mercfan3

I think there's a difference between "he's not a strong actor" and "He's the worst actor ever." And sure, every character/actor/actress on this show has had vitriol thrown their way..but not the extreme amount and extent that Darren Criss has. He seems to be a very polarizing figure, and it's just really odd. Mediocre to good singer. Mediocre to good actor. (Not noticeably any different than anyone else in the cast.) Seems to be a very nice guy. You'd think he would be more irrelevant to people. Personally, I'm upfront about being a fan of Darren Criss. Mostly because I think he's funny and good looking. That'll get me. (Also, because his interpretation of Harry Potter is absolutely brilliant.) But truthfully, the first time I heard him sing, I thought Glee really needed someone like him. A guy that could carry the lead, in ways that Artie, Finn, Chord, and Kurt couldn't. In general, I understand his acting choices, and I think he's pretty good at showing a range of emotions. My only complaint with him is that I think he can leave a character and come out as himself at times. (A good example would be the "not sexually" line from The Hurt Locker II) I notice this a bit because Darren has a sense of humor..or style about his line readings, that I don't think the Blaine character has. (It's a sort of..dryness to him.) But I also think things like "Darren Can't be subtle" is silly. I could point to a ton of times Darren has been subtle. I think he chooses to be overdramatic with Blaine because that's how he's decided the character is going to be. (In the second half of the series.) And I don't think he's been given emotionally deep rolls because he's always been Kurt's teenage dream..and that's the extent of his character. (Well, now he's Kurt's psycho teenage dream.) Truthfully, I think people take Glee far too seriously. Like, sure..in real life Blaine is a crappy person. On the show..he's an amusing overdramatic sometimes funny most of the time crazy prop. And I think Darren does a pretty good job with that.

I find that writers tend to actually think the most toxic relationships are the soul mates. That applies times 2 to Glee writers. Because if there was a relationship more toxic than Klaine..it was Finchel... Still, whatever..no one but Blaine and Kurt deserve Blaine and Kurt's bullshit.

It doesn't have to apply to everyone. But there's a weird sort of vitriol that gets thrown at Darren that just isn't shown to anyone else in the cast except for Lea. (And only to a lesser extent.) Just read some of the comments in the thread...

I disagree. I think serviceable actors and actresses do what directors want them to do. I think Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis etc.. take it further. Make you feel deeper. Most bad and good acting can typically be blamed or credited on directors anyway..because the actor/actress is doing what is asked of them. (Show Girls is probably the biggest example of this. Elizabeth Barkley did EXACTLY what was asked of her by Verhoeven.) edit: Also, I don't know why people keep saying he can't do subtle. I know sometimes Darren chooses to be over dramatic when many would have preferred Blaine to be subtle. But he does subtle plenty..hell, just last episode in his conversation with Karofsky...and the entire season where he has been conflicted on his emotions for Kurt and Karofsky (which apparently, some missed..so clearly he was being subtle.) Honestly, I think it goes back to this odd hatred of Darren Criss. Which is odd, considering other people in this cast.

Yea, I think there's just agreeing/disagreeing on what good acting is, and what people look for in an actor actress. In general, I see Darren as a good actor. I think he's perfectly capable of being nuanced (like, in yesterday's episode with Karofsky, and in the subtle hints he shows at still wanting Kurt.). And he's particularly good at acting with his eyes. I think he's just making acting choices that some dislike. Like, earlier in the thread someone said that they didn't think Blaine was supposed to be a dramatic character. Personally I, and clearly Darren, thinks that Blaine has been a dramatic character since he became young and needy. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think he's amazing. (I don't think any of the kids are amazing. ) But good. Could have a career. Could do what any director asks of him. I just think some are stating their opinions like they are facts.

