Glee Season 3 Re-watch - 3x20 - Props
LIKE WHOA, it’s an episode that has a whole lot to do with TINA! Yes, TINA! She speaks! She has thoughts! Hooray!
Actually, the long series of examples of Tina being neglected during the “what you missed on Glee” segment is kind of a riot. Poor Tina. Always the bridesmaid, huh?
But first, we start in Sue’s office, where she’s berating Kurt and Mercedes for encouraging Unique to perform as her true magical self (which was actually Sue’s idea). Turns out, she’s a star. So Sue decides they have to “fight fire with the flaming flames of additional flaming gay fire,” and Kurt’s eyeroll is epic. But that’s nothing compared to his indignation when Sue pulls out a flapper dress and insists that he perform in drag at Nationals. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he likes to dress like a woman (except for, you know, that one time at Halloween when he and Blaine dressed as Snooki and The Situation and I can’t begin to explain why that little moment makes me laugh so hard).
Back in the Rachel chronicles, she has come out of her pit of despair and has resumed a sort of grim determination to get admitted to NYADA (and nowhere else will do, apparently). This week's pep talk comes in the form of singing Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up," and ends with Rachel leaving her 14th desperate voicemail on Carmen Tibideaux's voicemail. I'm sure that's not annoying.
In the choir room, Will's Whiteboard of Truth has the topic at hand: Nationals! And for once, they actually pick a song ahead of time that they ACTUALLY USE ("Paradise by the Dashboard Light") as well as Rachel being quite certain she's going to sing "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." LIKE WHOA, they might rehearse for this competition ahead of time!
That said, Sue has decided that Kurt will perform with the Troubletones as Porcelina ("not gonna happen, dragon lady"), and that they will do "What a Feeling" from Flashdance, complete with welding helmets and legwarmers. Props, says Sue, is where it's at. Will wants to win, dangit, and everyone had better be ready to work.
At which point Tina decides to storm the hell out. She is sick of just being a human prop to these people (oh, they keep saying the thing!). Rachel isn't the only talented singer, dammit, maybe the rest of them would like a shot at something. And just to add insult to injury, Mike follows her out and tells her how disappointed he is in her, and that she's being selfish. Tina has a point: when Rachel stands up and demands solos, she's "claiming her stardom." When Tina does it, it's selfish.
As if Tina didn't have quite enough smoke coming out of her ears, Rachel comes out to lay it on a little thicker. In her ever-so-Rachel way, she talks a mile a minute about how much this means to her future and everyone needs to do their part. Tina is not having it. She was one of the originals, dammit, "singing 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat' while Finn and Puck were still throwing slushies at us." Just once, she'd like the spotlight and the standing ovation. Next year, says everyone. Just wait until next year, when you're a senior.
Oh, poor Tina. I wish I could tell you that this promise of “next year” will actually happen. *sigh*
Anyways, she's continuing to fume at the mall with a few bolts of fabric, angrily texting Mike when she runs into Kurt and Blaine taking a snack break in the massaging chairs. She's so distracted by her rage that she trips right into a fountain and smacks her head underwater. Kurt and Blaine come to pull her out, but then things go all kinds of crazy.
Oh, that's right, it's body-swap time. Tina is Rachel, Puck is Blaine, and Finn is Kurt. It's on like Donkey Kong, bitches.
Some of these swaps make me laugh so hard. The Artie and Santana swap is particularly breathtaking, and Mercedes as Brittany is a riot. I don't even know WHAT to do with Will in a Sue Sylvester track suit. GOD there is so much cracky amazingness in that choir room. And KURT AS FINN oh good lord. "And afterwards we're gonna make out because your boobs look slightly bigger today for some reason." OH MY GOD.
Anyways, Tina-as-Rachel bursts into a Celine Dion song, because that's what Rachel does. Complete with dress (though I can’t shake the impression that she looks like Minnie Mouse) and location change into the auditorium. She sounds good and I'm glad we get to hear Jenna Ushkowitz sing, but I'm sorry, she's not Rachel. There's a reason that Rachel is Rachel. My only real beef is that body-swapped Kurt and Blaine are more affectionate than actual Kurt and Blaine. Regardless, Tina-as-Rachel finally gets her Standing O.
