S06.E01: Loser Like Me / S06.E02: Homecoming

[Sara2009]

The baby was the best part of the first episode.

[camussie]

I will say that Roderick came across like the most genuine underdog this show has had in a long while, maybe ever.  

 

I also agree that this would have worked better with a 3 year time jump and the alums are back for the 5 year homecoming reunion.  

 

I would say home was the most joyous since "Glory Days."

Edited January 10, 2015 by camussie

[tom87]

Rachel wasn't going around blaming anyone else for her failures.     Her friends rightfully so saw that she has beaten herself up enough ( not to mention strangers) so unless she starts blaming others which she has not done as of yet I see know reason to pick at the scab.

 

Also she seems to understand she lost focus on her true dream.

 

Now the episodes, over all better than expected. Episode 1 was a little slow but with all the exposition I figured it would be.  Episode 2 wasn't as good as I thought considering the reviews but it was fine.  

 

The new kids at least seem more interesting or it could be they are interacting with characters I actually cared about.

 

I though Rachel was a  good mentor to Jane and hope  to see that develop.   Roderick was good I like how he said he has spent his whole ltrying not to be noticed.

 

And the incest twins are fun. On the fence about  the football player.

 

And oh god that Klaine  break up was hard to watch not because they broke up but Darren's "acting".

 

Brittany's advice to Kurt was just dumb and not funny  as was much of Sue's role.

 

The old club while there make the episode more interesting just by being there didn't have much to do.

Edited January 10, 2015 by tom87

[SadieT]

I was completely prepared to hate everything about the premiere, but it actually wasn't all that bad. There were some genuinely funny moments and most of the songs were good. I didn't even hate the new characters, they actually all have great voices.

 

I loved "Uninvited" from the first episode (Lea sang the hell out of that song) and "Home" from the second one (a proper group number!). 

 

Of course there were a few things that were ridiculous and eye-roll inducing, like Blaine/Karofsky and Sue's entire existence, but whatever, it's Glee... I've come to just accept the things I cannot change. 

 

Although I do have to ask... did the Warblers really have Blaine's Dalton blazer enshrined in a trophy case? Why? Because of that one time he valiantly led them to a tie at Sectionals? The Warblers admiration for Blaine will always make me laugh because he was only there for 2 years and didn't actually achieve much. 

Edited January 10, 2015 by SadieT

[phoenixrising]

Gotta say, I didn't hate these episodes. LLM was definitely weaker, although for me, a large part of that is that I'm not here for the Blaine/Rachel show, although I gotta say, seeing Rachel knocked down a bit was refreshing, and it's the most invested I've been in Rachel for a long time. I think she does know she was stupid, and I hope she actually works to make her way back up. Klaine. . .man, I hate that relationship. However, I will say, I do feel like this is the first time in a long time I actually bought Kurt cared about Blaine. But it baffles me, and man, I wish they'd kill it already. If the past few seasons hadn't existed though, or if I had only seen this episode, I might've had a chance for rooting for them. With their history though? Nah. Also, Uninvited was bizarre to watch, because it's such a dreary song to sing while she's riding on a freaking golf cart. 

 

Homecoming was way better. Considering the stories I know are coming for the old characters, yes, more of them please. Tightrope had me grooving and Mustang Sally was awesome (and thank you for a distinctive male voice! In the season 4 New Directions, I could only pick out Kevin and Darren in group numbers). I really love Roderick, Spencer, and Jane. The numbers in this episode were a lot of fun, especially Problem and Home. My only real problem was that I found Blaine and the Warblers annoying as hell. Good on Jane for leaving. 

 

Sure, things make about as much sense as they always do, but at least I felt good watching it this time*

 

*that might just be alcohol though. 

[jaytee1812]

What's wrong with the guy singing Mustang Sally or is that meant to be pleasant? I thought it was my cats wailing at first.

And wow the UHT either couldn't be bother doing the choreography properly or Dianna and Naya are worse than I remembered.

Edited January 10, 2015 by jtrattray

[jaytee1812]

It is nice this season that they're spreading the cultural appropriation round and not leaving it to Kevin.

What exactly was 'Home' again cats wailing.

[methodwriter85]

"Home"- it's a tune by hipster band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I saw them at Firefly 2013. Pretty cool.

