S05.E15: Bash

[camussie]

I think she had the same look on her face that she had when Quinn/Puck announced they were back together.  Like a sadness that she won't have that chance with the man she fell in love with in high school. It seems that is how they are acknowledging Finn without actually mentioning him so that his death doesn't really encroach on this new version of the show. To me, is just sloppy storytelling.  I am not one who thinks they need to talk about Finn every episode but they should bring him up when it is organic to the plot.  Like this week Burt should have said something like "we already lost Finn" to Kurt.  

[Higgs]

Okay, Mr. Know-It-All, I just re-watched the scene and I hate to say it, but you are abso-100%-lutely right, so I look to you to explain why, when the group sits down to eat, Rachel is BETWEEN Kurt and Blaine? (For extra credit on your mid-April screenwriting critique--and don't tell me you're dropping out to work up a pilot for Ryan Murphy--please feel free to suggest appropriate dialog amongst any of the triad that might have preceded or followed, by any length of time, the seat selection.)

PS: The mere thought of Rachel hooking up with Sam makes me physically ill, so your explanation is a most welcome relief.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Higgs

[tom87]

Well the next shot of Rachel after they kissed (that failed to prove chemistry) at her table was pretty much one of disgust.  So no Rachel has no feelings for Sam except freindship.

I see no reason to do all this with Samcedes if they are going to turn around and have Samchel.   As Lea said recently in a inteview  “I think that kind of came and went,”

http://tvline.com/2014/03/19/glee-lea-michele-sam-rachel-romance-flirtation/

[camussie]

I doubt Lea doesn't know the camera is going to pan to Rachel's reaction.  Both of those were very deliberate camera shots and I am sure she was made aware that they were going to happen. I really think it is the show's way of acknowledging Finn without actually mentioning him because according to Will (speaking for RM in my opinion) "Finn belongs at McKinley" (which to me is actually more about RM's "the heart of the show is the choir room" fixation than it is about Finn).

I am just hoping that there is some acknowledgement of him on Rachel's opening night.  It shouldn't be a long or in your face scene but I feel something as simple as her looking at her star necklace just before takes the stage should be in the script.  For most of the run of the show Rachel's Broadway debut dreams included Finn sitting front and center in the audience, cheering her on.  Not to mention their very last conversation had him saying save me a ticket for opening night.  

Edited April 11, 2014 by camussie

[tom87]

I doubt Lea doesn't know the camera is going to pan to Rachel's reaction.  Both of those were very deliberate camera shots and I am sure she was made aware that they were going to happen. I really think it is the show's way of acknowledging Finn without actually mentioning him because according to Will (speaking for RM in my opinion) "Finn belongs at McKinley" (which to me is actually more about RM's "the heart of the show is the choir room" fixation than it is about Finn).

I am just hoping that there is some acknowledgement of him on Rachel's opening night.  It shouldn't be a long or in your face scene but I feel something as simple as her looking at her star necklace just before takes the stage should be in the script.  For most of the run of the show Rachel's Broadway debut dreams included Finn sitting front and center in the audience, cheering her on.  Not to mention their very last conversation had him saying save me a ticket for opening night.  

Yeah I can't see that there won't be some nod to Finn by Rachel during Opening Night.  I just hope it is subtle and sweet and not  whole My Man sitation.

[camussie]

At this point I think I am not so sure there will be.  I think RM said what he wanted to say about Finn by having Will declare Finn belongs at McKinley, which was preceded by an episode spent bludgeoning us with anvils that Sam is the new Finn.  To me that was a very on point message that the Finn chapter is closed, never to be referred to again, except in an ambiguous reaction shots, even when it makes sense within the context of the story.  

Take this episode.  It really didn't make sense at all that Burt didn't bring up Finn when getting in Kurt's face regarding the risk he took.  Yet that is exactly happened.  Likewise it won't make sense for there not to be some sort of nod by Rachel to Finn on opening night but it still very well may not happen.

Edited April 11, 2014 by camussie

[camussie]

For me it isn't so much about it being "nice" that they acknowledge him but rather that an acknowledgement would be organic to the story.  In "Bash" it would have been very organic to the story for Burt to bring up they lost Finn less than a year ago.  In "opening night" it will be organic to the story for Rachel to have a moment where she reflects on Finn's absence for her big debut. There were several episodes where a Finn acknowledgement wouldn't have been organic to the story so there was no need for one.

Edited April 11, 2014 by camussie

[Glorfindel]

A nice touch to the memory of Finn would be Will sending Finns letterman jacket to her. But that's just how I feel.

Ah, but that would mean the show has to deal with Will actually stealing that jacket from Santana in the first place.

