Back With A Brand New Edition

Guys. I'm back.

I thought about posting a long explanation as to why I've been gone for so long, but that felt awfully sappy, and as you know, that is the antithesis to my being. In short, I was depressed, got on medication, got better, then tried to stop the medication and re-lapsed. Nothing major, and nothing to worry about, but I'm back on my meds, evening out, and feeling much better. So let's blog.

Camp - Childish Gambino

My love for Nicki Minaj aside, I'm really not a fan of rap. In general, I can't handle the MASSIVE EGOS of most rappers, or in the case of Lil Wayne, the incoherent giggling. I like Nicki because I saw that she was able to skillfully navigate between bravado and soulful honesty, and because she's a true performer, in every sense of the word. Childish Gambino is all that, and so much more.

Childish Gambino is actually Donald Glover. If that name sounds familiar, it should. If it doesn't, it still should, but I get to tell you why. Donald Glover was part of the comedy group "Derrick Comedy" in college. As in the people behind Spelling Bee, Opposite Day, Keyboard Kid (my personal favorite), and the one most people are probably familiar with: Bro Rape. Ever watch The Daily Show? Yeah he wrote for that. What about 30 Rock? Yup. That too. And he's on Community. And he's a legit DJ. And a rapper. Did I mention that he's under 30 years old? Yeah.

So anyway, Camp is his first studio album, a concept album about childhood and adult insecurity. The most common description of Glover's rap style is that it's "cartoonish." I'm not exactly sure what that means, but I'm guessing it means that it's really exaggerated. Which isn't for everyone, I'll be the first one to admit. I like it, though to be honest, I wasn't sure if it was a parody of rap or not at first.

Regardless, the album just feels... epic. There's heavy bass (duh), but you've also got lots of background strings, piano, and operatic chanting. It gives it a sense of legitimacy and importance. Obviously Gambino isn't the first or only rapper to do that, but I think it works really well. Glover also manages to bring in a lot of his DJ experience, blending electronic influences with hip-hop. I'm a particular fan of this, since I've been a fan of electronica since I was thirteen.

Before I get to the main things I liked about the album, and why it resonates so deeply with me, I'll go through the few things I'm not in love with, or that others might/do object to.

I'm trying to decide how delicate I want to be with this. Screw it. He talks about his dick ALL THE TIME. I mean, like ALL THE TIME. I get that rappers talk about sex a LOT, I do. And honestly I don't feel like Gambino goes into as much detail and grossness as Lil Wayne or some others. But you're going to hear about the size of his penis, so don't be surprised.

The other thing is basically the exact same, just with female genitalia instead of male. You're gonna hear about those a lot too.

OK, so what did I really like about this album? Basically two things.

1. This album is so honest. In fact, I would say that it's the most authentic, personal album I've ever heard. Yes, 21 by Adele is a personal album, as is Battle Studies by John Mayer. But those are just sad breakup albums. Why can't artists get personal about anything but breakups? OK, I guess Continuum by Mayer is pretty personal, with its pervasive fear of growing up, but Camp outstrips it. Donald Glover talks about all sorts of things, from growing up poor, to being rejected by whites for being black, to being rejected by blacks for being too white, to thoughts of suicide, to fears of being an alcoholic, to just having fun. I mean, wow. It's not everyday you just tell thousands of people that you sometimes think about killing yourself.

This album really made me think, which is rare for modern in music in general, and rap in particular. I guess I never thought about what it was like to be a black man in America. I mean, maybe I did abstractly... but I never realized what kind of pressure there is to fit a certain mold. I never realized that black kids that speak well are ostracized from their culture for "talking white." I never realized that black kids with dads are accused of not really being black. I never realized how important it is to dress a certain way, to talk a certain way, to only like certain things. In some ways that isn't so different from white culture, but in some ways it's totally different. Which kind of brings me to the second thing I love about this album.

2. I relate to it.

At this point, your mind may have exploded. I mean, what does a 24 year old suburban white kid from Texas know about being black - let alone about not being black ENOUGH? What do I know about sleeping around, or being afraid I'm becoming an alcoholic? I'll admit - not much.

But I can relate to a kid who gets in trouble for talking despite being the smartest kid in class. I can relate to being called "faggot" just because I talk or dress a certain way. I can understand a guy who likes nice clothes and Sufjan, who disappoints his mother, and who never fit in growing up.