I really liked Homecoming, and I really liked the "closing out" reboot they've got going on. It reminds me of the O.C.'s final, abbreviated season, although they didn't open as strongly as the O.C. did.

[jaytee1812]

"Home"- it's a tune by hipster band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes. I saw them at Firefly 2013. Pretty cool.

So it's not meant to sound like somebody's cats are wailing?

[methodwriter85]

No, not really.

 

I loved that Becca Tobin is the only one of the newbies who came back. She really is the only one worth a damn.

[futurechemist]

I was pleasantly surprised.  Definitely an improvement over Season 5.  I thought it was nice that the show made an effort to completely erase everything from Season 5 in the first 30 minutes.  Goodbye NY, goodbye NYADA, goodbye TV show, goodbye Kurt/Blaine apparently.  Ryan Murphy shows seem to have a problem getting too bloated with characters (see also American Horror Story), so I'm glad they're pulling things back to basics.  I do think most of the alumni need to leave to stop the show from bloating out again, I'd be happy with just ~ or the original kids and new students.  And Beiste.  More of her is always appreciated.

 

Does Blaine live in Lima?  I thought he went to a different high school before transferring to Dalton, so it didn't make sense to me that he'd be living in Lima and going to a gay bar with Karofsky.  Somehow I get the feeling that Karofsky is only a plot device to keep Blaine and Kurt apart until they realize they are each other's true love.

 

So Sue is now full on Mr. Burns now, what with releasing the hounds.  Maybe I've come to accept that Glee is in a parallel universe where Sue can break all kinds of laws without consequence, but she didn't bother me too much this episode.

[jaytee1812]

 I loved that Becca Tobin is the only one of the newbies who came back. She really is the only one worth a damn.

  

The show might blame her along with the other three for their shitty writing but even the children in charge of this show wouldn't shit on her right now.

So Sue is now full on Mr. Burns now, what with releasing the hounds.  Maybe I've come to accept that Glee is in a parallel universe where Sue can break all kinds of laws without consequence, but she didn't bother me too much this episode.

This show loves being about diversity and backing the underdog as long as Sue, the racist bully wins the day.

[jaytee1812]

Well as they say in my part of the world 'thon wis brutal'.

I actually liked Problem, but the choreography was awful or they didn't have time to learn it. Even Heather's dancing was bad.

My favourite part of the episode was Kitty calling out the UHT for being pathetic in their cheerleader uniform. Honestly it looked pathetic every one of them being there but that was particularly sad, as was Mark Salling all in pink!

Nice of them to ruin Puck's character one last time. His concern for his brother and daughter were the best things about his character, now he appears to have neither.

Nice to see The Warblers are still as disgusting as ever. Nice of them to give Jane an over sexualised routine. They do realise there are more than two ways to write black women?

Who are they trying to kid that the old newbies transferred out. If they're not at McKinley, they're not in school. Unless waitresses and dinnerladies can suddenly afford private school. So arts in education is important, but actual education of the poor women and minorities, not so much.

I think the new newbies have more of a chance because they're the second lot. Despite the first lot being more talented they were following the originals, it wouldn't matter who did that. It's like the first manager after Alex Ferguson left Manchester United had no chance but the second is given more of a chance to succeed.

*when I say nice I mean awful.

[jaytee1812]

Does any one remember the episode of Friends where Rachel dressed up in her high school cheerleader's outfit to impress a guy? That was what the UHT looked like last night. Especially as they're played by 30 year olds!

[TheGourmez]

I actually never had anything against the original newbies, but I really liked these guys a lot. Wish they were introduced earlier.

 

Also, I know I'm one of the few Sam fans here, but I have to say pretty much all his lines were killing me. I especially liked the reveal that he knew about Quinntana sex, and yes Dianna definitely broke character laughing! My Fabrevans shipping self really enjoyed that.

 

Darren tweeted that Chord accidentally ran into Dianna and that's the take that made the final cut. So, yes, absolutely breaking character, but it worked!

[SadieT]

Does any one remember the episode of Friends where Rachel dressed up in her high school cheerleader's outfit to impress a guy? That was what the UHT looked like last night. Especially as they're played by 30 year olds!

