S06.E03: Jagged Little Tapestry

[shantown]

Here's my $.02: Back in the good old days of Glee Santana's rant would have completely fit in with the comedy style of the show. It was fast-paced, it was biting, it was over-the-top. It was funny. 

 

It's a shame that the show has become such a self-centered, after-school special that everyone is so offended by the least offensive part of that episode.

[camussie]

Where would you put those of us who were simply bored by it because going to that well for 2985 time makes it less biting and funny and more "really writers stop using old scripts and putting in Kurt's name for whoever Santana was ranting at last season."

 

ETA - As I am not a Kurt fan (I find him self righteous and grating 99% of the time) I can assure people my "objection" was not at who the rant was directed at.  It was the repetitive nature of it all.  

Edited January 18, 2015 by camussie

[dizzyizzy01]

It's a shame that the show has become such a self-centered, after-school special that everyone is so offended by the least offensive part of that episode.

 

 

People are offended because it's against one of their favorite characters/actors.  Santana did this to Rachel last season and a lot of the same people probably thought it was awesome and Rachel deserved the smackdown.  It's all perspective.  The only real objection I have is how long it was.  She could have a left out a couple of the physical insults, but that's nothing new for this show.  Her rant wasn't any worse than calling Quinn tubbers, insulting Artie's disability, Rachel's nose, Finn's physique, etc.  It's just who it's directed at that got to certain people this time. 

 

However, I'm not saying it was funny.  Overall I thought this episode was quite boring..

Edited January 17, 2015 by dizzyizzy01

[Myrna123]

You don't have to commit a felony to do something "disgusting, loathsome or abhorrent".  And yes what Kurt did easily fits all those words.

Oh my god, I know! Remember that scene when Blaine and Mercedes and Kurt were at the coffee shop and Kurt stole all those sugar packets and was stacking and unstacking them on the table. Despicable!

[ComfySweater]

If the rant was funny it would have had a reason, but it just seemed mean for the sake of ragging on an actor for his appearance. Kurt was completely in the wrong to interrupt their moment, but they took it too far and didn't manage to be funny.

[wayne67]

On an uncompletely unrelated note did it bother anyone else that Britney said that she'd love Santana into infinity.

 

They do realise that's a number not a measurement of time? Right? She supposed to be a maths genius somehow...

 

Can't they just say eternity like normal people.

 

I do like the fact that Sue was all like I think secrets and lies were why I divorced myself.

 

This show is more tolerable if I think of these characters as absurd caricatures...

Oh my god, I know! Remember that scene when Blaine and Mercedes and Kurt were at the coffee shop and Kurt stole all those sugar packets and was stacking and unstacking them on the table. Despicable!

Remember that time when Kurt used a towel for his face and got into a 3 hour argument with Blaine over it...

 

Kurt is despicable.

[ComfySweater]

On an uncompletely unrelated note did it bother anyone else that Britney said that she'd love Santana into infinity.

 

They do realise that's a number not a measurement of time? Right? She supposed to be a maths genius somehow...

 

Can't they just say eternity like normal people.

They probably don't know that, but it seems the least of the problems in an episode that was both boring and offensive at the same time. I'm willing to let that go as some kind of watched Toy Story too often sort of thing. 

[Myrna123]

On another unrelated note why is Karofsky's being played as such a cheesey nebbish this time around? I get that his Slam 'em In the Locker persona was to hide his sexuality, but I didn't think underneath it all he was such a dorky cheese ball. Not a bad fit for Blaine, really, but not how I saw the guy.

[wayne67]

They probably don't know that, but it seems the least of the problems in an episode that was both boring and offensive at the same time. I'm willing to let that go as some kind of watched Toy Story too often sort of thing. 

 

Well yes 80% of the episode was either offensive stupid or boring... It's glee...

 

But gay batman jokes and a scheming manipulative gay jock provided a few moments of amusement in an otherwise tedious episode.

[shantown]

On another unrelated note why is Karofsky's being played as such a cheesey nebbish this time around? I get that his Slam 'em In the Locker persona was to hide his sexuality, but I didn't think underneath it all he was such a dorky cheese ball. Not a bad fit for Blaine, really, but not how I saw the guy.

