S06.E07: Transitioning

[caracas1914]

Glee has always had it but the propping is beyond parody at this point.

The propping of Rachel, of Samchel and of Klaine.

I did like that in a gleeverse where nobody questions Blaine being with Karofsky, Kurt dating Walter is also taken at face value.

Other than that, no Becky.

Its something.

While the 2.0 Noobs are OK, I can certainly see how Rodericks' non acting and Spencer's charmless personality would get on my nerves more if I didn't know their self life is extremely limited.

[Ceeg]

I don't think you can make a tv show this bad unless you are expending a limitless amount of purposeful energy to do it. 

I can't believe an entire production crew can be so astonishingly unaware of the absolute shit they are producing. It is beyond mystifying.

 

I've been saying for years that I wonder if Glee is the ultimate troll job from Ryan. Like a huge secret social experiment, to turn one of the biggest tv shows into the worst written garbage on tv, with the dumb meta and calling out fans in-show and terrible PSAs with mixed messages, and see how many people buy it, how many people stop watching, and how long it takes to get cancelled.

[ComfySweater]

Why do they keep mocking the few people who still like this show? 

[Primetimer]

Actually, this was a really good episode! Adam just can't resist a good Bon Jovi lyric joke.

Read the story

[Hana Chan]

It's rather funny that after weeks of Blaine showing absolutely no indication that he was at all torn between Kurt and Dave (even when the script called for those indications), it takes another song performance where Kurt isn't really focused on Blaine to awaken Blaine's interest. Kurt might have steered the duet into happening, but during the performance he wasn't exactly flirting with Blaine. He seemed completely in his performance (and totally rocking his little space man helmet) and barely glanced at Blaine through the whole performance. He also didn't seem to focus at all on Blaine during the All About The Base performance. It's reminds me of season two, when Blaine only started seeing Kurt as a possible romantic prospect when Kurt was on the verge of giving up on him.

 

And how telling was it that Dave seemed to know once Blaine confessed that a kiss happened between him and Kurt that it was Blaine who initiated things? That despite the lingering concern he might have had over feelings between the two of them that Dave was more confident that Kurt wouldn't be the one to start things and Blaine would. Mr. Lighthouse Fucker really isn't capable of being faithful to anyone (and the show trying to play it off as Kurt and Blaine being soulmates makes Blaine cheating on his partner acceptable is pretty distasteful).

 

Blaine arriving at McKinley, ready to sweep Kurt into his arms only to find that Kurt wasn't just going to be waiting for him to come around (and leaving for his date with Walter) was a much needed lesson for Blaine. That he shouldn't expect Kurt to always be waiting for him when he decides to get his head out of his ass about how he feels (and that Kurt didn't just drop Walter the instant that Blaine indicated that he might want Kurt back was more than satisfying).

 

And thanks again to the Glee costume department for really going above and beyond for Kurt's wardrobe this week. Those pants he was wearing for his date with Walter looked like they were vacuum sealed to his ass.

 

As for Rachel... I get that she didn't ask for everyone to run around to try to make her feel better about her house being sold, but she was acting as if this the greatest tragedy since the sinking of the Titanic. And it really shows her being incapable of handling of some of the most basic adult situation. Sam was trying to be really understanding and tried to talk about his own personal experience (which was a lot more painful and traumatic than Rachel's) and she just shut him down because she was going to feel sorry for herself, goddamn it, and hearing that someone had it a lot worse and got through it wasn't going to stop her. The fact that none of her friends think that she's capable of weathering any adversity without massive public support is really telling about how weak and self-indulgent Rachel has become. It's sad when you compare her to her season one personality, when I would have expected her to shank anyone who got in her way.

[monocles]

I haven't watched Glee in ages, but I will definitely have to track down this episode, if only to see how it compares to an episode of Popular that involved a shop teacher transitioning from male to female (which, if I recall correctly, was surprisingly well-done for airing in 1999). Watching that episode and Glee back-to-back could make for a mini Ryan Murphy Media Studies class.

[dmmetler]

Ok, it's not a romantic chemistry, but I'm pretty convinced the best couple on this trainwrck of a show is Unique and Sheldon-probably because Dot is playing the heck out of the role, and Alex is being herself. And, of course, we'll probably never see them together again since the Very Special Episode fragment is over.

[Glorfindel]

The Will and Vocal Adrenaline storyline was the most enjoyable of this episode. I like Will when he’s in true teacher mode. His conflict with the VA kids was a bit too black & white for my liking, but it was entertaining and kept true to the VA being the ultimate ND rivals. I wished they had done more with Unique being a VA alumni, as she didn’t part with that school in very good terms, nor with McKinley for that matter.
But yay! for Emma being back and giving good advice and support. If they had focused more on Will and Emma during seasons 3 and 4, and made them and the other adults the anchors of the show, then maybe the revolving door option would have been viable for Glee.

I also liked seeing Will, Rachel and Kurt working together. But lol, ND seems to have more 'alumni' coaches than members most of the time, and they still don’t really talk to and know the kids. Those constant jokes and jibes are getting quite old and redundant imo.

 

Seriously Rachel, grow up. I understand her being bumbed about her old house being sold, but she shouldn’t have silenced Sam when he rightfully brought up that he was homeless for a while and his family then had to move to another state because of his dad getting a job there (where Sam even became an underaged stripper to support them). Glee proves once again that noone’s woes on the show count except Rachel’s. And really, another Rachel intervention? Even the writers know how ridiculous this is as they poke fun at it as they have the new ND kids and even Mercedes commenting on it. And I would probably even laugh a bit at this meta if it wasn’t so frustrating to see Rachel propped up and getting pampered all the time (tbf: often without her asking for it) while I’d hoped she would pick herself up for a change, as season 6 was supposed to be about her redeeming herself. This could have actually been the ideal moment for Rachel to stand up and refuse her friends’ help, telling everyone they need to focus on ND and Sectionals now, not her. Missed opportunity, like so many on Glee.

