S05.E20: The Untitled Rachel Berry Project

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In the Season Five finale, Rachel meets a famous television writer (guest star Kristen Schaal), whose eccentric personality catches Rachel off guard. Meanwhile, Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Mercedes deal with the pressure of commitment as their careers take off, and the time has finally come for Blaine’s big showcase with June Dolloway (guest star Shirley MacLaine) at NYADA.

 

[heyerchick]

*Please break up with him, Kurt* *Please break up with him, Kurt* *Please break up with him, Kurt* *Please break up with him, Kurt* *Please break up with him, Kurt* *Please break up with him, Kurt* *Please break up with him, Kurt*

[Florinaldo]

From CC's interviews of the past few days and other indications, it looks likely that at the end of the season Blaine will still be saddled with Kurt. I think that anyone hoping otherwise would do well to stock up on tranquilizing substances of whatever form they prefer because disappointment seems inevitable.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Florinaldo

[caracas1914]

*Please break up with him, Kurt*

 

We've already been previewed yet another Blaine song spoiler groveling that they are soulmates, alas.

 

Blaine will still be saddled with Kurt.

 

Ryan Murphy your "voice of reason" wants them together, and so the character of Blaine will attach himself to Kurt and not let to.  Poor Kurt, let him fly free!!

Edited May 7, 2014 by caracas1914

[heyerchick]

A girl can dream....

Oh, crap. There's not going to be CRY SINGING, is there??

[Myrna123]

Blaine will still be saddled with Kurt.

Maybe Blaine will be so tired of having to lie to Kurt all the time that he'll end it.  Free Blaine!

[caracas1914]

Oh, crap. There's not going to be CRY SINGING, is there??

 

 

OH sweetie, yes there will be.  And "angry Lesbian bloggers" references  to boot.

[heyerchick]

*crushed*

[Florinaldo]

 Free Blaine!

The two of us could lead a movement!

 

Yes there will be tears; Kurt had the precursor signs of his crinkly crying face in that promo.

 

Ryan Murphy your "voice of reason"

 

I did say in the Spoilers thread that RM was a voice of reason but I also said it was unexpected and it was in relation with one specific issue and not this one.

 

Plus, RM belongs to all of us, so you can enjoy your own share withour shame or restraint.

[caracas1914]

RM belongs to all of us,

 

He belongs somewhere, I'll agree.

[susannot]

Beautiful performance of "All of Me" by Blaine.

[CleoCaesar]

My reaction to virtually everything in this episode and the general trajectory of this miserable, schizophrenic show:

 

 

 

[Myrna123]

Here's what's so insanely frustrating about this show: in the ep where Blaine first lies to Kurt about the showcase, Kurt wasn't pestering to be included--not in the least. He was asking questions about it and indicating to Blaine that he was proud of him, but there was nothing about Kurt's behavior that suggested Blaine had no choice but to lie to him. But for god's sake if the outcome of the whole mess was going to be Kurt saying he was being a jerk and Blaine was right to lie to him, why not flipping have Kurt act like that in the first place?

[SNeaker]

And Sam went back to Lima? EW! I thought we left that place for good?!?!?! Does this mean we are going back there? No, no, no, no. No.

 

LOL, really? So it'll be Sam that Rachel returns "home" to Lima for.

[CleoCaesar]

LOL, really? So it'll be Sam that Rachel returns "home" to Lima for.

 

Take it back. Take it back. Take it back.

 

*screams into a paper bag*

[camussie]

God I hope not.  It is lazy half assed writing to treat characters as interchangeable.  I also don't even see how they could set that up since Sam/Rachel don't have that history.  The only thing they could do is have Sam go out to LA to be an adviser on the show, have him and Rachel fall in love (ew) and then have Rachel get caught up in her own hype so he leaves to go back to Lima, heartbroken, and then she shows back up at the end

[Florinaldo]

Glee sure likes its happy endings. Every plotline got one, as a way of setting up next season with no one completely broken up and L.A. now opening up as the second pole in the Glee storyverse, and reviving Lima back as a third pole, probably quite a potential stretch for the abilities of the writing team. They even redeemed June, who was conquered by the power of Klaine. I am disappointed; I preferred her as the authoritarian and controlling matron we saw two weeks ago. At least Blaine got the chance to tell her where his priority truly is, but her conversion means he can now have both her patronage and his fiancé.