Also weird - they hired Britt as their interior decorator? Huh? Was that a callback to something I forgot about? 

[fakeempress]

On an uncompletely unrelated note did it bother anyone else that Britney said that she'd love Santana into infinity.

 

They do realise that's a number not a measurement of time? Right? She supposed to be a maths genius somehow...

 

Can't they just say eternity like normal people.

 

I do like the fact that Sue was all like I think secrets and lies were why I divorced myself.

 

This show is more tolerable if I think of these characters as absurd caricatures...

Remember that time when Kurt used a towel for his face and got into a 3 hour argument with Blaine over it...

 

Kurt is despicable.

What will that make Blaine then? He's the one who started said argument. What's more than despicable?

 

 

People are offended because it's against one of their favorite characters/actors.  Santana did this to Rachel last season and a lot of the same people probably thought it was awesome and Rachel deserved the smackdown.  It's all perspective.  The only real objection I have is how long it was.  She could have a left out a couple of the physical insults, but that's nothing new for this show.  Her rant wasn't any worse than calling Quinn tubbers, insulting Artie's disability, Rachel's nose, Finn's physique, etc.  It's just who it's directed at that got to certain people this time.

Even though Kurt is my favourite character and I'm not a Rachel fan, I've never liked Santana's rants, not when they were aimed at Rachel, Finn, Artie, or whoever. She's always way over the top and intentionally hurtful (for present context, Kurt wasn't intentionally hurtful here). And like I said with the example about Adam above (and I'm sure examples with other characters can be found easily), she doesn't care for the consequences of her actions or words but she thinks she's entitled to that consideration from the others. 

Edited January 18, 2015 by fakeempress

[wayne67]

What will that make Blaine then? He's the one who started said argument. What's more than despicable?

 

I was aiming for facetiousness but perhaps that didn't convey via text...

 

I'm going to call Blaine an emotionally stunted man child with obsessive tendencies around having everything play out according to some internal script where nothing is touched and everything and everyone obeys his every whim... Eg his puppet episode...

 

God I miss those puppets...

 

I'm still not clear as to why Kurt is so upset about not being with Blaine since he A) broke up with him B) they've been proven not to work repeatedly C) Blaine is dating his ex bully D) Blaine cheated on him E) Blaine is a freaking control freak F)They got into a 3 hour argument over towels somehow... I'd imagine normal people would just submit after the first outburst and be like i'm sorry about using a towel to towel myself.

 

I'm still confused as to how Kurt having a go at 2/4 out of the new Glee Club is constructive. Why must they win ? Can't they be in an extracurricular activity for fun ?

Edited January 18, 2015 by wayne67

[ComfySweater]

On another unrelated note why is Karofsky's being played as such a cheesey nebbish this time around? I get that his Slam 'em In the Locker persona was to hide his sexuality, but I didn't think underneath it all he was such a dorky cheese ball. Not a bad fit for Blaine, really, but not how I saw the guy.

I think the actor is trying extra hard to show that Dave's okay now. He seems very, very invested given he gave up a big movie role to do this. Or at least he wants us to think he gave up a big movie role for this. Either way, he's trying real, real hard to show Dave is okay now. 

[fakeempress]

 

I was aiming for facetiousness but perhaps that didn't convey via text...

This has happened to me too. I was thrown off by the separate paragraphs, sorry for misunderstanding.

 

There is no earthly reason for Kurt to be hung up on Blaine. It's all in the service of the "soulmate" ending RIB want. It's like Beiste's story here, logic and character be damned.

Edited January 18, 2015 by fakeempress

[wayne67]

This has happened to me too. I was thrown off by the separate paragraphs, sorry for misunderstanding.

 

It's okay. It's the internet, it's easy to misread people's meaning when so many people get unnecessarily worked up about fictional characters.

 

I'm curious whether Spencer will be lured into the Glee club by Sam using his 'good looks' to manipulate him into joining.

 

They're running out of time to recruit 8 new people to the Glee Club.

[ComfySweater]

They're running out of time to recruit 8 new people to the Glee Club.