 

The party in Rachel’s basement was fun. It’s good to see the characters (actors?) interact with one another in a more natural manner. These background moments were where a lot of the famous original cast chemistry came from and how friendships and even relationships were hinted and initiated by the cast that eventually became canon.
And speaking of that: notice that ‘soulmates’ Kurt and Blaine didn’t even look at each other once nor seemed to notice the other one dancing close by at all during ‘All About That Bass’. But we're to believe that their chemistry is legendary.

 

Why were there no Finn pictures on Rachel’s wall? Including Finn in the scene where Rachel is packing up the pictures from the wall in her bedroom with her old ND friends would only have been logical, and it would have added some extra sadness and reflection to the situation. But the writers chose not to, when in other episodes they had no problem pulling out the Finn sentiment card to make it part of a plot point (like when Rachel asked Mr. Shue to go easy on the new ND).

And I can’t think of any other reason for this than Glee wanting to shove down our throats that Sam is now the one and only true love for Rachel. Which is quite ironic, as showing an old boyfriend, one who is gone forever and no threat anymore, is apparently still considered too much of a risk by the writers for the new epic love of Rachel that they’d rather erase him completely. Previous strong feelings over losing a friend/lover/brother of the characters in the show (and in this case sadly also the harsh reality outside of the show) be damned.

 

So Blaine cheated AGAIN, and actually inititated it too without any serious prompting or response from Kurt (so not a dubious forced kiss in a locked elevator). How many times did he cheat now? I guess it depends on your definition of cheating, but Blaine's definitely in canon a multiple offender now. And again he didn’t tell his boyfriend about it, untill his boyfriend brought it up himself.
Also: “I sung a duet with Kurt, it was Rachel’s idea”. That’s not what happened at all, it was Kurt’s idea, and Blaine knew he was in for trouble the moment he asked Kurt not to tell Dave about it. But I can’t really hold this against Blaine, when even the writer can’t remember what he himself wrote in the same damn episode.
But ugh, at Dave giving Blaine his blessing, because nothing can stop Klaine's epic endgame train. Max did a good job though: I actually can understand Dave better and sympathise with him a lot more than with Blaine because of the good acting of Max. He managed to convey more of Dave’s genuine feelings for Blaine in one scene than I got from Darren (feelings of Blaine about Dave and Kurt) in the whole season so far.

 

And why is Blaine constantly at McKinley? (Besides the writers forcing him in every scene and song there.) Doesn’t he have a job in another town? When it comes to Klaine, who’s hanging on to and around who here? Did the previous episode leave it ambiguous (as their kiss was forced by Sue), it was now clear that before Blaine actually physically cheated on Dave by kissing Kurt, he was already cheating on him emotionally for a while. At least Kurt backed off when he found out that Blaine was with someone else, and even after Blaine kissed him he seemed to be still willing to move on, as he is still under the impression Blaine is taken. But on Glee the message is that cheating is okay when you do it with your soulmate. Bah.
It seemed to me (partly because of Darren’s acting choices) that Blaine was ultimately more upset over not getting Kurt back right away than he was over breaking up with someone he was living and having sex with for months, someone he surely had to care for too on some level. And still I’m supposed to feel sorry for him when he’s then cock-blocked by Walter of all people? Lol, I thought that scene was funnier than probably intended.

 

Why is Mercedes still at McKinley? Or Artie? Glee's not even trying to give anyone of the originals who isn’t Rachel a storyline of their own anymore, are they? (I don’t consider Klaine getting back together a Kurt storyline)
Btw: am I the only Kurtsie who felt a bit trolled when Kurt’s spin of the wheel of fortune landed on Artie but Kurt then pushed it to Blaine? I mean, it’s not a secret that a lot of people have been wanting a Kartie duet for a long time, and/or basically want Kurt to duet with anyone else but Blaine (and Rachel). And now Kurt himself forces another Klaine duet when we could have gotten Kartie.
Or maybe this show is finally getting to my sanity, idk.

 

Although I’m still against retconning who Beiste was in previous seasons, and the actual physical transition and recovery happened way too fast to be believable, I admit I shed a tear when Unique and the transgender choir was singing ‘I Know Where I’ve Been’. It was clearly a last attempt of  Glee/RIB to get media attention and some more critical acclaim for showing LGBTQIA+ issues, but it was touching nonetheless. And Alex Newell totally owned that song, amazing.
Standing there on stage with so many people with similar experiences must have meant something for those 300 transgender people who were there in that choir, so there’s that. I still don’t like the retconning, and I actually loathe how RIB use these people to jump on the transgender media bandwagon of the moment, but we got that lovely scene out of it and some  representation for a minority that deserves to be heard and seen on national television.

 

All in all I actually liked this episode for the most part? And feeling the need to add a questionmark to that statement tells me I wasn’t expecting that from Glee anymore, so…achievement? 

There were a few WTF moments and things I disagreed with (Rachel being woe-is-me again, the erasing of Finn, Beiste transitioning, Blaine cheating again yet we’re to believe he’s such a catch), but the storylines were okay for the most part and the majority of the scenes were carried by the better actors, like Matt, Jayma, Jane, Dot-Marie, Lea, Chris, Max, and even Chord was acceptable (he always does better when matched with better actors).