Tina-as-Rachel finds Rachel-as-Tina at her locker and gives her the pep talk and the thank you she's always wanted. She appreciates Tina's work in the background, and next year will really be her turn to shine. Oh, yay. (*sigh*) Rachel-as-Tina gives a pep talk in return: keep on stalking Carmen Tibideaux until she lets you into NYADA! Huh.
Thankfully, that is the end of the bodyswap dream sequence and we're back to poor, soaked Tina at the mall and actual-Kurt-and-Blaine trying to make sure she's okay. (And bemoaning the loss of a bolt of silk charmeuse.)
Sue has them rehearsing their Flashdance number, but big shock, they can't exactly dance well with welding helmets and grinding sparks all over the place. (Though I will always love Kurt's face when he gets to do that bit...) The props are taking over the number instead of enhancing it. Sue asks Kurt yet again, and he once again refuses to perform in drag. But he does, apparently, have another idea.
We'll have to wait to find out what that idea is, though, because right now Britt, Santana, and Mercedes have come to find Coach Bieste in the teacher's lounge. They found out that she lied about leaving Cooter. She tries to brush them off with "adult relationships are complicated" and "people deserve second chances" and "he knows if he does it again, I'm leaving." But at the same time, we flash to dinnertime at Bieste's house, with Cooter screaming at her. Yeah, things haven't so much changed. The girls just want Coach Bieste to be safe, and maybe she should at least get away for a weekend and come with them to Nationals, but she pretty much tells them to butt out.
Kurt has been doing some recon on Vocal Adrenaline rehearsals (in black & white film, I'm impressed he managed to hide that camera...) and brings the footage to the club. Sue maintains that New Directions need their "Unique" factor, which can apparently only be achieved by a guy in drag.
Rachel has commandeered the entire auditorium for vocal warm-ups, when Tina finds her and shares the advice from her body-swapping dream about going to find Carmen Tibideaux and not taking no for an answer. As luck would have it, Tina has found out that Carmen is teaching a masterclass at Oberlin, and if they leave now, they can probably catch her. Tina has decided to go back to full-time supportive team-player, and to her credit, Rachel is both apologetic and grateful. Off they go.
Back in Glee rehearsal, Sue decides they need to up their props game, and has ordered little people for all of them to dance with (just... wow). But while everyone objects, in walks Puckerman in drag and a curly blonde wig, with a stage name of Lola. Mercedes's eyes are burning, and Santana is strangely turned on. Heh. But Puck is just trying to man up and take one for the team. Thankfully for everyone, Schue tells him to go get changed and they'll just work on regular choreography for now.
Puck's crappy day isn't done, though. He's minding his own business at his locker when Rick the Stick and some of his hockey douchebags come to talk smack about how Puck used to be the number one badass, and now he's showing up in drag. But that's not what gets to him. No, Puck doesn't get real mad until Rick starts talking about how Puck isn't graduating, and is a Lima Loser. Fight, dumpster, after school.
Chang-Berry road trip to Oberlin, and while it's nice to see them getting along, nothing of substance really happens in their conversation. Wedding planning, Rachel Berry the star, etc.. Tina just wants them to sing together before Rachel graduates. Okay.
Rumble at the dumpsters, Puck vs. Rick, and it's really not going well for Puck. He gets slammed around and tossed into the dumpster, and jumps out brandishing a (fake) knife. Before anything can get too ugly, Bieste arrives and breaks it up.
This scene between Bieste and Puck in the locker room is, much to my surprise, pretty awesome. Puck is completely believable in his self-destruction. He's flunking out and the writing is on the wall to become a Lima Loser, so might as well go totally nuclear on the way down. "You don't know what it's like to be worthless, to feel like nothing you do matters," he says. But, oh, Coach Bieste sure does know that feeling. "You and me, we're badasses. Nobody thinks anything hurts us." I love these two as kindred spirits, maybe the only ones who really understand each other. It really works for me.