[Sidebar: If you say the word "faggot" around me, I might still twitch. And inside, I am livid. I might not fully understand what goes through a black person's mind when they hear the N-word, but as someone who has been called a faggot his whole life, I think I get it more than most white people. It is a horrible, offensive, cruel slur, and I encourage you to never say it again. And the same goes for calling things you think are stupid, "gay." It's not alright. You don't call stupid things "black" or "Asian," so WHY is it OK to call it "gay"? Answer: IT'S NOT.]

Anyway. Camp is awesome. There's some really great wordplay and one-liners. There's some epic background music. There's some legitimate singing. There's electronic influences. There's bravado. There's serious introspection. There's social commentary. It's an impressive album, assuming you can get past an exaggerated style and some really foul language (which decreases as the album progresses). Here's a truly fantastic - and creepy - single.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL1B_r9nC9k]

A Post Just For Community

Considering how much I love "Community" [spoiler alert: it's a LOT] I'm kind of surprised I haven't written about it all that much. I'm not sure I can explain why, except that I know that very few people watch it, and that even fewer appreciate it on the same level I do. 

You see, "Community" appeals to me on a number of levels. Within the show itself, I relate to different aspects of different characters. Most strongly I relate to Jeff Winger, a vain, self-absorbed, emotionally-distant man who is very bright but even more lazy, preferring to charm or cheat than work. But, at the same time, he secretly cares about people and is only half as jaded as he pretends. In a different way, I relate to Abed, a nerdy guy somewhere on the Autism Spectrum who is awkward and overly invested in television. I appreciate his many, many references to assorted tropes and trivia, and understand the vast majority of them (which is more than I can say for most people, I believe). I can also see my fear of exclusion in Pierce, my judgmental nature in Shirley, and a fear of failure in Annie. How I reconcile that last with my association with Jeff is beyond me. 

On a more meta level, I appreciate parody/homage. Scratch that, I love it. Crave it. And that has become what "Community" is famous for. A claymation episode, an Apollo 13 episode, a Western, an Action Flick, a Zombie Movie, a Bottle Episode, a Conspiracy Thriller - all of these and so many more have been done. I think it's ambitious, and super impressive because these episodes are more than just fan-fiction or wish-fulfillment. They reveal things about the characters we might not find under "normal" circumstances. They put our characters in outrageous positions, push them to strange places, and allow us to see the results. What we get is a shockingly character-driven show, that highlights each of the group in turn. We may get paintball in a post-apocalyptic world, but we also get to see why everyone is playing - for family, for fun, to prove something to themselves or to others. We get moving speeches, beautiful relationships, dysfunctional family, bizarre plots, fun weirdness, and painful fights. The show is so diverse, so eclectic, so unpredictable... it's unique.

Tonight's episode was by far the best of the season - which isn't saying much at this point, but I'm convinced that when the season is over this will still be one I particularly remember. The plot (at first) is simple: Troy and Abed - TV's greatest bromance - invite the study group to their new apartment to celebrate living together. During their game of Yahtzee, the pizza arrives, and someone has to go down and get it. Obviously, they roll dice for to decide who will go. What follows are seven different timelines where each character in turn is chosen.

That may sound weird - and it is - but it is also BRILLIANT. Why? Because we get to see how the group reacts to the same things, but in different combinations. For example, with Shirley gone, we find out about her "Baking Problem," later revealed to be her attempt to be needed. Annie's absence reveals her gun (she lives in a bad neighborhood). Pierce leaving develops the relationship between Troy and Britta, AND Jeff and Annie. 

Honestly, I'm still freaking out about this. It goes to show just how fragile this group is - that they're one single move away from either making out or having a nervous breakdown. That they could either rise above their vindictive urges, or succumb to them in the worst ways. 

And where it blew my mind was the real universe. The one where Jeff - the leader and often glue of the group, leaves. What results is a group dance. No one's feelings are hurt. No revenge is enacted. No drugs are smoked. No feelings are prematurely acted upon. Everyone is happy. Which has all sorts of implications. Is Jeff necessary? Is Jeff in fact detrimental? Has he convinced himself that the group needs him, just to avoid having to realize that he needs them more? Has Jeff refused to change, and has everyone else's growth led to them outgrowing him? Apparently Jeff is going to be put through the ringer this season, and while I hate to see him hurt, I know it will benefit him in the long run. 