 

 

-ETA-

After reading this thread (most of it after I had posted myself) I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed Finn missing on Rachel's picture wall. That hurt.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Glorfindel

[dizzyizzy01]

As for Rachel... I get that she didn't ask for everyone to run around to try to make her feel better about her house being sold, but she was acting as if this the greatest tragedy since the sinking of the Titanic. And it really shows her being incapable of handling of some of the most basic adult situation. Sam was trying to be really understanding and tried to talk about his own personal experience (which was a lot more painful and traumatic than Rachel's) and she just shut him down because she was going to feel sorry for herself, goddamn it, and hearing that someone had it a lot worse and got through it wasn't going to stop her. The fact that none of her friends think that she's capable of weathering any adversity without massive public support is really telling about how weak and self-indulgent Rachel has become. It's sad when you compare her to her season one personality, when I would have expected her to shank anyone who got in her way.

That scene with Sam was clearly played for laughs, hence the Broadway and PUDDING dream and the shot of Rachel going out as the Ring girl in the shower.  Comedic effect.  Again, shit storytelling, which of course is the last 3 or so seasons.

 

Also, Rachel spent about 1 minute complaining to her close friend.  And her nature is to be OTT.  Who doesn't rant irrationally sometimes to close personal friends?  She was operating as usual with the planned lesson plan before Kurt high-jacked the lesson.

 

To blame Rachel for the shit show of glee club practice is just looking for something to blame Rachel on.  I mean, why not blame her co-director Kurt (I don't blame him either btw) for high-jacking the planned lesson?  It was an easy lazy light "transition" story to go along with the theme of the episode, and this was a set-up for a party at Rachel's house.  Which, btw, is it not weird for students to party at their coach's house?  Nonsensical show is nonsensical.  No surprise!  

[halfbakedpotatoes]

Oh Kurt. If he'll cheat with you, he'll cheat on you. And he has already, so there's that.

 

There was plenty of throwbacks to the old episodes, like the party from "Blame it on the Alcohol" and even drawing names out of the hat from "Ballad" rather than using the ridiculous wheel. It made it all the more weird that Finn was nowhere on Rachel's wall.

[Glorfindel]

I think we're supposed to assume that the wheel of fortune spinned for everyone in the choir room, including all the ND kids, and that they therefore all got a random duet partner to prepare and sing a song with on the actual Rachel party. That in itself is not a bad 'lesson of the week', as everyone gets to sing and learn and know each other better. They just didn't show all those duets in the episode (which is stupid, I know).

So I don't blame Kurt for changing the lesson plan, nor do I blame Rachel for going along with it (and fair is fair: she said "no" at first), even when the changing of the lesson was prompted by Rachel's friends to cheer her up yet again.

 

What I have a problem with is that season 6 was presented to us as being about Rachel and Blaine, and in a way Kurt too, losing everything, regrouping at home, and then fighting to get back on track by redeeming themselves, learning and earning the lesson and reward that comes from it.

But we're not getting that. Not with Rachel because she gets everyone propping her up constantly and handing her things without having much agency herself, and not with Blaine and Kurt because them getting back together is all the writers care about and not their personal (career) journeys.

 

This episode would have been a great opportunity for Rachel's redemption if she had insisted on her "no, thanks", had told her friends that she was indeed bumbed about her house being sold and she appreciated the concern but she didn't need the extra propping up, and if she then had agreed on the week's lesson of spinning the wheel of fortune but only as a means for the kids and coaches to get to know each other better vocally and emotionally through singing duets with each other. Even the party in her basement could have fitted in that context, as a bonding opportunity. All it would have needed imo to be a good storyline is Rachel (and/or Kurt) saying that they put the lesson for the new ND kids first, before propping up Rachel in the process, and then the duets and the party would be completely valid and fine.

But I can't put that on Rachel's shoulders so much, as in I don't really blame her for that, although it's sadly canon now. It's just lazy writing and not really caring about Rachel as a character (and not just a special snowflake) from the writers. Just a sentence or 2 that should have been added in the script would have made all the difference imo.

 

Having said that: I still think Rachel stopping Sam from talking about his homeless experience was wrong, but otoh that was a typical drama queen Rachel action, so although I didn't like her in that scene I thought it was in character.

Her meekly accepting the umpteenth intervention from her friends was imo out of character: the 'old' Rachel would have had binders full of color-schemes to decorate her new room and a new sign put up in big letters in front of her home trainer that said "Back to Broadway", she would not be hanging around Lima for months now without having a plan to get her career back on track after fulfilling her promise to resurrect ND.

 

 

Something others have already mentioned, but why wasn't Kurt with Rachel and Blaine when they got egged? With the many times Blaine pops up at McKinley I can understand him being in the parking lot with Rachel, but if VA waited at McKinley for the ND coaches to come out to the parking lot (and Blaine of the other rival the Warblers just happened to be a lucky coincidence) then they would have wanted to egg Kurt as well.

It's strange how they seem to keep Kurt out of the ND choir coaching (scenes) a lot, but when they include him they like to take little digs at him. I guess he's not important to the writers in that storyline as it's only a weak excuse for him to be back in Lima for Klaine.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Glorfindel

[Omnihelix]

I have to say Rachel sabotaging the sale of the house was pretty funny. 

[dizzyizzy01]

Well if they had Rachel listen to Sam, then it would have made the intervention make even less sense. The storylines for all the characters suck, but to blame Rachel for supposedly throwing herself a huge pity party is reaching for things to place the blame Rachel for. And it's inaccurate.