 

The screenwriter also got her own mystical transformative musical experience but I missed most of the set-up, which I will have to go back and watch.

 

When Blaine and Kurt were sitting on the stairs throwing bread at the birds, I was wishing so much that they were about to start singing Tom Lehrer's "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park". What a missed opportunity!

Edited May 14, 2014 by Florinaldo

[Myrna123]

I thought the ep would end with Blaine and Kurt in different cities and that the repeated lack of mention of where Colfer would be in season 6 would turn out to be just spin to add to a sort of cliff hanger. Now it's even more curious that he hasn't been included in the press mentions. Maybe he really will have guest star status. That is if a season six of glee actually make it to air.

[truthaboutluv]

RIB and company have to be without question the worse writers ever. So after repeated comments by some about how awful the new kids were and they should focus on NY, they shuttle off a bunch of characters there and end the Glee Club in the lamest plot ever, only to undo it all six episodes later. And now, after showing how bad they are at trying to write for two narrative/locations all through Seasons 4 and early Season 5, they get the brilliant idea to have three narratives/locations. Like I would have more respect for RIB (well not really but still) if they just came out and said they really have no fucking clue what to do with this show anymore. 

 

Meanwhile, all the teeth gnashing about Sam/Rachel/Blaine moving to LA and the show being focused on them because of all the media the actors have been doing and turns out that it's because they're going to be anchoring the three locations. Sam's return to Lima I guess answers the question of how the newbie kids will be brought back at some point, there will be Rachel in her television show about her life and Blaine staying in NY, he and Kurt together still together I think actually explains why CC has been so vague about his future on the show.

 

Because considering the show's history when it comes to Klaine, I don't see them giving much screentime to the narrative location that focuses solely on them and well Artie I guess. My guess is like the Season 4 split, most of the screentime will be given to Rachel in LA and McKinley. Of course I'm sure they'll find time to show them long enough for them to have another fight/drama. Which is another thing about how bad this show is. The writers basically make Kurt and Blaine unhappy and miserable for every single one of the episode in NY to the point of their not being able to live together and then it ends with it all magically okay and Blaine moving back into the same apartment he left. So once again, any happiness Blaine and Kurt actually have as a couple will happen offscreen. Not that I needed more proof but it just really shows how RIB really do not know how to write for couples...not without contrivances, forced angst, drama, etc. 

[heyerchick]

This is one of those episodes where at the end, you think...yeah. That happened. Kurt is doomed to be chained to Blaine's worthless ass forever. Rachel's an Insta!Star now Hollywood style and never has so much success been so little earned. Santana MIA. All three of my favourites are kind of fucked.

 

The notion that Chord Overstreet can anchor Lima when Cory, Matt and Jane between them couldn't swing it -- I just have no words.

 

And yeah. They couldn't make two narrative strands work so - go for three.

 

At this point I have to say FOX deserve everything Glee's ratings will bring them. What the fuck were they thinking to sign off on that?

[caracas1914]

This episode wasn't horrifically offensive, nor even howlingly bad

Maybe worse it just seemed so pointless...

There was no narrative buildup to anything, even the June/Blaine/Kurt SL was disjointed and fragmented...

Sam in McKinley, has that ever been an interesting independent Sam SL other than suddenly he will be Finn 2.0. The character is s supporting character, trying to make him a lead "hero" is like the alchemist trying to make other materials into gold, it's just impossible on a molecular level.

This is a Season finale?

[caracas1914]

Who the hell is Chord fucking so that the show bends over backwards and spreads it's legs to try to force feed him as the lead character of a narrative?