So, in conclusion, please watch this show. The first third or so of the first season is a little choppy. They were still figuring themselves out, JUST LIKE FRESHMEN REALLY DO, but when they hit their stride, YOU'LL KNOW, and thank me for it.

I'm Suffering from Playoff-Induced Hiatus Rage

Jinkies gang! It's a blog post!

Somehow every year I am completely blindsided by baseball playoffs sending some of my favorite shows into premature hiatus. This year, the main victim is Raising Hope, and to a lesser extent Glee and New Girl. All of which happen on Tuesday and have made for a Must See TV comedy night reminiscent of Friends-era NBC. "Luckily" for me, Fringe is in the Friday death-slot, meaning it isn't affected by friggin' baseball. Ugh.

ANYWAY, I figured I'd take this hiatus as a chance to catch up on some reviewing. I swear I wrote half of a follow-up to my last post, but it was just DAUNTING y'all, so I gave up. Anyway, let's talk about some shows, shall we?

Dexter
Very shows had me so excited about a new season as Dexter. I got caught up this summer after largely ignoring the series for several years. I have to say, it's pretty amazing. Michael C. Hall is an incredible actor, especially having now seen his performance in Six Feet Under. The shift is... dramatic. Anyway, Season 5 of Dexter was good. It didn't blow me away - not after spoiling me with Season 4 - but I thought it was solid. I think the Lumen/Dexter relationship revealed a lot about Dexter, and teased us with the possibility of him leading a happy life not completely based on lies. So that was nice.

The premiere (which is all I've seen so far, thanks to Showtime's hyper-vigilance against pirated online streaming sites) was quite good. I admit I had, and maybe still have, some reservations about the show/character exploring religion. I'm afraid all we'll see are the morbid, extreme, or plain crazy aspects of religion without seeing the positive impact it can have on a person. Who knows? That being said, Edward James Olmos is a welcome addition to the cast, and his villain is sufficiently creepy to keep me interested. I'm hoping Colin Hanks has a bigger role than he did in the premiere (and that he does more than his vaguely creepy priest in Mad Men).

Homeland
Out of all the many new shows I've checked out this season, none impressed me more than the first episode of Homeland. In case you don't know, here's the basic premise:

Claire Danes is an analyst for the CIA. This seems to be a demotion from active duty after a botched mission in Iraq. She also seems to blame herself for 9/11, and is on anti-psychotic medication. Damian Lewis plays a Marine who was held as a prisoner of war for several years and is suddenly recovered. Danes becomes convinced that he was turned by the enemy and is now working against the US. The series looks like it will be very "shades of grey." For instance, Danes taps phones, plants hidden cameras, and basically stalks Lewis - which is bad. But at the same time, she may not be wrong, so what are the moral implications of that? Also, just how crazy is she? This looks to be a very smart, unsettling, excellent story that forces us to examine ourselves, and I'm excited about it.

Ringer
If I'm not mistaken, last night marked the all-important fifth episode of Sarah Michelle Gellar Prinze, Jr.'s [Sorry, that's my own little joke] new CW drama. Why is it so important? Well, it's not, except that I told myself I'd wait five episodes of new shows before committing. So where are we now? Well.

Siobhan (pronounced Shivan, because screw you) faked her death and peaced out to Paris, where she has seduced a hot young employee of her husband's investment firm. She is working with person or persons unknown, presumably attempting to steal from the firm. Also she is pregabalin [another personal joke of mine]. This is one of my favorite plot lines.

Bridget has discovered that her sister is pregnant, and accidentally let it slip. Agent Machado knows she's lying about something. She and Andrew are growing much closer, and she is beginning to repair "her" relationship with his daughter Juliet. She's dumped Henry, Siobhan's lover and best friend's husband. Unfortunately her best friend Gemma found out about the affair. Bridget revealed herself, which led to Gemma blackmailing her.

Henry is handling neither the dumping by "Siobhan," nor by his publisher, well. When Bridget tells him Gemma is trying to blackmail her and divorce him, she also tells him to deal with it. The two seem to have different ideas what this means. In Bridget's naive little brain, it means live a lie and return to your wife. To Henry, it appears to mean brutally murder your wife. So we'll see where that goes.

