(no subject)
I didn't do an episode recap of the Glee season premiere, but I actually made an attempt at this week's episode, mostly because I don't know what to think about it yet. On the one hand, I've had to really think about this one, which I suppose is a good sign, but on the other -- OWWW. So forewarned: there be babbling within.
I am really conflicted over this episode, and I think it was kind of like 'Prom Queen' x100 for me. There were parts of PQ that I really enjoyed, but the overwhelming ache for Kurt made it impossible for me to enjoy the episode as a whole. I'm pretty sure that's the major reason I'm left feeling very unsettled after last night's ep, even though I appreciate parts of the episode as a whole -- only it's a hundred times worse because I ache for Kurt and Blaine this time. (Kurt gets piled on more with the 'ow', but Blaine gets a share of it in my read, too.)
Okay, let's go point-by-point so I can at least attempt to stay objective until the last possible minute.
• I enjoy Brittany's general outlook on life, although I think her approach is too optimistic and idealistic for McKinley. It's awesome that she thinks Kurt is a special unicorn and all, but considering how his special unicorn-ness has been received by McKinley up to this point, that's really not the most effective way to go about convincing people to vote for him for senior class president. I pretty much agreed with Kurt's initial reaction -- calling attention to his differences in pink glitter isn't going to help him, not with a student body that is more likely to use it as joke fodder, instead of acknowledging that he's the best person for the job. I like to think that Kurt's perspective within McKinley actually makes him uniquely suited to try to bring about some kind of change, and thus I can buy him running for class president to do something about it, even though I don't quite see him winning with the social climate at McKinley being as abysmal as it was obviously portrayed in PQ.
• I care very little for Quinn and Shelby. Skank!Quinn was at least new and different for her, and I can understand her being conflicted about seeing Beth again. I have issues with her final proclamation that she's going to get full custody, though. I am okay with Quinn and Puck being in Beth's life, especially since Shelby has so many regrets about missing Rachel's childhood and wants this for Beth. I get all sorts of red flags at Quinn wanting her baby back, and her assertion that she is Beth's mother and Shelby never will be irks me to no end. On the other hand, I very much appreciate Puck's character development over the last two seasons. And the picture of him with Beth was really sweet.
• Really don't care about Shelby and Rachel. Like, at all.
• I was not pleased at all by the leaked spoiler that Blaine is suddenly a junior -- I mean, seriously, they're going to de-age him two years from his original character description? I love Blaine, but he's nothing like the boy we met in NBK almost a year ago, and I have to side-eye certain things in season two now. I can only justify so much character retconning before I just shake my head and throw up my hands. This development makes NO SENSE based on what we saw of Blaine last season, and is very much RIB cashing in on Darren Criss to keep him around another year, and by extension, Chris Colfer. I don't believe for a minute that they'll do a spin off, by this point, and I'm fully expecting something to keep Kurt in Lima, *sigh*.
• Despite the fact that de-aging Blaine makes NO SENSE in terms of established canon, it does kind of make sense in the musical story line they've decided to pursue. I don't like the fact that they couldn't make it work without making ludicrous character decisions, but it gives Blaine another legitimate reason to not seek to challenge Kurt for Tony. And I appreciate that he didn't, going into his audition. It feels true to Blaine -- he's just not as competitive as Kurt is. He performs because he enjoys performing, but his relationships are more important to him than the spotlight. He doesn't have a very big support structure right now, his parents aren't Burt and Carole at home, so he's not willing to jeopardize his relationship with Kurt for the school musical. Plus, I honestly think that now that he's away from Dalton and out of his comfort zone, he's not nearly as confident as he's pretended to be, and doubts himself in a lead role. I think he'd love to play Tony, but I think he prioritizes Kurt higher.
• Kurt just makes me hurt. I could NOT watch his audition. I don't understand his song choice, and the climbing around and sai sword twirling made it the first time I saw Chris instead of Kurt. It just didn't make sense to me. I can understand the concerns voiced by Emma and Artie and Beiste, even if I thought them weird based on the fact that they were specifically looking to cast creatively -- but I also think Kurt could do it, because his Romeo and Juliet scene was very Not-Kurt, but in a more deliberate way than his audition. Everyone laughing at him made me cringe, since he was trying so hard. I was kind of dreading that they were setting up a Hummelberry kiss, even a stage kiss, but Rachel laughing made me want to cry -- I just watched that whole scene in a state of detached horror.