[fakeempress]

I liked the comedy that Rachel was sabotaging the selling of the house, but I winced the moment she pooh-poohed Sam's homelessness and made it like her situation is so much worse. This was just an excuse to get another "let's rally around Rachel and help her" scene at the school, and storyline. On one hand they had to give the other characters something to do, but on the other, it made Rachel again "a damsel in distress". I'd have preferred if she realised in the teachers' lounge that she has to let go - and that in fact she's been a grownup for a while now and lived a grownup life in NY, and be active herself in organising one last hurrah party not only to say goodbye, but also as bonding for her kids, because as Will said they are Rachel's - and Kurt's - kids now, and it seemed to me Rachel knew that in the Hurt Locker 2 already. They could've again had the talk with Sam in her bedroom, have her overcome with the emotion of how her childhood is truly gone behind her now.

 

But no, it was again used for meta commentary, with Mercedes and the twins, because -? Yeah, I have no clue.

 

I am still not buying the Beiste storyline in that he has always felt like that and now is his true self that is being hammered down in the dialogue, because it doesn't ring true to who the character was before. Makes Beiste just a mouthpiece sort of character, for whatever PSA they want to convey. First it was about tomboy / butch women, then was about spousal abuse, and now for gender transitioning. Dot made a very convincing Sheldon, it's just the storyline erases the previous ones completely. Bringing Unique back just reminded me once again about that. The trans choir scene though was emotional and powerful. I realise this is an important issue to tell a story about, but just wished it was done through Unique and didn't erase Beiste's previous characterisation to make the statement. 

 

The less said about Klaine, the better. It's a complete mess, and has been for quite a while. Blaine cheating again, don't know what Kurt was doing either with the wheel, Karofsky almost not batting an eye rang also false (seriously, no one is that nonchalant when they realise their SO is not so into them and cheating). 

Edited February 14, 2015 by fakeempress

[KatWay]

 

I'm going to discuss something that many people will probably just gag on

You got that right.

 

I don't understand the need to basically retcon Finn out of existence this season, when they did a good enough job of dealing with the whole situation last season, mentioning him from time to time and acknowledging his contributions.

 

Apparently they think that in order for Samchel to work, the viewers must not notice how he's basically a blonder version of Finn at this point so they'll just pretend he never existed or had any sort of relationship with Rachel. That's just sad and offensive at the same time.

 

Also WTF they cut out Mercedes of Rachel and Sam's prom pic to make it seem like they had any sort of connection??? How low can they sink? They can retcon all they want, Rachel and Sam were friendly, but never had anything close to a meaningful relationship in HS. And instead of working with THAT, doing a whole, seeing each other in a new light thing, now that we're all grown up, they are trying to make it seem like they were always meant to be. Even though EVERYONE knows they only became meant to be after Cory died and these hack writers threw Rachel at the next best straight white character instead.

 

I can't even.

Edited February 14, 2015 by KatWay

[Higgs]

Rachel, and Rachel alone, got ND to a deserved victory at Invitationals. Rachel should pay Sue again to lock Kurt in that elevator long before all competitions.

A class party at a teacher's house, for whatever reason, is generally considered a great means to bond with students. Who knows, maybe Sam has as high a social IQ as Finn did. It will sure come in handy when he's a head coach in New Jersey. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose.

Rachel was fucking Sam during the Klaine duet, which at the very least relieved her of having to endure the stress she experiences in listening to such a horror, as she described to Puck whilst seducing him for RJR.

Rachel's post-coital lit up the room. It's all good.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Higgs

[radishcake]

"It's manipulative as hell and I'm all in."

This is the Glee I knew and loved. <3

[SevenStars]

 I think the reason people have a problem with Rachel being Rachel as in being self-center, selfish and being overly dramatic is because after everything that have happen to her, people expected her to be less of these things. Even if she wasn't, the writers took away the things that made Rachel being self-center, selfish and overly dramatic tolerable and even lovable for me, like her determination, her fight, and her agency that she refuse to hand over to anyone no matter how low she was. Also all the characters weren't propping her ass like she was deserving of all this propping. Instead they were there to call her out on her selfish, self-center and overly dramatic behaviors.

I don't take Mercedes shade as anything more than meta so it didn't really make Rachel situation more tolerable for me.

 

Also, I don't see a problem with people blaming Rachel for being so willing to accept people propping her ass like this. If we going to hold the characters account for the good, we should also hold them accountable for things we think are bad. 

 

That doesn't excuse the writers, it just keeps things in perspective IMO.

Edited February 14, 2015 by SevenStars

[Myrna123]

If there was anything thoughtful or pre-planned about this train wreck of a show, I'd say Finn was purposefully absent from Rachel's wall of memory so that when she breaks it off with Sam at 9:50 pm on the evening of the last episode, she can say, "I'll always treasure our time together but I was still mourning Finn and you helped me get to a place where I can remember him with fondness and love and not just sadness, and p.s. Mercedes is waiting for you in the auditorium because I'm regifting you to her."

[halfbakedpotatoes]

I don't understand the need to basically retcon Finn out of existence this season, when they did a good enough job of dealing with the whole situation last season, mentioning him from time to time and acknowledging his contributions.

 

I thought they've done a pretty good job with mentioning Finn this season, through scenes such as Sam's talk with Post-Modern Gay and panning over to his photo in the auditorium. Even last week there was a pretty subtle shot of Finn's jacket hanging on the chair at Schue's party. It's just now when they're trying to hammer home the Samchel that they take the path of least resistance.

 

It's a pity, a storyline about Rachel and Sam starting off as friends and Rachel trying to get over her "soulmate's" death is far more interesting than going through a story about insecure unpopular girl falling for popular good-looking jock for the millionth time.

