I spoke to their ghosts last night. I have ghost parents.

[ellydash]

Well, damn.

It's probably not the best idea for me to write these entries right after I've seen the episode, especially an episode like that one, because I have absolutely no sense of perspective about any of this, and also it is super late at night. FULL SPEED AHEAD, regardless.

I didn't unequivocally love "Asian F," but I feel like there’s a million and one things to talk about, which is almost as good. There were parts of it I actively didn't like, actually, mostly in terms of Mercedes's characterization – even so, it hit me really hard in a lot of different ways. Pretty much everything that happened tonight gave me a lot of feelings, though, which is a big part of why I watch this show in the first place. Even that hallway Kurt/Blaine scene got to me - actually made me tear up! - thanks to Kurt doing his damndest to be supportive and Blaine obviously wanting to kiss Kurt but Kurt recoiling because they weren't in a safe space. That was painful and really, really well done.

I was prepared to actively hate the Will/Emma stuff, because it's Will/Emma, and I've hated just about everything they've done with those two since "Sectionals," to be honest. The ginger supremacist parents, though. Wow. That was a dark, fucked-up scene, all the more disturbing because I figured they'd play that storyline in typical Glee "lol racism" fashion, but they really went there. If it wasn't obvious what they were doing at first, it was pretty clear by the time we saw the flashback of Emma's mother wiping off the glass the Latina waitress touched, and Emma mimicking that behavior. Then the hand-rubbing/praying scene. I can't pretend to have any objectivity about that part at all, because (TMI alert, apologies) I've been in something very similar to Emma's position before, in terms of being sick and struggling, while in a relationship with someone who wants to help but can't, and the whole thing just socked me in the stomach and put tears on the side of my face. And am I straying close to Will apologism if I say that I kind of liked that he told Emma's parents to go fuck themselves? And that I really sympathized with his position in that scene with Emma next to the bed? Ugh, I'm not kidding when I say I have zero objectivity here. Curious to hear what you all thought about it.

(kitsune13, if you're reading this, as someone who I know is not the biggest Emma fan, I'd really love to hear your reaction to Emma in this episode. I know it's not like any of her history nullifies or absolves her actions, but I thought it went a ways towards explaining why she's so judgmental and critical.)

Mercedes. Oh, boy. So curious to hear all of your opinions about this plot. On the one hand, I really like that Mercedes is getting some focus, and that we're seeing her struggle with what I think is one of the most interesting parts of her character, that gap between the talent she knows she has and the reassurance she isn't getting from her friends. And holy shit, was it satisfying to see her tell off Will. I've been wanting to see her call him out for about a season now, and I never thought we'd see her do it. The way they set up "Spotlight" was fantastic, too, having Rachel talking to Will while Mercedes circles around them, because the framing of that shot it implicated Will just as much as it did Rachel.

But on the other hand, I hate that they’re showing her as lazy when we haven’t seen anything, until now, besides Jesse’s comments in “Funeral” (WHICH NEVER HAPPENED LA LA LA) to indicate that she is. I don’t like that her boyfriend’s support comes in the form of driving a wedge between her and Rachel. I don’t like that she doesn’t have any support from anyone in New Directions, or at the very least, anyone to check in with her and say, “What’s going on with you, Mercedes?” – what about Quinn, or Kurt? Fandom seems to be reacting to it with this intense Mercedes hatred for her selfishness - which frustrates me, because it seems a lot more complicated than just Mercedes having a diva flare-up. Man, I just want a Mercedes plotline where she isn’t fulfilling problematic stereotypes and she’s got non-destructive support from her friends and an actual competition solo or two.

And, then, of course, Mike Chang, who I think I’m officially stanning for now. Besides the icky “Asian F” stuff (which, yeah, is an actual thing, but it felt forced and awkward and really unnecessary), I loved everything about that whole plotline. It’s great to see another parent besides Burt and Carole who’s supportive of their kid, and not gonna lie, I teared up when he was dancing with his mom. Harry Shum Jr. knocked this episode out of the park, triple-threat style, and Mike and Tina continue to be absolutely adorable. Love how supportive she was, even in his imagination.

