I've missed Glee more than is altogether ok for a show just as sloppy, choppy and annoying as it is. Luckily for me, we got started this week with an episode that inspired a level of enjoyable irritation and anger that only Glee can provide.
I have two main issues with the episode and they are most suggestive to what the shows main issue is at this point.
1. Will Shuester is the worst.
Not just I-don't-like-him-as-a-person-if-he-was-real-we-wouldn't-get-on the worst. I mean real honest-to-god the worst character ever, because he's not one, a character that is. I'm not sure when it happened but it's happened alright. He doesn't work narratively, he doesn't work emotionally, in fact the weirdo doesn't even work at doing his televisual job properly. Why does anyone think its ok that not only does he enlist his students to help him propose to his girlfriend but he seemingly has so few (if any) other friends that they're the only people he tells and in fact asks one of them to be his best man. If Finn Hudson has taught you more about being a man than anyone else and he's the only person you can think of to be your best man, then I suggest there is a SERIOUS PROBLEM with your life. Maybe that's what the show is really about, not a story about kids singing their heart song but more what it's like to be a depressed, useless, friendless high school spanish teacher. Well I mean it could be if they bothered to give him something more to do than stand at the front dressed stupidly, looking stupid and writing words on the board. In this episode Emma told Will something like “You know how we're always talking about moving toward marriage?".....ermm no Emma I don't because we only see the two of you interact when it's directly linked to the plot. I don't remember seeing you talk about marriage since Asian F and in that episode Will was less than keen. So forgive me for not giving a flying fuck that you and Will are getting married. I know the episode was clearly designed with it in mind that we'd care as much as the kids about these nuptials. What has actually happened is a total of lack of understanding the audience, Ryan Murphy. If you have to tell us that a relationship is progressing a certain way instead of showing us, you're doing t.v. wrong.
While I'm on Will just want to talk about the proposal scene. It was fun and well done, in terms of staging. If it was linked to a different storyline I would have loved it. Well in all honesty everything that didn't feature Will on screen I did love. But it was an odd choice of proposal song (not as odd as Moves Like Jagger in fairlness) but a terrible proposal method. What does synchronised swimming have to do with anything ever? To quote the reviewer at Vulture Lidy West :“Because every girl dreams of being proposed to at work while surrounded by wet teenagers who are her adult fiancé's best friends! Rrrrrrrromance!” I won't even mention the walking on water bit because....yeah I'm planning to go with the idea that it never happened. Also on the list of things that never happened the fact we saw Will do the slow mo spinny dance thing twice, TWICE dammit. Awkward. Side note if one is playing a high school teacher, wife beaters should be banned as a clothing option, at all times.
Another thing, is it just me or was everything he said to Emma in regards to her OCD spectacularly offensive/degrading. It's actually not just me the aforementioned reviewer at Vulture describes his proposal speech perfectly:“how even though Emma is broken in her brains, it’ll be okay because he wants to be her babysitter who also has sex with her sometimes.”It's a perfect description not a perfect proposal, clearly, it's a total complisult of a proposal: offensive while trying to seem loving.
2.Award for Couple-I-Don't-Care-About goes to Mercedes and Sam.
I know I've talked about this before but it clearly needs repeating. You can't make us care about a couple we never saw. Yes Summer Lovin' was fun in a kitsch kind of a way, but it just made me hyper aware at just how manufactured this relationship is. Also since when has Mercedes boyfriend been called Shane, I swear it was Marcus. Well actually I wasn't sure but that would have been my bet if I was a betting woman. Lucky I'm not I guess. It was also awkward that during The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face all the others got to have nice meaningful shots of them and their significant others and Mercedes got a bunch of stupid shots of her and Sam staring at in a field. It was just a direct contrast between couples that have an actual scenes of them developing an emotional actual connection. At least it isn't as awkward as it would have been if they had done it with shots of her and“Shane”because they never even pretended to develop him as a character. Her whole breakdown just seemed a little hollow because it does not make sense or have any real meaning given the little we've ever seen them interact.
So this brings to what I see as the biggest issue with Glee, the writers will fuck a character over for the sake of “plot” or “message”with little more than a second thought. This means a total lack of consistency in characters behaviour and motivations. It also means it's pointless to care about the characters too deeply because you can never guarantee that a character won't suddenly do a total u-turn so they can do something to serve the creators random plot ideas and supposedly high minded messages.
Two small examples of them suddenly adding a character thing with little explanation to serve something else. First Tina essentially breaking the forth wall to tell us that Artie's likes making films so we can set him us a director type for the musical, christmas special * shudder* and maybe next years Glee club ? Secondly did anyone else feel bad that Beiste didn't even get her own wedding storyline just a hastily put together elopement scenario to kick start the tedious Will and Emma thing. On talking about Beiste can we please stop making jokes about how much she eats? its not funny it's unpleasant and speaks volumes about the true sensibilities of the people behind it. I realise I phrased that as a question, it's not a question its a demand.
Things I liked in this episode.
The talk between Kurt, Rachel and Finn about the reality of future and how it's fucking scary to suddenly realise that life is crazy uncertain and not a wish granting factory. Although I didn't enjoy that after it happened Rachel have to sing some stupid little song about having emotions, or some crap. This was an oddly high Rachel sings episode for one that didn't really involve any direct storyline about her. Apart from the last thing I guess....more on that later.
Burt and Carol are always worth the price of admission. Carol talking about Finn's dad was nice and that whole storyline had real potential to be good. However because this is Glee and next week we have a Michael Jackson Tribute episode, it was given all of half an episode. Half an episode! For serious at least try and give a story enough time to develop and become an interesting story with some emotional power. But no because Michael beckons and we wouldn't want anything to get in the way of spectacle.
Lots of the music worked well on their own, not so much always with the plot they were meant to be aiding but we can't have everything can we.
I like Artie calling the gang out on being pissy judgy bitches about him hanging out with Beckie. For a group all about being Born This Way they don't half spend their time being judgmental and superficial. Not saying that teenagers/people aren't but most people don't project a holy-than-thou we're above this bullshit mentality. I also quite liked Helen Mirren doing Beckie's inner monologue although I'm completely aware you could defiantly be seen as a suggestion that she would never want to have an inner monologue that sounded like a person with downs syndrome. But I think it just about stayed on the right side of that issue, mainly because the exchange between her and Sue at the end was nice.
Something I neither liked or disliked because it was so totally out there and left field and insane. Finn proposed to Rachel. So yeah, because that's a good idea. I mean really is it that show now? I don't get it why is this happening? Also It might just be me but deciding that your life has nothing going for it apart from your girlfriend isn't the best reason to propose.
To end I just want to side track some what and congratulate the makers on New Girl on remembering the best joke from the pilot and bringing the Douche-bag jar back. I, for one, have missed it.
