Brittana Review of "Duets"
Yusuf Islam you are wrong! You are wrong! Every cut is as deep and they all hurt!
***
I’ve already reviewed the ep ( found here) and I’ve watched it enough times to not really have anything to add. Other than my endless creys. Okay, I lie, I do have a few things to add since the original review was Santanacentric and glossed over Brittany’s response and actions.
***
The last few episodes have slowly built up Brittany’s confidence to the point that she is self-assured enough to take a dig at Puck in front of the entire club. Not only does she insult him, but she is comfortable enough to make it into a fairly self-deprecating insult as she comments on how he is dumber than even her. Again, she is very much aware of how she comes across, and what label people like to slap her with. But at the same time she shows that she does have a sharp tongue and can be quite quick and mean if given an opportunity. Something this episode delves deeper into, making her a much more interesting character in my eyes, compared to the ditzy, loving blonde she’s usually cast as.
***
First a small something I didn’t fully comment on before; Sam is introduced and Santana has a really nice (as in interesting nice) reaction to him. First she disregards him by saying “oh wow, he has no game”, but then her eyes immediately go to Brittany as if she’s looking for agreement there. Hoping and wishing that her disapproval will deter Brittany from giving him a second glance? A way of trying to ward off competitors before it’s even turned into a competition?
Yeah, then the episode is full of creys, my creys, the endless kind of creys (you thought you had it bad, Cry Baby?! HA! I laugh in your face, then I cry on it.).
***
But back to Brittany. Like I said, all the progress she’s been making is repeatedly trampled and as the end credits roll completely gone.
After the B/B episode I think she felt more secure in her relationship with Santana, and the fact that Santana does reciprocate her feelings. They sang/danced together (even if it was only in a dream world) and Santana stood by her side through the entire episode. It was a reassurance in them as something real and tangible. I think this feeling was left to grow inside of Brittany until her newfound confidence, in herself and them, actually caused her to suggest they’d take the next step and turn dream into reality. Like I mentioned in the previous review, part of the problem and Santana’s volatile reaction was because of the horrible timing. Things were easy and fairly safe while Puck existed as a beard, now that he’s gone Santana’s fears resurface and at the same time Brittany asks her to take their lesbian non-relationship relationship to the next level. So of course Santana shoots Brittany down (my endless creys), providing the first crack in the veneer of the blonde’s recent empowerment (more endless creys).
However that's not enough to make Brittany stop though, she merely regroups. And takes a page out of Mr Lyly's book; anything is fair in love, disregarding someone else‘s feelings or emotional well-being - is no exception. So she use Artie as a tool to get back at Santana in an attempt to make her jealous and thus hurt her (and eventually make her return to her side). An eye for an eye and a bleeding heart for a bleeding heart. Unfortunately her plan backfires, even if she does instil the jealous she aimed for, because Artie turns the tables and uses his vicious, vicious and brutally honest words to bring her back down to earth by reminding her of his feelings, and the fact that he actually has feelings. He seriously rips into her and slut-shames her into a depression. His words work as the final straw that breaks the camel’s back and thus removes all her progress and self-assuredness. She went into the episode as a strong young woman knowing what she wanted and intent on getting it, and left it having been made to feel like an unloveable heartless whore. A bucket of tears! I have one! I have two! I have many!
To sum it up beyond the teenage tragedy, the episode shows that Brittany is ready and willing to take the next step, she wants to level up her and Santana's FWB status into that of GFs. As Puck is gone from the equation she probably sees this as the opportune moment to turn their undefined love into a monogamous relationship containing public displays of affection and official dates with Disney themes. But instead of having her dreams realised her world gets to play Dresden and is bomb to hell and back. And the curtains ends up closing on a lost and lonely Brittany trying to sweep the remnants of her shattered heart and broken confidence from under Santana’s shoes and Artie’s wheels.
Yeah. Not the best of times.
What I love most about this episode though, isn’t necessarily the Brittana development, but rather this specific version of Brittany. It shows a young girl that is self-aware and focused and looking for love. It also shows a ruthlessly goal-oriented woman who forgets compassion as she is blinded by her own passion. Artie is a tool she can selfishly use to get what her heart wants. She’s not a ditzy saint, she is as flawed and morally ambiguous as both Artie and Santana. I like that. A complex, intricate and morally fascinating queer character. Not often you get to see that (yes Xena, I am looking at you, but you don't really count, not really, because the plumbing's different when you're headless - too soon?). Such a shame it takes another ten episodes before this version of Brittany surfaces again.
Now I’m going to plunge into the lake of endless creys and just feel a lot of feelings as I swim with the self-loathing dolphins while the tired sun sets on our bruised backs and ruffles the feathers of our frightened souls.
(Or actually, I'm gonna go watch Jersey Shore - but that's kinda the same thing. Give our take. In round numbers. Approximately.)