Edited May 14, 2014 by caracas1914

[camussie]

Let's be honest when they signed on last year for two more seasons I would not be surprised if RM and co told them they were going to be in NY pretty much full time

 

 

Very doubtful given that RM was still trying to make the sophomores happen last spring by extending the school year into this season.  Seems to me he was very much trying to keep the split narrative with that move as well as the fact that all five of the sophomores were given contracts a few weeks before Cory passed.  The much more likely scenario is Fox finally pulled the plug on the split narrative when the ratings for 502 rolled in (a drop to 1.5 from 2.0).  That is what makes this move back to a split narrative all the more baffling.  Because of that I say it is one of two things

• The split narrative is a big fake out and both Sam and Blaine some how make it to LA in 601
• Fox really doesn't give a crap anyone as long as RM can some how stick to a budget which means if there are 3 narratives every single one will be done on the cheap.

[caracas1914]

Here is a scary thought, Ryan and Company are "free" to do what they want. FOX has essentially written them off as a mid season lame duck show so by the time they wrap production on a 13 episode order they would have gone in whatever direction with no fear of correction or consequences.

[Kromm]

Here is a scary thought, Ryan and Company are "free" to do what they want. FOX has essentially written them off as a mid season lame duck show so by the time they wrap production on a 13 episode order they would have gone in whatever direction with no fear of correction or consequences.

Can they just get this mess over with already?  I mean it.  Put us all out of our misery.

[Lokiberry]

Here is a scary thought, Ryan and Company are "free" to do what they want. FOX has essentially written them off as a mid season lame duck show so by the time they wrap production on a 13 episode order they would have gone in whatever direction with no fear of correction or consequences.

Or audience. Or money, for that matter. Fox is going to cut their budget like nobody's business. Ryan, in all his delusional glory, might have planned 3 narratives (including one where Chord Overstreet did what Cory, Jane and Matt couldn't), but what he's going to get is a shoestring. He'll have to pick one and stick to it.

 

Maybe it'll be Rachel playing Rachel, Sam playing Finn, and Blaine playing Kurt on her smash hit tv show!!! I can't wait til Blaine comes out to his father after winning the big football game, and later sings Rose's Turn.

[bravelittletoaster]

How did they explain Santana's absence? Or Brittany's presence without her? Did they say anything about her at all?

[twotrey]

It was also mentioned that Santana would be joining Mercedes and Brittany on the mall tour when they hit Reno.

 

Overall, not as big of a meh/WTF as last season's finale, but still meh/WTF.  It's amazing that it was only two seasons ago this show had (despite season 3's own issues) such a knockout closing scene such as "Roots Before Branches," which for me was quite the emotional powerhouse while also recharging one's investment and excitement about what happens next, which Rachel's tears making way for genuine, hopeful exhilaration when she set foot on the NYC streets.  Tonight, I got nothing.  When they were all going their separate ways and talking about what a great two years they had, it was like, but you *just* got here?!

Edited May 14, 2014 by twotrey

[bravelittletoaster]

Ok, mostly I just wondered if they would break Brittana up with Santana offscreen.  Happy not to have to rage about that.

[ShadowDenizen]

ARRRGH!

This show.

 

This episode wan't even bad enough to hate, since nothing actually happened!  There's been literally a dozen points over the last season where I felt like the show could have had an Series Finale that I'd have been happy with.

 

But then, they make this episode, which ends on a happy note for everyone, with no dramatic impetus to get people to come back for another season, (Kliane are still together, Rachel gets her TV show and gets off Broadway scott-free, even freaking Sam is sucessful!)

 

Why was Brittany brought back? And was it just me, or did the "Santana is filming another commercial" explanation bit seem really forced? Like they just wanted to spit those lines out as quikcly as possible and move on?

