Liz's Instant Glee-Cap - 5x01 - Love, Love, Love
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE......
Oh, hey. Yeah. Glee's back!
My palms are sweating, I haven't been able to concentrate for hours. So yeah, it's cool. I shall now word- and emotion-vomit all over you. Yay!
Rachel's reading for Funny Girl, the male lead and the director are worried she's too young, especially for the romantic parts.
She overhears and is a sad panda. She sings "Yesterday" in the wings of the theater, and walks around gorgeous New York in a gorgeous fuschia jacket. The colors in this episode are incredible, though the switch from film to digital is throwing me off. It’s a very different look. Anyways, Rachel. Is she thinking about how simple life once was? I'm not sure I get it, other than it's Rachel getting a solo to start off another season, and that's where Glee ultimately hangs its hat.
Schue announces week 1 of a two-week assignment on the Beatles. People are stoked. (And the black and white pics of Ryder, Jake, Sam, and Blaine as the Fab Four are kinda doing it for me. Especially Blaine in Paul hair.) Kitty thinks the year is never ending, so say we all. She also doesn't think the Beatles are relevant. Unique doesn't really know the Beatles, she's a little on the "black" side. Do early Beatles tunes in new ways! OKAY FINE.
Kitty gets a ride with Artie and it's adorable. He's going to Brooklyn because of her intervention (whoa, Glee remembers what happened last season!) and wants to take Kitty on a date. Are we calling them Artitty? I dig it.
Wait a minute, wait a minute. We are LITERALLY pretending that "All or Nothing" didn’t happen, aren’t we. There is NOTHING of Blaine and the box behind his back. Ryder hasn’t quit, but we see nothing positive or negative between him and Unique. Right. Well, I suppose that’s one way you could go with this. (Frankly, I like to pretend it didn't happen, too.)
Artie and Kitty sing "Baby You Can Drive My Car" at the carnival, everybody's there. Bumper cars, tilt-a-whirl, skeeball. Rock on. Blaine is there. WHERE THE FUCK IS KURT? Wait, is Artie driving the bumper cars at some point?
Random Cheerio at the carnival is posting pics of Kitty and Artie, pretending she's being nice but Kitty knows she's a bitch trying to take her down. She's afraid it's going to ruin her reputation, so she proposes secret-dating. It's bullshit, but Artie doesn't call her on it, really. Say what you will, she's honest. She needs status at this school to survive.
Santana and Rachel have a job waiting tables in some mighty cute uniforms. Santana got it for her by showing the boss (GUNTHER! Glee, the Friends years, is SO ON.) her left side-boob. I like Rachel with a job, theoretically. Her dads are paying her rent, but darnit, she wants to be independent! Santana says they're basically working actresses. TRUTH.
Kurt and Blaine are having a farewell picnic at Mckinley. It's adorable, and they seem so happy, and I wish I knew how Kurt got here. Alas, it is apparently never mine to know. BUT GOD DAMN, Kurt and Blaine are actually TALKING. Blaine wants to know what the story is with Mr. New York, Kurt says there's no story. It just didn't work out. (Well, at least they didn’t forget Adam existed?)
Kurt's gonna break it down for ya, Blaine: last time you guys tried dating long-distance, you cheated. Period. Blaine says they've been through this (THEY HAVE?), he thought Kurt had basically left him. Regardless, he swears on his life he would never, EVER do it again. Kurt says he's going to make Blaine sign one of those non-cheating contracts from Oprah, but there's no heat in it. He's smiling as he says it. Blaine will sign anything you want, Kurt, just PLEEEEEEAASE take him back. They're playful and flirty and Kurt makes a face and pretends he's not sure, but he laughs and agrees to give them another try. (SQUEEEEEEEEE)
Blaine, the cupcake, naturally had a song prepared in case Kurt said yes. But the best thing EVER is that Kurt shoots him down. "No, no no, that's not going to happen. I'm not sitting down and listening to you sing to me anymore." Blaine looks a little dejected and immediately returns to his seat. Fear not, my dapper Warbler. Your beloved has something else up his sleeve.
