I'll be honest: at first, "Guilty Pleasures" didn't seem like an episode I would enjoy. I'm not a big fan of the concept of a "guilty pleasure" in the first place, because it implies feeling shame for liking something and we'd all be better off not feeling like we have to apologize for the things we genuinely enjoy. (Although we wander into new territory when that thing we like is Chris Brown. But more on that in a moment.) No, a "guilty pleasure" episode featuring wacky pointless covers of Wham! and ABBA seemed like it had the potential for high cheese. But in a weird way, "Guilty Pleasures"... worked?
"Guilty Pleasures," written by Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner, directed by Eric Stoltz
There are a few things that helped "Guilty Pleasures" along, which were done surprisingly well. First of all, the episode was low content. This can either be a blessing or a curse. Having room to breathe can mean letting us spend fun time with likeable characters just doing their thing, or it can mean that the audience might tune out because nothing in particular is holding their interest. Low content doesn't sound like a selling point, right? But low content for "Guilty Pleasures" worked, simply because Friend, Lerner, and Stoltz allowed for the fun stuff in between the plot and supporting the plot, which kept it from wading into murky and overwrought territory. Elements of the story tied together without being hamfisted or too melodramatic! (Okay, maybe not those slow-motion running shots during "Creep." But otherwise.)
The other aspect of "Guilty Pleasures" that helped bolster this lack of content was the idea that these kids were unsupervised for a week. Glee has rarely been able to seamlessly incorporate the adults into their universe, and thus tends to work better when we leave Sue and Schue and Emma and Beiste at the door. It's less cluttered to just deal with the kids, and there's something charming about this gang of misfits plugging along without any adult supervision. "Guilty Pleasures" featured a Schue-less week, and left the kids in Lima and the kids in NYC to their own agendas. And the agenda this week? Getting secrets out in the open.
The third highlight of "Guilty Pleasures" was what the narrative chose to do with these secrets. Usually, the unveiling of secrets is an easy way to create conflict - both inner conflict and person-to-person tension. It's a tried-and-true, go-to, shit-stirring device. In other words, Finn's bound to kick a chair. So it was refreshing that Glee instead chose to use secret-revealing as a way to bond the two groups of kids together... without anyone making them! There was a lovely sense that we were somehow watching these mini-groups (the New New Directions and the New York Roommates) cement their camaraderie as they weathered through a barrage of truth bombs. It's the first time this season where I've felt any real inkling of togetherness in either location. The character dynamics in "Guilty Pleasures" were actually firing naturally on more cylinders than we've seen in a long while.
Which brings me back around to my first point: the filler. Those spaces in between the necessary serialized plot points found interesting character interactions for Kitty with the New Directions - Brittany? Tina? Artie?! - as well as Rachel and Kurt with Santana, and even Blaine and Sam, whose storyline finally confronted the awkward unrequited love thing and made good on the straight-guy-and-gay-guy-are-meaningful-bros display Glee's put in their front window. We were shown things about these new and heretofore-underdeveloped interactions! That's what happens when, y'know, there's actually time to do stuff. We get little gems like Kurt and Santana watching The Facts of Life, y'all.
In New York City, Santana has promised Kurt to keep the Brody-is-gigolo secret from Rachel, which makes it super weird when you realize she has no idea why he broke up with her. But the secret doesn't stay in for long, and eventually Santana drops the truth bomb and Rachel is forced to confront Brody. I will say this: I feel really badly for Brody, actually. Guy does not deserve all the heat for being a male prostitute. He needs a way to pay the bills! Guy probably does deserve all the heat for having lied to Rachel about it, because having sex with a dude who's having sex with a lot of other people and not telling you is not quite on the up-and-up. Lying? Yes, bad Brody! Gigolo? Cut the dude a break. If Glee shames their male prostitutes this much, I'd hate to think how they'd treat a lady prostitute character.
Anyways, "Guilty Pleasures" made me feel genuinely bad for Brody, and that, for me, is a point in the plus column. Of course, this point is negated completely by Rachel seeming to swell with love at the idea that Finn beat the shit out of her boyfriend for her. (More awkward still that this physical violence was romanticized in the same episode where Chris Brown was vilified for his own acts of physical violence. So it's bad when Chris Brown does it, but romantic and gentlemanly when Finn does it? Yikes. It's bad all around, Glee. Physical violence is bad. Sure, I guess you can argue that domestic abuse is not the same as an all-boy saloon brawl, but... that's getting into a whole mess of gender-related issues. Let's just stick with this: physical violence is bad. I don't care if it's 'on behalf of a lady's honor.' Let's not glorify male aggression and encourage feminine frailty. Physical violence is bad!)
So Brody accuses Rachel of still being in love with Finn, and Rachel basically agrees. Actually, the moment at which I felt worst for Brody was when Rachel told him she was dating him because part of her wanted to make Finn jealous, and the other part wanted him to help her with her own heartache. Uh, ouch? Two terrible reasons to be in a relationship! And while I think the writers were stretching these reasons to (re)write their own history for Rachel and Brody, it doesn't change the fact that those reasons, assuming that Brody accepts them as true, really, really suck. I was never Brody's biggest fan, but damn. Damn.
(Also, on a sidenote, did the thought strike anyone that maybe Cassandra July paid Brody for sex back in that one episode where she wanted to piss Rachel off? Add Brody's cost to the JetBlue miles Cassandra gave up so Rachel could go home, and that was one pricey backstab. And it somehow makes Cassandra July really rather tragic. But she's not here anymore, so I don't know why I'm devoting brainspace to her. Be free, Kate Hudson!)
Through all this messy Brody-Rachel-Finn nonsense, though, we finally got to witness a fleshed-out dynamic between Kurt and Rachel, Kurt and Santana, and Rachel and Santana. "Guilty Pleasures" seals the deal on Santana's incorporation into NYC being a good choice for the show. We got great moments of snark and heart, all with effortless ease of interaction. Kurt and Santana casually watched The Facts of Life and chatted; Rachel and Santana casually went about their morning routine in the bathroom and argued; Rachel and Kurt casually made gooey-BFF eyes at each other as they supported each other through their troubles. Rachel and Santana were going to prank Kurt! Kurt made Rachel and Santana matching boyfriend/girlfriend pillow arms! Santana's a part of the family now! This three-handed dynamic is easily the best character-based thing Glee has done since... well, who knows how long it's been.
Back in Ohio, Blaine and Sam co-opted glee club and decided to make it all about spilling your secrets because it feels so good. What idiots. In a charming way, it worked, albeit with a few hiccups. These all kind of boiled down to the fact that confessing you like Barry Manilow is really not the same thing as confessing to your same-sex crush that you like them. It's really, really not. But luckily, this was helped along by the redirect at the end of Blaine's piano ballad - he never meant to reveal that his "guilty pleasure" was Sam (which is kind of a weird notion in and of itself, but whatever) and instead stuck to his Phil Collins story. I breathed a sigh of relief that this was not going to blow up in Blaine's face in front of the whole New Directions.
In the end, Sam brings it out in the open for Blaine, and reassures him everything's going to be fine. What could easily have been a big deal, for drama's sake, was wrapped up smoothly and without embarrassment. There was no "predatory gay" angle, or discomfort on Sam's part that Blaine has a crush on him. Basically, this was the Finn-Kurt storyline from S1 done with far fewer cringeworthy moments - although, admittedly, with far less character-based emotional depth as well. So, I choose to remember the Blaine-Sam team-up for this graceful sidestep of messy homophobic drama, while I simultaneously choose to forget that Sam told Blaine he could never really bond with Kurt because of the gay thing.
Meanwhile, Jake tried to sing Chris Brown and everyone yelled at him. Sure, the "separate the art from the artist" argument has its merit, but the issue with celebrity and success is that if you're buying the music, you're paying the artist, and therefore endorsing the continuation of the celebrity and the success. It's messy. Tackling Chris Brown is a messy, messy topic. Much of what was said is not entirely wrong - Chris Brown has done some real shitty stuff. And allowing so many people to speak out against Jake's song choice is fine. But I'm not entirely sure I'm on board with Marley voicing concern that Jake liking Chris Brown's music might be a red flag that Jake is capable of domestic abuse. It's a messy, messy implication that's a) pretty heavy, and b) kind of offensive. I felt a definite twinge of discomfort about Glee questioning its only MOC (currently onscreen) about his capacity for physical violence. Let's just not, please. Again - especially when two scenes over, Finn beating up Brody is treated as the equivalent of handing a lady a white rose. Messy, messy, messy.
(On a sidenote, is anyone else wondering, after Jake's performance, why he isn't the new featured player of New Directions? It's never even been a consideration, and yet I find myself watching his fancy footwork and thinking it should have at least been on the table. I'd love to see the guy lead a group number, instead of his endless string of shmoop duets with Marley and bro duets with Ryder.)
The remaining guilty pleasure at McKinley High belonged to Kitty, who for some reason didn't want to divulge her love of the Spice Girls. Spice World, as a masterpiece of high camp, I could maybe understand - but the Spice Girls? Since when was it embarrassing to like them?! Finn and Will had no issue recreating the boy bands of the same era, but the Spice Girls are embarrassing?! I comprehend nothing. Anyways, I just appreciated the way "Guilty Pleasures" wielded Kitty as a character. She's finally starting to show some layers, without feeling really inconsistent! She's becoming interesting, without declawing her completely! Consider me intrigued. Her brief interaction with Artie has me hopeful for some kind of goofy relationship, and her quiet "don't" to Tina after Blaine's performance has me wondering what exactly prompted the emotional nuance. Basically, I'm curious about how the writers are choosing to handle Kitty, who was basically introduced as a Molotov cocktail of Sue, Quinn, and Santana. At first, she was a bit two-dimensional. Then, she started getting funnier and a little less villainous. Now, she's one of the gang, but still pretending to be annoyed about it. (Her offscreen exasperation at Tina following her as Vicki the Robot Girl cracked me up.) I think this works for Kitty, and might perhaps be a new way to explore the loser vs. popular kid theme without being so heavyhanded about it.
Finally, credit must be given to Eric Stoltz for directing the crap out of this episode. Glee's pesky "oh by the way" flashbacks and signature-if-clunky narrations were handled a bit better than usual, thanks to visual intrigue. I loved the cutaway to Tina watching Brittany and Kitty on "Fondue for Two," placed perfectly after the line about the internet being a safe space. There was also a bit of fancy directing with the two time-lapse segments in the episode: Kurt zoning out in front of his "powerhouse ladies of television," with Rachel and Santana milling around behind him, and Brody and Rachel not quite connecting as one sits up and sings while the other half sleeps in their bed. Both instances worked rather well. The choice to act out the story of "Copacabana" with Artie, Brittany, and Jake was another smart choice.
And while this bit of praise can also be attributed to the individual actors, I'm going to throw a little Stoltz's way as well: he got some great performances out of everyone this episode. Chord Overstreet and Darren Criss did fine work with the comedy, and did well to avoid cheesiness in their final scene. Naya Rivera, Lea Michele, and Chris Colfer had a great ease of chemistry and walked that fine line between warmth and sass in their dynamic. And Michele and Dean Geyer both demonstrated some strong and specific acting choices in "Creep" - the closeups onstage actually showed off the genuine emotion of the song in this context. I was surprised to find myself actually engaged in their emotions of their breakup. Rachel exuded anger, pain, and sadness, while Brody sort of numbly expressed bitterness only. Some really great acting choices by all in this episode, actually, and very well-directed.
So, in a weird way, "Guilty Pleasures" was one of the stronger episodes this season. It didn't try to do too much with its potentially overdramatic plot threads, and instead focused on using its spare time to foster friendships and create a believable group dynamic without any adults watching. Because of that, there were so many little gems in this episode, all of them pretty delightful. With only five episodes left in this season, it's a bit disheartening to say that this was the first episode to feel like the characters are all finally clicking. But, better late than never.
The RBI Report Card...
