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

[kitsune13.livejournal.com]

(fucking comment limits! Or actually, fuck my tl;dr tendencies. :D)

For your Emma question, I was actually wondering how you would react to that! I agree wholeheartedly with the way you put it -- it doesn't excuse the way she treats people, but it explains so much. I'm never going to fully like Emma -- I overidentify with Santana, it's a natural antipathy :D -- but that made her a million times more sympathetic to me. It also shed some interesting light on her relationship with Ken Tanaka; she went out with him in the first place because he basically emotionally blackmailed her into it, but now that we've met her parents, the fact that sticking with him was a big "fuck you" to her upbringing made a lot of sense. Jayma acted the whole thing just beautifully, and I was tearing up at the end.

My god, that bedroom scene hurt. It was so real and honest and they connected beautifully, but it also reinforced for me that they should not be together. It's Will's neediness-junkie thing again -- he wants to take care of her, and I loved it when he told off her parents. But for someone like him, it really isn't in his best interests if she gets better. If she gets to the point where she can tell off her own parents, she won't need him, and then what will he do? He wants her to be well enough to love him and fuck him and commit to him, but not so well that she could leave him and take care of herself. I'm not saying he's, like, consciously and maliciously gaslighting her, and she obviously values his support. But in the long run, I think it's going to turn into Will/Terri 2.0. And that makes me sad, because they both deserve better to be trapped in a loveless marriage of passive-aggressive guilt and neediness.

[ellydash.livejournal.com]

(Your tl;dr tendencies are the best! Seriously, getting to headcanon with other people who care about Will Schuester's massive emotional issues is so much fun.)

Mercedes, like many teenagers, likes to downplay the amount of effort she puts into things because she wants her achievements to appear effortless.

I really like this, and it makes complete sense for her, especially given her obvious and understandable insecurities about how other people value her. the_seaward had an observation above about Mercedes trying to get out of booty camp that feels dead on to me: "It seemed a lot more like someone who was made uneasy about being singled out than someone who simply didn't want to be there. We've all been there: you're worked up about something, so you make up an excuse to get out of it." Her anger at Will in that scene seemed like a combination of two-plus years of built-up frustration over being overlooked, and her need to lash out at someone who was pushing her in a way she wasn't comfortable with, and who wasn't listening to her when she was very clearly indicating her boundaries. Will seems to think the same method that works so well with Finn ("Just keep pushing through it!") works with all the kids, when it clearly doesn't.

I honestly never thought we'd get a scene where Mercedes called Will on his shit, especially because, as you said, it's a lot easier and safer for Mercedes to pin her anger on Rachel rather than Will. So immensely satisfying, although I wonder to what extent we were supposed to be cheering her on, vs. gasping at her "audacity."

That Ken Tanaka part didn't occur to me at all until you mentioned it, and wow, that makes so much retroactive sense. (I never want to credit RIB for these things, because there's no way in hell they thought that far ahead, but I really, really love when characterization and character choices accidentally make sense on this show.) Carl, too - I'm not sure what his racial/ethnic background was supposed to be, but I know Stamos is Greek. And didn't her parents mention how much they didn't like him?

Ditto on the bedroom scene reinforcing how much Will and Emma's issues clash. I thought Will admitting that he was completely helpless (was it the first time we've seen him do this?) might, just might, be a good opening to admit that he himself needs some help - but I'm sure that's not going to happen. It's reassuring, though, that we're actually seeing the show tackle Emma's issues - and, a little bit, Will's too - without dismissing them as cute or harmless. If they keep that up, I might actually be interested in a Will and Emma storyline.

I'm never going to fully like Emma -- I overidentify with Santana, it's a natural antipathy :D

And this is why I want all the fic where Emma and Santana interact! I think that'd be a fascinating dynamic.