, she was not getting it before. Yes, she is talent competition for Rachel and should be treated as such rather than a backup singer while Rachel gets 90% of the solos. Yes, double-casting one role while happily single-casting the others, even when the other male lead had more than one person auditioning, smacks of indecision and taking the easy way out. If you're going to double cast for one role, you better double cast for at least every other role that had multiple auditions, or it will reek of favoritism. Frankly, if Kurt got upset over the double-casting whilst he got shunted off into a lesser role I would support him.
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Yes! I don't understand why HeMo hasn't done any jazz/ballet/contemporary dances. I understand that vocally she is behind the other girls and is best suited for pop numbers which are less challenging, but that doesn't mean she can't do a great jazzy or lyrical performance to someone else singing. I don't understand why they haven't tapped into that; she's incredibly talented, and it'd be refreshing to see that style of dance on the show.
Mercedes was definitely a brat to Will, and I wished she'd handled her frustration with the Glee club's favoritism of Rachel better. I will cut her slack, though, because she reacted much in the way a frustrated teenager would react (save Mike, probably, who was raised in a strict Asian household and probably has respect toward one's elders hardwired into his brain). And for all the bratty attitude she gave, she got plenty of retaliation from it so I'm fine with it. Like when Kurt was being a bratty teenager last season, the only thing that bothered me about it was that he wasn't called out on it nearly as much as he should have been. The kids on this show are certainly allowed to have bratty outbursts, so long as they are later forced to acknowledge their missteps and show growth.
Yeah, I didn't like how no one argued that Rachel and Mercedes had performed equally well. I certainly felt Mercedes's performance was more genuine - although this could be because I'm well attuned to Rachel/Lea's look-sad-while-crying, belt-out-a-note-and-squeeze-eyes-shut, now-sing-with-eyes-open-and-filled-with-tears routine and I can't even tell when she means it anymore (hell, I can't even tell if it's supposed to be a Rachel thing or if this is just what Lea herself does) - so I personally liked Mercedes's solo better. Although, if it were a callback wouldn't they want them to sing one of Maria's songs? So they could judge not on vocal talent/emoting/etc, but rather on who portrays Maria better? Hell, maybe even have a duet with a Tony hopeful - or Artie, even, who can certainly sing Tony's part on the fly. But anyway, I didn't like that no one tried to argue that Mercedes wasn't better. It just validated Mercedes's motives for turning down the role - not only to Mercedes, but to the audience as well. I get that it allows Rachel to be backed into a corner of uncertainty that she's never experienced before - awarded a role she doesn't entirely deserve, running for President at the cost of putting her closest relationships on shaky ground, and the overwhelming uncertainty of getting into that fine arts school looming over her head - but it doesn't exactly make me feel sorry for her. Well, the fine arts school, sure, but the Maria bit and the President candidacy? She mostly dug her own grave with those.
Wow, those turned into giant walls of text. Lol.
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