And Finally, Some Appreciation for the Not-Changs

[lookninjas]

Note: This recap got into some discussion of racism, mental illness, and child abuse (if you've seen the episode, you know exactly who I'm talking about right now.) There's also some relatively minor speculation on the possibility (possibility, because I'm not willing to judge just yet, but I'm worried) that Mercedes' relationship is more harmful

Comments

[rena_librarian]

Yes, I agree--Shane (is that his name? I hadn't actually ever caught it yet) is egging Mercedes on, and it felt like a rehash of Night of Neglect. You're quite right--she'll listen to anyone who flatters her, which is...mildly unsettling, potentially very very bad. =/

I know all about being the girl who loses herself when with a guy--and it's easy to miss while it's happening. After my marriage fell apart and I was alone, after the day or two of absolute sick depression, the next thing that happened to me was a sudden surge in creative output. And it was like--oh, I remember this, why have I set all that aside so long? So yes, I can completely relate to that, and I hope Mercedes sees it sooner rather than later.

Oh LORD Kurt and Blaine. They deserved to kiss; they wanted to kiss; and it wasn't safe. I got teary.

Agreed with the sportsmanship between Kurt and Brittany, you could see him thinking "how the hell am I gonna top this?" during Run the World (Girls) but he didn't, say, stand up and sabotage her performance.

I need to watch ACTUAL West Side Story, don't I? I have no idea if Krupke is a good role for Kurt or not. XD I listened to the whole soundtrack but obviously I'm still missing the story.

I--mm, yes, they're racist. And they deserved to be called out. But I think Will could've interrupted politely, without raising his voice, at least at first--save the yelling for if they persist. Launching into a screaming match did not make anything better. I was annoyed--his intentions were good but I think he could've handled it with just a wee bit more grace. I just--if it had been me, and my parents, and my significant other had invited them over without giving me a chance to talk about it with him (and yes, in my case, warn him about them), I would be mad at him for yelling at them. Because if he had done the up-and-up thing and talked to me about it, I would've been able to prepare him.

But yes, between that and the falling in the muck incident they talked about before, Emma makes complete sense. I kinda feel like her being a pray-er came out of nowhere, you'd think they would've mentioned it before, BUT it still rang true to her character.

[flamingquill]

Okay, comment crashing (just a bit) but about Emma being a pray-er-- did that seem out of left field for you because she generally hasn't been presented as religious, or because her religious beliefs have never manifested as prayer before? Because if it's the first, I think they did mention it in Grilled Cheesus, when she yelled at Sue for taking Kurt's complaint to the school board. They haven't gone back to it since, unless I'm forgetting something, but since I was not a fan of how Emma acted in that scene with Sue, I hadn't thought about it for a while.

[rena_librarian]

Hey, the more the merrier! =) I think it was a little of both, mostly the latter. I do vaguely remember her being pro "everyone should have some kind of spirituality, whatever works for them" in Grilled Cheesus (and vividly remember her explaining to Finn that it wasn't the sandwich answering his prayers). Like I said, though, it fits with what we already know about her, it just surprised me. It maybe would've been less surprising for her to mention her prayers in passing than for them to show her actually getting down on her knees. (I pray frequently, but can't remember the last time I knelt to do so.)

[lookninjas]

I think that part of the problem, though, is that Will was trying to be nice at the beginning of the scene, and obviously had been for some time. He didn't really lash out until it became obvious that not only were Emma's parents hateful to other people, they were seriously upsetting her. Lashing out might not have been the best approach, but as someone with a short temper, I kind of sympathize with Will's position.

And to be fair, I doubt Emma would have prepared him if he'd told her about it ahead of time. I think she would have just put it off. And then put it off. And then put it off some more. And while that's her right... IDK. I can see Will's side, too, under the circumstances.

And Office Krupke is SO FREAKING WRONG for Kurt Hummel that I'm honestly kind of astonished. It's as wrong as is possible to be.

(I'll love the hell out of this if he goes out there and kills it, though. Take that, stereotypes!)

[rena_librarian]

I get where Will's coming from, but I still think it was too much.

And--yes, okay, you're right about Emma. Sigh. Poor thing.

Again: need to watch West Side Story. But I have no doubts in Kurt's abilities to go out and be amazing. =)