Kurt whistles in the GODDAMN MARCHING BAND, and the two of them singing "Got To Get You Into My Life" is maybe my new favorite thing EVER. The sunglasses and bright colors, the "I don't give one single shit who's around me." Blaine scream-singing in the chorus, arms wide. Kurt darting around the band. Silly, affectionate, we’re-a-PAIR-again dancing. And a BIG ASS KISS at the end, on top of a table in the middle of the courtyard. Fuck 'em all, this is PURE JOY.
My notes as I was watching: I LOVE YOU KURT. KURT HUMMEL IS BACK BITCHES. I may have watched it three times in a row. The shades. The pants. The colors. THE KISS OH MY GOD.
Sue's back. Becky confessed about the gun and was suspended for a month. I... don't even know, man. Sue planted ridiculous evidence in Figgins' office and now she's principal. Jesus. This show is better without the adults.
Artie's sad about having Kitty ignore him in the halls even though she smooches him in the astronomy classroom. Kitty, to be honest, doesn't seem all that happy about it, either. "Hide Your Love Away" is sweet and sad and well placed. Artie does great sad love songs. They're cute, even if the secret dating is totally sketchy and hurtful. Tina notices, though. That girl gets all the gossip.
Blaine tells the choir room that he and Kurt are back together, yay! But he's going to propose, so yeah, I guess they're going there. Sam is clapping and being the best bro he can be, everyone else is silent. Naturally, Blaine is enlisting some help from New Directions AND their major canon competitors. His proposal is a cultural statement ("sure it is," says Jake) on marriage equality and the fact that we're all more alike than we are different. Oh sweet political Blaine. You're a doll. If we can get show choirs to unite, then anything’s possible.
He and Sam sing "Help," and I love LOVE any kind of Blam-based shenanigans. The entirety of New Directions run all the way to Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal, the school for the deaf, and Dalton. It is absurd and it is the cutest goddamn thing I have ever seen. Blaine's jumping on furniture at Dalton and all is right in the world. BLAM! WARBLERS! OH MY GOD. Sebastian has no hair and I didn't recognize him. I'm grinning like a FOOL.
Tina confronts Artie, wants to know if he's dating Kitty, and I love how excited she is for him. But she finds out it's a secret and calls BULLSHIT. He says butt out.
Rachel's at work, getting a text from Blaine, and here are the director and the male lead in Santana's section. Rachel takes the table and is thoroughly unprofessional and indignant, and Peter Facinelli might be the director but in my head he will ALWAYS be Mike Dexter from Can't Hardly Wait. They're not sure she's a star. Fear not, Santana's got a song to prove it.
The entire waitstaff at the diner sings "Hard Day's Night" at the drop of a hat. This is what happens when you have a lot of wannabe actors working in service professions (and this is why Glee still works in New York, dammit). It’s tons of fun. And then Rachel and Santana leave work without telling anyone because she got a text from Blaine and there's something they need to do.
Schue and Coach Roz are in Sue's office. The twist, this time, is that Sue needs EVERYONE to be winners. I guess that's the setup for this year. Greeaaattt.
Tina's ROYALLY pissed at Kitty and has decided in her very Tina way to do something about it. Artie sees it about to happen and just says "oh god no." Tina's on her soapbox. Kitty actually owns up. She's not wrong about social status, but she has decided he's worth it. SHE ACTUALLY APOLOGIZES. It's official, they're dating. Cute cute cute. Marley is vibrating with happiness, Tina remains skeptical.
Blaine has convened a meeting of the dudes in the choir room. "One of our own has turned into a mean, bitter, and angry person." TINA, they all say. She's eating her feelings by herself in the Too Young to be Bitter Club (whoa, once again Glee actually remembers something from the previous season!). Ryder, Sam, and Jake are being dopes and I LOVE them like this. I love Blaine as the exasperated leader of this motley crew. Sam says it's Blaine's fault that Tina's bitter, but he'll help.
Figgins is the janitor, for the love. Sue torments him, because what the hell. Nasty meat I don't even know what the fuck. I guess this is the new rivalry for this season? Don't. Care.