[CMH1981]

 

Rachel, and Rachel alone, got ND to a deserved victory at Invitationals.

 

I thought Kitty deserves about half of that victory considering she had the plan and execution that swayed Sue in favor of ND.

Edited February 14, 2015 by CMH1981

[jaytee1812]

I thought Kitty deserves about half of that victory considering her having the plan and execution that swayed Sue.

I thought Kitty deserved all the credit.

[SevenStars]

If there was anything thoughtful or pre-planned about this train wreck of a show, I'd say Finn was purposefully absent from Rachel's wall of memory so that when she breaks it off with Sam at 9:50 pm on the evening of the last episode, she can say, "I'll always treasure our time together but I was still mourning Finn and you helped me get to a place where I can remember him with fondness and love and not just sadness, and p.s. Mercedes is waiting for you in the auditorium because I'm regifting you to her."

 

As someone who loves Sam, I would hate this. I already hate that Mercedes gifted him to Rachel and ordered him to heal her heart. I would hate for Rachel to turn around and do the same to him..

[Glorfindel]

I thought Kitty deserved all the credit.

And it was Kurt who had the idea and insisted on that Rachel and he (as he didn't know he'd be locked up for a day and night) would try to bring back Kitty to ND in the first place.

[SevenStars]

I thought they've done a pretty good job with mentioning Finn this season, through scenes such as Sam's talk with Post-Modern Gay and panning over to his photo in the auditorium. Even last week there was a pretty subtle shot of Finn's jacket hanging on the chair at Schue's party. It's just now when they're trying to hammer home the Samchel that they take the path of least resistance.

 

It's a pity, a storyline about Rachel and Sam starting off as friends and Rachel trying to get over her "soulmate's" death is far more interesting than going through a story about insecure unpopular girl falling for popular good-looking jock for the millionth time.

 

I don't think people are talking about the eraser of Finn from the show, because like you said there have been several mention of him, mainly from Sam. I think people are talking about the way the writers seems to be trying to erase Finn from Rachel's past or the fact that the reason she hasn't date before is because of him.

 

Like you, I was looking forward to Rachel dating for the exact reason you were. I thought it would be a great story to show how Rachel tries to move on from Finn. Instead we get this silly, stupid story with Finn and the only obstacle was Mercedes and Sam not being ready to let go of Mercedes, but nothing about Finn or Rachel's feelings about the fact that she is finally dating and moving on.  

[ComfySweater]

I know Finn was supposed to be Rachel's endgame that made her choose him over all her ambition to go back to Lima and dedicate herself to a man as her only source of happiness. That being literally killed off during a time they were broken up, I have no problem with her dating and moving on. Her dating Finn 2.0 who hates NYC and everything about all her dreams is another story. Nope. Grow up and find somebody who fits YOUR dreams. Stop trying to shoehorn yourself into some kind of cute guy's life. You are better than this, Rachel. You deserve to be you with a guy who fits into YOUR life.

[halfbakedpotatoes]

I don't think people are talking about the eraser of Finn from the show, because like you said there have been several mention of him, mainly from Sam. I think people are talking about the way the writers seems to be trying to erase Finn from Rachel's past or the fact that the reason she hasn't date before is because of him.

 

The post I was replying to said "retcon Finn out of existence this season" in comparison to last season.

 

I thought they could have used Sam in that storyline even in Season 4 when he and Brittany were dating. Rather than dumbing Sam down and pretending he and Brittany were attracted to each other as the two dumbest people in the room, a far more interesting storyline was how they were both trying to move on from Mercedes and Santana respectively. I'm tired of Sam but he does have nice good-guy friends chemistry with most of the girls. But the explanation always is that it's Glee. Why be subtle when you can be as ham-fisted as possible.

[spiritof76]

 

I think they write Mercedes like that because of the racist trope that black woman are strong, don't need anyone, not even love, in order to do what they need to do. But also because the writers don't care about showing Mercedes receiving love and support from other characters, outside of a love interest, Sam, when he is available and they don't need him for someone else.

Pretty much all of this.

 

Also I love how they cropped Mercedes out of the Prom picture. Even though it was after that prom that she and Sam began secretly dating. But you know, whatever. Sam and Rachel forever.

 

And not having Finn on her picture wall was low, even for this show.

 

If you have to do all of this to sell your "true love" story, there is a problem.

[phoenixrising]

I haven't watched the episode yet, but I've watched all the performances online.

I'm so disappointed by Time After Time. I would've loved it as a group number. Also, the more Chord sings, the more I hate it. I still don't buy them together, no matter what glee does.

Same Love was exactly as cringe-worthy as I imagined. Nooooo. Will can do goofy rapping (thong song) but don't let him serious rap.

I Know Where I've Been sounded great, but while watching it, I felt nothing. I guess because I couldn't help but think about how hypocritical Glee is.

All About That Bass, a song I generally hate, I liked here. Rachel dancing to it was cute, and Madison is really cute in regular clothes.

The Klaine duet was fun, when I watching the stuff in the crowd.

[Cranberry]

I like seeing the cheerleaders in normal clothes and always have. I've always hated the "joke" that they wear their Cheerios uniforms and keep their hair pulled back all day every day.

[camussie]

I thought they've done a pretty good job with mentioning Finn this season, through scenes such as Sam's talk with Post-Modern Gay and panning over to his photo in the auditorium. Even last week there was a pretty subtle shot of Finn's jacket hanging on the chair at Schue's party

 

 

See I didn't like the Sam talk because I felt like it was part and parcel of the continued Sam is the new Finn push that has been going on off and on since S2 but most heavily since "City of Angels." As for the jacket last week that was Spencer's jacket.  I did like the Will mention in the first episode but thought it was manipulative as heck to pan to Finn's picture in the third episode.  

