Spoiler alert! Kurt and Blaine made out last night on Glee. We realize it’s wholly unnecessary to say “spoiler alert” when we’ve led into this post with the picture above. Quite frankly, we don’t feel bad about ruining this plot point for you. It’s already on every damn gay blog in existence. And it was inevitable that this was eventually going to happen.
Believe it or not, the big gay smooch wasn’t even the highlight of this episode. But it was among them, right? Well, you’ll have to click through to read the rest of our thoughts and feelings. Taking a break from our standard Gleek Out format, we’ve broken down today’s post into five handy discussion topics. Feel free to agree or disagree with our observations. We’re not fucking experts. We’re just people who watch this show because you make us.
– Dewitt
To watch the episode and read more, follow the JUMP:
___________________________________________________________
FULL EPISODE:
___________________________________________________________
KURT & BLAINE: This episode opens with Maroon 5’s “Misery”, and it was actually a good fit for The Warblers. For being such a general shitty band, Maroon 5 lend themselves well to all-male a cappella arrangements. If you don’t believe us, ask the countless collegiate ensembles who have covered “This Love” and made every girl in the audience leak her pants in excitement. (We hate to gross some of you out with this Cindy Lou Va-Who-Who reference, but it’s so fucking true.)
Though we usually think Darren Criss sounds way too perfect, his polished performance manner provided a nice contrast to Adam Levine’s whininess. It’s understood why the fictional troupe would choose this song for Regionals. Which makes it all the more shocking when Kurt gives his whole “meh” response.
We actually don’t believe Kurt’s character would be so forthright in openly revealing his jealousy to Blaine. Then again, we need to remind ourselves that this is Glee. They have this tendency to flip a character’s personality within a single episode. We shouldn’t be that surprised.
On that note, we have no choice but to believe it’s perfectly natural that Blaine automatically fell in love with Kurt after his “Blackbird” solo. Dead birds bring people together! Admittedly, the song was performed beautifully by Chris Colfer. If you don’t agree, take this into account–they could have easily re-envisioned this as a mash-up with Katy Perry or some other pop strumpet.
Blah blah blah, man-on-man kissing. There’s really not much to say about this. It’s nice to think that the producers thought they built up to this relationship. Yet, somehow, this moment felt incredibly anticlimactic. This wasn’t a torturous back-and-forth foray into Jim & Pam territory. It was more like, “Oh, I guess you’ve always been there and waiting for me to be your love interest.”
But on to Regionals. The singing on “Candles” was somewhere between gorgeous and snooze-worthy. We had never heard the original version of this song before last night. Considering the video was only released five days before the airing of this episode, we have a sneaking suspicion that a Glee rendition was included in the song’s promotional blueprint.
Whatever, we’ll take this over the Warbler’s strikingly awful cover of “Raise Your Glass”. They somehow managed to strip the song of all the personality that Pink brings to the original version. And did anyone else cringe when the words “Call me up if you a gangsta” emerged from Darren Criss’ luscious lips? Horrible.
Of course, this didn’t even come close to the atrocity of Kurt and Blaine’s closing scene. And the award for most insensitive boyfriend banter goes to… “I know this is really upsetting for you. It reminds you of your mom’s funeral, doesn’t it?” Hell. To. The. No.
___________________________________________________________
TROUTY MOUTH (AND OTHER POP HITS): We promise not to devote eight paragraphs to this one. As the episode title implies, this hour-long endurance test found the club members writing their own original songs. Most of them are predictably and purposefully bad, much like Rachel’s “Only Child” and “My Headband”.
Then there was “Trouty Mouth”, an ode to Chord Overstreet’s ridiculously prominent dick-sucking lips. We’re kind of in love with Naya Rivera, so it’s no surprise that we thought this was–a) fucking hilarious, and b) performed extremely well for a song with lyrics like, “If you tried hard enough, you could suck a baby’s head.”
