Liz's Instant Glee-Cap - 5x09 - Frenemies
We're back! We made it through the Epic Winter Hiatus of Our Discontent! And here I am, attempting to recap from 1994 at my in-laws' house with NO DVR. NO PAUSE OR REWIND. SO MANY COMMERCIALS. Oh god, it was brutal. Okay, fine, it wasn't. It was actually kind of fun to just watch and not try to write. But anyways, you're getting more of an instant reaction than a recap, since this is simply my memory.
I am SO not surprised that Brad Buecker directed, because I was enthralled from the beginning. I tried not to get my hopes up for a spectacular episode, feeling so desperate after a whopping 11 weeks away. Really, I just wanted it to not suck. But my gut reaction is that I really really liked it.
Frenemy pair the first: I loved Tina & Artie, two characters in it for the long haul but never get the spotlight. LOVED all of the brutal honesty once they were placed in direct competition with one another.
Will there be something to Tina's accusations about Artie's relationship with Kitty, or is she just lashing out? Hmmm.
The En Vogue sing-off made me laugh so hard, even (maybe especially) Schue's time to break it down. Of course, it ended not at all funny when Tina knocked Artie all the way out of his chair.
The melodrama of their speeches was a riot, though I think their reconciliation was the most rushed. Then again, their conflict was the most fleeting, so oh well.
Frenemy pair the second: Rachel vs. Santana is an EPIC clash of egos. Rachel on the cusp of stardom is so perfectly manic, and I don't blame her for grabbing onto it with both hands and trying not to let go. Directionless, frustrated Santana is so sick of Rachel's shit, and Santana KNOWS she's got the talent, too. Even if it's different from Rachel's. Santana sounded amazing, but I don't blame Rachel for feeling so threatened and ripshit pissed off. Even if casting Santana as understudy in that role is totally far fetched, I like forcing them to be tied together. I like, honestly, that they questioned their friendship. Ultimately, I do think they have an unlikely bond. But I don't think they're wrong to doubt it.
Frenemies the third: KURT. OMG KURT. I loved the phone conversation, and if we could get one of those every episode until they are finally together, I will be a happy girl. And hell, I'd feel threatened if Adam Lambert was in my band, too. His attempt at pretending to be Elliot's BFF cracked me up.
And that SONG. Ridiculous setup/intro in the guitar song, but if don't care. Can we please have more of them in places with lots of scaffolding? Kthxbai. Those are two sexy bitches, damn.
Elliot, speaking of sexy. Hot damn. And dude, I don't blame you for maybe having a thing for Kurt Hummel. I'm not sure how or why he doesn't have men throwing themselves at his feet.
I said when Elliot showed up that I didn't really want him to randomly inject relationship woes for Klaine. This is a way in which I'll accept it, because Kurt is so clearly oblivious to it and so clearly platonic from his end (for now? SPOILER-FREE, THANKS). And, frankly, I have no worries that Klaine is going anywhere, so a bit of angst and drama doesn't get me too nervous.
Which doesn't mean I want to downplay Blaine's reaction to Kurt and Elliot's selfie. He looked like he was trying so hard not to freak out, and I'm dying to see what happens next. Will he say something to Kurt, and if so, how will Kurt react? Or will he bottle it up and pretend it's nothing? I can't wait. I'm mildly surprised that Kurt was seemingly so oblivious about the little smooch, so I'm also interested to see if we find out what he's thinking is or isn't going on there.
And OF COURSE they magically made Blaine valedictorian. Tina and Artie's reaction cracked me up. And OF COURSE he'd like to sing instead of giving a speech. Oh, Blaine.
So, um has Dani completely disappeared? I guess I don't want the answer to that in the sense that I don't want spoilers, but...?
One last thought from the top of my head, before I attempt to peek at Tumblr. I can often be pretty picky about which songs I'll download. I mean, Kurt or Blaine songs are nearly automatic! but otherwise less so. I actually enjoyed a lot of these songs, even with character pairings that aren't my usual cup of tea. So I suspect a bunch of these will end up in my iTunes library when I finally get back to my home computer.
That's all for tonight, friends. I hope those thoughts were even remotely coherent. Back to our usually-scheduled recapping next week!