how do you think i'm gonna get along

[falulatonks]

without you when you're gone?

Let's start off with the things I liked, first:


1. I liked the music in this episode (or most of it). I never factor in whether I'll buy it or not, because I can't from where I live, but I did like these.
   
   
   • Another One Bites the Dust is fantastic. (also, sexy.) Can I just say that listening to Groff on Spring Awakening and then a billion times on Hello made me totally surprised by what he brings to these classic rock numbers? I've listened to this song the most that I've listened to any Glee song in over two weeks, and I've relistened to his Highway to Hell, and I may or may not have listened to the thirty-second preview of Vocal Adrenaline's Regionals number a billion times (I always go there thinking I'll just listen to it once and I end up not being able to leave). I love it, and I'm so impressed. Groff is the main reason for why I think VA should win the Regionals. Funk or not, they've got the style and they're technically perfect. And that choreography! I mean, really. VA'D BETTER WIN. (All of you are going to hate me forever, aren't you?!)
   
   
   • A Man's Man's Man's World is actually kind of awesome on its own, and I love the vibe of it. It has to be Dianna's best vocal performance, hands-down. I do, however, hate every single thing about that music video and about what the storyline was supposed to mean, so that ruins it for me.
   
   
   • Give Up the Funk isn't great and it goes on for way too long, but I did find myself dancing to it this morning on my way to the bus-stop. I like that it's the entire group singing together, other than the random Amber vocals (poor girl is basically forced to do the same thing on every song she's in, which really sucks).
   
   
   • Loser was fun and cute. Finn and Puck should rap more. And I like the chorus.
   
   
   • I don't even know how Tell Me Something Good goes, because I completely skipped the scene. I got too embarrassed. And Good Vibrations was kind of...not great, even though the scene was cute (and the boys were awesome and it was cute how happy the girls looked).


2. I thought Mercedes being nice to Rachel after they saw the VA performance was sweet (I also love that in last week's episode she was the only one to go "looking good, Rachel!" when she came in with her new black dress). I really liked all the boys randomly getting ready to beat up some Jesse because of Rachel being egged, including Kurt!


3. Sue made me laugh really hard with her diary entry and her lines in the office with Figgins, Shelby, Finn, Puck, and Will. That was great.


4. I missed Terri, apparently. I didn't understand anything she did or why she was even in this episode, but I liked seeing her brand of craziness for a little while.


5. Angry!Rachel is adorable, and I'm glad that's where she went instead of crying and falling apart, or something.


6. Puck and Finn, awww. Uniting over getting revenge for both New Directions and then for Rachel makes me happy.


7. Rachel and Brittany both looked hot during Give Up the Funk and they had awesome moves.


8. This episode had an interesting balance of characters - Rachel, Will, Sue, Finn, Puck, Quinn, Mercedes. I like how even that was - clearly this show knows how to do it. Too bad most of that sucked.

Now the rest:


9. This is one long rant, sorry: but OK, seriously? The last we saw of Jesse before this episode was in Dream On - an episode where he looked happy to be with her for no reason, saying "I don't want to see her get hurt," and - this is the last shot we get of him - he looked at her like this when she wasn't even looking. And now it's "I loved you" and "here, let me kill your chick friends against your face!" I feel like it goes beyond being robbed of an interesting storyline or an interesting character with a believable background, objective, and emotion - it may have been seriously miscast, because Jon Groff, with his eyes and his chemistry, brought too much to a character that apparently essentially needed to be a douche. Where did his emotions come in?! WHY?! What was with how sad he looked doing everything he did?! What is the character motivation, and why do we not understand this "other side" that he's bringing in?
   
   I knew I wouldn't be happy with any way this storyline was resolved, but I really didn't think it would be so terribly done. Glee gets so many things wrong, all the freaking time, but at least I get why characters are doing the things that they do, or at least it makes sense within the context of the episode. I don't understand this at all. Seriously, I'm fine with Rachel/Jesse being wrecked, because I have my fanfic world, but I'm not fine with how this character was written or handled. Like, Joss Whedon had read all nine episodes' scripts by the time he shot Dream On, so he knew what directions to give everyone; why did he leave in those tiny Rachel/Jesse moments for no reason?!
   
   Obviously what annoys me the most is the switched airing order and the fact that there are clearly some Rachel/Jesse scenes that take place between this crap and the Regionals, only we'll never get to see them. And other tiny things - Rachel sneaking into a Vocal Adrenaline practice last week makes sense (just like how fiercely motivated she was at the beginning of last week's episode), or how nicely Beth fits (I mean, I didn't even understand where that came from last week) when you see that it follows Quinn's solo.
   