The girls have made it to Oberlin, and Mme. Tibideaux's audible groan when Rachel shows up is priceless. She is sick and tired of Rachel thinking she's ever so much more special than the other hundreds of people she sees and hears who have the same dreams. I don't mean this as a slight against Rachel, but I do so love it when people put her in her place like this. Tina speaks up and commiserates - she knows that Rachel Berry can be an entitled pain in the ass. But she is the real deal. So says a fellow high school student, so clearly that should carry some weight for Carmen. Rachel begs once again for Carmen to come see them perform at Nationals. Carmen doesn't reject them outright, but does tell them it's time to go.
Back at the Cooter/Bieste house, Cooter-the-douchebag-Recruiter has gotten some of Shannon's favorite pizza and is trying to act contrite. But the look on her face tells us she is ALL DONE. She silently stares him down as he flops around like a fish out of water, making excuses for his behavior and hollow promises not to lose his cool again. She finally tosses the prop knife on the table, says she's been sleeping with a big kitchen knife under her pillow. He verbally flails, but she cuts it off. She's leaving. Period. She doesn't hate him, she says, but what does that say about her? Cooter is a pathetic man, pleading her not to leave. When she doesn't budge, shocker of shockers, he lashes out and yells at her, throwing pizza to the floor and practically spitting "who's gonna love you now?"
"Me," she says. God, I love Coach Bieste. Such a big heart, just wants to be loved, and so brave for standing up for herself in this moment.
You know, I'd never imagine Noah Puckerman doing a Taylor Swift song, but he and Bieste sitting on the stage of the auditorium singing "Mean" is perfectly placed. They don't sound amazing, but it really works in both style and content. Bieste doesn't explain exactly why she feels like Puck helped her out in such a major way, but she did convince the Geography teacher to let him re-take the test so he can graduate.
In costume committee, Sugar is bitching about how it's a sucky gig and maybe Rachel Berry should sew her own damn dress. But Tina has reached a new place of Zen, and their Queen Rachel Berry is practicing her solos for the benefit of all (yeah right, mainly for the benefit of Rachel, but I suppose the rest of you can hang out on her coattails from time to time), so put in the work to be a good team player and nice things will happen! Oh, Mike overhears, he's so proud that Tina has gone back to drinking the Kool-aid.
Bieste shows up in Sue's office with a suitcase, asking if she can tag along as another chaperone to Chicago. (And Sue has an actual setlist that is actually the actual songs they actually sing in the following episode! Unprecedented!) She announces that she left her schmuck of a husband, and Sue has an actual heart and gives her a hug.
Rachel is telling Finn just how awesome Tina is, and though Rachel doesn't get it, Finn makes a totally appropriate comparison to Tina being an offensive lineman doing the job so the quarterback can make the plays. Yay, thanks Tina!
And Tina finally gets her duet with Rachel, as they sing "What a Feeling" from the auditorium, through the halls, and straight onto the school bus that they're driving to Chicago for Nationals. Onward!
I’m kind of hit or miss on “Props.” I remember knowing about the bodyswap bit beforehand, and being incredibly relieved that they didn’t spend the entire episode that way. It was a funny gag, and they blessedly let it go before it got old.
And Tina... I actually really like pissed-off Tina. Everything she complains about is the truth, and everyone around her tries to shut her down for it. I like it when she gets all righteously indignant. But, then, I also like that she realizes that Rachel works hard in her own way as well, and she can appreciate that. For me, by the time the scene in costume committee comes around, she’s gone a little too far in the other direction, worshipping Queen Berry. I like it when she’s got some bite to her.
Of all the damn things, the Bieste/Puck scenes are actually my favorite in this episode. WHODA THUNK IT? I don’t actively dislike either character, but it’s not like they’re my favorites. And yet they make such sense, especially Beiste being probably the only teacher who really understands and can reach Puck. And they’re both badasses with surprisingly tender hearts.
Oh, and I finally realized why there was such shocking continuity with the Nationals setlist: when “Props” first aired, it was immediately followed that very evening by “Nationals,” so there wasn’t the usual seven days to pretend like the previous episode didn’t happen. Aha!