Okay, number one. Don't rap Glee. It's embarrassing. It's always been embarrassing. Number two. If you are going to cover Mary Lambert, Santana/Naya is the only acceptable person to cover her. I'm still cringing. Honestly, I'm loving this season. I don't take Glee seriously. And I don't know if it is intending to be as funny as it is, but it's hilarious. Between Rachel "Sabotaging" (actually paused the video and laughed at that one) her house sales, to Sue not tolerating bullying and then fat shaming. The show is just so funny. All the pictures weren't shown on Rachel's wall. It was supposed to be a Sam and Rachel moment. So they focused on them. Makes sense. And I agree about this being a fling. Rache's endgame is broadway. And they'll probably actually have Sam pull a Finn and send her off to New York. It's interesting that they had Karofsky know he was just a rebound. I thought Darren was excellent in that scene. He's got such an expressive face though, you can read him like a book. Just like it's been obvious from the get go that Blaine was still into Kurt. What is up with Kurt? He's trying to get Blaine while still dating the old guy? You know what, those two (Kurt and Blaine) are made for each other....

I actually think it would be completely fantastic and really dark if the writers went there.

But I can't remember a time where Blaine has actually been earnest..or been in a serious emotional/dramatic scene. He doesn't get the emotional/serious scenes in the PSA's because who cares how Blaine feels if it doesn't have anything to do with Kurt is unimportant. Breakup and romance on this show are not earnest. They are campy and borderline silly.

Also, with the spoiler

I think I like Johnny just because he's not Toby. And I'm cool with Spencer not having Toby drag her down. Also..can I just say..that I love that not only is Caleb the best boyfriend...he's actually the character that has shown the most feministm ideologies. His talk to Hanna after the older dude (forget his name) hit on her..and now this about the pagents. Notice he didn't insult the pagent girls..he insulted the process..the objectifying and judging of women's bodies..(in his Caleb way.) This character is so darn likable.

I really think that's what it was. When he won "new rachel" the writers tried their damndest to make him actually like rachel. So he got all of her flaws. Her insecurities. Her control freak tendencies. All of the solos. A majority of the screen time. He got absolutely everything that made Rachel annoying. But he didn't get the other side. The side that made rachel complex and sympathetic. Rachel is an underdog. Blaine has always been a golden boy who gets what he wants easily. (They actually make a point of this.) We don't even know what his motivation is, other than Kurt. Which isn't a motivation. That's a love interest. (one that he likes to screw up.) He's, cannon wise, considered very good looking. (He's always the one to get the male leads for the romantic parts, Rachel and Tina wanted to make out with him, when men are interested in one of Kurt and Blaine, it tends to be Blaine...etc..sometimes it's flat out said.) Basically..he's got Rachel's neuroticism, with Quinn's easy life pass. That is not a likable character..no matter what any actor did. Then add in the ever changing age factor and personality..and meryl streep couldn't have made anything out of Blaine. I don't think we have different definitions of overacting, btw. I just think that, for the most part...Darren has picked his emotions well. He tends to be campy during dramatic/emotional scenes..because I think that's what Darren thinks the mood calls for. And I agree with him. When it comes to romance, this show is campy. Particularly because "younger than Kurt" Blaine is supposed to be overdramatic. (Like Rachel.) Like I said originally..Naya, Chris, and Darren were really the only reason I continued to watch Glee off and on (and Adam Lambert kept me into it when I almost quit..). And I don't dislike Blaine, really. Because I find him funny, because Darren makes him funny. I just see the flaws and limitations and flatness of his character, and I understand Darren's acting choices because of it.

Meh, we'll have to agree to disagree about fumbling. He's never bothered me in a scene (to the point where I go "bad job acting.") A few characters have. I won't get into it here though. But then again, I don't see him as OTT. As you said, when he's supposed to play the "straight" man, he's fine. But when he goes into an overdramatic comedy seen..he's suddenly OTT. I just think those scenes call for OTT. Glee is campy, dramatic, and..quite frankly..the only way to play it is OTT. And to me, Darren's not the most OTT of the bunch anyway. (Lea.) It's essentially a musical in a show. I mean really, after he became younger than Kurt..his character has supposedly been impulsive, controlling, insecure and jealous. In a campy show..why would jealous Blaine be any different than the way Darren acted it? Same thing for the scene in Imogene. That scene was full of campy, dark comedy craziness. I don't see why Darren being overdramatic in those situations is necessarily a bad thing. I think it's him interpreting the mood of the script.