Musical Numbers: B
Dance Numbers: B
Dialogue: A
Plot: B-
Characterization: A
Episode MVP: Santana-Rachel-Kurt
Friday, March 22, 2013
Friday, March 15, 2013
The RBI Report: "Feud"
I know that Glee exists in a heightened reality, where wacky things happen to exaggerated characters and we all just have to suspend our disbelief to enjoy the ride. Early on, the writing balanced out these moments with glimpses of emotional depth in their archetypes, allowing them to express themselves in the quiet spaces between the big musical numbers and glee club circus. Now, we're just kind of expected to fly along with the plot as it leaps from one scene to the next, accepting whatever rules the writers flimsily define for this episode and this episode only. "Feud" definitely filed into this category.
"Feud," written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, directed by Bradley Buecker
It's not that there weren't any good moments in "Feud." But between these few gems of comedy and genuine emotion, I found myself wondering how much suspension of disbelief was required to get full intended enjoyment from the episode. Will and Finn's feud naturally must result in a Very Serious Sing-Off between 90s boy bands - as assigned to them by their students. Naturally, Sue must desperately want Blaine on the Cheerios and will do anything - including a glee performance - to win him. And just as naturally, we're supposed to believe that it was Blaine's plan all along. Oh and also, Rachel is dating a gigolo. I guess Glee is just like Santana: "You can't apply logic to Lopez." I should probably stop trying.
So, the feuds...
Will vs. Finn
The biggest feud of the episode belonged to Will and Finn, simply because it involved the most deep-seated emotions. Will felt betrayed by Finn because Finn kissed Emma in a moment of panic. How could these bros ever survive? Well, they first had to get all their feelings out in a mashed-up duel of Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" and NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." The physical brawl turning into happy man-hugs was a bit weird, but Buecker needed something to cut to so he could track the emotional journey of the song and what else was he supposed to do? I will say, I was pretty impressed with the amount of upper body strength required to maneuver dance choreography with those life-size marionette strings. Respect on that front, for sure.
As for the Will vs. Finn of it all, I wasn't really interested until Marley swooped in to give Finn a cold dose of reality. (Although I find it awfully fresh that Marley's advising people to grow a pair. I'm pretty sure I've been wanting Marley to grow a pair all season long, simply to make her character less passive. Her boys-fighting-about-me love triangle and mean-girl-brainwashed-me-into-an-eating-disorder certainly don't give her Active Character points.) This was perhaps the best moment of the evening, because it allowed for a teeny glimpse of what Glee used to do with their characters originally: let them show vulnerability as they struggled with negotiating their identity and the real world.
Since Finn has graduated, he has been a lost little tumbleweed looking for direction. And as the erstwhile Mr. Ethos of glee club, the football team, and McKinley High in general, he doesn't know how to redefine himself beyond that realm. What a lovely little construct for Finn to actually manifest, because it's true. Finn has been grasping at the passions of everyone else in his life - Rachel, Will, Burt, his father - trying to cling onto something of his own, and he's never found it. His glory days are defined by being Mr. Quarterback and Mr. Glee Club - but what next? Every post-McKinley endeavor has been a failure.
Turns out Finn's talent is for teaching and leadership, in the footsteps of Mr. Schuester, which is apparently only a surprise to Finn himself. Character parallels are never in short supply on Glee, usually for worse than for better. We all saw the Schuestering of Finn Hudson from a mile away, from the plaid shirts to the Emma kiss to the belief that you totally don't have to respect the boundaries of your ex and her new boyfriend!
Anyways, Finn is not exactly reconciled with Will, and he's off to pursue a teaching degree thanks to the doe-eyed wisdom of Marley Rose. Was anyone else expecting Finn to haul off and kiss her too? Part of me hoped he would. That same part of me hoped that Finn would march up to Will and declare passionately "We are endgame" when Will admitted he wasn't ready to forgive. When will Finn show up on Will's doorstep and serenade him, thereby solving all the problems? And, finally, the same part of me that wished for these absurdities (or continuation of pattern?) went straight to the gutter when Ryder told Jake, "you know I have good hands."
Ryder vs. Everyone with Human Emotions
Yeah, Ryder was in the dog house with pretty much everyone this week. Jake was pissed at him for kissing Marley, and pissed at Marley for letting Ryder think that was an option. (I really wish Marley knew how much Ryder and Jake talked about dating her without her even there, because she really has a leg to stand on with that argument in her back pocket. Also, Jake, you were the one that basically let Ryder woo Marley with all those presents, so are you just as guilty of "letting" Ryder think that Marley was a kissable option? Messy.) Eventually Ryder apologized, and it was boring.
Turns out Ryder is getting over Marley because he's got a new mystery love interest, seen only through internet chatting. This girl may as well serve as Ryder's brain/moral compass, because homeboy acted real stupid and insensitive until she spelled things out for him. See, Ryder was having trouble being a decent human being and accepting Unique's right to define her identity whatever damn way she pleased. Oof, this was awkward and terrible. Yeah, in the end the right message was communicated, but there were a few problems with the execution.
First: it threw Ryder under the bus. I know that most teenage boys in Middle America aren't going to be understanding of trans* issues, but the sheer refusal to even respect Unique's point of view rendered Ryder beyond both sympathy and likeability. The exercise used him as an excuse to PSA, making him little more than a prop for the message. Which wouldn't be so bad, if his epiphany actually came from an interaction with Unique instead of his online flirt buddy. The whole point of this storyline is to demonstrate that it is entirely up to the individual to decide, embody, and project their identity into the world, no questions asked. This idea is centered squarely on the notion that this decision and declaration come from the person in question - in this case, Unique. And while Unique made her case and stood her ground, Ryder didn't accept it until someone else's voice did the talking. And not just anyone else - a faceless girl who he's imagining to be cisgender, blonde, white, and into him sexually. This sadly undermines the whole point, and makes me wish that Ryder's mystery girl is in fact Unique, effectively proving a sadder truth about the acceptance of trans* voices by society.
The one nice result of this storyline was a pretty solid mash-up between Elton John's "The Bitch is Back" and Madonna's "Dress You Up in My Love." I was digging it.
Blaine vs. Sue
So apparently Sue Sylvester must have Blaine's skills on the Cheerios, and will stop at nothing to recruit him. I feel like this storyline overlooked a few details that would have helped float its boat a little easier. Do we not remember Blaine's Warbler training? Both Dalton's Warblers and Sue's Cheerios have demonstrated a high level of showmanship throughout the seasons, and it makes sense from that angle that Blaine would fit right in on the Cheerios. The uniforms, the precision choreography, the sacrifice of individual identity for the sake of the group? All Warbler and Cheerio qualities! It would make so much more sense to hinge Sue's pursuit of Blaine on this textual commonality, rather than rest it on that certain je ne Blaine quoi.
This could have also bolstered the performance duel between Blaine and Sue, if both parties brought their flashy choreography and army of sycophants to back them up. Sue had the A-game, but apparently the New Directions has rendered Blaine's performance abilities to some basic incarnation of putting on a hat and twinkle-toeing around the room. Warbler may have lost his touch. Anyways, Blaine whines about unfairness (while I whined about him singing Queen Mariah) and got his ass dragged back to the Cheerios. Except - plot twist, y'all! He and Sam somehow planned this all along, so they can finally take Sue Sylvester down once and for all, FROM THE INSIDE. I mean, I guess these two sleuthed their way into uncovering the Warblers' steroid regime, but I'm not entirely sure I buy this deus ex machina reveal. Blaine and Sam are the equivalents of two human puppy dogs. They like to jump around and smile at people. Neither of them seem quite capable of rivaling the Clever Underboob of Santana Lopez!
Santana vs. Brody (and Kurt and Rachel)
So, now that Santana is in New York, this naturally means that she is supportively accompanying Rachel to pregnancy-related doctor visits, calling Rachel back to her true identity, actively trying to take down the gigolo boyfriend that she perceives as a betrayal of Rachel's true identity, and working at Coyote Ugly. Well, sure. Even with this clunky assemblage of plotlines, Santana still manages to be a welcome presence in the New York landscape - if only for her scenes with Rachel and Kurt where they all get to show off their snarky sides. Santana doesn't even mind that they make her breasts ache with rage!
Basically, Santana becomes a heat-seeking missile intent on ridding the Hummelberry Loft of Brody and his gigolo lies. She intimidates him at NYADA with a sultry performance of Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted," and when Kurt and Rachel kick her out for embarrassing them and being hostile towards Brody, she sets a trap for Brody and invites Finn to come beat the shit out of him. Damn. Don't mess with Santana Lopez. Girl's a trickster. While I kind of think Kurt would be Team Santana in opposition to Brody, and that it's tiresome to bring in Finn to brawl with Brody (especially with the line of dialogue "stay away from my future wife!") - this storyline is dumb from every angle, so I may as well enjoy whatever snarky tidbits it brings me.
Perhaps this Brody-as-gigolo storyline is the pinnacle of Glee's ridiculata. Yes, so many storylines require complete surrender of reality for them to make any sense, but this one takes the cake. It's so beyond the realm of grounded human emotion that it's just floating in a sparkly cloud of melodrama, perfectly primed for pregnancy scares, Santana snark, sexualized group dances, brawls in hotel rooms, and even a weird long shot down a hallway with weird snappy editing. (Buecker. This isn't The Shining. I know you're bored, but all play and no work makes Brody seem like a serial killer.) Anyways, my point is that this Brody business is nestled so neatly in the stratosphere of soap opera plots that I can't help but let myself float right through it marveling at all the rainbows and overwrought drama. I've found my threshold, right after I loop-dee-looped by Sue Sylvester in full Nicki Minaj gear.
The RBI Report Card...
Musical Numbers: C
Dance Numbers: B
Dialogue: C
Plot: C
Characterization: C
Episode MVP: Santana Lopez
"Feud," written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, directed by Bradley Buecker
It's not that there weren't any good moments in "Feud." But between these few gems of comedy and genuine emotion, I found myself wondering how much suspension of disbelief was required to get full intended enjoyment from the episode. Will and Finn's feud naturally must result in a Very Serious Sing-Off between 90s boy bands - as assigned to them by their students. Naturally, Sue must desperately want Blaine on the Cheerios and will do anything - including a glee performance - to win him. And just as naturally, we're supposed to believe that it was Blaine's plan all along. Oh and also, Rachel is dating a gigolo. I guess Glee is just like Santana: "You can't apply logic to Lopez." I should probably stop trying.
So, the feuds...
Will vs. Finn
The biggest feud of the episode belonged to Will and Finn, simply because it involved the most deep-seated emotions. Will felt betrayed by Finn because Finn kissed Emma in a moment of panic. How could these bros ever survive? Well, they first had to get all their feelings out in a mashed-up duel of Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" and NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." The physical brawl turning into happy man-hugs was a bit weird, but Buecker needed something to cut to so he could track the emotional journey of the song and what else was he supposed to do? I will say, I was pretty impressed with the amount of upper body strength required to maneuver dance choreography with those life-size marionette strings. Respect on that front, for sure.
As for the Will vs. Finn of it all, I wasn't really interested until Marley swooped in to give Finn a cold dose of reality. (Although I find it awfully fresh that Marley's advising people to grow a pair. I'm pretty sure I've been wanting Marley to grow a pair all season long, simply to make her character less passive. Her boys-fighting-about-me love triangle and mean-girl-brainwashed-me-into-an-eating-disorder certainly don't give her Active Character points.) This was perhaps the best moment of the evening, because it allowed for a teeny glimpse of what Glee used to do with their characters originally: let them show vulnerability as they struggled with negotiating their identity and the real world.
Since Finn has graduated, he has been a lost little tumbleweed looking for direction. And as the erstwhile Mr. Ethos of glee club, the football team, and McKinley High in general, he doesn't know how to redefine himself beyond that realm. What a lovely little construct for Finn to actually manifest, because it's true. Finn has been grasping at the passions of everyone else in his life - Rachel, Will, Burt, his father - trying to cling onto something of his own, and he's never found it. His glory days are defined by being Mr. Quarterback and Mr. Glee Club - but what next? Every post-McKinley endeavor has been a failure.
Turns out Finn's talent is for teaching and leadership, in the footsteps of Mr. Schuester, which is apparently only a surprise to Finn himself. Character parallels are never in short supply on Glee, usually for worse than for better. We all saw the Schuestering of Finn Hudson from a mile away, from the plaid shirts to the Emma kiss to the belief that you totally don't have to respect the boundaries of your ex and her new boyfriend!