Shortly after this, Puck steps in with “Fat Ass Heart”, a sincere attempt to make up to Lauren Zizes for “Fat Bottomed Girls”. We might have enjoyed this if we had any idea why these two are (sort of) an item in the first place. We’re not making the Rosie O’Donnell argument that a guy like Puck would never go for Lauren. We’ve seen it happen in real life. Alas, we just think his sudden, hardcore crush was very random.
___________________________________________________________
MERCEDES & THE GENERAL MINSTRELSY OF GLEE: It should be noted that “Hell To The No” was actually our favorite moment of this episode. The song was one of the few selections that we’d (shamefully and with a tinge of elitist hipster irony) listen to detached from the context of the show.
However, we need to talk about Mercedes. It’s convenient that they keep her in the background until they need someone to wave a finger and sing about their weave. Can we address the fact that her only plotline this season revolved around fucking tater tots? And this is one of the most talented members of the show’s cast.
It’s not just Mercedes… Mike Chang is only there to dance for you. Despite being consistently awesome, very little focus is placed on Tina (except for when they need a good joke about goth Asian vampires). Someone like Brittany gets an entire episode devoted to her. And yet these characters continue to be nothing more than props within the writers’ hands. Are we being overly sensitive? Or does anyone else find this highly irritating?
___________________________________________________________
THE RACHEL BERRY SHOW (WITH SOME FINN TOO): At Regionals, rival group Aural Intensity performs a song about Jesus. Then, as noted above, The Warblers do their take on Hey Monday’s “Candles” and Pink’s “Raise Your Glass”. We then proceed to the beginning of New Directions’ set.
Surprise! It’s another song by Rachel. In the sage words of Kurt, we have this to say to Lea Michele–“Your solos are breathtaking. They’re also numerous.” Of course, in this case, it made sense for Ms. Berry to be on lead vocals. She’s performing a heart-wrenching ballad that she wrote on her lonesome.
“Get It Right” isn’t necessarily bad, but it isn’t necessarily good either. There’s this whole late ’90s Celine Dion vibe to it, along with a dash of Broadway diva flavor. In a way, we could almost believe this as the type of song Rachel would write. We just wish it would have had more oomph, an epic chorus or bridge that really knock our socks off. As it stands, this was mostly akin to a lackluster, color-by-numbers Leona Lewis single.
Oh, and don’t even get us started on “Loser Like Me”! It was like an endless string of “It Gets Better” cliches. We know some might argue that this could inspire some gay teenager in West Bumblefuck. That’s great and all, but I’m a fucking adult. If I’m going to watch Glee for my own personal enjoyment, I don’t want to hear a shrieky song that sounds like it was written for a very special episode of Hannah Montana.
___________________________________________________________
TEA-BAGGING & SISTER ACTS: On a less abrasive note, the guest appearances by Kathy Griffin and Loretta Devine seemed like a missed opportunity. We’re all for making fun of Christine O’Donnell and Sarah Palin, but there wasn’t really anything original about these jokes. We’ve heard them before, and we’ve heard them done better. These cameos just seemed like an excuse to throw the actors on the show, rather than anything of actual substance. Just sayin’.
sheeez… what a horrible show!!!
I believe Ryan Murphy, the cast, writers and everyone else involved with the production of Glee should be congratulated.
Just because this crude author wanted to “bring down the house” with his abhorrence for the epsidode does not mean we should ALL heed their words.
Discussion should have been allowed due to the broad plot – covering various topics and conversations in consideration to this season.
To me, this episode was very inspiring.. .AND I HOPE every teenager, whether GLBT …even if they are in “Bumblefuck” enjoyed this episode. Even if it’s not apparent now, things will and do get better!
For this author and their mentioning of their own age, would Johnny Carson been more enjoyable? Or might I recommend The 700 Club?
This was the BEST episode of the season, without question. I thought it hit all the marks.
Why did it take this long for Mercedes to get another solo?
Hey Dewitt, hmmm maybe you need to relax a bit and just watch the show for what it is meant to be….Fluff! Especially fluff for adults who might find something more mentally stimulating on say…PBS.
