I just want to live here and - and make art.

[ellydash]

First off, sorry for skipping a week! That sounds immensely conceited - I'm sure none of you were just sitting around last Tuesday night/early Wednesday, moping about NO GLEE TALK ON ellydash's JOURNAL, MY GOD, HOW WILL I FILL MY LIFE WITH MEANING - but I still feel a little guilty for disappearing. Life's been immensely, wonderfully busy for the last month or so, and I didn't want to make a post and not have the time to reply to comments - plus, there wasn't much I was interested in talking about last week besides Puck Puckerman and Quinn "Really? That's - well, okay, I guess that's what they're going to do with her now" Fabray. (Which we can totally still talk about, if you guys want!)

This week, though: lots for discussion. I don't know how much I actually liked this episode, but I want to talk about it, which is more important to me, tbh.

Finn broke my heart. I feel a little guilty for developing this sudden interest in S3 Finn, because he's bothered me on a consistent basis, and occasionally downright angered me, since "Theatricality." Having ~emotions about the problems of a straight, white cis-dude, especially when he's been such a shit so often, feels weird. (And before you say it, I don't have ~emotions about Will, other then general delight in his earnest, off-the-mark terribleness and rage over his more egregious offenses.)

That being said, I'm really interested in what's been going on with him this season. Finn's always been on the top of the high school food chain, and now he's seeing his future yawn out in front of him, and that future is unstructured, without any obvious opportunity - and pretty scary. He clearly doesn't know what he wants out of life, other than to be "special," somehow, like Rachel and Kurt and Blaine, but his skill set isn't their skill set. (That, to me, is where the upset over Blaine last week was coming from - Finn trying to cling as hard as he can to his leading man status, because he's completely terrified that for the rest of his life, he's going to be an extra.) I wasn't expecting the Finn/Rachel first time to be so blatantly within this context of reassurance, but it really was. It's like they're confusing the love they think they feel for each other with the need they both have to feel safe, for very different reasons.

Kurt and Blaine were really compelling for me, too, from a character standpoint, and they usually don't hold my interest much. The car fight scene felt realistic, very IC for both of them, and Chris Colfer acted the hell out of it (also, is it just me, or is Darren's acting getting better?). I like Kurt/Blaine so much more as a ship when there's some interesting conflict that challenges what they have, both outside - the WSS casting issues - and inside the relationship. They had a bunch of little moments tonight that worked really well. I especially loved Kurt's fingers running over his own hand after Blaine walks away in the hallway scene (see gif). Chris is so goddamned good at finding the small things in his performance, those tiny movements that make Kurt and Blaine's connection come across as something that doesn't end when the scene does. (As a side note, could their crotches have been any further apart when they were in bed? I'm imagining Standards and Practices marking the distance between them with a tape measurer.)

Finally, Shannon. Okay. I totally love Shannon Beiste - you guys know that - and I'm always down for her to have more screentime, even when that screentime makes her a little more problematic (see: her comments regarding Kurt and gender). And I'm thrilled that she's getting a love interest, because she deserves to have an awesome guy romance her, and it's just really cool seeing an unconventionally attractive woman in that context. However (and you knew that was coming) I'm really not thrilled with the fact that we're seeing, yet again, a plotline where Shannon feels unattractive and unappealing to the opposite sex, and a conventionally attractive man - or, in the case of one Will Schuester, a man we’re supposed to think is conventionally attractive - tells her how beautiful she is, end of plot. Isolated, it's not the worst, but in the context of Glee, where so many conflicts seem to distill down to "woman acts crazy or has insecurity; man steps in and resolves situation," it really doesn't sit well with me. At least this time she didn't get a pity kiss, I guess.

Other thoughts:

- Artie, stop it. Seriously, stop it. I had to turn down the volume during his sex talk with Shannon, I was so embarrassed for both of them. And what the hell was with the whole "you need to have sex in order to be sexy" thing? I realize there needed to be some sort of catalyst for the virginity storyline, but that was some lazy, stupid writing.

- "You can't do this with your brother!" Rachel, I can show you a whole lot of fic that begs to differ.

- I usually tune out the Dalton scenes, but that French teacher in the red skirt? WOW. Oh, wow.

- Really, really wish "A Boy Like That" hadn't been intercut with Blaine/Sebastian. I get what they were trying to do with it, and I appreciate the attempt to shake things up stylistically, but I really just wanted to watch Rachel and Santana have inappropriate chemistry, tbh.

- Cried with laughter at ND's "acting" in West Side Story, especially Puck and Rory. Ages ago, I read a fantastically terrible Glee/Titanic crossover (don't judge my life choices, okay) that had Puck uttering the line, "Ah, forget it, boyo. You're as like to have angels fly out your arse as get next to the likes of her." Tonight's line readings were almost as good.

- Curious to hear what you guys think of Karofsky's return. I've got some mixed feelings about it myself.

- Loved the shot of Mercedes in the audience supporting her friends.

- Kurt's possessive shimmy on the dance floor when he cut in between Sebastian and Blaine may have been my favorite moment of the entire episode.

Comments

[abluegirl.livejournal.com]

This titanic cross over, you must share it with me if you can find it again. It sounds awesome(ly terrible). And man, the accents and performances of Puck, Rory & other in WSS was one of my favorite things about this episode.

My favorite moment: Blaine rhapsodizing about Roxy Music. And then dancing. I am superficial, I can't even.

I'd like to see more of Bieste's new BF. I like them together, and I can relate to her because I've always been the kind of person to never ever be able to tell when somebody is into me (that always goes right over my head... and not like it matters now, I have my husband and we bonded on a very geek level which is apparently what works for me). But yeah, I get the challenge that she faces there.

Karofsky - IDK. I would be happy if he doesn't appear again. I never liked his character, and this episode didn't really endear me to him like it was supposed to. On the one hand, yeah, I'm glad that he is more comfortable in his own skin, and baby steps are good... but on the other hand, he's still the same guy who bullied others and threatened them with violence. Yeah, people change, especially in and after high school, but still. I'd be happier if we didn't see him again.

[ellydash.livejournal.com]

I wish I could find it again - I even tried googling "glee titanic fic" to see if I could find it, but no such luck. All I remember is that Rose was Kurt - and I want to say that Jack was Finn? I'm not sure. And literally the entire fic was just quotes from Titanic put in the mouths of Glee characters, with very little variance to the lines to make them fit. Hence Irish Puck.

Blaine's dancing and rhapsodizing was adorable! I really do love that character when he's being disarmingly goofy.

Loved, loved, loved Beiste's total inability to get that Cooter was interested in her (I laughed so hard at "What're the flowers for? Are you going to a graveyard?"). And I want so much for her to have an awesome relationship with an awesome guy who treats her well. I'm really not looking forward to [spoiler]Cooter hooking up with Sue and Shannon having a "Jolene"-inspired crisis over it (as hilarious as the idea of Shannon singing "Your beauty is beyond compare/With flaming locks of auburn hair" about Sue Sylvester is). The whole thing's probably going to be severely unpleasant.[/spoiler]

Yeah, I think I'd be okay with not seeing Karofsky again, as much as I'd like a few things with his storyline to be resolved. I just don't think the writers are capable of dealing with that character in a compelling, non-problematic way.