They'll use Kitty to recruit several unnamed dancer cheerios and wave it off. This has been done before. They don't care about their own rules once they're done with angst over recruiting the jock they seem to think they need.

[fakeempress]

It's okay. It's the internet, it's easy to misread people's meaning when so many people get unnecessarily worked up about fictional characters.

 

I'm curious whether Spencer will be lured into the Glee club by Sam using his 'good looks' to manipulate him into joining.

 

They're running out of time to recruit 8 new people to the Glee Club.

If Sam can manage to come up with the scheme, he will get Spencer to join the glee club in return for making him the quarterback. 

[tom87]

Technically  by going on show choir rules they can have 8 cheerleaders or band members in the back ground swaying and the other 4 sing and dance around to meet the requirements.

[wayne67]

Technically  by going on show choir rules they can have 8 cheerleaders or band members in the back ground swaying and the other 4 sing and dance around to meet the requirements.

I don't think these 4 noobs can pull of a Sectional victory by themselves.

 

Then again it's not like they have to be talented to win... They won last time even though Will often had lesson plans on the fly and they'd randomly adjust their set list at the last minute for some personal drama.

[Starchild]

I don't think it's the case that we didn't 'see the journey' happening with Bieste. I think it's that Glee went out of its way to show almost the polar opposite story with her. If they had even gone with Bieste (retrospectively) telling us she was asserting her femininity to try to resist this body dysphoria, it could have made sense. But it is what it is. The person whose struggle has been often so specifically about asserting her femininity and her struggle to be accepted as a woman now always wanted to be a man. I can't help but call bullshit on the writing of that. Even by Glee standards, it's piss poor.

We can't make claims about things we are not consciously aware of.

 

Did this come out of nowhere? Yes.

 

Is it inconsistent with what we thought we knew about Shannon? It seems to be.

 

Does Shannon's past behaviour fit with our new knowledge? I believe so.

[ancslove]

Honestly, I don't mind if the other newcomers aren't really introduced and fleshed out.  Even in the early seasons, 12+ named regulars was a lot to juggle and now we'll have 12 Glee club and 5 or 6 originals.  It's too much for even great shows to handle, let alone Glee.

[wayne67]

Honestly, I don't mind if the other newcomers aren't really introduced and fleshed out.  Even in the early seasons, 12+ named regulars was a lot to juggle and now we'll have 12 Glee club and 5 or 6 originals.  It's too much for even great shows to handle, let alone Glee.

 

Considering they can't keep the Originals motivations consistent from episode to episode I doubt it matters much if the new people have backstories or sympathetic motivations as they'll be ignored for random plot points anyway.

 

My issue goes to does it matter if they don't win?

 

It presumably should matter if Will's team loses as he has his livelihood at stake whereas Rachel is bankrolling Glee out of what seems like existential boredom.

 

We should be following Will as he tries to get his team to nationals in order to keep his child fed with the Originals popping up to help the guy who supported them through their many whiny personal dramas but we don't because Mckinley choir room blah.

Edited January 18, 2015 by wayne67

[caracas1914]

Saying people are offended by Santana's rant only because it came against a favorite character is a reasonable if arguable projection I suppose, as is saying the length and personal attacks of the diatribe was justified comes from a pre established hatred of the character by some.

It's all silly in that Kurt and Santana are seen bonding during the song so ala s alls well that ends well. Which make Santana's shitick ultimately toothless since nobody seems to take them very serious. It's " her thing", but long played out of any freshness.

As others mentioned, what bothered me was that it was such a fabricated setup for Santana to do one one of her last vents but it was such a tired rehash, as in Sue trying to take down the Glee club, Becky being a bitch to everyone, etc. etc.

[beetlesoda]

It's interesting how people take the show more seriously than the show takes itself, I thought the rant was hilarious and served it purpose in making me laugh especially when she did the 3 dance moves because it's sooo true. Had it been any other show show but glee in it's finale season sure I'll get into the why Santana is mean, poor Kurt he didn't deserve it, poor Chris the writers hate him, stuff going on here but it's glee in it's finale season barley making it in the ratings, it's glee as it is and I'm not even gonna waste my time questioning it. Props to Naya though, that was a long line to remember. Lol at Rachel's face during the scene, only thing that would've made it better is if Santana had a rant against Blaine.