Anyways, not a bad episode, but not my favorite either. What did you think?
“Nationals,” ahoy!
Actually, the long series of examples of Tina being neglected during the “what you missed on Glee” segment is kind of a riot. Poor Tina. Always the bridesmaid, huh?
But first, we start in Sue’s office, where she’s berating Kurt and Mercedes for encouraging Unique to perform as her true magical self (which was actually Sue’s idea). Turns out, she’s a star. So Sue decides they have to “fight fire with the flaming flames of additional flaming gay fire,” and Kurt’s eyeroll is epic. But that’s nothing compared to his indignation when Sue pulls out a flapper dress and insists that he perform in drag at Nationals. Just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he likes to dress like a woman (except for, you know, that one time at Halloween when he and Blaine dressed as Snooki and The Situation and I can’t begin to explain why that little moment makes me laugh so hard).
Back in the Rachel chronicles, she has come out of her pit of despair and has resumed a sort of grim determination to get admitted to NYADA (and nowhere else will do, apparently). This week's pep talk comes in the form of singing Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up," and ends with Rachel leaving her 14th desperate voicemail on Carmen Tibideaux's voicemail. I'm sure that's not annoying.
In the choir room, Will's Whiteboard of Truth has the topic at hand: Nationals! And for once, they actually pick a song ahead of time that they ACTUALLY USE ("Paradise by the Dashboard Light") as well as Rachel being quite certain she's going to sing "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." LIKE WHOA, they might rehearse for this competition ahead of time!
That said, Sue has decided that Kurt will perform with the Troubletones as Porcelina ("not gonna happen, dragon lady"), and that they will do "What a Feeling" from Flashdance, complete with welding helmets and legwarmers. Props, says Sue, is where it's at. Will wants to win, dangit, and everyone had better be ready to work.
At which point Tina decides to storm the hell out. She is sick of just being a human prop to these people (oh, they keep saying the thing!). Rachel isn't the only talented singer, dammit, maybe the rest of them would like a shot at something. And just to add insult to injury, Mike follows her out and tells her how disappointed he is in her, and that she's being selfish. Tina has a point: when Rachel stands up and demands solos, she's "claiming her stardom." When Tina does it, it's selfish.
As if Tina didn't have quite enough smoke coming out of her ears, Rachel comes out to lay it on a little thicker. In her ever-so-Rachel way, she talks a mile a minute about how much this means to her future and everyone needs to do their part. Tina is not having it. She was one of the originals, dammit, "singing 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat' while Finn and Puck were still throwing slushies at us." Just once, she'd like the spotlight and the standing ovation. Next year, says everyone. Just wait until next year, when you're a senior.
Oh, poor Tina. I wish I could tell you that this promise of “next year” will actually happen. *sigh*
Anyways, she's continuing to fume at the mall with a few bolts of fabric, angrily texting Mike when she runs into Kurt and Blaine taking a snack break in the massaging chairs. She's so distracted by her rage that she trips right into a fountain and smacks her head underwater. Kurt and Blaine come to pull her out, but then things go all kinds of crazy.
Oh, that's right, it's body-swap time. Tina is Rachel, Puck is Blaine, and Finn is Kurt. It's on like Donkey Kong, bitches.
Some of these swaps make me laugh so hard. The Artie and Santana swap is particularly breathtaking, and Mercedes as Brittany is a riot. I don't even know WHAT to do with Will in a Sue Sylvester track suit. GOD there is so much cracky amazingness in that choir room. And KURT AS FINN oh good lord. "And afterwards we're gonna make out because your boobs look slightly bigger today for some reason." OH MY GOD.
Anyways, Tina-as-Rachel bursts into a Celine Dion song, because that's what Rachel does. Complete with dress (though I can’t shake the impression that she looks like Minnie Mouse) and location change into the auditorium. She sounds good and I'm glad we get to hear Jenna Ushkowitz sing, but I'm sorry, she's not Rachel. There's a reason that Rachel is Rachel. My only real beef is that body-swapped Kurt and Blaine are more affectionate than actual Kurt and Blaine. Regardless, Tina-as-Rachel finally gets her Standing O.