Anyways, Finn is not exactly reconciled with Will, and he's off to pursue a teaching degree thanks to the doe-eyed wisdom of Marley Rose. Was anyone else expecting Finn to haul off and kiss her too? Part of me hoped he would. That same part of me hoped that Finn would march up to Will and declare passionately "We are endgame" when Will admitted he wasn't ready to forgive. When will Finn show up on Will's doorstep and serenade him, thereby solving all the problems? And, finally, the same part of me that wished for these absurdities (or continuation of pattern?) went straight to the gutter when Ryder told Jake, "you know I have good hands."
Ryder vs. Everyone with Human Emotions
Yeah, Ryder was in the dog house with pretty much everyone this week. Jake was pissed at him for kissing Marley, and pissed at Marley for letting Ryder think that was an option. (I really wish Marley knew how much Ryder and Jake talked about dating her without her even there, because she really has a leg to stand on with that argument in her back pocket. Also, Jake, you were the one that basically let Ryder woo Marley with all those presents, so are you just as guilty of "letting" Ryder think that Marley was a kissable option? Messy.) Eventually Ryder apologized, and it was boring.
Turns out Ryder is getting over Marley because he's got a new mystery love interest, seen only through internet chatting. This girl may as well serve as Ryder's brain/moral compass, because homeboy acted real stupid and insensitive until she spelled things out for him. See, Ryder was having trouble being a decent human being and accepting Unique's right to define her identity whatever damn way she pleased. Oof, this was awkward and terrible. Yeah, in the end the right message was communicated, but there were a few problems with the execution.
First: it threw Ryder under the bus. I know that most teenage boys in Middle America aren't going to be understanding of trans* issues, but the sheer refusal to even respect Unique's point of view rendered Ryder beyond both sympathy and likeability. The exercise used him as an excuse to PSA, making him little more than a prop for the message. Which wouldn't be so bad, if his epiphany actually came from an interaction with Unique instead of his online flirt buddy. The whole point of this storyline is to demonstrate that it is entirely up to the individual to decide, embody, and project their identity into the world, no questions asked. This idea is centered squarely on the notion that this decision and declaration come from the person in question - in this case, Unique. And while Unique made her case and stood her ground, Ryder didn't accept it until someone else's voice did the talking. And not just anyone else - a faceless girl who he's imagining to be cisgender, blonde, white, and into him sexually. This sadly undermines the whole point, and makes me wish that Ryder's mystery girl is in fact Unique, effectively proving a sadder truth about the acceptance of trans* voices by society.
The one nice result of this storyline was a pretty solid mash-up between Elton John's "The Bitch is Back" and Madonna's "Dress You Up in My Love." I was digging it.
Blaine vs. Sue
So apparently Sue Sylvester must have Blaine's skills on the Cheerios, and will stop at nothing to recruit him. I feel like this storyline overlooked a few details that would have helped float its boat a little easier. Do we not remember Blaine's Warbler training? Both Dalton's Warblers and Sue's Cheerios have demonstrated a high level of showmanship throughout the seasons, and it makes sense from that angle that Blaine would fit right in on the Cheerios. The uniforms, the precision choreography, the sacrifice of individual identity for the sake of the group? All Warbler and Cheerio qualities! It would make so much more sense to hinge Sue's pursuit of Blaine on this textual commonality, rather than rest it on that certain je ne Blaine quoi.
This could have also bolstered the performance duel between Blaine and Sue, if both parties brought their flashy choreography and army of sycophants to back them up. Sue had the A-game, but apparently the New Directions has rendered Blaine's performance abilities to some basic incarnation of putting on a hat and twinkle-toeing around the room. Warbler may have lost his touch. Anyways, Blaine whines about unfairness (while I whined about him singing Queen Mariah) and got his ass dragged back to the Cheerios. Except - plot twist, y'all! He and Sam somehow planned this all along, so they can finally take Sue Sylvester down once and for all, FROM THE INSIDE. I mean, I guess these two sleuthed their way into uncovering the Warblers' steroid regime, but I'm not entirely sure I buy this deus ex machina reveal. Blaine and Sam are the equivalents of two human puppy dogs. They like to jump around and smile at people. Neither of them seem quite capable of rivaling the Clever Underboob of Santana Lopez!
Santana vs. Brody (and Kurt and Rachel)
So, now that Santana is in New York, this naturally means that she is supportively accompanying Rachel to pregnancy-related doctor visits, calling Rachel back to her true identity, actively trying to take down the gigolo boyfriend that she perceives as a betrayal of Rachel's true identity, and working at Coyote Ugly. Well, sure. Even with this clunky assemblage of plotlines, Santana still manages to be a welcome presence in the New York landscape - if only for her scenes with Rachel and Kurt where they all get to show off their snarky sides. Santana doesn't even mind that they make her breasts ache with rage!
Basically, Santana becomes a heat-seeking missile intent on ridding the Hummelberry Loft of Brody and his gigolo lies. She intimidates him at NYADA with a sultry performance of Paula Abdul's "Cold Hearted," and when Kurt and Rachel kick her out for embarrassing them and being hostile towards Brody, she sets a trap for Brody and invites Finn to come beat the shit out of him. Damn. Don't mess with Santana Lopez. Girl's a trickster. While I kind of think Kurt would be Team Santana in opposition to Brody, and that it's tiresome to bring in Finn to brawl with Brody (especially with the line of dialogue "stay away from my future wife!") - this storyline is dumb from every angle, so I may as well enjoy whatever snarky tidbits it brings me.
Perhaps this Brody-as-gigolo storyline is the pinnacle of Glee's ridiculata. Yes, so many storylines require complete surrender of reality for them to make any sense, but this one takes the cake. It's so beyond the realm of grounded human emotion that it's just floating in a sparkly cloud of melodrama, perfectly primed for pregnancy scares, Santana snark, sexualized group dances, brawls in hotel rooms, and even a weird long shot down a hallway with weird snappy editing. (Buecker. This isn't The Shining. I know you're bored, but all play and no work makes Brody seem like a serial killer.) Anyways, my point is that this Brody business is nestled so neatly in the stratosphere of soap opera plots that I can't help but let myself float right through it marveling at all the rainbows and overwrought drama. I've found my threshold, right after I loop-dee-looped by Sue Sylvester in full Nicki Minaj gear.
The RBI Report Card...
Musical Numbers: C
Dance Numbers: B
Dialogue: C
Plot: C
Characterization: C
Episode MVP: Santana Lopez
Friday, March 8, 2013
The RBI Report: "Girls (And Boys) On Film"
Last time we saw Glee, big stuff was happening. A runaway bride! Wedding hookups! Inappropriate kissing! A pregnancy test! A possible gigolo! This is the stuff of high drama, folks. And "Girls (And Boys) On Film" devoted itself to continuing the development of these storylines, in one of the rare episodes that doesn't actually introduce any new plot points and holds responsible to the already-established. Everything within the hour was a linear progression from the events of "I Do," managed neatly within the confines of the week's theme: movie songs.
"Girls (And Boys) On Film," written by Michael Hitchcock, directed by Ian Brennan
Generally-speaking, the structure of this episode was a little bananas. Act breaks happened in really weird places, and exposition came from left field. (Seriously, they couldn't figure out a better way for Santana to talk about Brody being a psycho besides just having her get up and announce it?) Beyond that, the choice to pay homage to famous film numbers didn't have as much impact as perhaps the showrunners intended. The musical performances were actually the worst part of this episode, save for the stylized opener, simply because their content wasn't actually all that relevant. They just made me want to watch Moulin Rouge itself, instead of sitting through the songs cribbed from it for less dramatic impact. (Also, shouldn't the girls be disqualified for their mashup being completely snitched from the movie itself? I mean, Marley was spouting Jim Broadbent's dialogue. They don't lose originality points for that?)
Anyways, the backwards (and probably unintended) result of this construct was that "Girls (And Boys) On Film" was an episode of Glee where the actual scene content was stronger than the musical numbers padding out the hour. When's the last time that happened? Usually the music is what hides the imperfections in Glee storytelling, giving the episodes at least a mindless jolt of energy if not, at its best, an emotional anchor. But this episode's musical numbers were flatter than ever, and instead we got three, maybe four nuanced dramatic scenes and a solid smattering of comedy.
The episode's strongest scene goes to Kurt and his new beau Adam, in a refreshing conversation intended to cut the bullshit. I love when characters decide to cut the bullshit! We had to wade through some BS to get to this point, though, naturally. See, Kurt gets all weepy watching Moulin Rouge because he always dreamed he'd sing "Come What May" with Blaine at his wedding. Adam notices, Santana spills the truth tea, and Kurt tries to hide the feelings. I don't think these story elements are all that bullshitty (except for maybe Santana knowing what Kurt and Blaine want to sing at their wedding) - but the musical number was. It's one thing if Kurt watches Moulin Rouge and fantasizes about singing the song with Blaine. But with the way "Come What May" actually happened in the episode, it felt more like Inception than Moulin Rouge. As in, they decide to watch the movie, we cut to commercial, and when we're back, Blaine is wandering on top of a rooftop wistfully singing to the night sky. Kurt is nowhere to be seen.
I'm sorry, but aren't we in Kurt's fantasy? Why did he not even bother showing up for it until it was time for the harmony? Couldn't we at least have him watching Blaine sing, like Marley watched herself confuse her love interests over the potter's wheel? As it stands, we have a Kurt fantasy that doesn't even seem like a Kurt fantasy because it's not even from his point of view. And the writers tried to cover that up by sticking a commercial between Kurt's POV and the actual musical number, to break it in two. You can't fool me, show! I have DVR! I fast-forwarded through the ads! Honestly, the whole things smelled like a reason to give Blaine most of the song, with the nasty side effect of completely marginalizing Kurt from his own POV and also confusing the hell out of the audience. It was like a fantasy within a fantasy within a fantasy. But look - slow dancing and twinkly lights! How romantic.
Sorry. That was the BS that set the scene for Kurt and Adam's BS-cutting interaction. Adam is straightforward with Kurt, who does his best to be truthful in return. In an echo of the conflict between Kurt's wishes and reality, it's not as simple as wanting to forgive someone, or be over someone, and making that materialize emotionally. I appreciated that continuation of Kurt's complicated feelings, and the acknowledgement that it's near impossible to move on when you're stuck hoping for a fantasy. While Adam making it clear that he can't compete with that is perhaps a gloomy harbinger of their demise, I still liked that he brought it up. Because it's true. And Kurt knows it, judging by his forced enthusiasm at scene's end. All in all, it was an interesting interaction to shake out onscreen.
The other darling thing from these two was their impressions of the characters from Downton Abbey, which frankly showed up Sam's blowhard impersonation of Nicolas Cage. I'm less about Adam's take on Mr. Carson, mostly because I couldn't stop laughing at how accurate they were at imitating Mrs. Patmore and Daisy. Not only are they two of the funnier characters to mimic, Chris Colfer and Oliver Kieran Jones were eerily spot-on with it. So delightful.
The roommate dynamic has much more possibility for this type of goofy comedy now, with Santana around to poke fun of Kurt and Rachel, accentuating their dork status by contrast, and getting dragged into it herself. "Girls (And Boys) On Film" already made good use of the new trio's back-and-forth(-and-back) by pitting Kurt and Santana against Brody, as they think he's actually a drug dealer. They got a lot of joke mileage out of this concept - my personal favorite is a toss-up between Santana's confusion over Brody offering her a New York makeover, and her description of him showering: "scrubbing the drug shame from his frictionless body." But the montage of Santana going through all of Rachel and Kurt's belongings was pretty great as well, if only for the sight gag of Naya Rivera flailing on the ground with her head under the bed. How nice to see her getting some physical comedy to go with the usual verbal charge!