 

I wish they used these newbies last season because I don't roll my eyes every time they're on screen.

 

Yay brittana, four for you brittana.

[dizzyizzy01]

I certainly don't think Santana's rants are ever really justified. She would be horribly offensive in reality. I'm just saying within the context of the show its normal behavior for her character. It hasn't changed in the last six seasons. People do seem to take a greater offense to her diatribes when it's against an actor our character they like more. It's a natural bias though that I'm probably guilty of as well.

[caracas1914]

Nah, Blaine fucks a random facebook while still in a relationship and he gets called a " hero" and " one of the good guys".

I thought Santana's diatribe against Finn was unwarranted, and I hated the meta ( from Twitter) used in calling Brody donkey face.

Again love the sweeping assumption and rationalization that the ONLY objection to Santana's rant was because it was against a fave. Whatever.

Edited January 18, 2015 by caracas1914

[txhorns79]

I think the actor is trying extra hard to show that Dave's okay now. He seems very, very invested given he gave up a big movie role to do this.

 

He gave up a big movie role to do some guest spots on Glee?  Jeez, maybe he needs to change agents.   

 

 

People do seem to take a greater offense to her diatribes when it's against an actor our character they like more. It's a natural bias though that I'm probably guilty of as well.

 

I thought the rant was somewhat over the top, but otherwise fine.  Kurt was interfering, and making the proposal all about himself.  He desperately needed to be told to stop being the answer to a question no one asked.  I also wish someone had told him the little neck scarves he likes to wear look like he's trying to copy Dolly Parton's look circa 1980.     

 

I also have no idea what they are doing with Becky.  If the message is that she should be treated just like anyone else, the show isn't selling it.  If anything, everyone seems way too tolerant of her being horrible.     

[Cranberry]

I also love Santana, and I like Kurt okay but don't love him, and I thought the rant was over the top. I've historically enjoyed "Snix's" mean-spirited takedowns, but this one went on way too long and seemed to be more about the actor's personal appearance than about the character's actions and fashion choices. Kurt most definitely deserved an earful after rudely interrupting a proposal -- a moment that only happens once -- and I enjoyed parts of Santana's rant, but other parts felt too much like the writer being mean, not the character.

[Hana Chan]

This whole thing is sad for me because I love both Kurt and Santana and the rant ended up totally destroying all the growth Santana's made since graduation. The girl who felt sincere remorse for verbally abusing Finn the way she did and couldn't take it back because he died? The one who came to NY and pulled Rachel out of a funk before her big debut after Rachel behaved so badly towards her? Gone. The only one that she won't attack is apparently Brittany. As bad as it was to see Kurt verbally flayed, it made Santana look like a psychotic bitch because her response was so out of proportion.

 

Saying it again... we needed a scene between the two of them taking things out like adults because I liked their friendship. It's a real shame to throw it away in a misguided and clumsy attempt to write an "edgy" verbal assault and just took it way too far.

[phoenixrising]

On a completely different topic...I really love the mason/Jane song, but damn it, why did we need Klaine flashbacks thrown in? Maybe if I liked the ship I wouldn't want to kill things, but as I care more about the new kids right now, I was offended on their behalves, and annoyed because Klaine is just boring at this point.

[Higgs]

My objection to Santana's rant has nothing to do with Santana or Kurt or anything that has ever happened on Glee. It's about the writers and Chris, only. A single specific aspect of Chris's physical appearance, unrelated to any imagined effeminacy or artistic style, was used as proxy to denigrate his sexuality. It was a "dog whistle", i.e., meant to be picked up only by those sensitive, for one reason or another, to the signal. Nothing remotely analogous was ever done to any other performer on the show. I'm no fan of Chris/Kurt, and, not knowing their mindset, I can't accuse the writers of homophobia, but what Santana was given to say in this one instance was beyond the pale.

[ancslove]

Wait, Higgs, which specific insult are you talking about?