Other things:

- Brittany S. Pierce needs a dance number every single damn episode.

- I did think it was kind of interesting that last week, Kurt was “too feminine” according to Artie and Beiste, and this week, Brittany seemed to be basing her campaign around the fact that she’s a girl and Kurt isn’t. Poor guy can't catch a break.

- Yeah, that Dreamgirls-staged number was hokey as hell, but I still ate it up with a spoon. Except for Kurt’s lines. Why do they keep forcing him into that high register?

- Loving all the Beiste we’re getting. Although it’d be really nice if they cut way, way down on the food jokes.

- Quinn’s awkward dancing. And her serial killer smiles. ♥

And let me just close by saying: Sam would never tell Mercedes not to hug Rachel.

Comments

[xenachakram12.livejournal.com]

Hello, there! I'm relatively new to your flist, but I had a bit of a different perspective on the ep, and you said you wanted to hear it, so here it goes!

I don't like the show making it seem like Mercedes is lazy, either. You don't have to be lazy to be unable to do the Widowmaker. That shit is hard! And her not feeling well doesn't mean she's lazy either! The show handled that in a really strange way, imo.

I didn't feel like the bf (Shawn? Shaun? Sean?) was driving a wedge b/w Merc and Rachel. Mercedes is so sweet and loyal, I think she needed to hear someone telling her that Rachel, at least in this moment, is competition and that if Mercedes wants to win, she's going to have to treat her as such. Lord knows Rachel never forgets who her competition is, friendly face or not.

Loved the Dreamgirls number, too, but I loved Kurt's super high register. He's the only boy in the club who can pull that off, so I'm glad to see him do it.

I love the amount of Beiste, too, but they def could cut down on food jokes. I was NOT a fan of her treatment of gender themes in last week's ep either, tbh.

RIP, Chord.

[ellydash.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you commented! And absolutely, I'm always happy to hear different perspectives - it's a good thing, keeps me reconsidering my own. :)

Making Mercedes lazy was, well, lazy. It's like they needed an excuse to make her into something of a villain for the purposes of the storyline, and so they grabbed at Jesse's criticism from last season and went with it as a personality trait. Seriously, we haven't seen anything out of Mercedes to indicate that she's actually lazy!

For me, that scene with Shane (I think it's Shane! Too tired to look it up right now) was frustrating because I don't know that being friends with Rachel and being her competition are mutually exclusive things. You can compete, stay in that competitive mind, and still love and care about the person you're competing with. I think the ideal happy medium would've been Mercedes being able to go full out for what she wanted without having to cut down Rachel to do it - but then again, the circumstances and Mercedes's history with coming in second to Rachel so often makes that difficult.

Kurt really can hit those notes, but I'm just not a big fan of the way his voice sounds in that register. I feel like it worked better for him in S1, but now it sounds like he's forcing it a bit.

Ugh, Beiste's gender stuff last week. That was super problematic - but in a weird way, I'm almost glad she's got a recognizable, human flaw now.

CHORD. Still in mourning, tbh.

[xenachakram12.livejournal.com]

Making Mercedes lazy was, well, lazy. It's like they needed an excuse to make her into something of a villain for the purposes of the storyline, and so they grabbed at Jesse's criticism from last season and went with it as a personality trait. Seriously, we haven't seen anything out of Mercedes to indicate that she's actually lazy!

YES TO ALL OF THIS. It feels like the writers often take the easy way out, repurposing characterizations to suit their current needs. (*coughBeistecough*) And don't get me started on the retconning! This is all weird and new to me, because the show writers in my other fandoms (Buffy, Supernatural) were SO careful to make sure continuity/characterization was maintained because they themselves were fans of the show!

You're right; his name is Shane. I read it somewhere after posting this and was like, "D'oh!"

I think the ideal happy medium would've been Mercedes being able to go full out for what she wanted without having to cut down Rachel to do it

*sigh*, yes. Unfortunately RIB like to create drama where there need not be any. It's what all the cools kids like! K, I'll stop complaining about the writers now. ;-)

Icon!Blaine misses Chord, too.