I agree that Burt (or even Kurt) should have mentioned Finn in that hospital scene. Not just for the memory of Finn's sake, but also because it would have explained Burt's anger and upset at that moment even better. Just imagine Burt getting yet another call like that. (although I still think he should have kept lecturing Kurt for a later time: his son's feelings should have been his priority at that moment, not his own: that's what parents do)

[tom87]

Kurt must have been mad too casue he didn't even ask Burt to Monday night dinner even though he was still in NY for Tuesdays performance. :)

[Myrna123]

Kurt must have been mad too casue he didn't even ask Burt to Monday night dinner even though he was still in NY for Tuesdays performance. :)

Aw, heck--with the Lima-NYC teleporter up and running, Burt probably had dinner with Carol in Lima on Monday then was back in a (literal) flash for Kurt's performance on Tuesday!

[Glorfindel]

Kurt must have been mad too casue he didn't even ask Burt to Monday night dinner even though he was still in NY for Tuesdays performance. :)

Lol, right? Oh, this show...

[binky101]

While the PSA storylines were indeed awful, what is truly earning my ire for this episode is how RM thoroughly botched, derailed, and ran over  not only 'Broadway Baby" but then "Not While I'm Around" and finally, the song that made me fall in love with both Sondheim and my husband, "No One Is Alone" I just cannot. No, no, no. Lea Michelle has a fine voice, but she is NO Eliane Stritch, or could ever hope to be. Throwing Blaine into "Broadway Baby" was all kind of ??? for me, too. Many full bars seem to have been tossed out and entirely rewritten, music-wise. CC was okay on "I'm Still here," but again, so many notes were changed that I barely recognized it at times. Glad that they kept "then you're camp" and CC delivered that pretty well. Overall, though, for the love of music have some respect for the songs you licensed, and don't change them so radically as to make them into dreck. Somewhere, Sondheim is clutching his poodles and rolling his eyes at the botch they made of his music.

[Higgs]

RM thoroughly botched, derailed, and ran over not only 'Broadway Baby" but then "Not While I'm Around" and finally, the song that made me fall in love with both Sondheim and my husband, "No One Is Alone" I just cannot. No, no, no. Lea Michelle [sic] has a fine voice, but she is NO Eliane Stritch, or could ever hope to be.

Then I thank heaven for a large favor.

Stritch is a great old broad, inimitable, sui generis, one-of-a-kind, and all that, but she never sang "No One Is Alone", probably due to being 61 when it was written and it requiring a true soprano*, which she has never been close to having since she was around 6. Here she is in her prime, in the earliest performance I could readily find: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pV7eFQ9O-tc

There is no more point in comparing her to Lea than to Merman or Streisand or Piaf or Sutherland. And if "Broadway Baby" is to be the measure of relative talents, let's wait until Lea is 103 before coming to a definitive conclusion about her ability to match this:

*http://forums.previously.tv/topic/3436-hear-them-sing-songs-and-voices-on-glee/?p=26275

Edited April 13, 2014 by Higgs

[Myrna123]

Actually.. wouldn't it be a DC-NYC teleporter? Isn't Burt still doing the congress thing? I can never tell. Sometimes he is, sometimes he isn't.

RIB Just wanted Burt to win an election not actually be a congressman. They could have had him win an election for president of the Northern Ohio Independent Mechanics Association and accomplished everything that's actually happened in the series thus far--with a little more credibility too. Edited April 13, 2014 by Myrna123

[aradia22]

No One Is Alone was a bit of a letdown. The vocals were very breathy all around and it lacked emotional impact coming at the beginning episode and being focused on this character we knew nothing about. Really? Their neighbor's (who we've never met) friend was attacked?

You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman was great. I can't believe they haven't let Mercedes sing that one before. But it was weird to section her and Sam off. It made me nervous, like for some reason she wasn't going to be as big of a part of the show because she was only able to film on some days. I don't know how to explain it exactly. Also, the carousel thing was weird and the scene beforehand throwing the coat and the change into the river didn't really work for me. But at least they chose a location that wasn't Times Square or Washington Square Park.

Broadway Baby was good but not spectacular. However, it lead into a great scene with Rachel and Carmen. I'm glad Glee is addressing the fact that Rachel should be having trouble with all of her commitments and the acting in that scene was just spot on. I'm not really sure where this is going. It seems like they're setting Rachel up for a fall by having her quit school but then this is the last season and Rachel playing Fanny in Funny Girl is kind of what this show has been building up to so I don't know that they'd have it be a flop. They already have Artie, Blaine, and Kurt enrolled in college so it's not like the show is endorsing taking a pass on higher education but I got the sense that she'd eventually go back to NYADA. But one never knows with Glee.

I think the fight with Rachel and Kurt in the restaurant felt very rushed. They both had valid points but it was like they were racing to get them out. Also, something about it felt very Smash. I was waiting for someone to throw a drink in the other person's face.