 

That Friends episode came to mind for me, too. Particularly the scene where Rachel and Ross are sitting in the hallway talking and Rachel says something like, "I'm a 28 year old cheerleader with a fatlip" to show how pathetic she was acting in her attempts to impress the guy she liked. That's what the Unholy Trinity looked like in that number: sad, pathetic 28 year old cheerleaders who were trying desperately to relive their youth (especially Quinn for some reason). I think putting them in cheerleading outfits was a huge misstep. It just highlighted how out of place all these young adults are at a high school.... although I'm glad they came back because I like seeing the old group together as much as possible. I just wish they left their alumni cheerleading uniforms at home. 

Edited January 10, 2015 by SadieT

[Agent Dark]

I'm not sure why Sue Sylvester's regime was portrayed as a bad thing.  As far as I could see, the school has improved measurably since the days of Principal Figgins and Will Schuester....

 

I thought "Home" was the best song of the night.   That track got a heap of airplay here in Australia back in 2009, and Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zero's have proper indie cred, which is kinda why it's so surprising to see them on Glee.  Hopefully that's a sign that since they know no-one cares about the show anymore that they will broaden their musical genres a bit.  I guess they felt they had to put a Top40 pop song in (also I'm normally all about Aussies kicking goals overseas, but America you can keep Iggy Azalea...), however I did like that "Homecoming" went from 80's New Wave, to Modern Funk, to 60's R&B then back to Indie Folk. 

 

(Also, while I do really like the song, I can't help but laugh a bit at "Home" these days - it's pretty much sold on the romantic "story" between the characters of the male and female leads (Alex Ebert and Jade Castrinos), particularly in the spoken section in the middle of that song, yet the band had a rather nasty split last year where they kicked Jade out of the band lol.  Oh well).

 

Not sure I was sold at all on the instrumental arrangements of either "Home", "Tightrope" or "Mustang Sally" though.  Something just felt completely wrong about them, almost as if they've put effort in to get the vocals sounding good but only put a cursory effort into making the instruments sound good.  "Tightrope" has a really upbeat energetic funk feeling to it which was there in the actress' performance (she's no Janelle Monae, but she had a good crack at it) but completely missing from the instruments.  "Mustang Sally" was absent of the 60's R&B vibe that makes it such a great song and "Home" seemed to be missing all the little flourishes that really pop out in between the lyrics.  They even managed to make the synthesizers on "Take On Me" sound fake - which doesn't even make any sense! 

[jaytee1812]

I'm not sure why Sue Sylvester's regime was portrayed as a bad thing.  As far as I could see, the school has improved measurably since the days of Principal Figgins and Will Schuester....

Yeah I don't know why everyone doesn't love racist bullies who force the poor and minorities out of education.

[fakeempress]

I actually saw him recently at the closing night of Side Show. He doesn't look bad in person. But maybe that's because I'm getting old. ;)

It's the effect on screen, I'm sure irl he looks just fine.

Edited January 10, 2015 by fakeempress

[ComfySweater]

That's true, in real life I would probably think it was cool too. But at the time of the others coming back and offering me such sage advice, I think realistic teenagers would be like, "you guys are like 19...seriously?" the only one who seemed to get that was football guy although he also seemed to have a vibe that Kurt was "too old" to understand things were different, when it's like.. uh, he's only like 20, not THAT different but okay. 

He's a hot football-playing jock who still had to beat a couple guys up before he was accepted. Toss a swishy fashionista type like Kurt in that school and he'd still get the same old shit and slushies. Blaine had less trouble even when Kurt was still there because we kept getting told he was more masculine. It's only "progress" because this kid is an easier to accept straight-passing jock type who could fairly easily be called a bully himself. It's not the sort of progress that means much beyond that one guy who made himself an exception case with his fists.

[jaytee1812]

He's a hot football-playing jock who still had to beat a couple guys up before he was accepted. Toss a swishy fashionista type like Kurt in that school and he'd still get the same old shit and slushies. Blaine had less trouble even when Kurt was still there because we kept getting told he was more masculine. It's only "progress" because this kid is an easier to accept straight-passing jock type who could fairly easily be called a bully himself. It's not the sort of progress that means much beyond that one guy who made himself an exception case with his fists.

So he's an out of the closet Karofsky?

[ComfySweater]

So he's an out of the closet Karofsky?