Tina comes into the auditorium and it’s BLAINE AS PAUL. JAKE IS HALF-BLACK JOHN LENNON. I can't even. They're singing "I Saw Her Standing There" for Tina. This is the goofiest intervention Glee has ever staged. I'm dying with Blaine’s accent and hair. The girls are all decked out (Marley and Unique are my favorites) and screaming and it's cute as hell. Though I wish Jake wouldn't pretend to play guitar. They saw she was lonely and sad, and they all offer to be her prom date, she chooses Sam because he's the least gay and least Asian. Cuteness all around.
BURT IS DRIVING KURT TO HIS SURPRISE PROPOSAL AND KURT KNOWS AND LOOKS LIKE HE'S GOING TO BARF.
Dude. It's Burt Hummel. EVERYTHING is better with Burt Hummel. Even if he says "you look like I'm driving you to your execution."
Kurt loves Blaine. Luuuurves him. Never thinks he'll find anyone else like that. But they're oh so very young. (So say we all.)
Burt, apparently, has changed his tune since we last saw him. He met Kurt's mom when they were 22 and he proposed after six months (awww...). They were "just kids," too. And marriage isn't just dreams and fairy tales (and sex - lotta sex). It's a lot of hard stuff, too. But he doesn't regret getting married young. He only wishes, frankly, that they'd had more time together. Life is short, and no one knows that more than Kurt and Burt Hummel. (And oh god, Burt is wearing the rainbow pin.)
He confesses that Blaine already asked Burt's opinion, but that the only one whose opinion matters here is Kurt's. He's his own man. So go hear what Blaine has to say, and then say yes, no, or maybe. Kurt's nervous as hell.
They're at Dalton, and I could die. Everyone EVERYONE is singing "All You Need is Love." Blaine's rocking a bright yellow suit (god, the colors in this episode - Kurt's turquoise brocade jacket and purple shirt? Whoa). Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes are there. Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, New Directions, the whole shebang. Blaine takes a detour (a shortcut?) while Kurt is entertained by a dance break, and then
THEY'RE ON THE GODDAMN STAIRCASE AND I AM DONE FOR.
Rose petals in the air, and Blaine waiting at the bottom (with Burt and everyone). Kurt still looks like he might throw up. Eyes wide, straight-up terrified. Blaine is 100% heart eyes. He talks about meeting Kurt right in that very spot and taking his hand, that his soul knew something that his mind didn't - that this is the one for him. "It's never really felt like I've been getting to know you. It's always felt like I was remembering you from something." In every lifetime, they love each other, and he's so glad to have found Kurt so early in this one. BEST FUCKING SPEECH EVER. I'm sorry, the delivery is wonderful, there's such a natural earnestness and excitement in his voice.
Kurt is scaring me. He hasn’t smiled, his eyes are swimming with tears.
Blaine hits his knee and asks the big question.
YES OH MY GOD YES.
Two kisses in one episode, life hasn't been this good since early Season 3, man.
Long story short? I adored this. ADORED. “Love, love, love” indeed. It was joyful, it was fun, and MY KLAINE IS BACK TOGETHER.
Do I wish we’d gotten MORE discussion between the pair of them? Duh, of course. But that they mentioned it even a little bit is, frankly, a little more than I’d hoped we’d get, so I’ll take it. Was it ridiculous to go from “let’s try dating again” to “will you marry me” in under a week? Um, YES, OBVIOUSLY. Am I still Team You’re-Awfully-Young-to-Get-Married? Yeah, of course. But you know what? This shit is canon, now, and fuck it. I’m in. That was romantic as hell and my boys are happy so I’m happy.
As I said to flaming_muse earlier this very day: I don’t care so much if Glee gets reality right if they can actually get emotion right. And this suckered my cynical heart right in. This is why I am hooked on this absurd show.
The music was a joy, I loved all the Beatles tunes, and I loved that they only went REALLY literal on one song (“I Saw Her Standing There”) and did so very much on purpose and with a big shit-eating grin.
Liz’s Instant Glee-Cap Rating: 4.5/5 stars. This one’s an immediate favorite. It’s flawed - name me an episode of Glee that isn’t. But I loved it without shame or irony. I'm grinning and I'm going to watch it again and again, and that's more than enough for me.
Liz’s Instant Song Downloads:
Got to Get You Into My Life
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Help
All You Need is Love
What did you think, Glee-loving friends? Are you excited to be back?
AND PLEASE, NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. THANK YOU!