The Rachel/Santana scene didn't quite rank as high for me as a few others in the episode, but it was an interesting vehicle for the new turn in this duo's dynamic. I confess, I'm still not really on board with Santana saying things like, "Rachel, I'm your friend! You can trust me!" in complete earnest, but hey. We can get there. What I liked more is how defensive and angry Rachel was in response to Santana, which felt like a very real reaction for someone who is scared and alone and taking a lot of crap from an uninvited house guest. And I like the idea that because Santana is an uninvited house guest, who has decided to pry into Rachel's business, she's kind of all Rachel has, whether she likes it or not, and so Rachel kind of has to open up to her. It's a nice way to show both sides of this prickly friendship, in the classic "lock them in a room together and make them be friends!" tradition. So, cue the floodgates, and the moment we thought we'd never see on Glee: Santana holding Rachel in her arms and telling her it'll all be okay. You know what they say; babies make for strange bedfellows! Erm, metaphorically-speaking.
I think the best scene of the episode, for me, was Will and Emma finally getting a chance to talk about their botched nuptials. Again, this did a lot to cut through all the BS people like Finn were spouting all episode long. Because naturally, Glee applied its classic male-female interaction paradigm, and even hung a lampshade on it through dialogue:
I don't know if the urge to laugh or cry was stronger, when these awful words fell on my ears. It's classic Glee: when a lady's not doing what you want her to, just ignore her wishes and make her see it your way! She'll come around. Trying singing to her. It'll work. And, of course, this is exactly what Will did. Finn advised him to make the Grand Gesture, which sits at the end of every romcom, when a dude goes all out to "win" his girl back. My main problem here is not even on principle; it's the fact that this generalized movie bullshit was applied to a situation where it didn't even fit. Emma left Will at the altar; this story involves her POV more than anyone's. It's not about Will getting Emma back and proclaiming that he'll never leave her again. Fool, she left you! This whole exercise completely marginalizes Emma from her own story and replaces her with bland Hollywood nonsense. The arc should really be about Emma getting a chance to voice what made her run, and why.
Luckily, after another dumbass musical number cribbed from Say Anything, Emma actually got that opportunity. Turns out she felt like she didn't know Will anymore when he got back from DC, and didn't know what to do about it. Sure, it's kind of an underwhelming reason, but it's believable and a bit heartbreaking that something so small blew up so big. Plus, Jayma Mays was on my screen effortlessly acting her butt off and it's a surefire way to enchant me. But narratively speaking, this basically returns Will and Emma back to square one, and an eensy part of me wonders then what the point was. It'll be interesting to see the couple after this development, simply because the writers have deconstructed them so far away from their original fairytale paradigm that I'm curious to know how intent they are on demonstrating that in practice. Will and Emma, weirdly, feel like more real a couple than ever, with a lot of problems to work through and no promise for the future except the one they keep making to each other, despite the obstacles. In a strange way, I find that more romantic than any narrative promise of "endgame," the talk of "soulmates," or even any heartfelt duet. The little nod to the tradition of date-night moviegoing was a nice touch to theme, as well.
But the little hiccup in Will and Emma successfully moving forward at this point is, unfortunately, Finn's confession that he kissed Emma during her pre-wedding panic attack. This was another solid scene, although a bit melodramatic with Will's silent walkaway, and lacking the one element I really wanted, which was for Will to think Finn was joking when he first confessed it. How great would it have been for him to laugh in response to it, and then realize that Finn was being serious? Alas, that was not meant to be, as mostly we got Finn hurriedly explaining everything and Will looking more and more betrayed. So, the true love story of Glee has now been sullied by treachery and lies, and it's unclear whether these dudebros will recover. But I think they're going to sing about their feelings next week, so the broken trust stands a chance.
In the final continuation of "I Do," Marley confesses to first Kitty and then Jake that Ryder kissed her. Awkwardly, I didn't really care. Although for a brief moment - speaking of dudebros in love - I was confused by Marley's out-of-body experience and thought she might be watching Ryder and Jake canoodling over the potter's wheel. Anyways, I have little invested in this triangle, perhaps because Marley and Jake's innocent sweetness isn't interesting enough on its own, and somehow becomes even more boring with the added complication of the best friend. Wake me up when Kitty comes around to make fun of them all.
At the end of "Girls (And Boys) On Film," we were reminded that this "mash-off" was in fact a competition, one in which... everybody wins. The resulting outrage from the overly-competitive glee kids was pretty hilarious, I must say. Gettin' real tired of this shit, Mr. Schuester! But then they did another musical number that didn't matter, this time to "Footloose." By that point I'd taken to picking out the most attractive glee club member in each performance outfit. (Tina won the girls' mashup, Jake won the boys' mashup, and Sugar won "Footloose.")
Weirdly, the musical numbers of "Girls (And Boys) On Film" fell short of engaging and relevant, as Glee's scripted scenes actually took up the challenge. The added element of Santana in New York shakes up the dynamic and provided both comedic and dramatic content, and we got a few refreshing scenes that actively worked against the show's own BS! It was an unexpected hour of Glee, still telling outlandish stories and presenting its own half-baked universe of romantic drama and random character progression, but at the same time it found some good moments and refreshing emotional honesty in the spaces between.
"Girls (And Boys) On Film," written by Michael Hitchcock, directed by Ian Brennan
Generally-speaking, the structure of this episode was a little bananas. Act breaks happened in really weird places, and exposition came from left field. (Seriously, they couldn't figure out a better way for Santana to talk about Brody being a psycho besides just having her get up and announce it?) Beyond that, the choice to pay homage to famous film numbers didn't have as much impact as perhaps the showrunners intended. The musical performances were actually the worst part of this episode, save for the stylized opener, simply because their content wasn't actually all that relevant. They just made me want to watch Moulin Rouge itself, instead of sitting through the songs cribbed from it for less dramatic impact. (Also, shouldn't the girls be disqualified for their mashup being completely snitched from the movie itself? I mean, Marley was spouting Jim Broadbent's dialogue. They don't lose originality points for that?)
Anyways, the backwards (and probably unintended) result of this construct was that "Girls (And Boys) On Film" was an episode of Glee where the actual scene content was stronger than the musical numbers padding out the hour. When's the last time that happened? Usually the music is what hides the imperfections in Glee storytelling, giving the episodes at least a mindless jolt of energy if not, at its best, an emotional anchor. But this episode's musical numbers were flatter than ever, and instead we got three, maybe four nuanced dramatic scenes and a solid smattering of comedy.
The episode's strongest scene goes to Kurt and his new beau Adam, in a refreshing conversation intended to cut the bullshit. I love when characters decide to cut the bullshit! We had to wade through some BS to get to this point, though, naturally. See, Kurt gets all weepy watching Moulin Rouge because he always dreamed he'd sing "Come What May" with Blaine at his wedding. Adam notices, Santana spills the truth tea, and Kurt tries to hide the feelings. I don't think these story elements are all that bullshitty (except for maybe Santana knowing what Kurt and Blaine want to sing at their wedding) - but the musical number was. It's one thing if Kurt watches Moulin Rouge and fantasizes about singing the song with Blaine. But with the way "Come What May" actually happened in the episode, it felt more like Inception than Moulin Rouge. As in, they decide to watch the movie, we cut to commercial, and when we're back, Blaine is wandering on top of a rooftop wistfully singing to the night sky. Kurt is nowhere to be seen.
I'm sorry, but aren't we in Kurt's fantasy? Why did he not even bother showing up for it until it was time for the harmony? Couldn't we at least have him watching Blaine sing, like Marley watched herself confuse her love interests over the potter's wheel? As it stands, we have a Kurt fantasy that doesn't even seem like a Kurt fantasy because it's not even from his point of view. And the writers tried to cover that up by sticking a commercial between Kurt's POV and the actual musical number, to break it in two. You can't fool me, show! I have DVR! I fast-forwarded through the ads! Honestly, the whole things smelled like a reason to give Blaine most of the song, with the nasty side effect of completely marginalizing Kurt from his own POV and also confusing the hell out of the audience. It was like a fantasy within a fantasy within a fantasy. But look - slow dancing and twinkly lights! How romantic.
Sorry. That was the BS that set the scene for Kurt and Adam's BS-cutting interaction. Adam is straightforward with Kurt, who does his best to be truthful in return. In an echo of the conflict between Kurt's wishes and reality, it's not as simple as wanting to forgive someone, or be over someone, and making that materialize emotionally. I appreciated that continuation of Kurt's complicated feelings, and the acknowledgement that it's near impossible to move on when you're stuck hoping for a fantasy. While Adam making it clear that he can't compete with that is perhaps a gloomy harbinger of their demise, I still liked that he brought it up. Because it's true. And Kurt knows it, judging by his forced enthusiasm at scene's end. All in all, it was an interesting interaction to shake out onscreen.
The other darling thing from these two was their impressions of the characters from Downton Abbey, which frankly showed up Sam's blowhard impersonation of Nicolas Cage. I'm less about Adam's take on Mr. Carson, mostly because I couldn't stop laughing at how accurate they were at imitating Mrs. Patmore and Daisy. Not only are they two of the funnier characters to mimic, Chris Colfer and Oliver Kieran Jones were eerily spot-on with it. So delightful.
The roommate dynamic has much more possibility for this type of goofy comedy now, with Santana around to poke fun of Kurt and Rachel, accentuating their dork status by contrast, and getting dragged into it herself. "Girls (And Boys) On Film" already made good use of the new trio's back-and-forth(-and-back) by pitting Kurt and Santana against Brody, as they think he's actually a drug dealer. They got a lot of joke mileage out of this concept - my personal favorite is a toss-up between Santana's confusion over Brody offering her a New York makeover, and her description of him showering: "scrubbing the drug shame from his frictionless body." But the montage of Santana going through all of Rachel and Kurt's belongings was pretty great as well, if only for the sight gag of Naya Rivera flailing on the ground with her head under the bed. How nice to see her getting some physical comedy to go with the usual verbal charge!
The Rachel/Santana scene didn't quite rank as high for me as a few others in the episode, but it was an interesting vehicle for the new turn in this duo's dynamic. I confess, I'm still not really on board with Santana saying things like, "Rachel, I'm your friend! You can trust me!" in complete earnest, but hey. We can get there. What I liked more is how defensive and angry Rachel was in response to Santana, which felt like a very real reaction for someone who is scared and alone and taking a lot of crap from an uninvited house guest. And I like the idea that because Santana is an uninvited house guest, who has decided to pry into Rachel's business, she's kind of all Rachel has, whether she likes it or not, and so Rachel kind of has to open up to her. It's a nice way to show both sides of this prickly friendship, in the classic "lock them in a room together and make them be friends!" tradition. So, cue the floodgates, and the moment we thought we'd never see on Glee: Santana holding Rachel in her arms and telling her it'll all be okay. You know what they say; babies make for strange bedfellows! Erm, metaphorically-speaking.
I think the best scene of the episode, for me, was Will and Emma finally getting a chance to talk about their botched nuptials. Again, this did a lot to cut through all the BS people like Finn were spouting all episode long. Because naturally, Glee applied its classic male-female interaction paradigm, and even hung a lampshade on it through dialogue:
Will: She's made it clear she doesn't want to see me.
Finn: Well, then make her want to see you.
I don't know if the urge to laugh or cry was stronger, when these awful words fell on my ears. It's classic Glee: when a lady's not doing what you want her to, just ignore her wishes and make her see it your way! She'll come around. Trying singing to her. It'll work. And, of course, this is exactly what Will did. Finn advised him to make the Grand Gesture, which sits at the end of every romcom, when a dude goes all out to "win" his girl back. My main problem here is not even on principle; it's the fact that this generalized movie bullshit was applied to a situation where it didn't even fit. Emma left Will at the altar; this story involves her POV more than anyone's. It's not about Will getting Emma back and proclaiming that he'll never leave her again. Fool, she left you! This whole exercise completely marginalizes Emma from her own story and replaces her with bland Hollywood nonsense. The arc should really be about Emma getting a chance to voice what made her run, and why.