Basically. The moral of the story seems to be that the more masculine and willing to use your fists you are, the more likely it is you'll be accepted no matter what your sexual orientation is. While I suspect that's fairly true, it seems not the point Glee wanted to make. As usual, they undermined their own message.

[shantown]

My two major problems were too much Blaine and too much self-referential writing.

 

One or two inside jokes or references over the course of a season isn't bad. It's a nice little nod to fans. But when you are writing whole scenes around it, it's too much. And then they still refuse to fix the problem. For example, all last year Tina was the butt of jokes. We get it. The writers obviously knew it was a problem and that viewers thought as much. So wouldn't you fix that this year? Nope, just continue acknowledging your shortcomings.

 

Blaine as a character has run his course. His scenes took me out of the episode so much. Not just because the majority of them were at a different location with no other main characters (or just one), but because his acting is really poor. Especially when it comes to dramatic scenes. Darren trying to fake crying during the breakup was laughable.

 

Darren tweeted that Chord accidentally ran into Dianna and that's the take that made the final cut. So, yes, absolutely breaking character, but it worked!

Between this and the UHT girls messing up the choreography during Mustang Sally and then seen laughing about it in the background - the directors and editors have also apparently given up.

[jaytee1812]

Between this and the UHT girls messing up the choreography during Mustang Sally and then seen laughing about it in the background - the directors and editors have also apparently given up.

I thought they messed up the choreography in problem too. Either that or they were all suppose to be doing different things and have it look awkward.

The thing that makes me laugh is in season 4 they had a whole number about how in tune the UHT were with each other.

[Myrna123]

I kind of snickered at Kurt pointing out that Blaine didn't have intimacy issues (he can be intimate with ANYBODY!!! Yay!!!) but the scene did show that with the tiniest amount of effort Glee could move their characters forward if they want. Kurt says he's been seeing a therapist who pointed out that he had intimacy issues. Now, a heaping boatload of those issues were no doubt exacerbated by Blaine's cheating on him three weeks after he left for college, but still. It shows a character made aware of a personal issue impacting his reactions and choices. Sad that he would still choose to try to get back with Blaine but that fate was sealed long ago.

[jaytee1812]

Basically. The moral of the story seems to be that the more masculine and willing to use your fists you are, the more likely it is you'll be accepted no matter what your sexual orientation is. While I suspect that's fairly true, it seems not the point Glee wanted to make. As usual, they undermined their own message.

This is glee all over. 'You can be whatever you want to be, any colour, gender, sexual orientation, have any disability and you can still do anything you want.'*

*Disclaimer: Unless you're a straight or straight acting able bodied white man, it's gonna suck for you!

Did anyone not believe for a second that Jane had several previous generation relatives at Dalton? I don't think a black man has ever pulled on that uniform. I'd say only white men ever have but there was that one gorgeous Asian warblers in season 2.

Edited January 10, 2015 by jtrattray

[ComfySweater]

Did anyone not believe for a second that Jane had several previous generation relatives at Dalton? I don't think a black man has ever pulled on that uniform. I'd say only white men ever have but there was that one gorgeous Asian warblers in season 2.

This extremely attractive black gentleman was a Warbler when we first met them. They always had a decent amount of diversity for something set in Ohio. I'm willing to go with the idea that Dalton has always been willing to accept anybody who can pony up the tuition. 

[jaytee1812]

This extremely attractive black gentleman was a Warbler when we first met them. They always had a decent amount of diversity for something set in Ohio. I'm willing to go with the idea that Dalton has always been willing to accept anybody who can pony up the tuition.

Damn, how did I miss him? This show may suck at writing men of colour but damn it casts them pretty.

[fakeempress]

So he's an out of the closet Karofsky?

Exactly my thought. 

[fakeempress]

Damn, how did I miss him? This show may suck at writing men of colour but damn it casts them pretty.

Blaine's two main sidekicks at Dalton were both POC. In fact, both were on the council that headed the Warblers, and I think Wes (played by Telly Leung) was supposed to be the chair. 

[Craphole Island]

Random observations/questions:

 

- Was Quinn in the final "Home" performance at all?

- Is this the first episode in a long time they used the old Glee "Doodooo" music?