***
I’ve already reviewed the ep ( found here) and I’ve watched it enough times to not really have anything to add. Other than my endless creys. Okay, I lie, I do have a few things to add since the original review was Santanacentric and glossed over Brittany’s response and actions.
***
The last few episodes have slowly built up Brittany’s confidence to the point that she is self-assured enough to take a dig at Puck in front of the entire club. Not only does she insult him, but she is comfortable enough to make it into a fairly self-deprecating insult as she comments on how he is dumber than even her. Again, she is very much aware of how she comes across, and what label people like to slap her with. But at the same time she shows that she does have a sharp tongue and can be quite quick and mean if given an opportunity. Something this episode delves deeper into, making her a much more interesting character in my eyes, compared to the ditzy, loving blonde she’s usually cast as.
***
First a small something I didn’t fully comment on before; Sam is introduced and Santana has a really nice (as in interesting nice) reaction to him. First she disregards him by saying “oh wow, he has no game”, but then her eyes immediately go to Brittany as if she’s looking for agreement there. Hoping and wishing that her disapproval will deter Brittany from giving him a second glance? A way of trying to ward off competitors before it’s even turned into a competition?
Yeah, then the episode is full of creys, my creys, the endless kind of creys (you thought you had it bad, Cry Baby?! HA! I laugh in your face, then I cry on it.).
***
But back to Brittany. Like I said, all the progress she’s been making is repeatedly trampled and as the end credits roll completely gone.
After the B/B episode I think she felt more secure in her relationship with Santana, and the fact that Santana does reciprocate her feelings. They sang/danced together (even if it was only in a dream world) and Santana stood by her side through the entire episode. It was a reassurance in them as something real and tangible. I think this feeling was left to grow inside of Brittany until her newfound confidence, in herself and them, actually caused her to suggest they’d take the next step and turn dream into reality. Like I mentioned in the previous review, part of the problem and Santana’s volatile reaction was because of the horrible timing. Things were easy and fairly safe while Puck existed as a beard, now that he’s gone Santana’s fears resurface and at the same time Brittany asks her to take their lesbian non-relationship relationship to the next level. So of course Santana shoots Brittany down (my endless creys), providing the first crack in the veneer of the blonde’s recent empowerment (more endless creys).
However that's not enough to make Brittany stop though, she merely regroups. And takes a page out of Mr Lyly's book; anything is fair in love, disregarding someone else‘s feelings or emotional well-being - is no exception. So she use Artie as a tool to get back at Santana in an attempt to make her jealous and thus hurt her (and eventually make her return to her side). An eye for an eye and a bleeding heart for a bleeding heart. Unfortunately her plan backfires, even if she does instil the jealous she aimed for, because Artie turns the tables and uses his vicious, vicious and brutally honest words to bring her back down to earth by reminding her of his feelings, and the fact that he actually has feelings. He seriously rips into her and slut-shames her into a depression. His words work as the final straw that breaks the camel’s back and thus removes all her progress and self-assuredness. She went into the episode as a strong young woman knowing what she wanted and intent on getting it, and left it having been made to feel like an unloveable heartless whore. A bucket of tears! I have one! I have two! I have many!
To sum it up beyond the teenage tragedy, the episode shows that Brittany is ready and willing to take the next step, she wants to level up her and Santana's FWB status into that of GFs. As Puck is gone from the equation she probably sees this as the opportune moment to turn their undefined love into a monogamous relationship containing public displays of affection and official dates with Disney themes. But instead of having her dreams realised her world gets to play Dresden and is bomb to hell and back. And the curtains ends up closing on a lost and lonely Brittany trying to sweep the remnants of her shattered heart and broken confidence from under Santana’s shoes and Artie’s wheels.
Yeah. Not the best of times.
What I love most about this episode though, isn’t necessarily the Brittana development, but rather this specific version of Brittany. It shows a young girl that is self-aware and focused and looking for love. It also shows a ruthlessly goal-oriented woman who forgets compassion as she is blinded by her own passion. Artie is a tool she can selfishly use to get what her heart wants. She’s not a ditzy saint, she is as flawed and morally ambiguous as both Artie and Santana. I like that. A complex, intricate and morally fascinating queer character. Not often you get to see that (yes Xena, I am looking at you, but you don't really count, not really, because the plumbing's different when you're headless - too soon?). Such a shame it takes another ten episodes before this version of Brittany surfaces again.
Now I’m going to plunge into the lake of endless creys and just feel a lot of feelings as I swim with the self-loathing dolphins while the tired sun sets on our bruised backs and ruffles the feathers of our frightened souls.
(Or actually, I'm gonna go watch Jersey Shore - but that's kinda the same thing. Give our take. In round numbers. Approximately.)