Luckily, after another dumbass musical number cribbed from Say Anything, Emma actually got that opportunity. Turns out she felt like she didn't know Will anymore when he got back from DC, and didn't know what to do about it. Sure, it's kind of an underwhelming reason, but it's believable and a bit heartbreaking that something so small blew up so big. Plus, Jayma Mays was on my screen effortlessly acting her butt off and it's a surefire way to enchant me. But narratively speaking, this basically returns Will and Emma back to square one, and an eensy part of me wonders then what the point was. It'll be interesting to see the couple after this development, simply because the writers have deconstructed them so far away from their original fairytale paradigm that I'm curious to know how intent they are on demonstrating that in practice. Will and Emma, weirdly, feel like more real a couple than ever, with a lot of problems to work through and no promise for the future except the one they keep making to each other, despite the obstacles. In a strange way, I find that more romantic than any narrative promise of "endgame," the talk of "soulmates," or even any heartfelt duet. The little nod to the tradition of date-night moviegoing was a nice touch to theme, as well.
But the little hiccup in Will and Emma successfully moving forward at this point is, unfortunately, Finn's confession that he kissed Emma during her pre-wedding panic attack. This was another solid scene, although a bit melodramatic with Will's silent walkaway, and lacking the one element I really wanted, which was for Will to think Finn was joking when he first confessed it. How great would it have been for him to laugh in response to it, and then realize that Finn was being serious? Alas, that was not meant to be, as mostly we got Finn hurriedly explaining everything and Will looking more and more betrayed. So, the true love story of Glee has now been sullied by treachery and lies, and it's unclear whether these dudebros will recover. But I think they're going to sing about their feelings next week, so the broken trust stands a chance.
In the final continuation of "I Do," Marley confesses to first Kitty and then Jake that Ryder kissed her. Awkwardly, I didn't really care. Although for a brief moment - speaking of dudebros in love - I was confused by Marley's out-of-body experience and thought she might be watching Ryder and Jake canoodling over the potter's wheel. Anyways, I have little invested in this triangle, perhaps because Marley and Jake's innocent sweetness isn't interesting enough on its own, and somehow becomes even more boring with the added complication of the best friend. Wake me up when Kitty comes around to make fun of them all.
At the end of "Girls (And Boys) On Film," we were reminded that this "mash-off" was in fact a competition, one in which... everybody wins. The resulting outrage from the overly-competitive glee kids was pretty hilarious, I must say. Gettin' real tired of this shit, Mr. Schuester! But then they did another musical number that didn't matter, this time to "Footloose." By that point I'd taken to picking out the most attractive glee club member in each performance outfit. (Tina won the girls' mashup, Jake won the boys' mashup, and Sugar won "Footloose.")
Weirdly, the musical numbers of "Girls (And Boys) On Film" fell short of engaging and relevant, as Glee's scripted scenes actually took up the challenge. The added element of Santana in New York shakes up the dynamic and provided both comedic and dramatic content, and we got a few refreshing scenes that actively worked against the show's own BS! It was an unexpected hour of Glee, still telling outlandish stories and presenting its own half-baked universe of romantic drama and random character progression, but at the same time it found some good moments and refreshing emotional honesty in the spaces between.
The RBI Report Card...
Musical Numbers: D
Musical Numbers: D
Dance Numbers: D
Dialogue: B
Plot: B-
Characterization: B
Episode MVP: Adam, for his flawless Daisy impression and intolerance of bullshit Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Bunheads 1x18 - "Next!"
What a bewildering season finale! Where most season-enders would find closure, or leave questions dramatically unanswered, "Next!" just kind of scuttles off into an episode-long exploration of teen sex and auditioning. But, with Amy Sherman-Palladino at the helm, the result is an elevated hour of television where honest moments are doled out in an alternating pattern of stylized comedy and emotional depth. Few shows can stitch these two polarities into something coherent, let alone engaging and likeable at every turn. For that, "Next!" earns its stripes.
Conceptually, this episode is a bit weird. While the girls spend most of the hour stressing out over sex, Michelle drives to LA so she can audition for a Broadway show. Bunheads nudged Michelle here through her interactions with Talia in “There’s Nothing Worse Than a Pantsuit,” and “It’s Not a Mint,” so it only makes sense that the narrative would follow through on this pursuit. At first, I didn’t know what good could come of this endeavor. Like the girls, I was afraid this would cause Michelle to run again, which is a character retread, even if realistic. Further still, taking Michelle away from Paradise deflates the whole purpose of the show. So what's the point of working against yourself, even if Michelle's dreams are still in the big lights?
But Amy Sherman-Palladino did something smart to manage the risk: it didn’t quite matter if Michelle got the audition or not. This wasn’t a plot expansion or character development. It was closure. Michelle’s auditions bookend the show’s first season - in the pilot, she bombs her audition, gets wasted, marries Hubbell, and here we are. That wound has not healed. It’s hung over Michelle through her dream performance of “Maybe This Time” in the midseason finale, through her takeover of Ginny’s audition for The Bells Are Ringing. Narratively speaking, Michelle doesn’t necessarily need to get a role. She just needs a successful audition.
And “Next!” provided that for her, even though the cattle call was just for show. With that heartbreaking twist, it keeps Michelle in Paradise a little longer, and suspends that sense of failed potential that identifies Michelle’s character identity. And even despite that, it reminds us that Michelle is talented as all hell, and reiterates its own suggestion that just because you have potential doesn’t mean you’ll have success. In all, this mini-arc was the perfect step for Michelle as a character, without messing up her role as the central fixture on Bunheads. A delicate balance of pushing her forward without loosening the strings on the core tension of the character or her place in the narrative. Well-played, ASP. Well-played.
The girls followed Michelle to Los Angeles, to make sure she wasn’t running away again - which was a pretty cute reason, I have to say. “Next!” was a great showcase of these four girls’ talents and chemistry in a group dynamic, which is rewarding to see in a season finale. This back half has brought each of the girls into their own, especially Melanie and Ginny, and it's great to see everything firing on all cylinders. They’ve all gelled so nicely, even with their distinct personalities, and it’s completely entertaining enough to just watch them function as a unit as they traipse through the narrative. Of course, having four voices for Amy Sherman-Palladino’s screwball dialogue doesn’t hurt.
Let’s back up for a minute. The girls also had group content this week thanks to Sasha being obsessed with researching every little detail about sex and dragging everyone in on it. This turned out to be surprisingly funny, from several angles. From its most basic concept, it’s pretty hilarious to watch Sasha tailspin herself into a preparedness tornado as she bakes pot roasts, reads Sex and the Single Girl, and requires Tolstoy-inspired letters of romantic inquisition. But the way she swept everyone up in her path also mined a lot of comedy. Roman affably - if bemusedly - just kind of went with it, as needed. Michelle was blindsided, but listening - and gave us the delightful bit of dialogue “I overintellectualized it, y’know?” / “…no, no I don’t.” (Even in tiny moments, the appeal of these two as a poorly-matched yet effective mentor/mentee duo is wonderfully present and specific.)
But perhaps the funniest - and most interesting - stretch of Sasha’s obsession was the extension to Boo. The Boo-Sasha dynamic is one of the show’s more complicated and affecting dynamics, simply because there’s a push-pull there that doesn’t ever escalate into actual antagonism. They are very different, and they may not be best pals, but there’s a level of tolerance and affection there that rounds out their interactions and makes them incredibly engaging. Boo gamely suffers Sasha’s relentless opining, and Sasha kind of keeps Boo under her wing.
“Next!” demonstrated this dynamic with all its edges, and proved that comedic content goes a long way between these two as well. Sasha co-opts poor Boo into her tailspin about sex, substituting every “I” for “we,” and forces Boo to try and get an Anna Karenina sex letter out of Carl as well. (Carl, sweet Carl, sends a comic book. I mean, graphic novel.) Boo drags her heels, Sasha badgers her, and eventually Boo fights back - only to have Sasha back down without any ounce of drama. The whole endeavor was amusing, yes - Boo’s hesitant reply of “…with each other?” in response to Sasha’s boorish “We need to consider having sex, now” slayed me, especially with that little dab of face mask on her cheek. But it also was an interesting demonstration of the Boo-Sasha dynamic. Sasha tries to boss Boo around enough, and Boo fights back. And instead of Sasha rising even higher and summoning wrath, she backs down and lets it happen. Escalation of drama doesn’t ever quite come to blows.
This brings me back to the interest in watching these four girls interact in their group dynamic - especially with regards to Sasha. Clearly the de facto leader, Sasha actually flirts with dictatorship over these girls. She singlehandedly ropes everyone into group study sessions about sex, even when at least two of the other three aren’t interested. She also unilaterally gets everyone in the car to LA, with the proverbial snap of her fingers. But they also clearly tolerate her, even love her - and Sasha is also clearly not a monster. She makes pot roasts and popovers, and still agrees to do night masks, and manages to make bitchy also really gooey. She’s become such a wonderfully fleshed-out character, and “Next!” showed that in full display. How hilarious was it to see her go full-on dance mom over Michelle’s audition? “Suck your stomach in, for god’s sake!” she hisses from the wings, and then complains that the anxiety shaved ten years off her life. She gets in a pretty mean backhanded burn in response to Michelle’s claim that “artists are so temperamental,” replying, “So’s Ginny.” But she also coos “look at her!” at Michelle singing and dancing, and lets Boo take a piece of pie home for Carl. It’s basically a treat to watch Sasha interact with anyone in any scene, simply because there’s no telling what exactly the snarky-to-soft ratio will be. At this point, she’s Bunheads’ most effortlessly expanded character.
There’s one result of the sex storyline that was pretty unpredictable: Ginny had sex with Frankie, whom she's pretty much stared at like a creeper for several episodes now. She confesses this to Michelle, then cries because Frankie hasn’t said anything to her in a week. She’s not entirely sure he knows her name. He was just so beautiful. I have to say, I can’t imagine this is quite what they were planning for Frankie and Cozette when they arrived on the scene back in “Channing Tatum is a Fine Actor.” In fact, it’s kind of a random conclusion on a storyline that seemed to be more about Cozette’s relationship with the girls. Of course, that’s assuming that Cozette and Frankie won’t be back, on the assumption that Bunheads even gets a second season.
Regardless, it’s safe to say that this turn of events has catapulted Ginny into the stratosphere of Most Tragic Bunhead. Usually Sasha is queen of this domain, but lately she’s so freakishly well-adjusted that it was only a matter of time before someone usurped her. Because really, how crappy was this back half for Ginny? All her friends found new interests outside their group, she felt betrayed by her best friend, and her home life consisted of her holding her mom together as her dad remarried. When you add up all those events and realize what stands on the other side of the equals sign - an inconclusive one-night stand with Frankie - Ginny basically becomes the most tragic character. Her scene with Michelle was painfully honest, and the subsequent dance number to “Makin’ Whoopee” only served to sharpen the emotional blade through contrast. Even though the girls wore coquettish costumes and danced flirtatiously, the staging was still dark and hazy, accented by swaths of red light - a stirring mix that highlights the complicated message about teenaged girls, adulthood, and sex. Of course, it’s an obvious choice to make Ginny front and center in this number, but I was intrigued as well by the attention given to Cozette. There's not really enough evidence to conclude anything from that; but it’s an interesting choice.
There was one actual wrap-up in “Next!” - with some prodding by Fanny, Milly gives Truly a new space for Sparkles, which has apparently died since its eviction in “Channing Tatum is a Fine Actor.” This little storyline was handled nicely, in that Truly’s depression manifested in gloomily charming ways - writhing sadly in a pile of tutus, for example - and it paid off in a great scene with the two sisters finally making some sort of peace. Milly offers up a mostly asbestos-free business space, and promises to waive the rent. Truly accepts, and all is well with the sisters… until Scotty Simms comes in. Yes, Scotty’s back, and it seems the only real reason why is to give him some chores and also eye candy for the Stone sisters. Both Truly and Milly found him cute (“He kind of looks like [Michelle]!” / “Except cute.”) only to realize that… they both found him cute. “Ugh, crap,” Truly complains. I hope this is just a little one-off capper on the scene to provide some humor, and Milly and Truly will not actually compete for another man’s affections in a Hubbell redux. As is, it was a charming finish on a poignant scene.
Also, Fanny was back, mostly to be a responsible adult about sex education, even if it involved using the phrase “clandestine carnal knowings.”