 

Also, while the scene with the Warblers arguing about Jane was mostly annoying to me, I laughed really hard when the flamboyant-sounding kid goes "Um, we ALL have girlfriends!" Such an easy joke, but dammit it got me.

[jaytee1812]

Blaine's two main sidekicks at Dalton were both POC. In fact, both were on the council that headed the Warblers, and I think Wes (played by Telly Leung) was supposed to be the chair.

Oh I noticed Wes! Random trivia: He just turned 35 making him older than Harry Shum and Mark Salling! Also, he's 35!!! Is he bathing in virgin's blood?!!!

[absnow54]

I kind of assumed that they'd be doing a time jump for season 6, and I'm kind of surprised they didn't. That way they could have quietly swept away the noobs, and explained why the originals could return at a whim because they'd have just graduated college, and probably would have been having a hard time finding full time work. I haven't watched the show since The Quarterback, and was mostly watching out of nostalgia (and, well, not much else is on Friday nights) and found the second episode to be really enjoyable. I stopped caring about the character journeys in season 3, which helps. I mean I know it's pathetic to have everyone several years out of high school trying to relive their glory days, but it was a joy to see them in those roles again, because it reminded me of the show when I really liked it.

[heyerchick]

I still think the whole thrust of this back-to-school story is wrong on every level, but I dialled down the judgement and quite enjoyed seeing Rachel and Kurt back in the core of the action instead of sidelined. I really liked Roderick and Jane, including their voices, and even the Incest Twins can sing. So all in all a pleasant couple of episodes.

 

Darren Criss continues to not be able to act his way out of a damp paper bag. Chris, and also Max Adler, runs rings around him.

[ComfySweater]

Darren Criss continues to not be able to act his way out of a damp paper bag. Chris, and also Max Adler, runs rings around him.

I'm not sure Max is showing any great acting here. He's doing the same exact heart eyes that earned Darren so many fans. It's not that hard to look besotted. 

[darkestboy]

Brilliant return to form. Proper focus, some great character moments as well.

 

I like that Rachel's television career failing gave her a better focus with recruiting for a new glee club and I hope she does stick it to Sue as well.

 

The new kids are a step up from the previous crowd. I like them all and they don't seem like copies of the original crew as well.

 

Nice use of the rest of the gang in the second half of the opening story though.

 

Kurt and Blaine and Blaine and Karofsy, not sure about that yet though.

 

The music was great in the episodes - especially Tightrope, Home and Take On Me.

 

Definitely an improvement over most of the last season, 8/10

[Pluto]

Between this and the UHT girls messing up the choreography during Mustang Sally and then seen laughing about it in the background - the directors and editors have also apparently given up.

I don't think so, using unplanned things like Chord bumping into Dianna can improve a scene and it turned out to be a great moment in the episode, that's not giving up, that's editors taking advantage of an opportunity and I didn't mind them screwing up the choreography, in universe this wasn't a choreographed thing, there was no need for them to be perfect.

I always wished we would have seen the characters screw up more often, being perfect should be a thing for the competitions, not for impromptu performances where they just ran on stage a minute before.

[heyerchick]

I didn't like Glee's post-Glee gay. It's not really progressive to show that you can be as big of a dick as you like so long as you're an athletic white guy, is it? And casually pissing on the sexuality of other gays who don't have those advantages, is not progressive at all. 

 

Glee, usually so prone to ripping from the headlines, has failed to capitalise on having an out gay athlete, which actually surprises me given how high profile this issue is across the media/culture. Not that I'm saying they would have handled it well, because, hey, Glee. 

 

Mind you, it probably says everything Ryan Murphy's psyche that his post-Glee gay has transitioned to being part of the problem that gay students like Kurt had to fight against in the first place.

[buffy11bnl]

 

Am I the only one who thought Dianna broke character when she giggled at Sam bitching out the Tea Baggers?

 

There is not a doubt in my mind that that was Dianna laughing and not Quinn, it was adorable though and I'm glad they left it in.

 

 

(just saw the PP who said that Cord had tweeted about that - now I'm extra happy they left it in.)

Edited January 10, 2015 by buffy11bnl

[Ceeg]

I didn't really watch the first episode because zzzz, but I watched Homecoming. And I liked it???? Like, there wasn't anything that overtly offended me or made me want to throw things or even made me want to fast forward. What is this feeling so sudden and new?