Oh, hey. Yeah. Glee's back!
My palms are sweating, I haven't been able to concentrate for hours. So yeah, it's cool. I shall now word- and emotion-vomit all over you. Yay!
Rachel's reading for Funny Girl, the male lead and the director are worried she's too young, especially for the romantic parts.
She overhears and is a sad panda. She sings "Yesterday" in the wings of the theater, and walks around gorgeous New York in a gorgeous fuschia jacket. The colors in this episode are incredible, though the switch from film to digital is throwing me off. It’s a very different look. Anyways, Rachel. Is she thinking about how simple life once was? I'm not sure I get it, other than it's Rachel getting a solo to start off another season, and that's where Glee ultimately hangs its hat.
Schue announces week 1 of a two-week assignment on the Beatles. People are stoked. (And the black and white pics of Ryder, Jake, Sam, and Blaine as the Fab Four are kinda doing it for me. Especially Blaine in Paul hair.) Kitty thinks the year is never ending, so say we all. She also doesn't think the Beatles are relevant. Unique doesn't really know the Beatles, she's a little on the "black" side. Do early Beatles tunes in new ways! OKAY FINE.
Kitty gets a ride with Artie and it's adorable. He's going to Brooklyn because of her intervention (whoa, Glee remembers what happened last season!) and wants to take Kitty on a date. Are we calling them Artitty? I dig it.
Wait a minute, wait a minute. We are LITERALLY pretending that "All or Nothing" didn’t happen, aren’t we. There is NOTHING of Blaine and the box behind his back. Ryder hasn’t quit, but we see nothing positive or negative between him and Unique. Right. Well, I suppose that’s one way you could go with this. (Frankly, I like to pretend it didn't happen, too.)
Artie and Kitty sing "Baby You Can Drive My Car" at the carnival, everybody's there. Bumper cars, tilt-a-whirl, skeeball. Rock on. Blaine is there. WHERE THE FUCK IS KURT? Wait, is Artie driving the bumper cars at some point?
Random Cheerio at the carnival is posting pics of Kitty and Artie, pretending she's being nice but Kitty knows she's a bitch trying to take her down. She's afraid it's going to ruin her reputation, so she proposes secret-dating. It's bullshit, but Artie doesn't call her on it, really. Say what you will, she's honest. She needs status at this school to survive.
Santana and Rachel have a job waiting tables in some mighty cute uniforms. Santana got it for her by showing the boss (GUNTHER! Glee, the Friends years, is SO ON.) her left side-boob. I like Rachel with a job, theoretically. Her dads are paying her rent, but darnit, she wants to be independent! Santana says they're basically working actresses. TRUTH.
Kurt and Blaine are having a farewell picnic at Mckinley. It's adorable, and they seem so happy, and I wish I knew how Kurt got here. Alas, it is apparently never mine to know. BUT GOD DAMN, Kurt and Blaine are actually TALKING. Blaine wants to know what the story is with Mr. New York, Kurt says there's no story. It just didn't work out. (Well, at least they didn’t forget Adam existed?)
Kurt's gonna break it down for ya, Blaine: last time you guys tried dating long-distance, you cheated. Period. Blaine says they've been through this (THEY HAVE?), he thought Kurt had basically left him. Regardless, he swears on his life he would never, EVER do it again. Kurt says he's going to make Blaine sign one of those non-cheating contracts from Oprah, but there's no heat in it. He's smiling as he says it. Blaine will sign anything you want, Kurt, just PLEEEEEEAASE take him back. They're playful and flirty and Kurt makes a face and pretends he's not sure, but he laughs and agrees to give them another try. (SQUEEEEEEEEE)
Blaine, the cupcake, naturally had a song prepared in case Kurt said yes. But the best thing EVER is that Kurt shoots him down. "No, no no, that's not going to happen. I'm not sitting down and listening to you sing to me anymore." Blaine looks a little dejected and immediately returns to his seat. Fear not, my dapper Warbler. Your beloved has something else up his sleeve.