I do want to mention, lastly, some of the heightened moments of both comedy and truth Amy Sherman-Palladino dug out, because there were quite a few. Michelle making her way through the long audition line was a great bit, in that the line was so exaggeratedly long for comedic purposes as well as illustrating Michelle’s chances at success. The same goes for the four girls’ sex research montage; it did such a great job of finding a kernel of truth (what smart teen wouldn’t do a little research?) and then expanding it into something quietly madcap. The moment where all four girls step up to the wall of condoms, in sync, and then fold their arms? Genius. Also genius? Boo reading a Judy Blume book, then just switching to The Hobbit. Another moment of genius, this time foreshadowing? Ginny was reading Girls Who Said Yes - perhaps a heartbreaking clue to her offscreen timeline. (Her desperation to be better at art also makes more sense, in a completely awful way.)
In all, “Next!” manages to be highly stylized yet completely grounded. It’s still an oddball season finale, especially considering what Bunheads had set up for its back half, but as an episode unto itself it works remarkably well, and looks like nothing else you’d see anywhere else on television. For that reason alone, I hope dearly that ABC Family renews the show and we’ll see it again for a second season. And if not, maybe they’ll pick up the Melanie-Ginny spinster buddy comedy. I’d watch it - especially since Frankie might want to hire a bodyguard if Melanie finds out about his tryst with Ginny.
The Report Card:
Dialogue: A+
Plot: A
Character: A
Joke of the Night: Between Boo and Ginny, at the Methodist church where auditions were being held - "I'm not supposed to be here."/"You'll be home before dark."/"No, I'm Lutheran."
Scene of the Night: The sex research montage
Episode MVP: Tied between Sasha and Ginny. Sasha for the versatility, Ginny for the sheer power of sympathy.
Conceptually, this episode is a bit weird. While the girls spend most of the hour stressing out over sex, Michelle drives to LA so she can audition for a Broadway show. Bunheads nudged Michelle here through her interactions with Talia in “There’s Nothing Worse Than a Pantsuit,” and “It’s Not a Mint,” so it only makes sense that the narrative would follow through on this pursuit. At first, I didn’t know what good could come of this endeavor. Like the girls, I was afraid this would cause Michelle to run again, which is a character retread, even if realistic. Further still, taking Michelle away from Paradise deflates the whole purpose of the show. So what's the point of working against yourself, even if Michelle's dreams are still in the big lights?
But Amy Sherman-Palladino did something smart to manage the risk: it didn’t quite matter if Michelle got the audition or not. This wasn’t a plot expansion or character development. It was closure. Michelle’s auditions bookend the show’s first season - in the pilot, she bombs her audition, gets wasted, marries Hubbell, and here we are. That wound has not healed. It’s hung over Michelle through her dream performance of “Maybe This Time” in the midseason finale, through her takeover of Ginny’s audition for The Bells Are Ringing. Narratively speaking, Michelle doesn’t necessarily need to get a role. She just needs a successful audition.
And “Next!” provided that for her, even though the cattle call was just for show. With that heartbreaking twist, it keeps Michelle in Paradise a little longer, and suspends that sense of failed potential that identifies Michelle’s character identity. And even despite that, it reminds us that Michelle is talented as all hell, and reiterates its own suggestion that just because you have potential doesn’t mean you’ll have success. In all, this mini-arc was the perfect step for Michelle as a character, without messing up her role as the central fixture on Bunheads. A delicate balance of pushing her forward without loosening the strings on the core tension of the character or her place in the narrative. Well-played, ASP. Well-played.
The girls followed Michelle to Los Angeles, to make sure she wasn’t running away again - which was a pretty cute reason, I have to say. “Next!” was a great showcase of these four girls’ talents and chemistry in a group dynamic, which is rewarding to see in a season finale. This back half has brought each of the girls into their own, especially Melanie and Ginny, and it's great to see everything firing on all cylinders. They’ve all gelled so nicely, even with their distinct personalities, and it’s completely entertaining enough to just watch them function as a unit as they traipse through the narrative. Of course, having four voices for Amy Sherman-Palladino’s screwball dialogue doesn’t hurt.
Let’s back up for a minute. The girls also had group content this week thanks to Sasha being obsessed with researching every little detail about sex and dragging everyone in on it. This turned out to be surprisingly funny, from several angles. From its most basic concept, it’s pretty hilarious to watch Sasha tailspin herself into a preparedness tornado as she bakes pot roasts, reads Sex and the Single Girl, and requires Tolstoy-inspired letters of romantic inquisition. But the way she swept everyone up in her path also mined a lot of comedy. Roman affably - if bemusedly - just kind of went with it, as needed. Michelle was blindsided, but listening - and gave us the delightful bit of dialogue “I overintellectualized it, y’know?” / “…no, no I don’t.” (Even in tiny moments, the appeal of these two as a poorly-matched yet effective mentor/mentee duo is wonderfully present and specific.)
But perhaps the funniest - and most interesting - stretch of Sasha’s obsession was the extension to Boo. The Boo-Sasha dynamic is one of the show’s more complicated and affecting dynamics, simply because there’s a push-pull there that doesn’t ever escalate into actual antagonism. They are very different, and they may not be best pals, but there’s a level of tolerance and affection there that rounds out their interactions and makes them incredibly engaging. Boo gamely suffers Sasha’s relentless opining, and Sasha kind of keeps Boo under her wing.
“Next!” demonstrated this dynamic with all its edges, and proved that comedic content goes a long way between these two as well. Sasha co-opts poor Boo into her tailspin about sex, substituting every “I” for “we,” and forces Boo to try and get an Anna Karenina sex letter out of Carl as well. (Carl, sweet Carl, sends a comic book. I mean, graphic novel.) Boo drags her heels, Sasha badgers her, and eventually Boo fights back - only to have Sasha back down without any ounce of drama. The whole endeavor was amusing, yes - Boo’s hesitant reply of “…with each other?” in response to Sasha’s boorish “We need to consider having sex, now” slayed me, especially with that little dab of face mask on her cheek. But it also was an interesting demonstration of the Boo-Sasha dynamic. Sasha tries to boss Boo around enough, and Boo fights back. And instead of Sasha rising even higher and summoning wrath, she backs down and lets it happen. Escalation of drama doesn’t ever quite come to blows.
This brings me back to the interest in watching these four girls interact in their group dynamic - especially with regards to Sasha. Clearly the de facto leader, Sasha actually flirts with dictatorship over these girls. She singlehandedly ropes everyone into group study sessions about sex, even when at least two of the other three aren’t interested. She also unilaterally gets everyone in the car to LA, with the proverbial snap of her fingers. But they also clearly tolerate her, even love her - and Sasha is also clearly not a monster. She makes pot roasts and popovers, and still agrees to do night masks, and manages to make bitchy also really gooey. She’s become such a wonderfully fleshed-out character, and “Next!” showed that in full display. How hilarious was it to see her go full-on dance mom over Michelle’s audition? “Suck your stomach in, for god’s sake!” she hisses from the wings, and then complains that the anxiety shaved ten years off her life. She gets in a pretty mean backhanded burn in response to Michelle’s claim that “artists are so temperamental,” replying, “So’s Ginny.” But she also coos “look at her!” at Michelle singing and dancing, and lets Boo take a piece of pie home for Carl. It’s basically a treat to watch Sasha interact with anyone in any scene, simply because there’s no telling what exactly the snarky-to-soft ratio will be. At this point, she’s Bunheads’ most effortlessly expanded character.
There’s one result of the sex storyline that was pretty unpredictable: Ginny had sex with Frankie, whom she's pretty much stared at like a creeper for several episodes now. She confesses this to Michelle, then cries because Frankie hasn’t said anything to her in a week. She’s not entirely sure he knows her name. He was just so beautiful. I have to say, I can’t imagine this is quite what they were planning for Frankie and Cozette when they arrived on the scene back in “Channing Tatum is a Fine Actor.” In fact, it’s kind of a random conclusion on a storyline that seemed to be more about Cozette’s relationship with the girls. Of course, that’s assuming that Cozette and Frankie won’t be back, on the assumption that Bunheads even gets a second season.
Regardless, it’s safe to say that this turn of events has catapulted Ginny into the stratosphere of Most Tragic Bunhead. Usually Sasha is queen of this domain, but lately she’s so freakishly well-adjusted that it was only a matter of time before someone usurped her. Because really, how crappy was this back half for Ginny? All her friends found new interests outside their group, she felt betrayed by her best friend, and her home life consisted of her holding her mom together as her dad remarried. When you add up all those events and realize what stands on the other side of the equals sign - an inconclusive one-night stand with Frankie - Ginny basically becomes the most tragic character. Her scene with Michelle was painfully honest, and the subsequent dance number to “Makin’ Whoopee” only served to sharpen the emotional blade through contrast. Even though the girls wore coquettish costumes and danced flirtatiously, the staging was still dark and hazy, accented by swaths of red light - a stirring mix that highlights the complicated message about teenaged girls, adulthood, and sex. Of course, it’s an obvious choice to make Ginny front and center in this number, but I was intrigued as well by the attention given to Cozette. There's not really enough evidence to conclude anything from that; but it’s an interesting choice.
There was one actual wrap-up in “Next!” - with some prodding by Fanny, Milly gives Truly a new space for Sparkles, which has apparently died since its eviction in “Channing Tatum is a Fine Actor.” This little storyline was handled nicely, in that Truly’s depression manifested in gloomily charming ways - writhing sadly in a pile of tutus, for example - and it paid off in a great scene with the two sisters finally making some sort of peace. Milly offers up a mostly asbestos-free business space, and promises to waive the rent. Truly accepts, and all is well with the sisters… until Scotty Simms comes in. Yes, Scotty’s back, and it seems the only real reason why is to give him some chores and also eye candy for the Stone sisters. Both Truly and Milly found him cute (“He kind of looks like [Michelle]!” / “Except cute.”) only to realize that… they both found him cute. “Ugh, crap,” Truly complains. I hope this is just a little one-off capper on the scene to provide some humor, and Milly and Truly will not actually compete for another man’s affections in a Hubbell redux. As is, it was a charming finish on a poignant scene.
Also, Fanny was back, mostly to be a responsible adult about sex education, even if it involved using the phrase “clandestine carnal knowings.”
I do want to mention, lastly, some of the heightened moments of both comedy and truth Amy Sherman-Palladino dug out, because there were quite a few. Michelle making her way through the long audition line was a great bit, in that the line was so exaggeratedly long for comedic purposes as well as illustrating Michelle’s chances at success. The same goes for the four girls’ sex research montage; it did such a great job of finding a kernel of truth (what smart teen wouldn’t do a little research?) and then expanding it into something quietly madcap. The moment where all four girls step up to the wall of condoms, in sync, and then fold their arms? Genius. Also genius? Boo reading a Judy Blume book, then just switching to The Hobbit. Another moment of genius, this time foreshadowing? Ginny was reading Girls Who Said Yes - perhaps a heartbreaking clue to her offscreen timeline. (Her desperation to be better at art also makes more sense, in a completely awful way.)
In all, “Next!” manages to be highly stylized yet completely grounded. It’s still an oddball season finale, especially considering what Bunheads had set up for its back half, but as an episode unto itself it works remarkably well, and looks like nothing else you’d see anywhere else on television. For that reason alone, I hope dearly that ABC Family renews the show and we’ll see it again for a second season. And if not, maybe they’ll pick up the Melanie-Ginny spinster buddy comedy. I’d watch it - especially since Frankie might want to hire a bodyguard if Melanie finds out about his tryst with Ginny.
The Report Card:
Dialogue: A+
Plot: A
Character: A
Joke of the Night: Between Boo and Ginny, at the Methodist church where auditions were being held - "I'm not supposed to be here."/"You'll be home before dark."/"No, I'm Lutheran."
Scene of the Night: The sex research montage
Episode MVP: Tied between Sasha and Ginny. Sasha for the versatility, Ginny for the sheer power of sympathy.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Bunheads 1x17 - "It's Not a Mint"
Here's what I learned from Bunheads last night: even though the plot developments were largely centered on the girls' relationships with dudes, the best scenes of the hour still belonged to lady-lady ensemble. On the one hand, it's hard to complain about meaningful conversations between women onscreen. It's almost like these moments of poignance come as a reprieve to the more plot-based male-female interactions, as though the writers are hanging a "No Boys Allowed" sign on scenes of emotional breadth. The importance - almost sanctity - placed on the female-female relationship is near impossible to argue, and I love that it not only exists, but that it's a specific, directed choice.