Edited May 14, 2014 by ShadowDenizen

[bravelittletoaster]

Brittany was brought back to have a storyline with Santana, obv.  I guess they felt it would be shitty to reneg on an agreement with Heather because whatever happened with Naya had nothing to do with her.  But yeah, one imagines they might have had a happy ending in the finale like everyone else, so thanks, whoever is responsible for that.

[indeed]

When they were all going their separate ways and talking about what a great two years they had, it was like, but you *just* got here?!

Yes, it was especially odd since that was a pact made explicitly between Rachel, Kurt, and Santana--the ones who could only say they were even close to being there for two years (and I think that's still a stretch).

So, Santana just came back to NYC and left Brittany in another country because she just had to see Rachel's opening night and work in the diner? OK. They couldn't have just said Mercedes and Brittany worked it out for the tour and Santana was off making arrangements for Mercedes and/or Rachel in one of her gal-of-many-hats roles...or just that she went off for a quick visit to her family before taking off on the tour? I guess doing the commercial was supposed to be funnier. Maybe we'll get to see the new one next year. Hopefully, Santana negotiated better terms for this national commercial.

I really didn't like the fourth wall violation there at the end. Do they just not care anymore?? (Wait, I know the answer to that...)

Sam saying goodbye and going back to Lima would work without ever needing to see him again. It felt like closure (see ya!)...but, no, I'm sure we're not that lucky.

And seriously, what was the point of all of that Samcedes screen time if they're just going to break up and maybe get back together again someday? Do we really need Finchel 2.0, too?

[jaytee1812]

Well that was awful.

 

I liked the Klaine make up scene when Blaine said he was the luckiest guy alive and Kurt replied 'pretty much.' And American Boy was good. 

 

Sam's back at McKinley as what? He barely graduated. 

 

I hope Rachel's blackballed so thoroughly she can never work on Broadway again. 

 

Samcedes split up again. *falls asleep through boredom* 

 

I did like Brittany dancing during Shakin My Head, the show has missed this. 

[Ltg.jon]

So much WTF with this episode.They set up the rich old lady as a serious obstacle for Kurt and Blaine, and then nothing comes of it.  Rachel is apparently willing to stab the producer who gave took a leap of faith on her right in the back.  (Isn't she under contract?  Surely she's tied up for at least 3-6 months after the show opened.) They're all emotional over splitting up, even though Kurt, Blaine, and Artie will all still be in NY.  And is Mercedes just walking away from the apartment she rented?  And Sam's dream of being a model was just to score one gig and then call it quits? Does he have any plan to go to college?  Do the showrunners think he can become a teacher at McKinley without ever going to college? 

 

If there is any justice in this world, the next season will start with Rachel's pilot not having gotten picked up, Rachel being blacklisted on Broadway, and with no school to go to.  Let's see her actually have to work to overcome some odds.

[ShadowDenizen]

If there is any justice in this world, the next season will start with Rachel's pilot not having gotten picked up, Rachel being blacklisted on Broadway, and with no school to go to.  Let's see her actually have to work to overcome some odds.

 

 

ITA, but it's unlikely to happen.  Noting bad (especially anyhting with lasting consequences!) can ever happen to her.

 

And what about school?  They devoted an entire arc back in S3 to get Rachel into vaunted NYADA, and yet now it seems like A) Anyone is being admitted, and B) They can pretty well come and go as they please?

 

And Sam's dream of being a model was just to score one gig and then call it quits? Does he have any plan to go to college?  Do the showrunners think he can become a teacher at McKinley without ever going to college?

 

Right?  And they actually were WORKING through that plot with Finn, in one of the more intersting arcs of the show. It feels vaguely disrepctful to pull that out of the air again. especially for a less interesting actor/character.

 

 

Brittany was brought back to have a storyline with Santana, obv.

Except they really could have just had them both stay in Lesbos. That would have been a satisfying ending for the couple.