Kurt whistles in the GODDAMN MARCHING BAND, and the two of them singing "Got To Get You Into My Life" is maybe my new favorite thing EVER. The sunglasses and bright colors, the "I don't give one single shit who's around me." Blaine scream-singing in the chorus, arms wide. Kurt darting around the band. Silly, affectionate, we’re-a-PAIR-again dancing. And a BIG ASS KISS at the end, on top of a table in the middle of the courtyard. Fuck 'em all, this is PURE JOY.
My notes as I was watching: I LOVE YOU KURT. KURT HUMMEL IS BACK BITCHES. I may have watched it three times in a row. The shades. The pants. The colors. THE KISS OH MY GOD.
Sue's back. Becky confessed about the gun and was suspended for a month. I... don't even know, man. Sue planted ridiculous evidence in Figgins' office and now she's principal. Jesus. This show is better without the adults.
Artie's sad about having Kitty ignore him in the halls even though she smooches him in the astronomy classroom. Kitty, to be honest, doesn't seem all that happy about it, either. "Hide Your Love Away" is sweet and sad and well placed. Artie does great sad love songs. They're cute, even if the secret dating is totally sketchy and hurtful. Tina notices, though. That girl gets all the gossip.
Blaine tells the choir room that he and Kurt are back together, yay! But he's going to propose, so yeah, I guess they're going there. Sam is clapping and being the best bro he can be, everyone else is silent. Naturally, Blaine is enlisting some help from New Directions AND their major canon competitors. His proposal is a cultural statement ("sure it is," says Jake) on marriage equality and the fact that we're all more alike than we are different. Oh sweet political Blaine. You're a doll. If we can get show choirs to unite, then anything’s possible.
He and Sam sing "Help," and I love LOVE any kind of Blam-based shenanigans. The entirety of New Directions run all the way to Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal, the school for the deaf, and Dalton. It is absurd and it is the cutest goddamn thing I have ever seen. Blaine's jumping on furniture at Dalton and all is right in the world. BLAM! WARBLERS! OH MY GOD. Sebastian has no hair and I didn't recognize him. I'm grinning like a FOOL.
Tina confronts Artie, wants to know if he's dating Kitty, and I love how excited she is for him. But she finds out it's a secret and calls BULLSHIT. He says butt out.
Rachel's at work, getting a text from Blaine, and here are the director and the male lead in Santana's section. Rachel takes the table and is thoroughly unprofessional and indignant, and Peter Facinelli might be the director but in my head he will ALWAYS be Mike Dexter from Can't Hardly Wait. They're not sure she's a star. Fear not, Santana's got a song to prove it.
The entire waitstaff at the diner sings "Hard Day's Night" at the drop of a hat. This is what happens when you have a lot of wannabe actors working in service professions (and this is why Glee still works in New York, dammit). It’s tons of fun. And then Rachel and Santana leave work without telling anyone because she got a text from Blaine and there's something they need to do.
Schue and Coach Roz are in Sue's office. The twist, this time, is that Sue needs EVERYONE to be winners. I guess that's the setup for this year. Greeaaattt.
Tina's ROYALLY pissed at Kitty and has decided in her very Tina way to do something about it. Artie sees it about to happen and just says "oh god no." Tina's on her soapbox. Kitty actually owns up. She's not wrong about social status, but she has decided he's worth it. SHE ACTUALLY APOLOGIZES. It's official, they're dating. Cute cute cute. Marley is vibrating with happiness, Tina remains skeptical.
Blaine has convened a meeting of the dudes in the choir room. "One of our own has turned into a mean, bitter, and angry person." TINA, they all say. She's eating her feelings by herself in the Too Young to be Bitter Club (whoa, once again Glee actually remembers something from the previous season!). Ryder, Sam, and Jake are being dopes and I LOVE them like this. I love Blaine as the exasperated leader of this motley crew. Sam says it's Blaine's fault that Tina's bitter, but he'll help.
Figgins is the janitor, for the love. Sue torments him, because what the hell. Nasty meat I don't even know what the fuck. I guess this is the new rivalry for this season? Don't. Care.
Tina comes into the auditorium and it’s BLAINE AS PAUL. JAKE IS HALF-BLACK JOHN LENNON. I can't even. They're singing "I Saw Her Standing There" for Tina. This is the goofiest intervention Glee has ever staged. I'm dying with Blaine’s accent and hair. The girls are all decked out (Marley and Unique are my favorites) and screaming and it's cute as hell. Though I wish Jake wouldn't pretend to play guitar. They saw she was lonely and sad, and they all offer to be her prom date, she chooses Sam because he's the least gay and least Asian. Cuteness all around.
