Comments | sistermagpie: Not for the first time

sistermagpie

Not for the first time

Nov 09, 2011 15:27

Glee is one of the weirdest shows on TV, I swear. On one hand I can’t follow it like a real show because it’s so inconsistent, but otoh it’s fascinating watching what stuff they throw at the wall every week to see if it sticks, seeing what strange ways people will behave this week and how it contradicts the strange ways they behaved three weeks ( Read more... )

meta, glee, tv

Comments 15

kaiz November 9 2011, 21:03:32 UTC

Basically everything you said (with the caveat that I kind of mildly disagree about Kurt), and boy-howdy did Artie's role in the story creep me out. And yeah, I interpreted Brittany's comment as her having been raped, too.

But there were two other sexy teims cases in the show that, gotta admit, I thought were even more bizarre than Kurt/Blaine, Finn/Rache. And that was Puck and the 'cougar' and Puck and Shelby. I mean, wow. First, the 'cougar' decides not to have sex with Puck once she finds out he has a child? Holy pederasty, Batman! And then, Puck/Shelby, WTF?

sistermagpie November 10 2011, 03:22:44 UTC

The Kurt thing I fully admit is totally subjective. I still like Kurt/Blaine as a couple, and even if I'm not into Kurt that way, I believe Blaine is so that works for me.

How did I forget about Puck? WTF indeed!

grimorie November 10 2011, 05:48:20 UTC

Oh god, the Brittany thing. I don't even know if the writers realize what they wrote there and if they did I don't trust them to handle this right and I'm just. Ugh. I thought that the writers finally had a handle on Brittany during the second half of season 2 Now they're writing her so uneven again I don't even know... Checking wiki it seems like this was penned by one of the new writers,which makes this even more anger inducing and disappointing because somehow I thought the new guys would know better!

sistermagpie November 10 2011, 16:02:32 UTC

I know! It was just...it's like just tone deafness. Not to get too gender essentialist, but when I heard the line I thought the ep had to have been written by a man. I mean...what???!!

go_back_chief November 10 2011, 17:44:50 UTC

Your first paragraph really sums up the entire show in a nutshell. I watch it sometimes when I'm bored and it's always with conflicting feelings. On one hand, it's usually entertaining, and what's better than a show with plenty of song and dance when all you're in the mood for is some lighthearted escapism? But on the other, it's so annoying in so many ways that it destroys said escapism... You steel yourself for the stupid that you know is bound to come, but many times that's just not enough.

And now that I've read your summary and I know exactly what to expect from the latest (right?) ep, I'm torn again, because on one hand it sounds like it may actually be so bad I'll have to watch it, but on the other, it also sounds like it's really all of my worst pet peeves with this show all in one episode.

I love her, and I defended the whole “first kiss” thing with Will because unlike some others I didn’t think it was insulting for her to get the experience of a kiss without it being magical and truly romantic.Well, my problem with that ( ... )

sistermagpie November 10 2011, 18:03:04 UTC

Sometimes I can't even believe it's on TV because it's so cobbled together and strange. Like even the worst shows usually make more sense, and this one's got more work and money in it! But it's like a trainwreck and you can't look away ( ... )

go_back_chief November 11 2011, 22:40:50 UTC

Okay, I couldn't resist watching it and wow, what a trainwreck.

Artie totally came across as just wanting to use every opportunity to brag about not being a virgin, no matter how inappropriate it was. (Like you said, why would he even make that leap, unless it was something he really wanted to believe, so that he could feel great about "being more experienced than a teacher"?) I found it really hard to believe that he actually gave a shit about either of these character's virginity, except that knowing about it made him feel superior. And if that had been the intention, that would actually have made sense for his character (especially since he begins the episode admitting to the audience just how much he revels in bossing everyone around), but I suspect that was not the intention, since he proceeded to meddle with Bieste's lovelife, as if he really gave a damn about her. Ugh, he'll make a worse Will than Will when he grows up!