• Oh god, Blaine's audition. I have never seen West Side Story; I have no idea if Blaine would make a good Tony. I really enjoyed his performance, and expect he could be awesome at it, but that's not really based on personal knowledge of the character. I appreciated the fact that he was NOT auditioning for Tony -- for all the reasons I mentioned above -- so it's nice that he's asked to read for Tony without asking for it. It still hurts, because I expect he would be awesome and it's something he would love, but -- Kurt. If I could get past my ache for both of them, this is probably a really good source of conflict for them that still keeps them (so FAR) fairly in character. It just hurts to watch, because I love them both, and ending the episode on that note just makes me really unsettled, :(
I am really conflicted over this episode, and I think it was kind of like 'Prom Queen' x100 for me. There were parts of PQ that I really enjoyed, but the overwhelming ache for Kurt made it impossible for me to enjoy the episode as a whole. I'm pretty sure that's the major reason I'm left feeling very unsettled after last night's ep, even though I appreciate parts of the episode as a whole -- only it's a hundred times worse because I ache for Kurt and Blaine this time. (Kurt gets piled on more with the 'ow', but Blaine gets a share of it in my read, too.)
Okay, let's go point-by-point so I can at least attempt to stay objective until the last possible minute.
• I enjoy Brittany's general outlook on life, although I think her approach is too optimistic and idealistic for McKinley. It's awesome that she thinks Kurt is a special unicorn and all, but considering how his special unicorn-ness has been received by McKinley up to this point, that's really not the most effective way to go about convincing people to vote for him for senior class president. I pretty much agreed with Kurt's initial reaction -- calling attention to his differences in pink glitter isn't going to help him, not with a student body that is more likely to use it as joke fodder, instead of acknowledging that he's the best person for the job. I like to think that Kurt's perspective within McKinley actually makes him uniquely suited to try to bring about some kind of change, and thus I can buy him running for class president to do something about it, even though I don't quite see him winning with the social climate at McKinley being as abysmal as it was obviously portrayed in PQ.
• I care very little for Quinn and Shelby. Skank!Quinn was at least new and different for her, and I can understand her being conflicted about seeing Beth again. I have issues with her final proclamation that she's going to get full custody, though. I am okay with Quinn and Puck being in Beth's life, especially since Shelby has so many regrets about missing Rachel's childhood and wants this for Beth. I get all sorts of red flags at Quinn wanting her baby back, and her assertion that she is Beth's mother and Shelby never will be irks me to no end. On the other hand, I very much appreciate Puck's character development over the last two seasons. And the picture of him with Beth was really sweet.
• Really don't care about Shelby and Rachel. Like, at all.
• I was not pleased at all by the leaked spoiler that Blaine is suddenly a junior -- I mean, seriously, they're going to de-age him two years from his original character description? I love Blaine, but he's nothing like the boy we met in NBK almost a year ago, and I have to side-eye certain things in season two now. I can only justify so much character retconning before I just shake my head and throw up my hands. This development makes NO SENSE based on what we saw of Blaine last season, and is very much RIB cashing in on Darren Criss to keep him around another year, and by extension, Chris Colfer. I don't believe for a minute that they'll do a spin off, by this point, and I'm fully expecting something to keep Kurt in Lima, *sigh*.
• Despite the fact that de-aging Blaine makes NO SENSE in terms of established canon, it does kind of make sense in the musical story line they've decided to pursue. I don't like the fact that they couldn't make it work without making ludicrous character decisions, but it gives Blaine another legitimate reason to not seek to challenge Kurt for Tony. And I appreciate that he didn't, going into his audition. It feels true to Blaine -- he's just not as competitive as Kurt is. He performs because he enjoys performing, but his relationships are more important to him than the spotlight. He doesn't have a very big support structure right now, his parents aren't Burt and Carole at home, so he's not willing to jeopardize his relationship with Kurt for the school musical. Plus, I honestly think that now that he's away from Dalton and out of his comfort zone, he's not nearly as confident as he's pretended to be, and doubts himself in a lead role. I think he'd love to play Tony, but I think he prioritizes Kurt higher.
• Kurt just makes me hurt. I could NOT watch his audition. I don't understand his song choice, and the climbing around and sai sword twirling made it the first time I saw Chris instead of Kurt. It just didn't make sense to me. I can understand the concerns voiced by Emma and Artie and Beiste, even if I thought them weird based on the fact that they were specifically looking to cast creatively -- but I also think Kurt could do it, because his Romeo and Juliet scene was very Not-Kurt, but in a more deliberate way than his audition. Everyone laughing at him made me cringe, since he was trying so hard. I was kind of dreading that they were setting up a Hummelberry kiss, even a stage kiss, but Rachel laughing made me want to cry -- I just watched that whole scene in a state of detached horror.
• Oh god, Blaine's audition. I have never seen West Side Story; I have no idea if Blaine would make a good Tony. I really enjoyed his performance, and expect he could be awesome at it, but that's not really based on personal knowledge of the character. I appreciated the fact that he was NOT auditioning for Tony -- for all the reasons I mentioned above -- so it's nice that he's asked to read for Tony without asking for it. It still hurts, because I expect he would be awesome and it's something he would love, but -- Kurt. If I could get past my ache for both of them, this is probably a really good source of conflict for them that still keeps them (so FAR) fairly in character. It just hurts to watch, because I love them both, and ending the episode on that note just makes me really unsettled, :(