Basically, I'm invested in the show by this point. Until this past episode, I thought Gemma was obnoxiously one-note, but now she's dead so yay? Henry was equally obnoxious, but now there's a lot more going on with his character, so I guess that's good too? I'm still not invested in Malcolm's story line at all, but since that seems to be the overarching plot of Bridget's past coming back to haunt her/ try to kill her, I guess I should suck it up. Honestly I care way more about Bridget's developing relationship with Andrew than just about anything else, and I hope this continues to be a/the major plot.

Glee
I'm gonna end this post with Glee, and I could really go on and on about this past episode, but I'm gonna keep it short(ish).

Basically, this was one of the strongest episodes Glee has ever had, and it was good by any standard. The song selection was generally good, despite that Beyonce song I find so effing offensive and bad. I mean, if I wrote a song about how men rule the world and are stronger and smarter and better than women, I would be crucified. So... DOUBLE STANDARD WOMEN.

Anyway, I liked the developing tension between Mercedes and Rachel. This was set up as A Thing early in the show, but was mostly ignored until now. I liked the growing jealousy of Blaine that Kurt is developing. I hope it explodes Real Soon Now, because I will quickly get tired of Kurt trying to hide it. I like Brittany running against Kurt, and I like that she has a legitimate reason (mostly). I liked that there was no Sue. And I liked Mike Chang's story, mostly.

What I didn't like: Mercedes only finding confidence she never didn't have because she has a boyfriend.  Great message there. Mike's parents are offensively stereotypical. PS how did Mike learn to dance if his dad hates it so much? And Ginger Supremacists. Really? REALLY!?! It was literally the dumbest thing I've ever seen on [scripted] television. It was so dumb you guys. Also the implication of Will singing Fix You to Emma. Ummm, not sure OCD works like that.

Anyway, the show is on really solid footing. We've got a number of ongoing plot threads: the student council race, the play, Kurt/Blaine, Finn's lack of ambition vs. Rachel's boundless ambition, the new Glee club, Quinn's Bitch Quest '11/'12, Will's Sexual Frustration, and many more. I like that each episode is no longer consequence-less and self-contained. I just hope the writers can effectively balance so many characters and plots.


Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Gotta shower for work. I guess? I mean it's fast food so who really cares? But still... dress/bathe for the job you want, not the job you have and all that.

My Ongoing Quest to Critique TV, Part 1

Dudes. Lady Dudes. It's been about a week since my last post, so I figured I'd review some of the shows I've been watching this season. So let's cut the chit-chat and just dive in, shall we?

How I Met Your Mother
I'm not sure what it is, but I'm just not enjoying this season as much as I should. Maybe it's that I caught up on the previous five seasons in the span of a couple weeks, and this whole "waiting for new episodes" thing goes down like broken glass. Actually that's probably it. But there's also the issue of feeling like the show is stalling. I know, I know, that could be true of any season of this show. But ever since they announced that the show will end after it's seventh season, it feels like things should really be happening. What things? I don't know. Part of me wants to say Ted should meet the mother now, so we have time to fall in love with her with him, to see their amazing synergy, etc etc. Another part of me thinks that's how the show should end, leaving the rest of their relationship to our imaginations (and what we've learned from Ted's narration). The risk with the first option is that the show pulls a Zooey, and that everyone hates her. I mean, how does an on-screen relationship compete with Future-Ted's rose-colored glasses? The problem with the second option is that nothing Ted does until the last episode will matter, so why bother? Of course, the hope is that we're invested enough in Barney, Robin, Lily and Marshall that we'll stick with it. And by-and-large I am.

Honestly, I enjoyed this week's episode. I loved the return of Kal Penn to television. I loved getting an episode mostly from Robin's perspective, and the gentle mocking of the show's very premise ["Robin. Serial killers have led me to shallow graves faster than you're telling this story."] Barney and Nora are precious. I had quite a few laughs.

But nothing feels consequential, and for me, that's a problem.