 

Also, even if they had done a good job of mentioning Finn separate from this Sam push, there is just really no excuse to excise him from Rachel's past like they did last night.  If someone had never watched Glee saw that wall of high school pictures and subsequent scrapbook they certainly wouldn't know Finn was the boy she was madly in love with in high school.  It would seem like Sam was and hey they even attended prom as a couple together thanks to cropping Mercedes out of the picture.  

 

As for where Sam/Rachel are going on one hand they emphasize week after week that this is a transition relationship.  On the other to sell that they are wiping out both of their past relationships to make it work.  So I still think it is 50/50 where it ends up.  Either way if the past has to be erased and cropped out to sell it then that they it is cheap writing that does neither character nor the relationship any favors.  

Edited February 14, 2015 by camussie

[spiritof76]

I will say one thing Glee has done very well, at least for me. It has completely cured me of being upset about Sam/Mercedes. I'd hate for Rachel to get stuck with him but as long as he stays away from Mercedes I'm good. And I generally like Sam. You want me to buy that Mercedes and Sam meant nothing to each other? Mission accomplished. For her to end up with him after Rachel was through with him and basically getting her own sloppy seconds? No ma'am. 

 

 

ETA:

 

It would seem like Sam was and hey they even attended prom as a couple together thanks to cropping Mercedes out of the picture.

Another funny thing about the whole erasing Mercedes from Prom thing. When Rachel asked Sam to Prom out right he said no. He said, she wasn't his type. He wouldn't even look directly at her because he said Santana told him not to or something crazy. It wasn't until she and Mercedes came up to him with their "three way Prom date", that they all ended up going to prom together. And then Rachel ended up dragging Jessie along at the last minute. She barely even spent any time with Mercedes or Sam doing that Prom because she was too busy getting slapped by Quinn.

Edited February 14, 2015 by spiritof76

[camussie]

I think the scrapbook bothers more more than the wall in that the scrapbook was obviously a metaphor for the past and a way to remember it even as Rachel moved on towards her future. For Finn to be left out of that completely while Sam is the first page is very obviously rewriting the past to say Sam was central to Rachel's high school experience while Finn was just some dude she knew in Glee.  

 

Taking it away from what it makes me feel about Finn/Rachel it bothers me because I really hate the writers trying to tell me what I watched for 3 seasons didn't really happen.  Glee has really taken condescending to its audience to new levels this year and it makes me wonder why I ever watched the show at all.  

Edited February 14, 2015 by camussie

[Advance35]

I have to say Rachel sabotaging the sale of the house was pretty funny.

 

 

My favorite part of the episode as well.   And apparently she's been scheming to sabotage the sale of her house for WEEKS, we just haven't been shown it.   She said the House hasn't sold because she's been scaring the prospects off.   This is the Rachel Berry that got me hooked on this show, she is out to get what she wants by hook or by crook.   We can assume even her Father didn't realize what she was up to.

 

I also liked Rachel cutting Sam off when he was about to mention how it could be worse.   That's never worked on Rachel, she made of 60% narcissism (it's one of the things I love about her)  everything always has been and always will be worse when it's happening to her.   It's the way this girl is wired.   I did like her moment in her bedroom with Sam when she said she spent her childhood in that bedroom singing alone and then Glee club got off the ground and etc.   It's nice that the writers didn't forget that loneliness has been a huge part of Rachel Berry's life.

 

Loved that Sam/Rachel started off sweet and even a little chaste and then Rachel got aggressive. lol.   Sam's hot, no denying that.

[natyxg]

I haven't watched the episode, but I am not surprised by the erasure of Finn. It's more of less what they have been trying to do since he died, IMO. They never even bothered to say HOW he died. I got the impression that killing him off was just something they needed to get out of the way and then they wanted to move on from him because given Cory's death it's too awful or awkward to dwell on Finn, specially where Rachel is concerned. I bet that if Finn had died, but Cory was fine, his death would've been pretty huge on the show, with Rachel suffering for him for episodes on end and maybe even going on a darker path or something. not just getting a tattoo and having a sad face occasionally.

[camussie]

I never cared that they didn't go into how Finn died.  I just assumed it was a car wreck given that is how so many young people die and also given, that while drugs were Cory's problem, they never were Finn's.  I also get there are real life sensitivities around Cory's death that make addressing Finn's death challenging but I still say in an episode where Rachel's wall of high school memories is a key plot point to all but erase Finn from that and replace him with Sam was the wrong approach.  

 

I also should note I don't care if they focus on Rachel's grief journey because like I said I get there are real life sensitivities.  I care that they have doubled down on Sam is the new Finn  since "City of Angels.".  Just because they don't want to focus on Rachel's grief doesn't mean they have to write in a replacement for Finn.  Let Finn and what he brought to the show stand on his own as a and do the with Sam.  

Edited February 14, 2015 by camussie

[natyxg]

I never cared that they didn't go into how Finn died.  I just assumed it was a car wreck given that is how so many young people die and also given, that while drugs were Cory's problem, they never were Finn's.  I also get there are real life sensitivities around Cory's death that make addressing Finn's death challenging but I still say in an episode where Rachel's wall of high school memories is a key plot point to all but erase Finn from that and replace him with Sam was the wrong approach.  