Edited May 14, 2014 by ShadowDenizen

[indeed]

But who would have gone on for Rachel if Santana wasn't there?? Kurt could be in jail now for calling in a bomb threat. And who would've helped Rachel's reputation for all of five seconds if not for Ms. PR Santana?? I'm surprised Rachel let her go off to do that commercial and is allowing her to go on tour. She could need Santana. In fact, how will Rachel manage to survive on her own in LA without her friends? All her friends seemed to do in NYC was save her time and time again lately. I guess a phone call from Rachel will have them all converge on LA to help her out, like only her true glee club friends can do...

They set up the rich old lady as a serious obstacle for Kurt and Blaine, and then nothing comes of it.

They missed such a good opportunity for some major snarkage between Shirley MacLaine and CC. At least we got that one little exchange, but we could've had a Kurt/Sebastian 2.0 (the writers are fans of recycling) battle over Blaine. But that kind of epic snark might've actually been enjoyable, so that potential was wasted.

[caracas1914]

Who the hell thought that Pippin number with June and Blaine where she's featured was some kind of showcase for Blaine's talents?

WTF?

At least "American Boy" as entertainingly bad as it was, (no boys, you can't rap nor do you have street cred) was not intended be taken serious.

Edited May 14, 2014 by caracas1914

[marcee]

I want Rachel to fail SO MUCH and SO SOUNDLY - I want to feel the earth shake from the impact of her hitting bottom. I want that to be the series finale.

 

It's so bizarre, really, considering we should and do (in most series) hope and pray for characters to finally win...to finally succeed...to go off into the sunset with their love interest and to be happy, even briefly. We look forward to happy endings when a show finally comes to a close - whether it's a comedy (Psych) or drama (Burn Notice) or both (Chuck) - you name it, I want a happy ending. But when it comes to this show, all I want for Christmas is to watch Rachel fall on her face HARD. And not get back up. EVER. Ugh. I think I may just detest every single character. WHY am I still watching this train wreck?

Edited May 14, 2014 by marcee

[jaytee1812]

I want Rachel to fail SO MUCH and SO SOUNDLY - I want to feel the earth shake from the impact of her hitting bottom. I want that to be the series finale.

 

It's so bizarre, really, considering we should and do (in most series) hope and pray for characters to finally win...to finally succeed...to go off into the sunset with their love interest and to be happy, even briefly. We look forward to happy endings when a show finally comes to a close - whether it's a comedy (Psych) or drama (Burn Notice) or both (Chuck) - you name it, I want a happy ending. But when it comes to this show, all I want for Christmas is to watch Rachel fall on her face HARD. And not get back up. EVER. Ugh. I think I may just detest every single character. WHY am I still watching this train wreck?

 

This. 

 

I may still want Kurt to succeed, and possibly Mercedes and Artie at a push. But Rachel, Blam and Sue if she's around to fail miserably at everything they do. I want Rachel's TV pilot to bomb, Kurt to dump Blaine and for Blaine to fail miserably at NYADA, and Sam to become a complete Lima loser. 

 

I do want happy endings, but they're for characters who are gone now, so in my head they will happen.

[Joystickenvy]

The only thing I took away from this episode was that I was happy to get to see Brittnay dance and I think I spotted Brian Friedman as a background dancer.

Kinda bummed that following that .6 rating, American Boy might be Kurt's swan song, but for the rest of it I just really don't care.

Though I did find it deliciously ironic that the message of the ep was "don't listen to others if you're sure you're right " and it ended with a song with the lyric "how am I'm going to be optimistic about this?"

[Helena Dax]

What's exactly June trying to do with Blaine? What kind of influence is she supposed to have? What I've seen makes me think she could get him a contract as a singer in a luxury cruise ship, nothing else. But maybe I'm not reading well the situation.

