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

[ashmole.livejournal.com]

Um actual storylines! Let’s see – I feel bad to say after the heartfelt nature of some of the things said here but Will/Emma remains more in the compelling trainwreck category for me right now rather than the deeply moving. I think it’s the sudden intrusion of big big themes (God, mental illness and Aryan supremicism) into the confines of an up until now quite restricted side story, it all feels a bit like a rampaging elephant to me as of right now. I am interested though.

I continue to love Kurt and Blaine and their storyline so far though I was a little disappointed at not getting a little more follow through on their issues last week carrying over apart from the heartbreaking shot of Kurt hugging Blaine as the list of roles went up. I’d also really like for Kurt’s support network to kick in a bit and for Blaine to develop one because at the moment they both have things that I think they need to articulate to people other than one another.

Quinn is a mess and, again I find it interesting. I love her and Puck right now but nothing that they are actually doing.

I’ll just cut this off because it is way long and I can’t remember all the other things I meant to squeeze in but there it is.

----

Holy crap tldr.

[ellydash.livejournal.com]

I don't have hearts big enough for how well thought-out this is, bb. ♥ ♥ ♥

First off, I don't think you should feel bad about not being moved by the Will/Emma stuff - those of us who had strong reactions to it had them for immensely subjective and personal reasons, and I think there's room for a good critique of the way the show very quickly shoehorned some of the more intensely serious stuff into their dynamic.

The strangest thing about Glee right now and I think the cause of a lot of fan anger is that it’s now simultaneously giving some characters ‘reality checks’ while remaining a wish fulfilment fantasy for others.

Maybe the only consistent thing about Glee over the last two-plus seasons is that it's never exactly sure what kind of show it wants to be. And sometimes that confusion creates really interesting hybrids, style-wise and content-wise, and sometimes it just makes a big 'ol mess. I think the show's more interested in "reality" than it's been since S1 (and by "reality" I mean interactions and outcomes that aren't hyper-stylized or easily swept under the rug), which is seriously interesting to me, because the future is a far scarier bad guy, in some ways, than Sue Sylvester could ever be. (Which is a whole other meta topic I could tl;dr about and probably will at some point, tbh.) Any time you have a show that integrates musical numbers and actively expects you, as the viewer, to suspend your logic on a regular basis, you've got a fantasy of some sort - and then to actively dilute that fantasy gets tricky in terms of keeping your audience happy. Kind of like L. Frank Baum constantly interrupting the Oz narrative to remind us of how shitty Kansas is.

I love it personally because it’s weird and obnoxious and interesting and it creates an odd tension in expectation between the fandom and the show runners but it’s not likely to feel natural or be easily palatable.

That's the show's strength and weakness, imo, and why fandom for me, personally, is so much fun - because there are these massive gaps between what the show's reaching for, or what we think it should be reaching for and isn't, and what it's actually achieving. That's the sweet spot for fandom - all those spaces where we can scratch out different motivations and plotlines and AUs and address the million and one things canon can't be bothered to spend time addressing. And the fact that, as you say, those tensions don't feel natural or palatable, is fertile ground for all of us who like to spend our free time thinking about and writing about this silly show. :D

Disconnected from anything else I agree that the storyline would have been so fascinating to me if Sam were still around and dating Mercedes. If anything, although he wasn’t a massive character, he built up a fair bit of momentum as a moral anchor and it would make things a lot more balanced in my eyes in comparison to Shane who we don’t yet know. I miss him ;________;

Oh, man, I miss Sam sfm. ;_______; Although I wonder if he were still with Mercedes and on the show, if the writers would've just had him do the same thing Shane did. For my part I'd love to believe that Sam would be supportive of Mercedes without encouraging her to shun Rachel, and I think that'd be in character for him, but who knows, they might've forced him into that role to push the plot forward.