BURT IS DRIVING KURT TO HIS SURPRISE PROPOSAL AND KURT KNOWS AND LOOKS LIKE HE'S GOING TO BARF.
Dude. It's Burt Hummel. EVERYTHING is better with Burt Hummel. Even if he says "you look like I'm driving you to your execution."
Kurt loves Blaine. Luuuurves him. Never thinks he'll find anyone else like that. But they're oh so very young. (So say we all.)
Burt, apparently, has changed his tune since we last saw him. He met Kurt's mom when they were 22 and he proposed after six months (awww...). They were "just kids," too. And marriage isn't just dreams and fairy tales (and sex - lotta sex). It's a lot of hard stuff, too. But he doesn't regret getting married young. He only wishes, frankly, that they'd had more time together. Life is short, and no one knows that more than Kurt and Burt Hummel. (And oh god, Burt is wearing the rainbow pin.)
He confesses that Blaine already asked Burt's opinion, but that the only one whose opinion matters here is Kurt's. He's his own man. So go hear what Blaine has to say, and then say yes, no, or maybe. Kurt's nervous as hell.
They're at Dalton, and I could die. Everyone EVERYONE is singing "All You Need is Love." Blaine's rocking a bright yellow suit (god, the colors in this episode - Kurt's turquoise brocade jacket and purple shirt? Whoa). Rachel, Santana, and Mercedes are there. Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, New Directions, the whole shebang. Blaine takes a detour (a shortcut?) while Kurt is entertained by a dance break, and then
THEY'RE ON THE GODDAMN STAIRCASE AND I AM DONE FOR.
Rose petals in the air, and Blaine waiting at the bottom (with Burt and everyone). Kurt still looks like he might throw up. Eyes wide, straight-up terrified. Blaine is 100% heart eyes. He talks about meeting Kurt right in that very spot and taking his hand, that his soul knew something that his mind didn't - that this is the one for him. "It's never really felt like I've been getting to know you. It's always felt like I was remembering you from something." In every lifetime, they love each other, and he's so glad to have found Kurt so early in this one. BEST FUCKING SPEECH EVER. I'm sorry, the delivery is wonderful, there's such a natural earnestness and excitement in his voice.
Kurt is scaring me. He hasn’t smiled, his eyes are swimming with tears.
Blaine hits his knee and asks the big question.
YES OH MY GOD YES.
Two kisses in one episode, life hasn't been this good since early Season 3, man.
Long story short? I adored this. ADORED. “Love, love, love” indeed. It was joyful, it was fun, and MY KLAINE IS BACK TOGETHER.
Do I wish we’d gotten MORE discussion between the pair of them? Duh, of course. But that they mentioned it even a little bit is, frankly, a little more than I’d hoped we’d get, so I’ll take it. Was it ridiculous to go from “let’s try dating again” to “will you marry me” in under a week? Um, YES, OBVIOUSLY. Am I still Team You’re-Awfully-Young-to-Get-Married? Yeah, of course. But you know what? This shit is canon, now, and fuck it. I’m in. That was romantic as hell and my boys are happy so I’m happy.
As I said to flaming_muse earlier this very day: I don’t care so much if Glee gets reality right if they can actually get emotion right. And this suckered my cynical heart right in. This is why I am hooked on this absurd show.
The music was a joy, I loved all the Beatles tunes, and I loved that they only went REALLY literal on one song (“I Saw Her Standing There”) and did so very much on purpose and with a big shit-eating grin.
Liz’s Instant Glee-Cap Rating: 4.5/5 stars. This one’s an immediate favorite. It’s flawed - name me an episode of Glee that isn’t. But I loved it without shame or irony. I'm grinning and I'm going to watch it again and again, and that's more than enough for me.
Liz’s Instant Song Downloads:
Got to Get You Into My Life
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away
Help
All You Need is Love
What did you think, Glee-loving friends? Are you excited to be back?
AND PLEASE, NO SPOILERS IN THE COMMENTS. THANK YOU!