Unpopular Opinion Time (you get a cookie if you guess about what show, except not really)
So it's become pretty in vogue, among fans, to write/interpret Blaine as kind of an idiot. Like, beyond the inappropriate song choices. (And I maintain that he's had exactly one choice that was SUPPOSED to be inappropriate to date, and when you put it down to him trying to woo an older dude and make himself seem mature and confident, I can see
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I actually see Blaine a LOT like I was a teen. I was a 13 going to 30 girl, well liked by all but no real friends in my wonderful private school. Admired and wanted by my book smarts, but any other aspect of me got shot down. I played this persona of wiser beyond my years and that just ended up making me socially oblivious feelings wise (mixed with my lonely upbringing of only child on my area when I moved to take care of my grandmother). I could relate to my peers on a mental level and know what to expect from them and they wanted from me until I saw who would become the Kurt to my Blaine. I just saw her under a tree one day and something like a lightning strike hit me. She brought me to life, which was a messy situation because I had never felt like this. I socially sucked apparently. I befriended her using the words between the fox and the little prince from the little prince because I had no idea how to speak from my heart. I was so used to talking to adults and being aloof with my peers that I had no idea what I was doing.
The point is, adopting a persona doesn't necessarly mean you know how to behave socially towards other necessarily or that you always know what you are doing once you realize how you've been treating connecting with others because you've been hurt, pushed and told you are no good unless you are a certain way. It's amazing how similar Blaine is to me (Hell, I talk to her mother about her daughter too). So I buy it, even if it is a bit exaggerated like everyone else in Glee because I've walked a mile in Blaine Anderson's shoes and in a way I still do. I still can't tell when others fall in love with me at all and I still push myself to be the perfect person people want me to be because part of me will always be that insecure.
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That's absolutely true - it just felt like that persona was very much based around social behavior for Blaine. Like, you can be The Studious One and show off how smart you are and feel freaked out expressing your vulnerability or times when you don't always know the answer, but it's between you and your teachers or your books, not necessarily the reactions of peers. Blaine was some combination of The Sage and The Gentleman, both of which involve connecting to others - being a mentor means he has to understand what his mentee needs (he got the what but not the how, a lot of the time, partly because he was projecting), being a gentleman means you do what we started out watching him do - congratulating, shaking hands, saying hello, talking about things everyone is interested in. If you're doing that all of the time, you've got an idea of what tact at least looks like. New Blaine...does not, always. XD Fanon Blaine even less so.
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Well, short version of what I wrote: I don't think Blaine actively tried to be Kurt's mentor so much as Kurt considered him that way in canon and we ran with it mixed with that interview. What I do think is that Blaine befriended Kurt out of "poor bb gay" syndrome and wanted to help him out out but by SB and SLS they are friends. Blaine is mature looking and polite, plus he's been there, so you see in NBK and SE Kurt pursuing Blaine's input where in every other episode they act like friends (even have Blaine pursue Kurt's input in SLS). Hence Blaine's look when Kurt says that he basically considers him his gay joda when all this time Blaine had seen Kurt as his friend and as his equal since SLS at least (you don't ask advice, stick with somebody when at your most vulnerable and confess if you don't see him as your equal and great friend, at least I wouldn't) You actually see in Sexy how much Kurt no longer considers him a mentor when He shoots down Blaine and shoo him out because he's no longer his gay yoda (among other layers going on)
The hand moment doesn't even count as mentoring when Rachel does something similar 20 minutes later. I think only mentoring came from that Pav metaphor as far as I can see. The only active "mentoring" episodes have him being asked for advise by this poor guy who is in the same condition he was a while ago and he projects and tells him what he wishes he would have heard instead of asking Kurt about it and then give advise based on Kurt's own experience.
The gentleman could come back a bit stronger though. He's still there, although Blaine feels relaxed around Kurt so he can mix it with goofiness, but it's not gone same as his need to be twice as old as he really is. But as of fandom, it will move on from that the more we see Blaine and his relationship with Kurt.
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