But Blaine's core changed. He was at first, Kurt's older mentor..confident gay friend/love interest. IMO, Darren Criss was invested in that Blaine. He was excited about that Blaine. And that was where his best acting came. That was also the only time Blaine had an interesting motivation. Yes, it was still Kurt. But his motivation was to guide Kurt. Help him become confident in who he was. And to show him that people will accept him. But then Blaine's core changed. He became Kurt's equal. And was really just his prop. All Blaine was for was to be Kurt's love interest. And then it changed again. Blaine was now the younger needy part of the pairing. Because RIB needed someone to be at McKinley to keep the group in tact. The character has never actually been given any motivation outside of Kurt. And then the character goes and does everything in his power to screw that up. Rachel's ambition to be a broadway star has always defined her. It's defined her..both good and bad. Kurt's need to be accepted for his out of the box tendencies has always defined him. Quinn's need to be perfect (and even she has been a prop.), Santana's fear of being vulnerable..etc.. Blaine has never gotten that. He's such an underdeveloped character that it's silly to blame anyone but the writers. Because even when they made him a focus, they just added random personality traits (controlling, needy)..and they were only there to make a conflict with Blaine and Kurt..not for some bigger purpose. Truthfully, what Blaine is..is Rachel Berry without the ambition (I think, I don't really know..), but all of the negative aspects of her personality because of her ambition he has...except instead of seeing it displayed in a way to which she's working towards her goal..he's all about Kurt. And to make it worse, Blaine is a character that is popular/well liked/and always gets what he wants. (We've all known that person.) And the combination makes him hard to root for. And because the character has no motivation, nothing that drives his actions and has only been used as a prop..it would have been borderline impossible for Darren Criss to make more of what he did of Blaine. That all being said. I actually like Blaine. But I think that's completely because of Darren. Sure, he's done some shitty things. But that applies to all of the characters. But I see DC's charm, and he can do comedy well which helps for me. So I enjoy his scenes. It's just Blaine is a really flat character that we actually never got to know because he was always a prop.

I actually kind of like Spencer/Jonny and Aria/Andrew. It's like they would be dating the male versions of each other. And since I'm #TeamSparia.. Hanna's father is the worst. Seriously. Like, Spencer's parents are cartoonishly bad. But at least they care about Spencer on some level. And with Hanna it's just a realistic kind of awful. Why wasn't Caleb in this episiode? He makes everything better. So who here thinks Mike and "Hank" are working against Allison? I still think the show inferred that "Hank" raped Ali (of course, that could have been fabricated), so I don't like him. And I don't want Mike near him. (That actor is 18? right?) Ugh..Talia. Can we have Samara back? She wasn't obnoxious (Maya), Crazy (Paige) or annoying (Talia). Sure, she was way too normal for this show..but she was cute..and can't Emily have something normal? Or hell, just get to the inevitable Emison. #Ishipit #Iknowthatsawful #Idontcare I'm glad the characters confessed this episode. But other than that, it was a tiny bit of Mike info and mostly about relationships. I found this episode a little bit boring. Then again, I might just be in mourning from the Jon Stewart news. Also..on Ezra..you know..the show missed the boat on this guy too. He could have been an interesting mentor type of character for the girls...or they could have made him big A. Instead..blah..but I like him so much better when him and Aria aren't together.

IMO, Blaine wasn't really too much of a whiny, control freak, egomaniac until they needed to put Blaine front and center. Basically, when he became "The New Rachel." Before that, Blaine was really sort of a half mentor/half boyfriend, confident gay man that helped Kurt come into his own and became Kurt's love interest. His personality changed though, to fit the needs of the show. (Like all the characters sans Kurt and Rachel). I mean..when they suddenly decided that Blaine was younger than Kurt it was weird. And yea, they could have been more creative with their love story arch, or made their relationship deeper, or fixed some of their issues. But it's Glee. It's as well written as the rest of the show. I just enjoy it for what it is..and I actually really like the incredibly meta campy offensive dark comedy the show has become in the final season. Glee spent too long trying to take itself seriously.