[Black Knight]

I would think it was the one about looking like he has a set of dentures he takes out rather than real teeth, and the homophobic element being the impact of having no teeth when giving a blow job. (And now all of a sudden I'm thinking of the first season of American Horror Story, where the woman giving a blow job very definitely has teeth, to the great sorrow of the guy...)

[caracas1914]

Well Karofsky as the latest character that Glee has thrown under the bus.  Here to fore, Karofsky was usually part of a SL with some investment in his life.

 

Now he's spectacularly neutered, and part of that is because the show writers are too chicken shit to bring up why he's being used, that he's Kurt ex tormentor and now the live in lover of his ex fiancee.   With none of the 3 main characters  bringing that  up, he's just a lumpless prop in their Klaine dynamics, so what the fuck was the point of using him specifically?     Lazy writers who  were going for shock.

 

These writers make Blaine look like such a shallow piece of shit I have to remind myself that they actually like his character.   That kind of incompetence is awe inspiring.

Edited January 18, 2015 by caracas1914

[CleoCaesar]

the homophobic element being the impact of having no teeth when giving a blow job.

I think that's really really reaching to find homophobia in the remark about Kurt's teeth...

[Black Knight]

I agree, but the comment about the teeth was the only one Santana made that had to do with his physical appearance, so that must be the one being talked about by Higgs. Everything else was about character quirks and limited dance moves.

[wayne67]

 

the homophobic element being the impact of having no teeth when giving a blow job.

 

I think that's really really reaching to find homophobia in the remark about Kurt's teeth...

 

 

Yeah I think it's a bit of a reach to get homophobia from that . He may just be a terrible kisser ... I also don't think Santana is afraid of homosexuals so I doubt she's homophobic, maybe she just didn't like Kurt during that minute monologue.

 

I think the entire Glee club has become so used to verbal abuse they barely even acknowledge it these days. I think the most dramatic thing was when Santana and Rachel's argument got physical.

Edited January 18, 2015 by wayne67

[Everleigh]

Whoops, wrong thread. 

Edited January 18, 2015 by Everleigh

[morgankobi]

I was thrown off by Santana adamantly telling Brittany they had to do the mash-up just exactly as assigned to really help the Glee club.

The hell?

[Yitzhak]

Take the whole breakup storyline. The majority of the focus is on Kurt's POV. Now I'll bitch forever that Kurt should put Blaine firmly in his rearview mirror and never look back but that's not how the show is going. But Blaine's POV, why he's with Dave, how he actually feels about Dave... that's getting no focus at all. It's all about Kurt and his emotional struggle because Chris is able to give me the layered and nuanced performances that make it feel sincere. So while the last thing I want to see is Kurt back with Blaine, I'm having fun watching Chris show his acting chops.

 

While I agree that it's good to see Glee placing Chris Colfer firmly back in the male lead role (at least in terms of storytelling, not song distribution) I feel increasingly infuriated with the way Kurt is being vilified for his reasonable objections to marrying young. Why is Ryan Murphy so fixated with teen marriage anyway? - first Finn/Rachel, then Kurt/Blaine and now Santana/Brittany. While I know some high school sweethearts can make their relationships last long term, a lot of times they don't and surely it's better to hold off marriage till you know for sure? Especially if you're a couple like Kurt and Blaine who has struggled with simply living together, not to mention that Blaine has shown he'll resort to cheating on Kurt when things get rough.

 

Kurt's opinion that people shouldn't get married till they're thirty is perfectly valid and while it may not be Kurt's place to push his (reasonable!) opinion on other couples, I'm grossed out by the writers seeming insistence that Kurt needs to be proved wrong. I was already grossed out that they used Burt and Kurt's dead mom to emotionally blackmail Kurt into accepting Blaine's big steamrolling proposal in the first place. Now it's being implied that Kurt is the one with problems that he needs to overcome. First Kurt not wanting to get married young is a symptom of Kurt's "intimacy issues". Now, through Santana's rant. we are being told that Kurt lost Blaine because he is judgemental and insufferable. Nevermind that Kurt was the one who dumped Blaine (both times they broke up).