[heyerchick]

Brian Cantor, Headline Planet founder, speaks (tweets) the truth:

 

Brian Cantor ‏@cantorpedia  4h
The main character achieving her lifelong dream at 20 w/ no struggle and then deciding it's too boring does NOT resonate. #Glee

 

[heyerchick]

The EW recap is much more fun now they've lost the party line pom-poms and found the snark:

 

Rachel gets a new script from Mary, and the last scene in the loft opens up on her reading the closing line of her pilot: "The thing about love is that it's not a scarce resource; the more you give, the more you have to give." Is that…dialogue? Voiceover? Who knows, but Rachel loves it. She always thought Fanny Brice was the role she was born to play, until she read this script, and now: "This is it...this is my dream role, you guys." I'm not willing to sit idly by as I'm told to forget that I was asked to follow Rachel's Broadway dreams for five seasons, only to informed that they were not her dreams. But I am willing to admit that "Rachel" is undoubtedly Rachel's ultimate dream role.

 

 

The recapper was also outraged about the Kurt, Blaine and pigeon scene and being told to believe Kurt's reaction to the showcase was the opposite of what we watched such a short time ago, in order to let Blaine off the hook (again) for being a lying, spineless dick (again). But this was Rachel's episode, so I went with the Rachel quote.

[CleoCaesar]

Who the hell is Chord fucking so that the show bends over backwards and spreads it's legs to try to force feed him as the lead character of a narrative?

 

Probably the same person(s) who centered the bulk of season 2 storylines around Kurt and shoved Blaine into what felt like every solo in seasons 2-3. Glee plays favorites and it is painfully obvious. I hope Jenna Ushkowitz is writing a bitter memoir about favoritism on this show.

 

"This is it...this is my dream role, you guys."

 

That could have been a genuinely funny, totally in-character thing to say for Rachel. She's so self-involved that her dream role is herself. But they played it straight and it just fell flat and made Rachel seem like a flaky airhead and...oh why even bother. It's Glee.

Edited May 14, 2014 by CleoCaesar

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It would have been great to see it would have been great to see Rachel pay her dues before hitting it big: singing telegrams, being cast in the chorus of a musical, that kind of thing. But no, the roughest stuff she's encountered is singing at the diner and having to ask for time off from her Broadway show to sing a number for her NYADA final and then having a tv pilot handed to her.

 

Most pilots don't end up getting picked up by a network, so shooting a pilot is no guarantee of anything. And even pilots that are picked up don't necessarily last. Just ask Kristin Chenoweth about the tv show that ran for 11 whole episodes in 2001.

 

The plotlines are so pointless now. They rushed getting Sam and Mercedes back together just so they could break them up and send Sam back to Lima? Lame! As was the reasoning behind their breakup (which all of their friends agreed with) - Sam and Mercedes, at the tender age of 19/20 can't be in a serious committed relationship because they aren't having sex.

 

Meanwhile, Kurt and Blaine have been having all this drama about whether Kurt is in Blaine's showcase or not, only to have Shirley MacLaine decide that instead of loathing Kurt's singing and performing, she loves it because of a totally crappy rendition of "American Girl." I mean, seriously, of all the songs he has performed, that was nowhere near his top 20. He was back to his terrible shoulder shimmy dancing and the song was in an awkward part of his range. It was really not good.

 

To be honest, I don't care about the weak ass excuse they created to bring Brittany back. I'm totally fine with her dancing once per episode and then only having two or three lines.

 

Didn't they show Sam kissing Rachel in the "previously on Glee" intro? I hope that isn't their way of telling us that they will be paired up next season. Just no.

[tom87]

Didn't they show Sam kissing Rachel in the "previously on Glee" intro? I hope that isn't their way of telling us that they will be paired up next season. Just no.

 

Sam and Rachel have never kissed.

 

Just so bummed about thier 180 on Rachel. As everyone has mentioned I would have even been ok with her getting Funny girl in season 5 if in season 4 we saw  her taking every single dumb job possible.

 

I can even accept picking Funny Girl over NYADA.   That made no sense anyway. In the end 99.9% of aspring actors would take the lead in a bway play over school. Glee being glee just made her quit in a dumb way.

 

But the tv show on top of the Funny Girl for 3 months makes no sesne for her character at all.  In fact it really was a insult to her character.