 

I also felt like the pace was a lot better than the last Glee episodes I watched, which I guess was 100 and early season 5 stuff. Maybe it's because they didn't have 10 separate storylines all competing for attention and focus. It was pretty much just about Glee clubs. Plus, no split narrative anymore, which was such a huge mistake in the first place.

 

(I did, however, have alcohol, so maybe that helped my perception)

[tab19]

Well, I have to say I enjoyed Home - the the two episodes fairly well.  I'll confess, Glee got some cheap laughs out of me, "Release the hounds" and Becky and Sue fighting over the microphone in the background both made me laugh.  As did repeated use of the word teabagger.  I know, I'm sorry.  I was drinking.

 

The 'post modern gay' storyline - wow.  Not good.   Minority groups appropriating minority slurs to take away their power =/= using those slurs to bully others.  Jesus.

 

I will also echo what others have said - that Dianna, Naya and Heather gave it the old college try, but were often out of step or on the verge of breaking character. However, I found that amusing - and since they seemed to be having such a good time, actually a plus.  They got actual lines right - like Quinn's speech about the importance of Glee, which was a nice throwback to Quinn saying the same thing to the Troubletones - so I don't mind them cracking up and giggling in the background.  

 

They are also not doing the Blaine character any favors with storylines, between Karofsky and that ridiculous blow up about Jane.  I tend to forgive a lot, but as I said in the liveblog, I thought Darren did a noticeably weak job with the Suddenly Seymour intro and the break-up scene.  I agree with whoever said upthread it's almost like Blaine played the break up scene for laughs, while Kurt played it for drama.  Very off-putting.

 

Finally - we'll never know, but these four newbies certainly seem like a better idea than the Season 4 characters.  I think the writing would have let them down, but at least they wouldn't have been such obvious rip-offs like Kitty being 'Quinn'.  

 

ETA:  Also - did anyone think Sam's asides during Rachel's opening commentary in Home was meant for all the people who skipped the first episode and just came back for the originals?  

Edited January 10, 2015 by tab19

[mojoween]

I was amused when Shue said "no more Journey" and then transitioned into his club doing Van Halen. Way to keep it current, Will.

[caracas1914]

I agree with whoever said upthread it's almost like Blaine played the break up scene for laughs, while Kurt played it for drama.  Very off-putting.

 

This.

 

It was distracting as Chris was playing it straight.

 

Kurt looked pissed and totally over being with Blaine, didn't he? 

How bad are these writers that what Kurt was saying, that the trial run of living together wasn't working and they were KIDS is going to be retconned  to somehow being wrong ,

and after Blaine is living with Karofsky Klaine gets married in record time?

[J-Man]

I was surprised that they didn't start with the customary "... and that's what you missed" opening. Given that it's been off the air for a while, it might have been useful.

[fakeempress]

 

I agree with whoever said upthread it's almost like Blaine played the break up scene for laughs, while Kurt played it for drama.  Very off-putting.

Keyword being almost, because I'm sure Darren didn't mean it to come out for laughs, but that's what happens when he tries to do drama. 

[Glorfindel]

Yes, it felt like the old Glee again. Yes, it was great to see the chemistry of the old characters again. Yes, seeing Will dance with his son was adorable, and even Vocal Adrenaline felt like a nostalgic throwback to season 1. But even though I enjoyed this whiff of the old magic again, during the entire episode(s) there was this little voice screaming in my head “Nooo, what are you all doing at McKinley again? This isn’t right.”

It was fun, but it was a farce.

It was a lazy repeat of things, with the same characters even, people who shouldn’t be anywhere near their old highschool anymore. And tbh it was a bit cringeworthy and pathetic to see the original cast go through all this again, painfully fake-smiling away every characterisation and development their characters had after season 2 while still trying to look 19-20 and for the most part failing miserably (not even Chris looks that young anymore).

This actually could have been a good set-up in season 4, it would have worked well with Rachel being rejected from NYADA so she decides to coach the glee club till she can re-apply at NYADA again. But now it just looks forced, with the stale, rekindled (aka rehashed) rivalry between ND, Vocal Adrenaline, and oh dear God…the way too much “we’re all straight”(up your asses) Warblers. Can Dalton just disappear please, including Blaine? 