   AND WHY THE FUCK DID THE RECAP AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EPISODE START WITH "OH AND JESSE QUIT NEW DIRECTIONS"? WTF IS WRONG WITH YOUR CONSISTENCY, YOU STUPID SHOW, I HATE YOU. (That was an overreaction.)


10. This is really some excellent planning, Mr Ryan Murphy Douche Man. I somewhat understand the episode-switch, because like zombie_boogie mentioned, this episode did seem more like a penultimate episode than last week's, especially considering how much attention it drew to the club as a group rather than with individual storylines (Rachel and Shelby, Kurt and Finn, etc. with last week). But why did you not get this until three weeks before the episodes air!? It's just ridiculous.


11. When Artie cut into Quinn's rant before her solo and said "This is offensive." I wanted to yell out, "YES IT IS!" and I was mildly pleased that people on the show got that. And then the song happened (which was creepy in itself, by the way, with all the pregnancy-belly zoom-ins), and then everyone got up to hug her!? And later in the episode Quinn and Mercedes talked about empathising with each other!? THAT'S NOT RIGHT. Mercedes is overweight (or are we talking about the fact that she's black?). Quinn is a pregnant teen. We are not talking about the same thing, here, and it's a little frustrating to me that that's what we're supposed to get from this.


12. Let's talk about how much more furious I get every time Quinn gets love from the entire group and Rachel is almost always left standing alone. Quinn has to be one of my least favourite characters on this show - what we see of her, how her teammates see her, and how she treats her teammates, don't work together for me. Maybe they're trying, with her storylines with Mercedes and the little moment she had with Artie in Dream On, And the fact that she keeps getting love really annoys me. I could get more detailed about this, but my hatred for this is so deep that I'm going to come off as unreasonable and kind of insane. I do probably come off as both already.


13. I could not watch any of the Will/Sue storyline. As a result I'm not really able to comment on anything that happened, other than the fact that neither Will's manipulation and Sue's "comeuppance" came off as believable or root-for-able at all. I didn't get any of the last part of the storyline. (I found the first half funny, though!)


14. I can't see Rachel with Finn anymore (although I 'ship Cory/Lea so hard, asjdkasdlawww), and I really want to see Rachel being best friends with Puck. If we want her with someone from New Directions, let it be Mike Chang! Yay!


15. The group vibe to Give Up the Funk is really great. And they were all having fun, yay! But are we really supposed to believe that VA was intimidated by that?! Jesse, you are perfect (and you look so good in your VA sweatshirt nfgh), and Groff, even the crap you're given to say ends up being awesome ("I loved you" (whatever the hell that means oh my god I am so angry about this), "I am depressed", etc.), but come on. Vocal Adrenaline is going to win. And fans who watched the finale taping say that the VA number is the showstopper, so. I don't even get what the worry is here.

What I hate about this show is what it's making me do. I like writing about the things I watch, and I like watching Glee because there are things about it I enjoy and characters in it that I adore. I never set out to be this mean about it. It's just that every time I start writing about this show I find things that I dislike so much that I end up ranting about it for ages, and it comes off like I don't like this show. And if I don't like the show, why am I still watching it? I don't know. I don't understand it! I DON'T UNDERSTAND MYSELF ANYMORE, GLEE, SEE WHAT YOU DO TO ME?!

This entry is so angry, oh my god.

My day:

• This morning I woke up with my burnt thumb still throbbing.
• I went online and saw Adam Scott and Natalie Morales talking about being on the set of Parks and Recreation on Twitter, and then I found a video of Adam being really sweet about Amy and Leslie, so that was what cheered me up first.
• I went to school, found out I have to be singing with a band to perform to a paying audience tomorrow night.
• Then I went out for lunch with imprinted_soul and iloveartyy, meeting them for the first time in ages, which made me happy. Plus we had pancakes with ice-cream and then Swiss rösti and then cheesecake. Hooray!
• I went back to school and practiced for five hours.

But I am in an OK mood, because of how much I love Parks and how much I adore my friends' company!

I'm going to bed early. I have an entire day of rehearsals tomorrow so that we can be ready to perform at night.

-- rachu

Comments

[marketchippie.livejournal.com]

So much yes to all of this. Particularly—

it may have been seriously miscast, because Jon Groff, with his eyes and his chemistry, brought too much to a character that apparently essentially needed to be a douche

I am caught between loving that he's here, because I love everything he does all the time (and seriously, he says three words and it's suddenly one of the best lines in the episode. "I'm so depressed." FANTASTIC.) and hating it, because he's my second favorite character now and that's obviously not how his arc was supposed to go down. The writing in this episode felt close to sabotage, and yet there's still emotion there—not written, just in Groff's performance. It's wonderful to watch. It's hugely problematic. I can't take it; I care so much more than I should, and more than the show obviously wants.