Community
So far there have only been two episodes of Community this season. And while they've both been good, neither has lived up to the absolutely stellar precedent set by season two. This latest episode was, however, substantially better than the largely underwhelming premiere. The show kept things simple, with just two plots: Annie vs. Asian Annie in a Model U.N. battle royale; and Britta vs. Chang. Basically, Our Annie has met her asian evil twin, who steals her idea for a Model U.N. at Greendale. She runs to Jeff, who rushes her defense. To settle the matter, both Annie's start their own Model U.N.s, who then race to solve world crises and achieve world peace. Unfortunately, when a real-world problem occurs (a fart), the group falls apart, Annie throws a tantrum, and storms off. This leads to the real pay-off for me, which was Jeff explaining to Annie that he feels strongly for her, but thinks it's creepy and wrong, so he treats her like a child. It was just nice to see Jeff actually vocalize the feelings that have only been hinted at for so long.

Britta's storyline was where the humor was. After learning that a former protester friend has been locked up in a foreign country - and worse, has her own Facebook page - Britta begins to wonder if she's sold out. Meanwhile, Chang discovers that being a security guard means virtually nothing. So when he tells Britta not to do something, she of course does it, badly. It's a match made in heaven, as evidenced by "Hello" by Lionel Richie playing every time they encounter each other. Britta's attempts at rebellion are pretty hilarious, and Gillian Jacobs really committed. It was great.

I'm looking forward to the apparently noir-style episode this week, and the Halloween episode later this month. I'm excited about the journey Jeff will be on this season. I'm just ready for this show to hit its stride again.

Revenge
Ok, I'm officially hooked on this show after only two episodes. Out of all the new shows I've seen this year, this is easily the one I'm enjoying most. Victoria continues to be an evil bitch. Collin continues to be smarmy and awkward. Emily/Amanda continues to be equally engaging as charming socialite and driven life-ruiner. I like that this latest episode broadened the focus, and began to develop some of the other characters - namely her childhood sweetheart and his family, as well as her future fiance. While I'm not entirely convinced the show can continue to be good after the first season, I'm pretty sure this season at least will be great. So hopefully it gets renewed, AND avoids pulling a Desperate Housewives or Heroes (excellent first seasons, intensely crappy all other seasons).

The Playboy Club
I like this show, despite myself. I still think Nick Dalton was chosen largely because he sounds so much like Jon Hamm, and that the show is trying to make him Don Draper. But I love Carol-Lynne. The whole ice-queen/aging beauty dynamic makes her alternately truly despicable and completely relatable. I like Bunny Maureen too, if only because I feel like there's more to her than we've seen so far. The other bunnies are varying degrees of interesting. Bunny Alice - the Lesbunny - annoys the hell out of me, but without her there'd be no Sean Maher, who is adorable and also FIREFLY. I love Bunny Brenda, the black bunny. I think Naturi Naughton is a good actress, and her character has a lot of sympathy. Bunny Janie doesn't really do it for me, despite her tragic past, but I don't actively dislike her.

Of course, none of this matters, since NBC canceled the show today. But still.

Supernatural
I enjoyed the premiere, I really did. I was conflicted how I felt about Castiel being the big bad, because he's my favorite character. But I liked Sam's ongoing insanity, and the Leviathans seemed like a cool villain that fit well in the Supernatural universe.

But then they killed Castiel. Again, my favorite character. So I'm upset about this. But at the same time, it pushes the characters to some cool new places. I mean, when was the last time the boys faced death. Not Death. And definitely not "death." I mean actual, final death, for someone they truly loved. Their dad? How many seasons ago was that? Four? Five? Cas was Dean's best friend, maybe even as much a brother to him as Sam, and now he's gone. Add to that Sam's insanity, and poor Dean is going to have a rough year. Which sucks for him but is good for us as the viewer. And there being so many Leviathans, in so many potential places, reinvigorates the story. So I'm excited.

Fringe
The fourth season premiere was good. Not amazing, but good. It was from Lincoln's perspective, which gave the show an excuse to re-cap the past three seasons - although in this case it was more just "capping" them, since the show's history changed. So we needed an outsider's view. But it left me wishing for more Olivia. Well this episode I got my wish.

Guys, I know none of you watch this show, but you really should. How many other shows on television get to explore two versions of the same man - one where he became a serial killer, and another where he met a woman who taught him to overcome the darkness?