 

I also should note I don't care if they focus on Rachel's grief journey because like I said I get there are real life sensitivities.  I care that they have doubled down on Sam is the new Finn  since "City of Angels.".  Just because they don't want to focus on Rachel's grief doesn't mean they have to write in a replacement for Finn.  Let Finn and what he brought to the show stand on his own as a and do the with Sam.  

 

Just to clarify, I wasn't giving an opinion on whether or not their approach to Finn's death in light of Cory's death was the right or wrong one. I just meant that I noticed that their MO seemed to lean more towards pretending that Finn didn't exist, I guess to avoid awkwardness or real life pain given that Cory died.

 

I do disagree with them never saying how he died, though. That was just weird, imo.

[spiritof76]

I think what is interesting (at least to me) is that for the most part, the show hasn't avoided mentioning Finn. They haven't been dwelling  on it, if you will. But at pretty appropriate times they have mentioned him and brought him up, like most people who have lost a friend/loved one would. That is why Rachel not having Finn on her picture board or putting his picture in her high school scrapbook stands out. Because only when they are trying to show Sam's place her life now, do they go out of their way not to mention Finn. Which makes it glaringly obvious to me that, they do not want people to think about that relationship at all. They don't want to invite any comparisons, because apparently you can only ever have one true love in your life. I mean they did the same thing to the Sam/Mercedes relationship acting like everything we saw last season was nothing. But what they are doing to Finn is worse because of the circumstances as to why the character is no longer here. It just feels wrong. You can have Rachel move on, as well she should, while not acting like her life didn't start until she started dating Sam.

[jaytee1812]

I do disagree with them never saying how he died, though. That was just weird, imo.

Several other shows went through the same thing and managed it. Rizzoli and Isles went through it at a similar time. Lee Thompson Young killed himself, but they wrote his character off in a car crash.

I'm not a huge Rachel fan, but while she will go to extreme measures to get what she wants, she's never heartless, especially when it comes to Finn, and to an extent Mercedes. To have them missing makes her look cold and heartless, and I don't believe it.

[camussie]

Not only go out of there way to not mention him but actively replace him with Sam.  Like I said above if someone, who didn't "know" Rachel looked at her picture wall or scrapbook they would assume Sam was who she was madly in love with in high school while they wouldn't notice Finn at all or assume he was just some dude she knew in show choir, like Rory, Joe, or Matt.

 

The dumb thing is by going out of their way to erase him, to me, they made it a bigger issue than it would have been.  

 

As for then appropriately mentioning Finn they have been decent about that although I will argue until Glee is just a faint memory that they way they used him in "City of Angels" was not a tribute, like they claimed, but rather a very hard sell on Sam as the new Finn using Will, Carol, and Finn's drumsticks as props.  

 

And yes what they did this week regarding Finn was what they did last week regarding Mercedes which does not speak well of Sam/Rachel's ability to stand on their own as a couple.   Much like making Brody a gigolo to clear the decks for Finn/Rachel did not speak well of their ability to stand on their own as a couple.  

 

As for Sam being Rachel's true love that is the weird part.  Right now they aren't trying to sell that.  They have been pretty deliberate in couching this as a good for now thing which makes completely downplaying Sam/Mercedes and outright erasing Finn all the more strange. Sure Sam/Rachel could become more but right now it isn't so why pretend those other relationships didn't matter or didn't happen.

Edited February 14, 2015 by camussie

[caracas1914]

What I find baffling is to what end are they doing this? I doubt Samchel is going to be some endgame soulmate couple, so if the point that Rachel needs to move forward to be able to love again, they are going to have to address Finn eventually.

Or won't they?

Edited February 14, 2015 by caracas1914

[spiritof76]

 

Or wont' they?

I think they feel like they have "addressed the Finn issue". It's just us silly audience members who don't see the genius of their storytelling and won't get on board.

[camussie]

They won't.  I think to them erasing Finn from Rachel's life is addressing it.  As for Sam/Rachel becoming endgame I still say it boils down to how petty RM wants to be.  I bet he is plenty ticked that people have ragged on his "original" I'm home ending so I could see him giving Sam/Rachel the NY ending many Finn/Rachel fans wanted for them just to troll fans one last time.  Trolling fans and featuring Sue seem to be the two biggest objectives this season so it wouldn't surprise me at all.  

 

Now to be fair, until this whole Sam thing, especially this last episode, I didn't think they needed to address the Finn issue beyond what they did in that Mercedes/Rachel talk last season.  I felt like that conversation showed us what Rachel's mindset was and that she would be ready to move forward eventually.

 

Then we got to Rachel pursuing someone who is presented as a version of Finn and in this last episode show cannon now seems to be that  Rachel put Sam's picture front and center of her high school memory wall, Rachel cropped out Mercedes in the prom picture, and Rachel put Sam on the first page of her high school scrapbook.  That begs the question if she is so ready to move forward why is she rewriting her own history to downplay Finn and upplay Sam instead accepting her past as part of her journey and moving forward from there?

 

Of course I doubt the Glee writers want me to see it that way or ask those questions and instead expect me to squee that Rachel had a picture of Sam in his gold shorts on her wall.  Still I can't help but question, more than ever, how ready Rachel is to move forward. 

Edited February 14, 2015 by camussie

[ancslove]

Hard to say.  I do think that, until now, they've referenced Finn very well on the show.  (I personally don't see the City of Angels scene as selling Sam as new Finn.)  But, within that, they have also had Rachel deliberately reference Finn and her love for Finn to Sam.  She's talked about both needing to move on and being afraid/unwilling to let go of Finn.  She's talked about the loneliness, and that Sam was her first attempt at seeing someone, since Finn died.  I'm not quite sure what else needs to be said.  If anything, I think maybe have Sam be the one, next, to acknowledge what Rachel had with Finn.  But I'm not sure that's necessary, and I think if he says that he knows he can't replace Finn, then I think some people might throw their TVs at the wall!