Long comment is kind a long, sorry.... ficticons November 10 2011, 22:25:20 UTC

They’ve got 2 days until their production of West Side Story goes up and he tells Rachel and Blaine that it’s a play about sexual awakening and have either of them...? Because if they haven’t gone whatever they consider “all the way” then how can they play Tony and Maria?Yeah. You'd have thought that if he felt the way he did, he'd have told them earlier. Because otherwise he's not doing his job as a director properly. If having had sex was a prerequisite to having an understanding of/passion for playing these characters, then why did he not tell them that the first couple of times they did the duet in rehearsals? How were their performances then? Not to mention that what he did there was an act of peer pressure (and guilt-tripping) that Emma (the counselor!) should probably have picked up on and shut down. She may have her own uneasy feelings about sex and her own sex life but at that moment, IMO, she probably could have been in a bit more of a "teacher dealing with students" mode. Also, if Rachel hadn't inadvertently told Finn the ( ... )

Re: Long comment is kind a long, sorry.... sistermagpie November 11 2011, 16:40:05 UTC

If having had sex was a prerequisite to having an understanding of/passion for playing these characters, then why did he not tell them that the first couple of times they did the duet in rehearsals?

Exactly. Or make it a prerequisite of trying out (not that he'd ever be allowed to do that). It just makes the whole thing sillier, because Artie is basically looking at two people who need to go on ready or not in 2 days, and destroying their confidence by suggesting that something about who they are makes them inadequate.

I wonder about her. She says something about "crying like a girl" being embarrassing and...it seems to me that she might have some issues with expressing weakness and/or what femininity means.

She definitely seems like that--but then otoh she also seems more invested in girlie being good than most women. Like on one hand she loves being a coach and doesn't seem to go in for dresses etc., but otoh she's convinced she's undeserving of love because she's not traditionally pretty.

Couldn't it be character development ( ... )

merrymelody November 11 2011, 13:42:27 UTC

Artie isn’t suggesting that Blaine will have a problem with not being Italian

LOL, it's much like the drinking episode, though. WE HAVE TO DO THINGS EVERY TEENAGER IN A SITCOM DOES FOR THEIR VERY SPECIAL EPISODES. Why? WE NEED TO LEARN IT. FOR...ACTING. Next week, they perform Rent, so are forced to contract AIDs, until they meet a plucky HIV sufferer who reminds them about what's important, before disappearing offscreen forever!

Iow, Artie eagerly consented to sex and then blamed the girl when he wanted a do-over--it was her job to not tempt him with sex outside of love!I think they were supposed to go for 'Artie thinks Brittany only had sex with him for his voice' like Santana tells him, except he then turns his rant into 'Sex was special for me, and it means nothing to you!' Like if, you wanted to be 1000% sure of the person you're having sex with's motives, past and feelings, maybe don't have sex with someone you've spoken to twice. Not to mention, he specifically said he only paired up with her to make Tina jealous, so this ' ( ... )

sistermagpie November 11 2011, 16:48:55 UTC

LOL! I totally want them to do Rent now. And, I don't know, Les Miserables. One of them would need to go to prison or something.

It's funny, too, that they really already dealt with the whole "believably sexy onstage" twice with Kurt. First in the ep where he couldn't do sexy with the Warblers, and then when he tried out for Tony and everybody realized that he'd be so miscast in the part there's no way anybody would even consider him. Unlike Blaine. And I have to say, I read a recap of the ep that was like--wait, why is Blaine a virgin? Wasn't he living in a hottie paradise before now? Where he was king hottie?

God, yes on Artie. It's very strange how much of a real tool they make this character so often. He was terrible to Brittany, and then acted like a victim with her. I'm sure it's unintentional but at this point they've set up a pretty jerk pattern for the guy with her and Tina. And now with Blaine and Rachel.

It just seems like they're emphasising not just that Emma and Beiste are ashamed of being virgins, but that...well, ( ... )

merrymelody November 11 2011, 18:50:06 UTC

Then John Stamos married her despite never sleeping with her.And their relationship literally falls apart because the writers want it to. Like, she seems to be improving with Carl (whereas with Will's methods, she ends up scrubbing furiously and praying!) and then it's like, no, she's saving her Most Precious Gift for Will. Like, they could have even gone the equally cliched route and made Stamos a dick (he seemed sort of creepy, tbh!), which would have still Saved Her Innocence and left her ready for Will, but instead they literally leave it as she cannot sustain a relationship with anyone who's not Will. (Even though she and Will barely get along when they are together. Oh, and Will made out with like, a zillion women when they were together. Which has gross implications, like if she doesn't put out, someone else will ( ... )