How many shows parallel that with an incredible lead actress, playing two versions of herself - one where she was beaten by her step-father growing up, who was experimented on my mad scientists, who trusts no one and is somber; one where none of that happened, where she grew up to win an Olympic medal in sharp-shooting, where she is a highly decorated agent in an agency that saves the world, consistently, who is in a happy relationship? Come one guys. This is deep. This is nuance. This is fantastic story-telling and phenomenal acting. From everyone. This show is so well-done it breaks my heart that more people don't watch it.

Well guys, it's been fun. I have way more to talk about - the season six premiere of Dexter, the premiere of Homeland, Glee, Ringer, Raising Hope, New Girl, and Modern Family - but I have school in like two hours and still haven't done my homework. So I need to GTFOffline. But hopefully I'll be back tomorrow or Thursday!

Look, I know I'm behind, I'm sorry.

Seriously, I'm going to stop talking about schedules, upcoming posts, and generally making promises to ever post "regularly," because let's be honest, it's not gonna happen. And while I'm tempted to finish my commentary on premiere week by reviewing Fringe and Supernatural, I've decided that that isn't going to happen either.

You see, no one watches Fringe. I know it. You know. They know it. It's smart, it's touching, it's interesting, and it's basically one of the best shows on network television today. I love it. The premiere was interesting, but it's going to take a while to figure out where the show is going, and whether I approve of an a-Peter world ("a-" in this case meaning "without," like in "asexual"). This IS the perfect jumping on place for new watchers, so I highly recommend it.

As for Supernatural... come on. Like I'm really going to sit here and critique something that for me is basically popcorn? No. Supernatural is my "turn the brain off and focus on the good-looking people fighting monsters and demons and try to grasp that feeling I felt when Buffy was still on air" time.

So, I'm going to post really brief follow-ups to some of last week's premieres, and get onto what I really want to talk about: Glee (a part of me just died, admitting that).

How I Met Your Mother
If you don't already know, I wasn't the biggest fan of last week's premiere. I've never been a fan of Victoria, I don't like shows re-treading the same ground (Scrubs), and so few comedies need to be an hour long. However, I positively loved Monday's episode. Not so much the Ted and Victoria stuff - although I enjoyed the Klaus-close-class banter, and the fact that in Robin's head Ted is a silent-movie. IF ONLY SWEETHEART. I much preferred the ducky tie story, in which Barney - over the course of years - trained Marshall to respond to his sneezes like Pavlov's dog, took specialized cooking lessons, faked being drunk, and generally manipulated everyone into allowing him to either see or touch Lily's fantastic pregnancy boobs. [Points to Ted for saying it looked like she had a butt on her chest.] This was classic Barney, trying to win a bet. Strike that, it was classic HIMYM, and it was nice to see again. I also enjoyed Victoria's parting wisdom, that the whole Ted-Robin-Barney triangle needs to be addressed, and dealt with - soon.

Raising Hope
This week focused on the reveal that Sabrina is secretly wealthy, but chose to forge her own way rather than rely on her father, and have to deal with awful rich people. Of course, the real reveal isn't that Sabrina was the one good apple in the barrel, but that she felt insecure around them, and also believes that she is better than, well, everyone. Jimmy et al included. I'm not sure this really jives with the Sabrina we've gotten to know over the past year, but this is a comedy; it will probably never be mentioned again. The toilet plot was absurd to the point of being dumb, but it ended nicely enough with a lesson about putting others' needs above your own... I think.

Parenthood
I watched for about 15 minutes and then went to check my e-mail. My brother than changed the channel to That 70s Show on Nick-at-Night, and that my friends is where we stayed.

New Girl
I was legitimately upset that Damon Wayans Jr. was no longer on the show, as he was - at least in my household - the favorite character. I also briefly worried that the show was going to simply replace him with another black actor and hope we didn't notice. Don't worry, nothing so offensive happened. Instead, it acknowledged that the character was gone, and quickly filled his void with... another black character who is into sports... hmmm. I guess the writers liked the dynamic between a bartender, a douche, and a black fitness enthusiast that much? Anyway, the new character - or maybe it's the actor - is nowhere near as entertaining as Wayans, to the show's detriment. I mean, the side characters were caricature-esque enough, and now we have another new one to deal with? Boo. Honestly I'm not liking the series as much as I hoped. Zooey being weird is one thing, but she's like... aggressively weird on this. I find myself uncomfortable, rather than charmed. Maybe that's the point. I don't know. But I'm still on-board.