But at the same time... I find it really hard to care about these girls' relationships with their boys when the ones they have with the other girls are far more compelling and complex. We'd gotten plot-related developments between the female characters before, but "It's Not a Mint" seemed to drop them in favor of pairing everyone in the group off. What happened to Ginny's anger over the girls' dynamic changing? Did she and Melanie resolve their issues? Is it no longer a concern that the relationships between the core four might be affected by their love lives? Beyond that, we're one episode away from the 1.2 finale - and some amazing storylines from earlier in this back half are still left dangling. Do we really not get to see Melanie at roller derby? Sasha really can just live like an adult, even though her parents basically left her without a second glance? What ever happened with Truly's rent?
In short: I'm a little grumpy that the plot arcs that Bunheads set up at the beginning of 1.2 are dust on the wind, and we instead get storylines with cute boys. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for ABC Family, being a cranky feminist 20-something who just wants to see teenage girls doing their own thing independent of boys. Is that goal unrealistic? Maybe. But we're talking about a show where a sixteen-year-old rents her own apartment, buys her own organic groceries, and does just fine paying the bills without a job. So. The realism card is not a strong one here.
But, like I said, it's hard to complain when there are such great female interactions in the mix. "It's Not a Mint," despite its drama surrounding Dez, Frankie, Rick, Roman, and, well, sex with boyfriends - still was able to put emotionally resonant content in the hands of its capable lady ensemble. The events of the episode were set against two backdrops: the evacuation of Paradise East into the ballet studio because of a forest fire, and the pending wedding of Michelle's BFF Talia and her aging fiancé Rick.
Last we saw Talia, she had gotten a random phone call offering her a role in a touring company of "Rock of Ages," but "It's Not a Mint" showed her plowing ahead with wedding plans instead. This turned out to be an issue for Michelle, as it bubbled to the surface in one of four strong lady scenes in the episode. When the wedding nearly falls through twice, first on account of the emergency and second because of Rick falling and breaking his ankle, Michelle tells Talia it might be good to have time to think. Turns out Michelle doesn't quite agree with Talia getting married to an old guy, especially when she seems to be "twisting [her]self into a pretzel for him." She's giving up performing just for what appears to be monetary stability, and Michelle can't fathom that - especially when Talia had a role for the taking and with her own pull towards performing, even in Paradise.
Michelle's objections towards Talia's marriage reminded me a bit of Lizzie Bennet's towards Charlotte's in Pride & Prejudice, which is a lovely little character angle that's entirely relatable but also flawed. Yeah, you can judge your best friend's choices all you want, but ultimately their situation is different than yours, and you have to accept that. Michelle reached that conclusion with Talia, upon realizing that Talia didn't mind turning down "Rock of Ages," and is actually pregnant with Rick's baby. (How adorable was it though that Michelle offered to raise the baby with Talia, though? It makes absolutely no sense, which is why it was so endearing that Michelle suggested that so quickly.) And we even got another always-welcome reminder that Michelle was married to a man for 24 hours before he died tragically, something that wouldn't happen to a person without impacting them. Especially without Fanny around, it's nice to remember that Hubbell actually existed, and technically Michelle is a widow.
There was another lovely lady interaction as a result of Talia's wedding calamity, this time through the involvement of Truly. Truly was hellbent on being maid of honor, simply because she's never been asked and believes she'll never be asked again. (I was waiting for Michelle to be offended by what Truly was implying by that statement, but it never came. Opportunity missed!) We got an episode of Truly being wacky as she makes her own bridesmaid's dress and wills the wedding into fruition, but we were also treated to an emotional moment between her and estranged sister Milly.
I won't lie; I've been a bit grumpy with Bunheads for introducing Milly and her sticky relationship with Truly, only to use Milly as a solo act and forgo Truly from those episodes entirely. These are sisters, dammit! There's a story here! And "It's Not a Mint" found a touching moment, after Truly realizes that the helicopter used to magically deliver Rick to the wedding was actually Milly's doing. This scene was so lovely and understated, as Truly thanked Milly for ensuring that she got her time as maid of honor, and had a brief conversation about their relationships with their mother, and the concept of marriage. It sounds like Truly and Milly's mother was a piece of work, and doesn't think they'll ever get married. For Milly, it's not a big deal. She adopted, and is happy. (Assuming the nanny is taking good care of the kid over at the Paradise West evacuation site.) But Truly still wants to get married, so I suspect we'll have a Truly-in-love storyline coming our way. I am 100% not sure how I feel about it being with Bash, though, which was hinted at in the scene. But we'll just have to see. Regardless, the Truly-Milly scene was a welcome moment of emotional authenticity between these two women and their complicated relationship. Keep 'em coming!
As for the bunheads themselves, "It's Not a Mint" took the opportunity to have all the boys and girls in one place, so that everything was a bit more boy-girl than usual. Boo and Carl are still going strong, and Sasha and Roman are progressing quickly. The episode also saw the shift of Melanie and Dez from lunkhead and sarcastic girl to potentially dating-type people. I do not know how I feel about this; I much prefer their dynamic as it was... but who knows? Maybe I'll be surprised. Ginny also seems to have taken a step forward with Frankie, thanks to the benevolence of Cozette. Their scene together was a sneaky favorite, and another instance of a strong lady scene - even if it doesn't quite pass the Bechdel Test. But Cozette's story of shooting an antelope in the head to put it out of its half-eaten misery was maybe the funniest thing all episode, especially with Ginny's shocked reaction. Better still, Cozette's version of shooting Ginny in the head was setting up a device for Ginny to hang out with Frankie, which was sweet. I like this iteration of Cozette: a kind of Milly-type exaggerated character, but who isn't actually mean or thoughtless. Just very, very blunt.
Of course, all this boy talk was tied together with Michelle finding a condom in the bunheads' dressing room, which she was appropriately horrified and angered by. I'm so charmed by Michelle's insistence on protecting the girls' innocence. It's a nice character note, and an easy way to make Michelle embody her reluctant mentor role. Plus, it's genuinely funny to see her be the "stuffy" adult who breaks up the girls' and boys' cots, and funnier still when she botches that role. I laughed so hard when she walked up to the girls, silently laid the condom on the table, pointedly glared at them, got nothing in return, then awkwardly made her exit. Oh, Michelle. Bless you.
What followed, though, was another excellent all-female scene, wherein the teenagers discussed sex. It's nice to see a conversation about sex scripted completely from the perspective of teenaged girls only, and this one definitely embodied a refreshing honesty within each of their points of view. Sasha, who, let's be real, was probably the owner of the condom, behaves very cavalierly about sex. This makes so much sense for Sasha, because she is a child playing grown-up, and always has been. It's part of her core construct as a character, and why she works so well opposite Michelle, an adult who doesn't quite have it together. This season has made Sasha's faux-adulthood more apparent than ever, with the independence and the apartment and basic emancipation from her parents.
So of course Sasha isn't scandalized by the possibility of sex. Screw the people who are judgey about teenaged girls buying condoms in grocery stores! And I love that Sasha brings that up. But at the same time, even though she's playing it cool, Sasha is still a little kid. And so the scene shifts to reflect that. Turns out Boo, who thought maybe the condom might be a mint, is on the pill. She casually mentions it, as she takes a bite of her sandwich, and all of Sasha's nonchalance about sex goes out the window. She pretty much flies off the handle at Boo's admission, and Boo's the one who's rather nonplussed about the whole thing. She doesn't even plan on having sex for another year and a half. But Sasha has a brain meltdown at the idea of Boo and Carl having sex, and another brain meltdown at Boo and Carl not having sex even though Boo's on the pill. Basically, Sasha's not as cool as she thinks, and it's kind of adorable. Also, the idea that Boo takes her birth control pill by putting it in a peppermint patty is hilarious and again, kind of adorable.
Speaking of Boo, Sasha, and grownups, it bears mentioning that the Jordan family invasion of Sasha's apartment was another episode highlight, even if untethered from anything else. Boo's family is endearingly chaotic, and their spastic and panicked concern for Sasha's safety was charming and funny. Plus, it brought back some of the Boo-related insight from earlier in the season, with the constant presence of the Winkleburn kids and Boo's place as a fixture of sanity in a slightly unhinged family. The scene worked well enough with Sasha and Roman investigating the possible burglary on their own, but got even better by adding the Jordans.
"It's Not a Mint" finished up with Talia's offscreen wedding going off without a hitch, and the evacuation being lifted. Naturally, in marched the firefighters, and who was among them? Godot. So, Michelle, too, gets a boy storyline for next week. Sigh! But even with all the dude-related story arcs, "It's Not a Mint" was a solid episode with a lot of great scenes. I'm curious to see what Bunheads puts forth for its winter finale, and how it will tie up the stories introduced in this back half, both bad and good. Also: hopefully Fanny will be back.
The Report Card:
Dialogue: A+
Plot: A
Character: A
Joke of the Night: "Stand down, Hulk." (A+ continuity on Melanie's protective rage.)
Scene of the Night: It's a tie between Michelle and Talia at odds over marrying Rick, and Milly and Truly finally having a meaningful conversation.
Episode MVP: Everyone was on point in this episode, but let's say Talia.
Dialogue: A+
Plot: A
Character: A
Joke of the Night: "Stand down, Hulk." (A+ continuity on Melanie's protective rage.)
Scene of the Night: It's a tie between Michelle and Talia at odds over marrying Rick, and Milly and Truly finally having a meaningful conversation.
Episode MVP: Everyone was on point in this episode, but let's say Talia.
Friday, February 15, 2013
The RBI Report: "I Do"
Here's what you missed on Glee:
It's Valentine's Day and that usually means a miracle descends from above and Glee puts out a reasonably coherent and enjoyable episode and this year it was also Will and Emma's wedding except Emma has a panic attack and sings really fast and runs out on Will but don't worry the reception still happens so that everybody can slow dance together and eat all the food that Emma's ginger supremacist parents provided. And Quinn and Santana bring fake IDs and get drunk and slow dance too and Ryder's giving Marley Valentine's Day gifts through Jake who thinks he might get some but he doesn't but other people do like Kurt and Blaine who aren't really agreeing on the status of their relationship right now and Artie and Betty who are both in wheelchairs but really like dancing together and Quinn and Santana who hate romance and men and decide to go for two rounds of lady sex instead. Oh and also Finn tells Rachel they're endgame which is really weird because how could he know that??? but then they have sex and Rachel finds out she might be pregnant but it's gotta be Brody's because it literally cannot be Finn's based on the parameters of time, space, and the human reproductive system so hopefully we're all on the same page about that. Anyways, it's super awkward because if she IS pregnant it's definitely Brody's and Rachel didn't tell him she had sex with Finn but it's about to get awkwarder anyways because Brody is a gigolo.
And that's what you missed on Glee.
"I Do," written by Ian Brennan, directed by Brad Falchuk
Can I just leave it at that? It's really all you need to know. Clearly Glee has decided to indulge in its own ridiculousness, picking up where we left off with last week's Emma-Finn kiss. "I Do" featured a continuation of that storyline, plus a random Quinn and Santana hookup, a runaway bride, a pregnancy scare, and the suggestion that a new character might be a prostitute. I can't really tell if this is Glee or a candy-coated soap opera, and I'm beginning to be okay with that? In tonight's episode at least, we had Ian Brennan in the writer's seat, and he tends to steer his episodes with only two wheels on the track anyways. "I Do" skidded in all directions, but much like a high-energy carnival attraction, it was pretty entertaining... and I only felt like barfing a few times!