 

What happen to I need applause to live.   

[Hana Chan]

I thought long and hard about this episode (probably a good deal more than it deserved) and tried to come up with something positive to say. The only thing I can really come up with at this point is that if Glee is canceled tomorrow, this could serve as the series finale. But otherwise, it was probably the weakest season finale (at least matching the awful season 4).

 

I just can't deal with Rachel anymore. I started out watching this show rooting for her and now am at the point where I'm wishing that she would actually be allowed to fail at something. For the past three seasons she's basically been handed every single one of her goals without a single hiccup along the way except for bland manufactured drama that gets quickly exspunged by the next episode. Watching her is like watching a one horse race and it's more than annoying. It's dull. And there has been so much deliberate actor bleed that I'm at the point where I don't care what they call the character because she's no longer Rachel. She's Lea Michele and I have no interest in watching Lea Michele basically reenacting her glory days from "Glee" while on Glee.

 

I like Mercedes and I was starting to like the Samcedes storyline because the idea of a girl who isn't ready to jump into bed with a guy just because they're dating isn't the worst thing in the world if it's handled correctly and comes from the place of both partners deciding that this is the right decision for the both of them. Unfortunately it's been handled badly, with Mercedes moving the goal posts (now talking about not being ready until she's 30) and Sam being portrayed as if he is incapable of surviving without sex on a regular basis. Given that, breaking the two of them up is the right thing to do because they just aren't compatable. But I think that the show did Sam a real disservice by making it seem as if he can't survive without sex, even if he was feeling some sexual frustration.

 

The absence of Santana was really noticable and having Brittany there was beyond pointless. My tolerence for her is limited and without Santana to blunt her, Brittany just becomes an annoyance. And the writer that they brought in for Rachel's plotline was beyond irritating. I didn't find her amusing or clever at all. She was just annoying and pretentious.

 

Klaine was... strangely... the least offensive part of the episode for me since I was absolutely expecting the worst (with Kurt sacrificing his own ambitions to follow Blaine to LA to support Blaine's). It wasn't near perfect but it was better than I feared. Blaine is still a moron for creating this problem for himself with lying to Kurt over having a place in his showcase. I give him credit for not letting up on trying to convince June to include him, but he would have saved himself a whole lot of grief by being honest and telling Kurt that he was trying to get him included and not that he already had a place. And he continued perpetuating his lie by allowing Kurt to plan and practice for a performance that he was not going to be allowed to give. Given that there are still some pretty serious trust issues between them, it was utterly stupid of Blaine to do this and then to reveal the truth only after he has no other choice and June threatens his own prospects for pushing the issue.

 

While my personal preference would have been for Kurt to recognize that Blaine just can't be trusted and end things once and for all, I got what he was trying to say during their discussion. He's right that you have to make the decision to trust someone, especially after trust has been broken. And he's not in any way saying that Blaine has earned or deserved his trust, but he's giving it anyway. Call it a leap of faith, but he's now placing the onus on Blaine to live up to the trust that Kurt has placed in his hands. That is a pretty assertive thing to do because he's making a demand on Blaine not to break his trust again. And wonder of wonders... Blaine actually lives up to Kurt's expectations by standing up to June and having Kurt perform with him at the showcase.

 

And for June to realize that Kurt is indeed a lot more talented than she gave him credit for and is willing to take the credit for "discovering" him as much as Blaine... yeah, that was more than a little satisifying.

 

But all in all, the episode was a mess and no sooner do they have everyone in one place and even start building a coherent storyline and now they're splitting everything apart again. As if the split narratives worked before. Meh.

[aradia22]

I enjoyed All of Me though it wasn't the best version of that song I've ever heard. American Boy was fun. I actually laughed out loud when it started. Shakin' My Head was a good performance but it's a really stupid song and not even stupid in the fun way like Trouty Mouth. Lea did her best with Glitter in the Air but that song is idiotic and it felt like the wrong choice for a "this is who I am" kind of song. Pompeii was fun though I think the problem with the big productions with anonymous extras is that they all look like commercials to me. 