 

Having said that: I like the new kids, they are fresh and very talented. Roderick and Jane are convincing underdogs, and the twins are crack fun without being annoying (yet).  Not so sure about Spencer yet: he’s basically a straight passing bully.
The tea party club scene with the old gang and the song ‘Home’ was when to me it felt like I was really watching the old Glee again. I even enjoyed evil Sue’s shenanigans, though her character is the Glee definition of rinse and repeat. And I’m always here for Chris, Lea, Jane and Matt acting opposite and with each other (now that felt like the old Glee again: if Chris’ physical growth wasn’t that obvious they could have put their scenes in season 1 without anyone noticing).

 

But mostly, and this is a bit sad, it all just left me cold. Been there, done that, and although I’m sure the writers want nothing more than to forget about it (with them ‘transferring’ aka kicking out the 2.0 noobs) seasons 4 and 5 still cast their ugly shadows over this ‘new’ old Glee.

 

It also didn’t help that the introductions to the back-to-underdog-status of Rachel failed to make me sympathize with her. Rachel caused her own downfall, and though at the beginning of LLM she was rightfully humbled at first, the support squad always at her beck and call kicked in really fast with telling her how awesome she is, glossing over everything  she fucked up as a “loss” and “bad luck”, and doing most of the work for her to get her back on track.
And how ironic is it that Rachel then sings a complete inappropiate ‘Let it Go’ in an actual special snowflake dress.

 

As for Klaine: everything about the break-up seems rushed and shallow. They show one fight that lasts about a minute and “BOOM!”: ugly break-up, so the next hurdle (and no doubt dramatic reunion) for Klaine can begin. And “BOOM” to 6(?) months later, when Blaine drops the Blainofsky bomb on Kurt. So Kurt cries and looks a bit sad everytime he sees Blaine again, but that’s it. Neither one talks to anyone else about it, not to Rachel, nor any of their other mutual friends or family (except for Brittany telling Kurt to throw away his clothes: has she seen how Blaine dresses?),  not even a mention on how Blaine’s new love being Kurt’s old bully makes everything so, so much worse. They didn’t even mention that Dave was Kurt’s bully.

 

But both Kurt and Blaine do mention in a throw-away line that they had therapy (off-screen of course), so I guess somehow that fixes it all, eh? Wow, such a dramatic and heartfelt lovestory. I don’t even know what to say anymore about the utter shit writing of this show. There’s no depth at all, no proper build-up, just contrived roadblocks.

There’s no reason given why Kurt still stays in Lima after finding out that Blaine has moved on, or are we to believe Kurt made no new friends in New York at all, even though he was the only character in NY who was shown to actually have made several new friends there and clearly felt comfortable at NYADA. And basically the only explanation they give for Kurt wanting Blaine back is Kurt saying that “Blaine’s the love of my life”, and I just..……..why? When there’s nothing that happened in the last 2 seasons that showed me Klaine are meant for each other and are ‘soulmates’.
Chris does his best with trying to give at least some depth and meaning to the Klaine scenes, but Darren only makes things worse with his cringeworthy  ~acting: all his upset/sad facial expressions come across as agressive and whining, and it’s taking me out of the scenes while not making me feel any sympathy with his character at all.

 

So, to sum up: ‘Loser Like Me’ had too much Blainchel (besides them singing basically everything they also were the only 2 regular characters shown in the first 10 minutes!), and a lot of explanatory, clunky dialogue that set up the back-to-Lima season in an extremely forced and manipulating way.
‘Homecoming’ was better, with the original cast being back, although without giving them any focus or development, but maybe that’s a blessing in disguise on this show. At least they came back for Homecoming this time, and not only to prop up the glee club (even when that was still all they ended up doing).

[heyerchick]

So...I didn't hate these two episodes?

As stupid (on every level) as I find the everyone back-to-school setup, I did quite enjoy seeing Rachel and Kurt in the mainstream action, instead of shunted off onto the sidelines. In fact, I got a bit of a sentimental kick in seeing them back in the choir room, which I really didn't expect.