VA: needs to win. Because they are better. Easy. (After this episode, I'm going to say that any show choir that doesn't do funk is that much better for it. If I never hear the word "funk" again, it'll be too soon.)

Oh, and Rachel/Mike Chang would be splendid. Mike Chang!

[darling-ashes.livejournal.com]

- VA really needs to win. I know we are suppose to cheer for the underdogs (and that some members of VA are real jerks) but they are the better group. They have the more experienced teacher (come on, a grown up Rachel Berry, how can they lose), they practice more, have better routines, they've been around the circuit longer (this is New Directions first) and they are just technically better. Plus, some of New Directions members just make me mad with their jerkiness (I mean Will getting the idea of breaking Sue from Rachel breaking down over having the same thing happen. Geeze man!). I'm rooting for VA.

- I love Jesse and I am so upset with how they've handled him. Oh writers, what have you done?

- I was really uncomfortable with the Will/Sue storyline. It was hilarious and Will got what was coming to him (he was such a jerk! Does he ever learn?) and Kurt laid it out nicely that it wasn't Sue that really needed the trophy, it was the Cheerio's (some losing their scholarship) and the Cheerios just loosing it that close to Nationals (seeing Santana crying was heartbreaking). Plus, that Sue really does love her Cheerios and just can’t show it properly was adorable.

[la-petite-singe.livejournal.com]

Can I just say that listening to Groff on Spring Awakening and then a billion times on Hello made me totally surprised by what he brings to these classic rock numbers?

That's what I said!! I was totally blown away and impressed and YUM. :9 As if I needed to be more attracted to him. Sheesh.

"Tell Me Something Good" was...hot. NGL. I find Will scorchingly hot, even though he's a doofus, and his hotness plus Sue's facial expressions just kinda made it gold, IMO. But also quite embarrassing. ;)

And that's a good point about Groff actually kind of being too good for a douche-y part--I think we were supposed to be kinda invested in them, but at the same time kinda hate him because he's a schemer and because he says things like "my CLEARLY SUPERIOR ideas" and whatnot. I just...yeah, I figured that pairing wouldn't last because (a) Groff's not on the show full-time and (b) they've got to make way for boring old Rachel/Finn, but did they have to kill the ship so horribly?! I was convinced she'd have to choose between him and New Directions in some way, and she'd choose her friends and he'd be all "*Single Manly Tear* I respect your choice because we're both ~stars~ and you have to follow your dreams" or some such nonsense. Not THAT. Either he loved her and put his stupid VA friends ahead of her, which means he sucks, or he never really cared all along, which means he sucks more. GREAT.

Once again, Artie is the voice of reason--that was offensive. And I REALLY didn't like the Quinn/Mercedes scene, because I don't buy them as friends and I am really, really sick of poor, victim!Quinn. She's going through a hard time, sure, but that's because she made bad choices. And besides, she only just randomly started being nice--she was majorly mean to everyone before! Why are they all her BFFs?! And I wasn't sure if Mercedes was a tragic hero because of her size or her race, as you said, but both are just really not cool and kind of offensive and inconsistent--when have we seen that?! Sue tried to make her lose weight, but Sue's nuts, and we haven't seen students treating her badly. Really really did not like that.

I watch this show because the music is great and sometimes it's funny. Everything else makes me want to put my head through a wall. 'S that simple, I'm afraid.

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

Obviously you know I agree 100% on Jesse/Rachel (NRAAAARGH), Quinn/Mercedes (ARE YOU SERIOUS?), the super shitty "Theatricality"/"Funk" switcheroo (I CAN'T EVEN), and VA being obviously superior. I go back and forth on Quinn. I want to like her, and I don't so much hate the character as I do all of the stuff that goes on around her (i.e. people's reactions to her that don't seem to be related to her actual behaviour). I'm also super annoyed because apparently next season they plan on introducing a new character that is "judgmental, Christian, and a rival to Rachel" and I keep thinking... wasn't that supposed to be Quinn's purpose?

I think you're right about Groff. It would be so much easier to swallow this storyline if he (and Lea) hadn't pulled me into their world. I mean, if he was faking why does he genuinely smile ALL THE DAMN TIME in reaction to Rachel when Rachel can't see his face? Basically, I want Joss Whedon to hijack this show.

I feel bad about bitching about it, because I generally dislike when fans are uber-critical yet they continue to watch the show week after week and spread their negativity. It's shocking how much a show with a synonym for happy as it's title makes me grumpy. It would probably help if I didn't write reviews, because as I'm writing them I find more and more things that annoy me, but I like writing recaps damnit!