 

From where I'm standing, Kurt's biggest problem is his inability to move on from an overbearing emotionally manipulative boyfriend who he would be much better off without. But the writers seemingly have no interest in exploring Blaine's faults as a partner. This whole thing with Karofsky...there is no way of looking at that relationship that doesn't make Blaine look bad. If Blaine does have genuine feelings for Dave, then it suggests his trumped up true love/soul mates feelings for Kurt were all shallow platitudes and that all Blaine really wanted was any guy who idolizes him, props up his ego and is willing to dive into this domestic bliss fantasy that Blaine is so hung up on. If Blaine doesn't have feelings for Dave and is using a guy with a history of serious psychological problems as a weapon against Kurt, then that's even more screwed up. Since Blaine already knows Kurt wants to get back together, it can no longer be said that Blaine is merely using Dave to get Kurt's attention and make him jealous, but more insidiously that Blaine is using his relationship with Dave to spite and punish Kurt. The way the writers are glossing over Kurt's own dark history with Dave Karofsky is also troubling. But I get the feeling Blaine is not going to be questioned for his actions at all and the onus will be solely on Kurt to earn Blaine's forgiveness (!?!) and learn the error of his ways.

 

The bottom line being that - with this Klaine ship - Glee is actively encouraging young people to stay in unhappy, unhealthy and even emotionally abusive relationships. Okay so we had Brit suggesting Kurt move on, but not because Kurt/Blaine were a bad couple but simply so Kurt doesn't look like a loser.            

Edited January 18, 2015 by Yitzhak

[phoenixrising]

Even though I do find the Santana rant problematic, I do think there's too much reading into this, in terms of trying to vilify Kurt.

In my readings of Santana, she doesn't care about Blaine, really. In fact there are times when she's actively annoyed by him (see Last Friday Night). She's picking on Kurt because he barged in on her moment, she probably knows Blaine is a sore spot right now, so that's what she's going for. It's not like she's saying "Blaine is the best, Blaine was such a catch!" Or anything like that. Her motives are framed by her anger at Kurt, and aren't really about Blaine. I don't even think the writers were thinking about propping up Blaine at this point. I think they just wanted Santana to have a go at Kurt, and that's how they ended up framing it, because he compared her and brittany to him and Blaine (which made my Brittana-shipping heart rage because if Brittana was similar to Klaine I would hate them).

I'll also say, some of the insults were kinda funny (like his 3 dance moves, and his song choices, which if you like, fine, but santana wouldn't). Some made no sense (being the gay apex is Blaine, not kurt), and yes, some were just cruel (more feminine quinn fabray).

Idk, in terms of santana the character, I'm finding mental gymnastics for it, for the writers, it's still crappy and I wish it didn't feel like an attack on chris or effeminacy.

[dizzyizzy01]

I've historically enjoyed "Snix's" mean-spirited takedowns, but this one went on way too long and seemed to be more about the actor's personal appearance than about the character's actions and fashion choices.

 

 

I never really enjoyed Santana's rants, and they're pretty much always full of so much vitriol it can be tough to believe these characters are really friends.  However, like some others have mentioned, the only comment about the actor's appearance was about his smile/mouth.  In that extremely long rant, everything else was reflective of the character (being self-righteous, dressing kind of OTT, liking old people, dance moves, etc.).  I think the rub is that there's so much actor bleed in some of these characters.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

My take on the Kurt/Santana conflict is that they were both assholes.

 

Kurt is getting all SVU Stabler with his Taking It Personally attitude and projecting his issues onto other people. I will admit that I am not a huge fan of people getting married before they're done with college or at least 25 because you go through so much and change so much during those years that making lifelong decisions doesn't seem like the best idea. My feeling is that if you love that person now, you will love them later too so why rush into marriage? In theory, I get what Kurt is saying. They are supposed to be 20 so waiting a few years to get married isn't the worst idea in the world.

 

Despite that, I don't think bringing that up seconds after someone proposes is the right thing to do. If you want to voice your opinion, do that in private later, but now is not the time. Secondly, would Kurt have listened if anyone told him that getting engaged to Blaine last year was stupid because they were young? Nope. No one wants unsolicited relationship advice, so unless you see someone in danger, it's usually best to keep it to yourself because people are not going to say, "Gee, I never thought of that. I'm going to break off my engagement thanks to your thoughtful advice!"