Popular television is filled with cliches but if someone in West Bumblefuck can find soemthing inspirational then far be it from me to crash their party.
Try to remember that the target audience is teens and not jaded homosexuals who live in major metropolitan areas.
Sorry, but I’m going to have to agree with Dewitt on a lot of this, even though he has analyzed the episode WAY more than I ever would have.
My main point of agreement is the token role most of the other characters outside of Rachel/Finn/Quinn have been reduced to. We’ve been dealing with this love triangle since almost the first episode and we’re not really any further along than when we started. Finn needs to poop or get off the pot and the writers need to move on.
I also found last night’s Blaine/Kurt kiss disappointing. It was nice providing Blaine as a friend/role model to Kurt after Kurt came out, then heartbreaking when Kurt thought Blaine had a crush on him only to find out he didn’t. But I thought last night’s revelation by Blaine, while sweet, came out of nowhere and happened way too soon. And no offense to Chris Coffer, but I have a hard time believing that, given allllll the choices at Hogwarts House of Homos, that a guy who looks like Blaine would pick…Kurt.
And yeah, “Get It Right” was good and close but not quite spectacular. But I thought “Loser Like Me” was cheesy and totally awesome! It shouldn’t win a Grammy, but it was a fun anthem for the show and its fans and a nice way to end the show before the short hiatus.
agreed!
also, i’d almost swear his name was Dumbass… are you sure it’s “Dewitt?”
..or is it Dimwitt?
we’re all capable of spelling incorrectly. 😛
“Are we being overly sensitive?”
who is this ‘we’ you speak of Dewitt? people associate with you? :/
it took them this long to kiss? Didn’t Blaine kiss a chick before this? This show is not at all liberalizing gay people in the media, it’s perpetuating what’s been the issue for 20 years: over feminized, under sexualized (if not asexual) beings who are pushed to be supporting roles. This show is awful.
Sue was awesome when she punched that lady. I could not stop laughing.
okay.
so..
..when are we going to see karofsky explore his “other side” some more?
how dare they throw in such a major plot twist and then leave it underexplored for the next few months!
I am really confused. I thought the episode was wonderful. I think the cast and producers/writers/directors of Glee actually take a different approach to the stories they tell. As a young gay male, I think that it was awesome that the story of Kurt and Blaine was so obvious… because it isn’t like that in real life. I don’t watch television to be enlightened. I watch it for entertainment; a way to escape the pressures of real life for a few moments. Thanks Glee!
I loved Loser Like Me. I think it was a perfect song for that kid who does have to deal with bullying because of who he is or who he loves. It’s encouraging, upbeat, and somewhat inspiring. I think that so many gays become jaded by life that anything that does not reek of despair or stoic uptightness can’t be taken as serious. It was fun, upbeat, and something that you can dance to. I didn’t take a message from it, but if that kid in Bumblefuck looks himself in the mirror and likes what he sees, then isn’t that worthwhile?
I am not surprised that you found this episode so disdainful because I expect you to hate anything that is fun, upbeat, and not naked. But I thought it was a great episode and one that I’m sure will be enjoyed over and over.
SN: I do agree about Raise Your Glass. That was a horrible cover, one that had me cringing several times. And Amber Riley has been in the background too long – but I think she will have an episode devoted to her after the break.
i still don’t follow glee, but..
..if you feel the [minority] characters are under-utilized, then they probably are.
A few thoughts: bear in mind that this show is supposed to be about kids in their mid-teens (even though the actors playing the teens are mostly older). Teens don’t have fully-developed social skills, they waffle and waver between this girlfriend and that girlfriend, they develop love triangles and quadrangles and other geometric forms that would confound Einstein’s ability to write an equation describing them.
Of course the kids radically change their minds and attitudes on things – teens are one big mass of indecisiveness pretending to be all that and a bag of fries.
As for the minor characters: it’s true that the Mercedes character has been ignored this season. But really – how much could someone like the Mike Chang character advance the plot? The Sam and Santana characters have each had some significant episodes, but what exactly could Tina and Mike do to move the story along?