[halfbakedpotatoes]

As for the jacket last week that was Spencer's jacket.

 

That's what I thought at first. But I realized they went out of the way to show that Santana brought a jacket to the party and then she went on to ostentatiously drop it on the chair. I don't understand why they would even care to show such a mundane moment if it was just Spencer's Letterman jacket. No way to know for sure, but Finn/Cory was always the big cheerleader about how Glee was a family, to me that was a nice nod that he was included in the moment.

[KatWay]

 

to me that was a nice nod that he was included in the moment.

I also thought it was Spencer's jacket, so if they meant to include him, they didn't do a very good job of getting that across.

 

I don't care how much and who has mentioned Finn until now, all I saw in this episode was the deliberate erasure of Finn as part of Rachel's life and his replacement with Sam. I mean, it was right there for everyone to see. How hard would it have been to include a picture of Rachel and Finn and have her look at it sadly for a second? But they needed to prop Samchel so much, they instead had to make it look like Sam has always been an important part of Rachel's life. Not to mention literally cutting out Mercedes out of the prom picture - the prom where Rachel and Sam had barely any interaction, instead her being caught up with Jesse/Finn/Quinn and him and Mercedes bonding off-screen, leading to their first go at a relationship! That's just ridiculous and incredibly distasteful to me and a big last FU to anyone who still liked Finchel despite the horrible writing.

[camussie]

But, within that, they have also had Rachel deliberately reference Finn and her love for Finn to Sam.  She's talked about both needing to move on and being afraid/unwilling to let go of Finn.  She's talked about the loneliness, and that Sam was her first attempt at seeing someone, since Finn died

 

 

To be accurate she never mentioned Finn by name nor did she mention her love for Finn or being afraid to let him go.  Just that she was afraid to get out there and date again.  That was the beginning and end of it which I agree was enough.  Well until last night's episode where she it seems she did a 180 on that and almost completely erased him from her past and replaced him with Sam.  Per cannon that memory wall was pictures Rachel up so per cannon Rachel put Sam front and center on it, most likely cropped Mercedes out of the prom picture, and had Finn look like some dude she knew in choir.  

 

As for "City of angels" I will answer in the all episodes thread.

 

I don't care how much and who has mentioned Finn until now, all I saw in this episode was the deliberate erasure of Finn as part of Rachel's life and his replacement with Sam

 

 

Exactly.  Unless they are going to make it an issue regarding just how ready Rachel is to move on (and i don't expect them to despite me thinking it should be now) then it was some ham-handed attempt to build this Sam/Rachel romance off of erasing Finn, much like they built it last week off of downplaying Sam/Mercedes.  

Edited February 14, 2015 by camussie

[Helena Dax]

So, Vocal Adrenaline is Slytherin, isn't it?

 

I don't hate Blaine, but he should stop cheating on his boyfriends. Otoh, I think Walter/Kurt is creepy. I don't mind the age difference in itself: I loved Holling/Shelly in Northern Exposure. But I understood that relationship and if I'm not mistaken, Holling thought it was a bad idea at the beginning. Here, I want to  grab Kurt by his shoulders and asking him  what the hell he thinks he's doing.  

 

Beiste...Not feeling the plot, although the actress did a brilliant job. The fact that he chose to be called Sheldon didn't help, because the only Sheldon I know is Sheldon Cooper and it felt like a joke.  But my main problem with this plot is that I liked better what Shannon represented when  she came to Glee: an evidence that not every woman in the world looks like Rachel, Santana, Tina, Mercedes... Some women are like Shannon or Sue. 

 

I laughed when I saw Rachel doing a Samara in the shower. My favourite moment in the episode.

 

If this trend keeps going, ND will have more coaches than singers.

[phoenixrising]

So, I've watched it now.

Buying Samchel is hard for me. I don't see what it is about Rachel that appeals to Sam, and it was really noticeable in the teachers lounge scene. I don't think he can handle her when she gets into that over-the-top dramatic place.

I hate that the Glee Club is really about Rachel, and no one seems to seriously object. Those new kids aren't getting the benefit, and it's unfortunate.

I still don't understand half of what Clint says.

I would've liked the Bieste stuff a lot more if I bought him being transgender, and if they hadn't already mishandled Unique for her run on the show (also they did a terrible job at making it look like Bieste had any kind of surgery. Was Dot wearing a binder?)

When watching the Blaine and Karofsky scene, I thought something I would've never anticipated: they make a better couple than Klaine, even when they're breaking up. Whereas I think Kurt tends to hold onto the ways Blaine has wronged him, and doesn't ever talk about it, Dave is able to get Blaine to come clean and get a conversation going. Furthermore, he seems able to let go of the hurt (even if it's unrealistic.). Even though I think this was a waste of the character, I'm glad they didn't end up making him a bad guy, and they let him do something.

[Ceeg]

That's what I thought at first. But I realized they went out of the way to show that Santana brought a jacket to the party and then she went on to ostentatiously drop it on the chair. I don't understand why they would even care to show such a mundane moment if it was just Spencer's Letterman jacket. 

 

I think the point of panning over to the jackets in the chair was to show, once again, that Glee represents family and love for a wide variety of people: Santana's leather jacket, Brittany's quirky pink one, Spencer's letterman jacket, etc. They are all different characters with different personalities and dreams and experiences, but they can all come together in celebration as a family. I didn't even know people somehow linked that to Finn until just now...