 

But beyond that, it was Kurt assuming that because he and Blaine were both idiots who couldn't make their relationship work, that's true of other people. Even if he is right about Brittany and Santana being too young to get married, that is THEIR mistake to make, not his. Just because his relationship didn't work out doesn't mean that other people's relationships are doomed to fail. Despite my general feeling that people should wait until they are older to get married, there are people who get married as teenagers and live happily ever after and there are people who wait until they are older and end up divorced and/or miserable. The only two people who can determine how a relationshp will work are the two people in it, not anyone else, including their well-intentioned friends and family. Translation: STFU, Kurt.

 

I was also annoyed that he criticized the two new kids' performance for not having choreography. Uh, it's a ballad. You don't need tacky step touch swaying just for the sake of having choreography. And how many other glee assignments resulted in people just sitting on chairs singing without any choreography in the past? Even in this episode, Quinn, Tina, and Becky did the same thing.

 

I burst out laughing when the two new kids told Rachel that they wanted harsher criticism because they had watched old videos of New Directions and wanted to be has good as they were. Are you referring to last year's crop of kids literally running in circles on the stage? Or the original ND routines when they did the same five moves over and over? I used to enjoy the old ND performances but their whole thing was always, "We're can't dance like Vocal Adrenaline so we will just really MEAN it when we sing!"

 

Santana was right to be upset that Kurt was such a Debbie Downer, but her attack on him was so mean spirited that later when she reprimanded Becky for being rude and mean, I couldn't help but think, "Well, it takes one to know one." I know it's apples and oranges, but at least when Becky resorts to constantly referring to them as bitches and skanks (which is still really rude), she isn't taking things she learned about them when she was friends with them and attacking them with that information the way that Santana does.

 

I don't know why anyone would want to be with Santana or Becky after seeing how rude and mean they are.

 

 

Nothing in the episode said he could become a permanent head coach without a degree.  Fill in (which is ridiculous enough) but they never said he could become one permanently.  By the way I thought it was ridiculous Finn was allowed to fill in for Will  and Kurt/Rachel are allowed to coach Glee now but at least with Glee it is  clear is an after school activity while football has always been written as being a "class" those guys took i.e. it was their PE credit.  Sure Glee could go there but, since they made it clear that if Finn wanted to be a Glee coach as a career he needed to go to school,  I think the only hint we got to Sam's future in this episode is that he will end up in school by series close.  

I am more okay with Finn, Rachel, and Kurt temporarily helping with Glee because they aren't actually teaching academic classes or employed as teachers. I know it's splitting hairs, but the school has more leeway with that. Our school's gymnastics coach was one of the few coaches who was not a teacher at the school (and after she became the coach, the team won the championships a record number of times). When I was there, she was employed only to coach the gymnastics team after school.

 

Similarly, after I graduated the school hired one of our dance team alumnae to coach the dance team and run rehearsals after school. Dance is slightly different (and more akin to glee) because it's not a sport and there are different regulations for sanctioned sports teams. All of our football coaches were teachers at the school. Many of them taught PE but some of them taught drivers ed, health, etc.

 

Didn't Rachel say last week that she was only helping with the glee club temporarily until it got re-established and someone else could take over?

[jaytee1812]

The message of this episode seems to be only vile people get to be happy. I mean Santana, Brittany, Becky, Sue, and Karofsky. So there is actually no point in being nice, treat people like shit and you'll get everything your own way.

[romantic idiot]

I was bored. And that makes me sad. Guess I got my hopes up after last week. Okay now I'm mad at myself for begin that stupid. 

 

Lea has good comedic timing, and I appreciate the fact that the actors are making use of their time in the background.

I like that she did. Unfortunately, I only caught the last one, because Santana's rant was so boring and one note I started reading the Arrow forums. 

 

Where would you put those of us who were simply bored by it because going to that well for 2985 time makes it less biting and funny and more "really writers stop using old scripts and putting in Kurt's name for whoever Santana was ranting at last season."

 

If the rant was funny it would have had a reason, but it just seemed mean for the sake of ragging on an actor for his appearance. Kurt was completely in the wrong to interrupt their moment, but they took it too far and didn't manage to be funny.