 

As for the actual content of the episode. What is with the Kurt/Blaine stuff? I feel like they're constantly teasing that they're going to break up and then they don't. It's just getting weird now. I knew the writers were itching to break up Mercedes and Sam as soon as they got together. Has any other couple had this many "we should break up talks" or this many interventions from people outside of the relationship telling them to break up? I wish they'd used Kristen Schaal to greater effect. And yeah, we're officially heading into Smash season 3. 

 

The thing is, I can see it in my head, I can see how at least some of these storylines could have worked but the writing was not there to make me feel the emotional connection, the song choices were off, and the staging and direction was off. I could have bought Rachel staying with Funny Girl for a year and then just not feeling fulfilled anymore only to get the opportunity to star in her own show and bring the joy of Glee to a wider audience (like the audience that actually watched Glee) but they mishandled it. I don't believe they had this planned from the start and they mismanaged the way they communicated it to us once they had it figured out. 

 

Still, it was better than the last season finale which left me depressed.

[Joystickenvy]

Shaking my head was entirely made for me by the shots of Kurt looking like he had swimmer's ear. I also enjoyed the backup dancers. The song is definitely terrible, but so was everything we've heard off Mercedes fictional album. Not sure if the writers are expressing contempt for Mercedes or R&B music or just think they are being funny.

[Florinaldo]

The script for this episode seemed designed mainly to settle storylines and relationships before the transition to next season's foreshadowed tripolar narrative. There was unity in intentions but not always in execution, with some looseness here and there. But I thought it still was a very pleasant episode and a step up from the previous week.

Some things never change: Brittany flubbed her first line and mumbled a good deal of her dialogue. Other than that she did not contribute much, besides some dancing.

It was refreshing to have Kurt be written as stepping down from the self-righteous pedestal of moral superiority he has erected for himself. It's a big positive step for the character to recognize that in a relationship things come in shades of grey and that he was not entirely honest when he was saying earlier how selfishly happy he was at Blaine getting this opportunity. It's too bad that the writers had to base their conflict on a soapish TV cliché, i.e. someone misunderstanding the situation and the other person feeling it is necessary to lie, under the naive illusion that they are protecting their partner and that they might be able to correct the situation by trying to influence the one causing the problem, in this case June. This inevitably leads to a blow-out, which we dutifully got.

I would have preferred for June to remain an antagonist in the end; but then again, any character who sings that number from Pippin must be soft in the center. Glee seems intent on redeeming its villains, although she never seemed as dark as she could have been: for instance, they did not make her homophobic and did not have her suggest that Blaine should step in the closet. She seemed to stick to her guns with regards to Kurt the performer though; I do not think that she has taken Kurt under her patronage and from the dialogue it seemed clear to me that what really impressed her most was Blaine's chutzpah in standing up to her, not Kurt's performance.

Kurt and Blaine only needed a few seconds exchange to launch into their duet; it makes you wonder how many of these inappropriate numbers they have rehearsed and choreographed just in case they could be useful at one point (remember "Perfect"?). They cannot quite achieve the "street" tone necessary, but they were dorkily enjoyable trying to.

Two loose ends were Rachel's and Sam's motivations. In the former case, we have had three episodes to get used to the silly idea that she is already tired of achieving her life-long dream and that Broadway will welcome her back with open arms once she returns from Hollywood (okay, maybe the Glee version of Broadway would); Sam's decision that getting displayed half-naked on the side of a bus was the extent of his ambitions was harder to swallow because it was so sudden and we barely had time to process it; I had no problem however with him returning to Lima and assuming some of Finn's mantle.

 

Shaking my head was entirely made for me by the shots of Kurt looking like he had swimmer's ear.

That is a dozen times funnier than anything Kurt was trying to do in that mall audience!

Edited May 15, 2014 by Florinaldo