I think Blaine is poorly written because he is a prop. He was essentially made for Kurt. And doesn't have any motivation outside of Kurt. And he only got that motivation when Darren Criss needed to take the lead in McKinnley because the audience wasn't going to care about anyone else there. It's the same reason that Quinn and Brittany are poorly written. Not only that, but Blaine and Quinn's personally changes to fit the needs of the plot. Sometimes they are confident. Sometimes they are neurotic and controlling. Sometimes they are bitchy. But they are only props for Kurt and Rachel. And when they finally tried to make Blaine a true character, they really didn't expand him beyond Kurt. (I mean really, any idea what his musical aspirations are? What he wants in his future? What his personal conflicts - other than with Kurt - ever were? Nope..cause he had none. Which makes things hard when he's the character trying to carry a half of a show.)

I don't know if that's what it was. The letter might have been a rejection, but FASFA (the financial aid form) is just a bunch of numbers. Hanna likely filled in her parents income, and didn't realize that her father was going to play a role. Spencer probably just looked at her dad's salary.

I just meant that, it's not like Talia would have reason to know that Emily is a high school student. Like, if she were her teacher, then she would have reason to know. But I don't believe it's ever come up between the two of them.

Well, I guess if in some places Honor Roll is that strict, than it makes sense. In CT, we have "honors" and "High honors"..neither of which are that tough, although High Honors wasn't easy.

No, at least in my experience, you essentially had to have a B average. And excellent student (which which she was literally called 3 or 4 times in the entire series), suggests A-/A student. Good student would be B's. Average C's..poor D's..etc. And I can understand her needing help..and maybe she simply struggles in one area (it'll be math.). But it's silly to even have this plot line where, it was blatantly stated otherwise, and it's just filler. With Hanna...there's been hints all along that she's smart. She doesn't particularly care about school and she's impulsive, but she's always been the smartest liar, IMO. (Spencer gets called the smartest liar. And she's obsessive. And she cares a lot about her education. But in terms of actions..she really hasn't proven that she's some genius. To me she's about the same as Aria. And in fact, that's what I liked about this Hanna plot line..because Aria and Spencer were always the two to correct Hanna, and now she's more successful than they are with colleges.) Also, anyone ever notice that it's always the other three apologizing to Hanna. In terms of conditional acceptances, I think there are in some cases, but I'd say those are usually scholarships.

So for 5 seasons we get "Aria's an excellent student" stated numerous times...and Aria is amazing at writing..stated numerous times..but now she's nervous about honor roll. Okay. And that is not how financial aid works...they'll give you the loans...*grumbles*

I know Keegan has great abs, but he's a butter(is) face. I actually like Johnny's face better. I also just dislike Toby, so I'm rooting for Spencer and Johnny.

Also, in defense of Talia..she might not know that Emily is even a teenager. I mean, Emily doesn't look like a teenager. Emily looks like the the definition of gorgeous. But I still can't stand the character. She's just annoying. She kind of reminds me of Monica from friends. I also really like new dude. (Jessie?). And if Hanna is not up for sharing her boyfriend, He'll will do. He doesn't seem like a creep. He probably is. But he doesn't seem like one yet. On that note, I don't remember...when did Holbrook go from being a good guy to being a creep? I remember when Hanna could trust him. Also, what happened to the Shana plot? Like..isn't there a murder investigation still going on for that? As for the Mike thing..we aren't close to the end yet for him to be the real thing. But he's up to something. After all, Toby was A (and wasn't it kind of revealed that he was doing A stuff to find out more info on his mother too..), Ezra was stalking them, etc...typically those who they suspect are doing something bad..(They really wasted the ultimate A on Ezra though.) Also, obviously, Bethany wasn't talking about Ali on that recording. She was probably talking about her mother, or CeCe, or someone else.

Darren keeps winning polls for playing Danny in Grease, which Fox is doing. That's a possibility in terms of why they are promoting him the way they are. I think this idea that Fox would be so sweetly promoting Darren with no benefit to themselves is silly. Either they've figured out he's their best bet at a decent draw (which is likely why he got a prominent role in the first place) or they are promoting him for something else.

I'm pretty sure he's never been listed on the Columbia roster. (Amber wasn't ever listed either. And Lea was only listed after she released music.) Is Amber still a part of Columbia records? I do agree that Darren would be better off at a smaller label. That seems more like what he wants to do musically, and probably where his best shot at a music career is. And, IMO, if he has commercial post show success, it's much more likely to come in acting. He's a better musician than actor, he's just not a mainstream musician.