I thought the best moment was Rachel confronting Quinn over Finn, and Quinn made it clear (if not intentionally) that she knows she’ll never be as successful as Rachel and that Finn is, more or less, her consolation prize for having to stick around Lima in the future.
and by the way, the song Puck did was “Big Ass Heart”…… not Fat Ass Heart
I enjoy watching Glee every week. Like all TV, every episode is hit or miss, but it’s always enjoyable. And while there are always over the top and outrageous moments, I always appreciate that they try to bring a positive message and deal with some issues that most shows don’t. As for last night’s music, Trouty Mouth was hilarious and I liked the original songs. And while people complain all the actors don’t get enough story time, it is hard to tell stories for a dozen characters, although I did hear they want to do more with Mercedes, but they are still looking for a “male Mercedes type” vocally to develop a story they’re planning. And the bullying story with the quarterback will be returning in a big way in the episode called “Born This Way” in mid-April.
Yep, have to agree with you on that best moment. Just when Quinn was starting to push the beeyatch meter into the uncomfortable zone, she goes and (I think you’re right–unintentionally) has that mini-breakdown reality check with Rachel. Argh, Quinn! I don’t know whether to feel sorry for you or hate you!
I don’t agree that Glee is “meant” to be fluff. And what is” meant” by something is irrelevant because we can’t really know. What is relevant is how people respond which is all Dewitt is doing. Anyway, the show is trying to say something even if it is trite. And I also disagree that it is not aimed at adult gay males…chord overstreet is no mistake.
Last thing- I really liked the loser song…haha…so what do I now?
I loved Quinn in that moment. Rachel, even in her most self-delusional moment, have to admit that Quinn analyzed the situation correctly. She is going to chase her dream of stardom, and Finn is not going to be part of that. As bitchy as Quinn was when she was laying it all out, they both knows that’s how it’s going down. Rachel is just being a drama queen. Another moment of ‘songwriting gold’, no doubt.
I have accepted that this author is not a fan of Glee, but I praise him for still posting about it so that we have a forum to chat about it here. I won’t attack his critique (because I know going into it he and I do not agree on the entire show), but I will say I agree with your comments about taking the show as a whole.
I think we “gay guys” have a level of exposure to all things gay that we have a deep mature understanding of the intricacies of homosexual interaction, relationships, heartbreaks, etc. The broader audience of Glee in the nation/world does not have that level of exposure, and needs things to be simple to be understood/accepted. Shows like Queer As Folk and the L Word have delved much deeper into the complexities of our relationships, but are ultimately not as accessible to a general public because they cannot relate.
we have many of the same difficulties and challenges as any traditional straight couple, but there are intricacies to a gay relationship that make it different and unique. Playing those out would make it more realistic for us; but it would alienate the broader audience.
I applaud Glee for “going there” at all, regardless of how it may oversimplify the aspects of our relationships. The fact that we have exposure in a positive light to such a large audience only seeks to further our causes of love and acceptance, and allows people to recognize those aspects of ourselves that ARE indeed “the same as them”.
The palette from which we would color our self portraits is slightly different in some ways, and now we are able to present that self portrait to the world in an engaging and accepted way; Glee is a 3rd grader’s watercolor representation of us, and the world will one day be as ready to embrace the elaborate masterpiece that is more representative of who we are.
loser like me was surprisingly good
and get it right… well dewitt got it right.
I shake my head at whoever said above that Tina couldn’t advance the plot. I completely agree with DeWitt that Tina has been severely underutilized this season. Remember the Gaga episode? The plot in the episode about theatricality was advanced by… Tina. How about her heartbreaking relationship with Artie? Their relationship was one of the best things about Season 1 and it’s a shame they just cut it in favour of Artie/Brittany and the stereotypical Asian romance.
With that said… ‘Get It Right’ was stunning and had a whole lot of “oomph” to it. It also worked perfectly in context with the episode, so no complaints here.