 

The thing is, I've never found Santana's rants funny. Not the first time, or the next time or now. And now they weren't even watchable. Literally. 

 

Oh show, I'm sad to see how low you can go. Do RM et al have a million dollar bet on? Surely nothing else would explain this?

[Omnihelix]

Not one of Santana's best rants. 

Edited January 19, 2015 by Omnihelix

[vb68]

They could have made Santana's reaction more focused and showed how the relationship had grown.  "You are MY friend, and you did that?  You seriously hurt me, Kurt.  I'm not sure I can forgive you."   I think that would have actually affected him much more.  But we had to get another tiresome rant that showed she hasn't grown since high school and ultimately just proved him right that she's still very immature.

Edited January 18, 2015 by vb68

[Ceeg]

How does Kurt honestly think he and Blaine broke up because they were too young to be engaged though? Their ages have nothing to do with their incompatibility and their inability to stay together long-term.

 

Admittedly, I was drinking when I watched this episode, but I think the reason I didn't hate or feel bothered by the Becky plot is because zomg is was a plot about girls helping a girl. Whether said girl was deserving is another issue, but I don't even know when the last time that happened was (granted I only watched about 20% of season 5, and even less of season 4). Where a girl character was helped by other girl characters, without any dude stepping in. Because of that, I think I'm willing to overlook Becky's character flaws and any plot issues surrounding her, because from my perspective, it was a fresh.

 

Actually, maybe that's why I liked this episode, as a whole. There was just a lot of action for the ladies. And minimal Blaine.

[missalanny]

I agree that Santana's rant was out of bounds because it focused too much on the actor's appearance and not really at all on what Kurt actually did. I also agree that Kurt's hijacking of the proposal moment was shitty. I don't think these thoughts are mutually exclusive. Mostly, I think the posters who feel the Santana rant is stale, pulls from an old bag of tricks, shows no character growth, etc have won the debate on why the rant wasn't Santana's best moment, but I'll also admit that I thought Naya was kinda awesome in that scene...that's pretty much how I've always been about Santana, actually. I really don't like the character - I think she's mean and don't understand how she has friends - BUT, I find her compelling to watch. Anyways, regardless of all of this...

I can't believe there isn't more talk about how completely uncomfortable the Becky storyline was! Granted, I completely agree with everyone who just wants Becky to go away, but the boyfriend plot that we were stuck with was SO WRONG, in my opinion. What were we supposed to come away from that thinking? That if we question why a "normal" guy is interested in Becky that we are the ones who are judgemental or whatever Daryl was trying to convince the Quinn/Tina/Sue/Roz panel is the actual case? No. Not to intentionally delve into my personal life here, but I have a family member who is developmentally disabled and because of that I've spent a lot of time with kids and adults who have DS and similar disabilities, and it is in NO WAY unreasonable for Daryl to be questioned about his intentions with Becky. If the show insisted on doing this unnecessary plot for some damn reason, they should at least have handled it better - Daryl explaining that he likes Becky because she's "funny" was so far from cutting it, I really don't even know where to start. Frankly, the scene at the restaurant where he was speaking to Becky like she's a toddler just pissed me off so much in the context of this storyline, and said pretty much all that needs to be said as far as whether it's questionable whether it's ethical for Daryl and Becky to have sex. This is probably the maddest I've ever been at the show.... Although, to be fair, the bar was set pretty low because, as a person from actual Lima, Ohio, my number one gripe has always been the lightening speed at which these characters travel to Akron in order to spy on Vocal Adrenaline (opposite side of the state! Google maps, Ryan Murphy!).

[jaytee1812]

Shockingly for me the newbies were the best part of the episode. But for the love of God who is dressing Jane and why do they hate her. She's 16, not 60.

Loved the little Puck/Quinn moments in the background.

Tina/Quinn's duet was gorgeous, and the best song on this show since Wide Awake. So of course they cut it short. And I hate the focus was on Becky. Why would they help her? Why would anyone? Also the song made more sense to Tina and Quinn's own situations than Becky's.

Rachel was really great. Also with those loving her wardrobe.