Ringer
I'm watching it now, but I have work soon, and I really want to get this up today, so I'll update with Ringer later.


Glee or, The Problem of Blaine
If you're a fan of C.S. Lewis, you're cracking up right now.
If you followed my old blog, then you know my issues with Glee. If you don't, allow me to summarize: Too many guest-stars. Too many themed episodes. Schuester and Rachel went from sad underdogs to unlikable divas. Sue never makes sense ever. Too. Much. Kurt. Feeling exploited for my love of showtunes and or nostalgia for an 80s I was barely part of. Et cetera. So I stopped watching. But they promised to fix (some of) those things, so. I'm back. And I hate to say it, but Glee's actually been pretty good lately. BY GLEE STANDARDS Y'ALL, don't get crazy.
Last night saw logical progression from last week's developments!! For the first time in years! Kurt and Rachel, having learned that they aren't such hot Schmidt (shout-out to New Girl), have decided to push themselves by pursuing musicals and student office. Only, hold on, Rachel now has to deal with her estranged bio-mom suddenly being back in the picture. [Sidebar: as ridiculous as it is that Sugar's Daddy (see what I did there?) paid the school to hire Shelby just so his daughter could feel special is, it got us Idina and actual drama, so I'm OK with it.] This also causes Quinn and Puck to confront Season 1 plots that were forgotten in the haze of Season 2. Puck immediately steps up to be part of his daughter's life. Quinn takes some nudging but ultimately decides to clean up her act so she can get to know her daughter. OR DOES SHE??? (Hint, she doesn't, she wants her baby BACK like Knives Chau wants Scott Pilgrim) I found this a little silly to be honest. But I like that the writers are able to clean up some shoddy character work over the last year or so by basically saying "Well she missed her baby but didn't know it so she got sad and angry and random."
What else... I like that Finn and Rachel had vague chemistry for pretty much the first time since the pilot. Sue's plot line is still stupid, and it seems to be really over-foreshadowing that Will is going to run for the same office. Dumb dumb dumb.

OK, so here's the part I really want to talk about. Season 2 Kurt was like... a saint. The writers took every flaw he'd ever had and tossed it out the window. They beatified him because they realized they'd written a hugely influential character that connected to thousands of gay kids across the world. They made all the other characters realize their prejudices. They created a magical bully-free prep school. They even revealed that the guy who terrorized him was just in love with him! And as a reward for being so wonderful, they gave him Darren Criss - a talented, good-looking, good-hearted guy with interests beyond clothes and musicals such as football. Yay Kurt.

Also, I'm 90% sure that when we met Blaine, he was a year older than Kurt. Now he's a year younger. Guess The Flash really did a number on continuity here too, huh?

Anyway, now Blaine has decided to transfer to McKinley - despite Dalton being better for him academically and probably artistically as well, despite having been a substantial financial burden for his family, despite having made friends - for Kurt. He decides to try out for West Side Story, but not for Tony, because Kurt wants to be Tony. Even though he would be perfect. In the end, the directors ask him to go for it anyway, and we're left not knowing his answer.

Now, this can go two ways. One, he does not go for it. In this scenario, he once again puts Kurt's delicate ego above his own, swallows his dreams, and remains the perfect boyfriend. AKA the perfect reward for Perfect Saint Kurt. Or two, he does go for it. I seriously hope this is the way the show chooses to go. You can't base your whole life around someone else. You can't dim your own star just so someone else will seem brighter (pardon the froufy metaphor; it's Glee). This will force Kurt to confront his own jealousy. Which will mean he has flaws! That he's in the wrong, not everyone else! This could reinvigorate a character I frankly can't stand.

[My main issue with Kurt is this: in Season 1, there was the boys vs. girls episode. Kurt was offended that he was put in with the guys, and betrayed them. He's one of the girls he says. One season later, he is offended when his dad wants to do guy things with Finn instead of him. "I'm a guy!" he tearfully exclaims. Sorry dude, you really can't have it both ways. Also, the total lack of flaws the writers want us to see in him. That stuff too.]

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Kurt vs. Brittany for office. And Mercedes vs. Rachel for Maria. And Kurt vs. Blaine for Tony. I'm actually looking forward to Glee. What. Has. Happened. To. Me.