In reality, the closing number should have been the opening: "Anything Can Happen," while super fun, had little purpose in the end, especially with Will scrolling sadly through pics of Emma on his phone and Rachel scrolling through her calendar and realizing she might be preggo. Yawn. "Anything Can Happen" could have been so delightful as the very first scene in the episode, to introduce this madcap hour of "what the hell is happening on my TV screen right now?" In any other episode it may have been too on-the-nose, but in a Brennan-penned Valentine's Day extravaganza of heightened reality? A great way to set the stage. (Besides, a ham-fisted musical number is no foreign concept to Glee, and the show frankly has bigger fish to fry with its hamfisted storyline progressions. But I digress.)
Regardless, there was a lot of doin' in "I Do." The episode revolved around the romantic entanglings of six pairs: Will and Emma, Rachel and Finn, Kurt and Blaine, Jake and Marley, Artie and Emma's niece Betty, and Quinn and Santana. Should we just go in order?
Will and Emma
Will and Emma are getting married! Except Emma is still in full-on panic mode after last week, and despite Finn's best efforts to calm her down with love's truly inappropriate kiss, he may have just exacerbated the problem. In a flurry of OCD relapse and bitching about the glee kids' incestuous dating, Emma tells Finn to keep a wide berth and his mouth shut. Finn obeys, but Emma's anxiety doesn't ebb. The resulting freakout at the church and the "(Not) Getting Married Today" performance was easily the highlight of the hour. Manic and unhinged, it somehow managed to hit the proper dramatic beats for Emma as well. More than that, it successfully incorporated Sue into the sequence, as a reluctant confidante for Emma but also a harsh truth-teller about Will and a comedic foil to the purpose of the scene. It all ended abruptly with Emma breaking down and crying in the cab, and in all I was rather impressed with the execution of the whole thing.
After that, Emma and Will are summarily not the point anymore. Emma's run off, and Will mopes about while Finn heroically tries to pull him up by his bootstraps. I don't know; anytime anyone utters the phrase "glee club taught me that," I tend to tune out. But as Will's best man, Finn tells him that Emma needs a husband and that together, they're going to win Nationals and track down Will's wife. I'm not really sure about any of that, largely because I'm imagining something where Emma goes away until the Nationals episode and then she comes back so Will can sweep her off her feet and win a competition. Frankly, it's a bit brutal to rip happily wedded bliss away from two people with such messy relationship histories with regards to marriage - so ideally, it'd be nice to honor that and let the characters feel their feelings and work through the development without cheapening the payoff. But we'll have to see.
Rachel and Finn
Rachel and Finn are reunited for Will and Emma's wedding, and teamed up to deliver Finn's best man performance, because this is Glee and we sing our feelings. (Sue probably has the acoustic version of "I Will Survive" already waiting for Emma.) Their stuff was simultaneously touching... and really weird. On the one hand, it's interesting to see these two interact again after having undergone fairly significant life changes independently. They're different people now, and it's compelling in concept to explore the slight shifts in their dynamic as a result. "I Do" managed to tap into that notion a few times, once when Finn bluntly informed Rachel that not everything was about her, and when he quietly explained he'd been dieting. Rachel's whole cavalier attitude was fairly intriguing on the whole, especially in contrast to Finn not really covering up the fact that he's had a rough time of it lately.
Where their interactions went a bit south was after Rachel caught the bouquet. What could have been a painfully genuine moment for Finn to see Rachel with the flowers and acknowledge the fact it probably won't be him by her side on her wedding day... was instead traded out for a stilted conversation designed around Finn plucking petals off a flower. There are a few things that weren't really working for this exchange:
- The "she loves me, she loves me not" angle might be interesting on paper, but it really interrupted the flow of the scene and made Finn seem a little bit like a serial killer trying to decide how he should off his next victim.
- Also, no relationship metaphor should involve the words "seed," "soil," or "bud." Besides, that "seed" allegory may have bit you in the ass, Mr. Hudson, considering the ending events of the episode.
- The conversation's tone as a whole felt more in keeping with a feuding married couple in a spy thriller à la Mr. & Mrs. Smith than a pair of estranged high school sweethearts.
- I just don't know how much I can express my distaste for writers scripting metatextual commentary about relationships into the mouths of the people IN the relationship. In other words: no one should be talking about how they are endgame, ESPECIALLY when they are officially broken up. This is not a sophisticated means of telling a story - no one within a narrative should make non-diegetic statements. Not only does no one in life know who's "meant to be" with each other, it's also just sloppy to include that sentiment in dialogue instead of action. If you want me to believe it, then show me.
- Even disregarding the previous point, it's not sexy to hear your ex tell you all about how you're going to be together forever. (I'm looking at you too, Blaine. I'll get to you in a minute.)
- Pretty sure attached women are allowed to catch the bouquet, as long as they're not actually married. And what is Finn, the wedding police?
- This is perhaps a personal diatribe of my own, but I don't think I can properly express how much I hate when male love interests smugly tell their female love interests that they're lying to themselves. It may be the souring of many romcoms gone horribly wrong, but I cannot think of a scenario where I don't want to punch a guy in the face when he says that to a woman. It's an overused trope that trivializes a woman's right to her own wishes and decisions by melting her into the arms of the man who "knows her better than she knows herself." And I won't have that shit.
In the end, Rachel had sex with Finn, thanks to their dynamite musical chemistry, and snuck out without saying goodbye. She returns home to Brody, who vomited Valentine's Day all over their apartment, and they talk more about their open relationship. Brody, being of modern mindset and few inhibitions, informs Rachel that "open" means "honest" as well as "label-less," and yet Rachel still hid her fling with Finn. But they're tit for tat, because apparently Brody is hiding something which can thus far only be interpreted as prostitution. I mean, what else are we supposed to glean from Brody leaving an apartment with a wad of money during a flashback embedded in a conversation about being truthful about your sex life? So, baby and gigolo will make three for Rachel Berry. (Although that pregnancy test looked like it was packaged sometime in the 70s, so I wouldn't rule out a false positive.)
Kurt and Blaine
The reunion of these two was presented somewhat unceremoniously, as they made their entrance horizontally in the back of a car. Core conflict here: Kurt wants to stay friends even despite a hookup, and Blaine wants to be together forever. (Okay, Tina went all Miss Emily last week; this week, it's Blaine.) Meanwhile, Tina's pissed at Kurt for toying with Blaine's emotions even though Blaine cheated on him, but it's basically out of jealousy because she's still in love with Blaine. The silver lining of this storyline, other than an amusing back-and-forth between Kurt and Tina, was the resolution of Tina's obsession with Blaine, with hopefully no traumatizing emotional consequence in its wake. The downside was hearing Tina gush about Kurt and Blaine's "legendary chemistry" as "two soulmates" performing. Yikes. Again, Glee, may I direct you to the note about including sweeping extra-narrative commentary in character dialogue. The audience does not need to be beat over the head with third party assessments that could easily just be demonstrated.
As for Kurt and Blaine's relationship conflict, the writers chose to script Blaine similarly to Finn - portrayed as lonely and adrift without their significant others, and insisting that they're meant to be together when in fact the other party has expressly chosen to cultivate another life. It's trying to be sweepingly romantic, but really it's unfair to Kurt and Rachel. Sure, they're not blameless in any scenario - these relationships get progressively messier by the episode - but at the same time, they have the right to their decisions independent of what their exes want from them. The writers seem to be operating under the notion that it's only a matter of time before everyone is happily ever after with their true loves, and unfortunately tethering the narrative to this tentpole leaves little wiggle room for story expansion and fresh ideas. Predestined journeys aren't always interesting.
Jake and Marley
All you need to know: Ryder still has feelings for Marley, but also bro feelings for Jake, so he Cyranoes Marley via Jake's Valentine's Day presents and then kisses her in the end. Er, on the mouth. In the middle of the hallway. So that probably will go well. Meanwhile Marley and Jake are very happy together, and apparently have good taste in music, judging by their selection of Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "You're All I Need (To Get By)." But they don't have sex, because Marley isn't ready - despite the fact that the boys have a whole conversation speculating that fact without her present. I must say, I'm getting super tired of Jake and Ryder discussing their relationships with Marley while she's not even around to have her say. Also tired of the show referencing Marley's eating disorder so cavalierly, without ever having made any narrative efforts to show her recovery.
Also, this storyline gave us confirmation that Puck is indeed dating Kitty, and because we didn't see her all episode, I am now concerned for her safety. The thing on Puck's head might have eaten her.
Artie and Betty
Turns out Emma has a niece named Betty, who is in a wheelchair, and who she assigns to sit next to Artie at the wedding. She's pretty rude to Artie at first, but I'd like to think that Artie learned a thing or two about appreciating sassy women after his encounter with the Righteous Blade of Equality, and so he pursues Betty without being weird about it. This storyline also features a tongue-in-cheek twist where Artie tries to have a glee-style poignant moment with Betty over being in a wheelchair, and she shuts him down. In the end, they dance, they laugh, they have sex, and Artie scores digits. It was charming, cute, and harmless.
Quinn and Santana
So, here's a pair that we probably never thought would make it to any kind of "couple" status, even if only in the bedroom. But Quinn and Santana rolled into Schue's wedding with bitterness, disenchantment, and a couple of fake IDs... and before we knew it, they were getting drunk, flattering one another, and slow dancing. Basically, their portion of the episode was spent selling the fact that they were going to have sex by evening's end, and it did a reasonably good job doing so. Actually, even with some awkward dialogue and the whiff of "drunk experimentation" about it all, everything boils away to one overriding strong point that resonated through the entire storyline: there was no hint of gay panic! Quinn was the one being forward with Santana, throughout the course of the reception, and even though there was the inevitable post-coital "but I'm straight!" moment! - a more kindly-phrased "it's a one-time thing" - it was immediately overturned for... a two-time thing. Woo, so not-traumatizing they did it twice! Which was good, because round two was definitely more sober than round one. So in one fell swoop, Glee managed to dissipate the clichéd "drunken" and "experimentation" parts of their Quinn-Santana hookup.
Beyond that, even though it was heavily suggested that Santana getting closer with Quinn was a result of her alienation from Brittany and her relationship with Sam, it never manifested in a moment of panic for Santana either. Basically, for two Slap Queens who subsisted on stirring up drama for most of their high school careers... this was a surprisingly chill coupling. And, if the writers chose to develop a character-based explanation for their tryst, it's easily there - the connection between Quinn and Santana was established in their first post-graduation reunion, where they knew exactly what each other's insecurities were and attacked them. These characters are essentially mirrored, each others' greatest ally and greatest foe.
Sure, this may rise and fall within one episode. We may never hear about it ever again. You may think it fan pandering or ill-conceived or a cheap hookup. But for all the show's dramatically-delineated permutations of teens confronting their fluid sexualities with the tear factor turned on high, this was a happily drama-free addition. It doesn't have to be a big deal! It's a nice little piece to include on Glee's mantle of Good Things They've Done With Regards to Queer Representation, simply because it shows a common situation from a refreshingly different angle. And best of all: V-Day has a new meaning for Quinn! Congrats girl, you can't get pregnant! (Rachel, take notes.) (Does it totally undermine my point by ending this section with a series of inappropriate joke? Oops.)
Stray appreciation: Naya Rivera's delivery of "Al Roker is disgusting, by the way" was maybe the funniest line all episode, second only to Jayma Mays' delivery of "you glee kids have dated so incestuously I'm not sure who can tolerate who anymore." Other random bits of delight were Sue getting asked to dance by some nameless character, Becky being pissed as hell about serving as a flower girl when she's a goddamned high schooler, and Marley spastically rocking it out in the background of "Anything Can Happen."
Anyways, ahead on Glee: Rachel is pregnant with Quinn and Santana's baby, Marley and Emma form a club of Women Who Don't Appreciate Being Kissed by Non-Significant-Others Without Permission, and Will and Finn sweep the nation in search of a Mrs. Schuester, only to come up with Will's drunk mom.
Yes, "I Do" showed off a lot of exaggerated story developments. But it was also entertaining, and for the most part, it made good decisions for the storylines it chose to use. Another charmingly off-kilter Ian Brennan episode goes into the books, and this makes three years running for a solid Valentine's Day offering.
The RBI Report Card...
Musical Numbers: A
Musical Numbers: A
Dance Numbers: B
Dialogue: B-
Plot: B
Characterization: A
Episode MVP: Emma Pillsbury
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