Tina-as-Rachel finds Rachel-as-Tina at her locker and gives her the pep talk and the thank you she's always wanted. She appreciates Tina's work in the background, and next year will really be her turn to shine. Oh, yay. (*sigh*) Rachel-as-Tina gives a pep talk in return: keep on stalking Carmen Tibideaux until she lets you into NYADA! Huh.
Thankfully, that is the end of the bodyswap dream sequence and we're back to poor, soaked Tina at the mall and actual-Kurt-and-Blaine trying to make sure she's okay. (And bemoaning the loss of a bolt of silk charmeuse.)
Sue has them rehearsing their Flashdance number, but big shock, they can't exactly dance well with welding helmets and grinding sparks all over the place. (Though I will always love Kurt's face when he gets to do that bit...) The props are taking over the number instead of enhancing it. Sue asks Kurt yet again, and he once again refuses to perform in drag. But he does, apparently, have another idea.
We'll have to wait to find out what that idea is, though, because right now Britt, Santana, and Mercedes have come to find Coach Bieste in the teacher's lounge. They found out that she lied about leaving Cooter. She tries to brush them off with "adult relationships are complicated" and "people deserve second chances" and "he knows if he does it again, I'm leaving." But at the same time, we flash to dinnertime at Bieste's house, with Cooter screaming at her. Yeah, things haven't so much changed. The girls just want Coach Bieste to be safe, and maybe she should at least get away for a weekend and come with them to Nationals, but she pretty much tells them to butt out.
Kurt has been doing some recon on Vocal Adrenaline rehearsals (in black & white film, I'm impressed he managed to hide that camera...) and brings the footage to the club. Sue maintains that New Directions need their "Unique" factor, which can apparently only be achieved by a guy in drag.
Rachel has commandeered the entire auditorium for vocal warm-ups, when Tina finds her and shares the advice from her body-swapping dream about going to find Carmen Tibideaux and not taking no for an answer. As luck would have it, Tina has found out that Carmen is teaching a masterclass at Oberlin, and if they leave now, they can probably catch her. Tina has decided to go back to full-time supportive team-player, and to her credit, Rachel is both apologetic and grateful. Off they go.
Back in Glee rehearsal, Sue decides they need to up their props game, and has ordered little people for all of them to dance with (just... wow). But while everyone objects, in walks Puckerman in drag and a curly blonde wig, with a stage name of Lola. Mercedes's eyes are burning, and Santana is strangely turned on. Heh. But Puck is just trying to man up and take one for the team. Thankfully for everyone, Schue tells him to go get changed and they'll just work on regular choreography for now.
Puck's crappy day isn't done, though. He's minding his own business at his locker when Rick the Stick and some of his hockey douchebags come to talk smack about how Puck used to be the number one badass, and now he's showing up in drag. But that's not what gets to him. No, Puck doesn't get real mad until Rick starts talking about how Puck isn't graduating, and is a Lima Loser. Fight, dumpster, after school.
Chang-Berry road trip to Oberlin, and while it's nice to see them getting along, nothing of substance really happens in their conversation. Wedding planning, Rachel Berry the star, etc.. Tina just wants them to sing together before Rachel graduates. Okay.
Rumble at the dumpsters, Puck vs. Rick, and it's really not going well for Puck. He gets slammed around and tossed into the dumpster, and jumps out brandishing a (fake) knife. Before anything can get too ugly, Bieste arrives and breaks it up.
This scene between Bieste and Puck in the locker room is, much to my surprise, pretty awesome. Puck is completely believable in his self-destruction. He's flunking out and the writing is on the wall to become a Lima Loser, so might as well go totally nuclear on the way down. "You don't know what it's like to be worthless, to feel like nothing you do matters," he says. But, oh, Coach Bieste sure does know that feeling. "You and me, we're badasses. Nobody thinks anything hurts us." I love these two as kindred spirits, maybe the only ones who really understand each other. It really works for me.