I thought some things were well handled in Rachel's storyline - like when her Dad was telling her about the planned divorce and it seemed like the final kick when she was down. She seemed chastened and was more relateable and likeable than she's been for a very long time. But I couldn't fail to be annoyed by Rachel telling Will her dream was still Broadway, and that she'd 'lost' her dream. She didn't 'lose' anything. She fucked over her dream performing arts school and her leading lady Broadway debut in very short order, and I think the show should have acknowledged that in the narrative.

Kurt, I'm always happy to see, but I hate him chasing after a bitchy, unforgiving and crudely manipulative Blaine with the fire of a thousand suns. He should run, not walk, that primo ass of his back to New York a-fucking-sap. At least he's still in school, that's something.

Will and his baby were adorable.

Glee's post-Glee gay has all the privilege of being a good-looking, athletic, white male so his preferring Andrew Garfield over Emma Stone is a non-issue after he beat up a couple of trolls. But then using his privilege to scorn homosexuality - he didn't 'own' a term of abuse, he used it in order to abuse another student - and the tired Glee trope of a Kurt-type gay is a really bad fucking gay - made the whole thing stick in my craw. Really horribly misjudged. Especially given the traction of high profile out gay athlete stories.

Sue was a waste of airtime as usual, Becky Jackson made my skin crawl as usual, etc etc same old same old.

But I liked Roderick and Jane. I dug his voice and her Tightrope performance with the warblers was super cute. Even the incest twins appeared to be full conscious during their scenes and able to sing. I even liked seeing Kitty popping up to lay some meta-truth on Artie and the others.

[jaytee1812]

But I liked Roderick and Jane. I dug his voice and her Tightrope performance with the warblers was super cute.

I thought Tightrope looked like it was a stripper routine. Only that Dalton uniform saved it from being super creepy. Especially with one woman and 20+ men.

[Glorfindel]

Glee, usually so prone to ripping from the headlines, has failed to capitalise on having an out gay athlete, which actually surprises me given how high profile this issue is across the media/culture. Not that I'm saying they would have handled it well, because, hey, Glee.

Tbh for a while I thought that was why they brought back Karofsky for this season, back when we didn't know if they'd do a time-jump. He could have tried to become a professional football player after college.

And who knows: they might still go there somehow with Spencer in a future episode.

 

There is not a doubt in my mind that that was Dianna laughing and not Quinn, it was adorable though and I'm glad they left it in.

 That was actually one of the best moments in the episode(s) for me.

 

Keyword being almost, because I'm sure Darren didn't mean it to come out for laughs, but that's what happens when he tries to do drama.

Ugh, his 'crying' in the break-up was horrible. Darren just can't do drama. He's not a good actor in general, but imo he was exceptionally bad in these 2 episodes, and it was very jarring.

Tbh: when they showed Blaine 'crying' in bed I thought to myself: well, that was easy, all they had to do was lay Darren down on a bed, drip some water in the corner of his eye and tell him to blink. Even Darren can handle that.

 

Kurt, I'm always happy to see, but I hate him chasing after a bitchy, unforgiving and crudely manipulative Blaine with the fire of a thousand suns. He should run, not walk, that primo ass of his back to New York a-fucking-sap. At least he's still in school, that's something.

What stood out to me in the writing for Klaine (besides the only explanation given to Kurt wanting Blaine back was that "love of my life" crap) was how they wrote the ending of the break-up scene.

Why would the first thing Blaine says after Kurt breaks up with him be “I’ll never forgive you for this”? Did the writers have Blaine specifically say that just to conveniently set up Kurt coming back to Lima to chase Balaine and beg him for forgiveness?

Forgiveness he shouldn't have to ask for in the first place, I might add. Plus Blaine saying he’ll never forgive Kurt is especially rich when he himself expected Kurt to forgive him immediately after he cheated on him.

 

So that, plus Blaine dating Kurt's ex-bully of course, and also him being very fast to accuse Kurt of deliberately stealing Jane away because he's supposedly jealous, does the character of Blaine no favors at all (and Darren's OTT pouting faces don't help either), even when the writers put the ball (and blame) firmly in Kurt's court, while clearly wanting us to sympathize with Blaine.

And they still expect us to root for Klaine. Baffling.

[tom87]

What I don't understand is why do they do such extreme close ups of Baine face when Darren is puling one of those faces?   Maybe from far away  it wouldn't look so maniacal.