I love the way they handled Kurt getting involved in the fight all the way up to his reconciliation with Rachel in the apartment. It was just so perfect for the way they've written his character. Little callbacks are nice and all but this kind of writing, bringing a character arc full circle like this, is always a welcome surprise when it happens. I don't know that season 1 Kurt would have stepped in but it showed how far Kurt has come, largely due to the influence of Burt and Finn but also with the support of the glee club and time to develop his convictions. Burt can always make me tear up. Even though the initial makeup job was crazy (who bruises that fast?) I forgot that when they had their scene in the hospital. The Rachel/Kurt scene in the apartment was sappy but it also got to me.

Not While I'm Around was another breathy letdown. It was a good song choice, as was No One Is Alone but the performances just didn't sell it, especially the vocals.

Colorblind on the other hand was FABULOUS. I think there was something a little off about the way they handled the Mercedes/Sam story this week. I think it goes beyond race. In typical Glee fashion, Sam's behavior at the restaurant was borderline offensive and he also came off as pretty dumb. Sadly, he hasn't completely reverted back to his original character. I think it would have made more sense for her to worry about them not being at the same maturity level or intelligence level. I was kind of surprised when it jumped to race with that conversation with her backup singers and in that specific way about how her audience and the industry would perceive them as a couple. I think that could have been a valid storyline but the pieces didn't really fit. 

I'm Still Here was good. As the Sondheim songs went, I'd put it with Broadway Baby instead of Not While I'm Around and No One is Alone. It was a solid performance but not spectacular. I was expecting another Being Alive and it was just OK. It should have been more triumphant and it ended up lacking punch.

[aradia22]

 

Also, wonder how her dads feel about this new plan. Oh wait, it's glee world. We will never know how they feel about it.

I was going to say something snarky about Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell probably not doing much but then I realized that the writers could address it if they wanted to. Rachel could have a one-sided phone conversation or she could just tell another character how her dads reacted. All I can say, is they better show up for her opening night.

 

 

Kurt needs to experience repercussions for helping a stranger in an alley?

Oh, do you just mean they'll drop this storyline next week and never revisit it? I would assume so. It's Glee, after all.

Yeah, I'm not sure he needs to be traumatized by it or anything. But I hope they at least maintain the makeup for a while. It was already crazy how fast he bruised. Don't tell me he's also somehow a Wolverine-fast healer. 

 

Any normal college would be doing everything within their power to keep a student like Rachel opening a Broadway play enrolled so that the school could piggyback on her publicity. It wouldn't be that difficult to let her enroll as a part time student, give her credit for independent study, let her take a semester off, etc. And that's at a non-arts school. But at a school like NYADA, you'd think they would have policies in place specifically for situations like this to accommodate their students. You'd think they would be bending over backwards to keep her associated with their school so that all the press for the play would describe her as a NYADA student.

Personally, I agree with this assessment of the situation. However, I swear I've seen this plotline before in something. It's not just that they're going for the early Julliard craziness that Patti Lupone dished about in her autobiography. I think they're referencing another movie, play, or television show. I just can't place which one it is. 

[whack-a-mole]

They may be blowing Lea's own backstory out of proportion. She got into Tisch, but stuck with Spring Awakening instead. She had a very different career up to that point, but Glee never lets reality get in the way of stealing bits and pieces from the actors' lives.

[BizBuzz]

I think I might be in my own corner here, but I loved this episode.  My 14 year old daughter has had a crush on Darren Criss FOREVER, and until tonight I didn't see it.  When he sang "Not While I'm Around" at the critique (not so much in the hospital), I was like, OK, I get it.  And not just his voice, but his overall appearance.  Why in the world do they have to do what they do to him every other scene?  Even his HAIR looked good.  I hate it when they plaster it down, ugh. 

Mercedes rawked it on both "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" and "Colorblind" - I actually got goose bumps on that one.  I don't understand the sudden love of getting New York street performers (the carousel thing) dancing in scenes.

And Burt Hummel?  I still want him to be my Dad.  If they were looking for me to tear up, I did.

And last but not least.  Kurt.  I get the whole bashing scene was there for us to know that Kurt is now a man.  He is grown up and can take care of himself.  And OMG, I LOVED "I'm Still Here" - I love it ANYTIME Kurt can sing on his own, I absolutely LOVE his voice, and how appropriate of a song to announce that nothing will bring him down.

I am convinced more than ever from this episode that the way the writers write is they find the songs first, figure how they can fit them in, then make dialog that leads up to the SONGS telling the story.  But that is just me.

::giggle::

Wasn't impressed with Rachel all that much, but I am not usually so that isn't new.  Someone mentioned upthread how the whole episode seemed rushed, that one I would definitely have to agree, but I still loved the performances!