The girls have made it to Oberlin, and Mme. Tibideaux's audible groan when Rachel shows up is priceless. She is sick and tired of Rachel thinking she's ever so much more special than the other hundreds of people she sees and hears who have the same dreams. I don't mean this as a slight against Rachel, but I do so love it when people put her in her place like this. Tina speaks up and commiserates - she knows that Rachel Berry can be an entitled pain in the ass. But she is the real deal. So says a fellow high school student, so clearly that should carry some weight for Carmen. Rachel begs once again for Carmen to come see them perform at Nationals. Carmen doesn't reject them outright, but does tell them it's time to go.
Back at the Cooter/Bieste house, Cooter-the-douchebag-Recruiter has gotten some of Shannon's favorite pizza and is trying to act contrite. But the look on her face tells us she is ALL DONE. She silently stares him down as he flops around like a fish out of water, making excuses for his behavior and hollow promises not to lose his cool again. She finally tosses the prop knife on the table, says she's been sleeping with a big kitchen knife under her pillow. He verbally flails, but she cuts it off. She's leaving. Period. She doesn't hate him, she says, but what does that say about her? Cooter is a pathetic man, pleading her not to leave. When she doesn't budge, shocker of shockers, he lashes out and yells at her, throwing pizza to the floor and practically spitting "who's gonna love you now?"
"Me," she says. God, I love Coach Bieste. Such a big heart, just wants to be loved, and so brave for standing up for herself in this moment.
You know, I'd never imagine Noah Puckerman doing a Taylor Swift song, but he and Bieste sitting on the stage of the auditorium singing "Mean" is perfectly placed. They don't sound amazing, but it really works in both style and content. Bieste doesn't explain exactly why she feels like Puck helped her out in such a major way, but she did convince the Geography teacher to let him re-take the test so he can graduate.
In costume committee, Sugar is bitching about how it's a sucky gig and maybe Rachel Berry should sew her own damn dress. But Tina has reached a new place of Zen, and their Queen Rachel Berry is practicing her solos for the benefit of all (yeah right, mainly for the benefit of Rachel, but I suppose the rest of you can hang out on her coattails from time to time), so put in the work to be a good team player and nice things will happen! Oh, Mike overhears, he's so proud that Tina has gone back to drinking the Kool-aid.
Bieste shows up in Sue's office with a suitcase, asking if she can tag along as another chaperone to Chicago. (And Sue has an actual setlist that is actually the actual songs they actually sing in the following episode! Unprecedented!) She announces that she left her schmuck of a husband, and Sue has an actual heart and gives her a hug.
Rachel is telling Finn just how awesome Tina is, and though Rachel doesn't get it, Finn makes a totally appropriate comparison to Tina being an offensive lineman doing the job so the quarterback can make the plays. Yay, thanks Tina!
And Tina finally gets her duet with Rachel, as they sing "What a Feeling" from the auditorium, through the halls, and straight onto the school bus that they're driving to Chicago for Nationals. Onward!
I’m kind of hit or miss on “Props.” I remember knowing about the bodyswap bit beforehand, and being incredibly relieved that they didn’t spend the entire episode that way. It was a funny gag, and they blessedly let it go before it got old.
And Tina... I actually really like pissed-off Tina. Everything she complains about is the truth, and everyone around her tries to shut her down for it. I like it when she gets all righteously indignant. But, then, I also like that she realizes that Rachel works hard in her own way as well, and she can appreciate that. For me, by the time the scene in costume committee comes around, she’s gone a little too far in the other direction, worshipping Queen Berry. I like it when she’s got some bite to her.
Of all the damn things, the Bieste/Puck scenes are actually my favorite in this episode. WHODA THUNK IT? I don’t actively dislike either character, but it’s not like they’re my favorites. And yet they make such sense, especially Beiste being probably the only teacher who really understands and can reach Puck. And they’re both badasses with surprisingly tender hearts.
Oh, and I finally realized why there was such shocking continuity with the Nationals setlist: when “Props” first aired, it was immediately followed that very evening by “Nationals,” so there wasn’t the usual seven days to pretend like the previous episode didn’t happen. Aha!
Anyways, not a bad episode, but not my favorite either. What did you think?
“Nationals,” ahoy!