rionaleonhart | Don't You Want Me?

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Don't You Want Me?

So! 'Blame It on the Alcohol'.

Ian Brennan, you are forbidden from writing episodes dealing with serious issues ever again (see also the Kurt-Mercedes storyline in 'The Substitute'). The frustrating thing is that it could so easily have been fine. All you needed was a little scene at the end to repair the Kurt-Blaine friendship and deal with the comments Kurt made about bisexuality! You can't have a character go 'BISEXUALITY ISN'T A THING' and then not address it at all, especially if the character whose sexuality-questioning inspired that comment eventually concludes that he isn't bisexual after all. Really, now.

Also, I'm not sure Blaine would be quite insensitive enough just to go 'YEP, I'M DEFINITELY GAY, SEE YOU' after Rachel kissed him at the end (and, come to think of it, he was uncharacteristically insensitive in accepting Rachel's invitation of a date without at least apologising to Kurt, given that lovely scene in 'Silly Love Songs' where Kurt maturely laid out his feelings; this episode would have made a lot more sense had it come before that one. Up until now, what we've seen in Blaine is a character who tries to be sensitive and, when he fails, generally does so because he's clueless, not because he's thoughtless). Ian Brennan, this isn't the first time you've written characters inconsistently for the sake of a joke or for drama. I don't approve. Seriously, when I'm trying to get a handle on characters for fanfiction-writing I am frequently forced to pretend your episodes don't exist.

However! There were things I liked enormously about this episode.

- Rachel sang an ode to her headband. She sang an ode to her headband. I love you, Rachel.

- Blaine made a weird possibly-flirtatious 'you're so tall' comment to Finn and Finn's expression was priceless.

- BLAINE MADE OUT WITH RACHEL. HE KISSED HER AND THEY DREW BACK A LITTLE AND THEN HE WENT BACK IN TO KISS HER MORE FULL-ON AND BROUGHT HIS HAND UP TO CUP THE SIDE OF HER FACE AND IT WAS HOT, GUYS, IT WAS REALLY REALLY HOT look I can't help it if I'm shallow and have a thing for kisses that contradict a character's sexuality.

- I am sad that Blaine did not sing 'I Kissed a Girl', because it would have been hilarious. BUT THAT'S OKAY, BECAUSE HE AND RACHEL DRUNKENLY DUETED AND HE PULLED THE MOST DELIGHTFULLY RIDICULOUS FACES. I'M A LION RARRRR. (This was also quite hot. Blaine, I am here if you ever feel like questioning your sexuality again.)

- Blaine waking up in Kurt's bed and being all tousled and confused. Basically, a lot of the points this episode won in my eyes are based on the fact that Blaine is really attractive and my reasons for enjoying Glee aren't terribly deep.

- Although the ending wasn't everything that I wanted it to be, Rachel going 'I JUST HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH A GUY WHO TURNED OUT TO BE GAY THIS IS SONGWRITING GOLD' was hilarious (and made me feel a bit better about Blaine being so weirdly flippant in his 'yep, I feel nothing for you' reaction to the kiss).

- The Kurt/Rachel friendship survives intact! I was really worried about this, because their friendship is one of my favourite relationships on Glee. They are still friends! Kurt didn't want to see her get hurt! Rachel kissed him on the cheek! Oh, you two ♥.

So, ultimately, mixed reactions to this episode. On the one hand, I really didn't like the way it handled a serious topic; on the other, there are parts of it that I wish to rewatch endlessly. I suppose I shall rewatch those bits and lose my irritation in my delight at Blaine's I'M A LION face. I still love you, Glee, but please restrain Ian Brennan's arms whenever he looks like he's about to stray near anything remotely serious.

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I was praying the entire hour would be drunken party. I knew it wouldn't but OH MY GOD.

That would have been sort of hilarious. I wouldn't have said no to an entire hour of Blaine and Rachel drunkingly making out whilst Kurt flails around in increasing distress, I have to admit, which is possibly slightly cruel of me.

If the entire hour had been the drunken party it would have improved the episode, imo, but then, I'm a GIANT SUCKER for party scenes.

IT WAS SO RUBBISH. It could have been a great opportunity to explore prejudice against bisexuals in the gay community, but no.

Here (only if you're interested, obviously - well, it'll be there even if you're not interested, but you know what I mean) is the lionface duet, which is much less saddening. Blaine's ridiculous facial expressions! (Although I should warn you that Rachel is wearing quite a distressing dress.)

Especially because that prejudice is something that is still a HUGE THING! (Bafflingly so. It is disconcerting and kind of weirdly amusing to have someone confidently assure you that your sexuality is not real...)

XD Those are indeed ridiculous--and yet still strangely attractive--facial expressions. I think someone needs to take that video, take the sound out, and put in the sound of a baby lion going "rar!" every time Blaine makes that face.

You can't have a character go 'BISEXUALITY ISN'T A THING' and then not address it at all, especially if the character whose sexuality-questioning inspired that comment eventually concludes that he isn't bisexual after all. Really, now.

Ugh. Having a character go "Bisexuality isn't real!" and having them shown to be wrong can work if done right, but when a show looks like they're confirming that idea, it's not good.

Exactly! I spent the entire episode expecting Kurt to be properly called out for saying that at some point (his exact words were '"Bisexual" is a term that gay guys in high school use when they want to hold hands with girls and feel like a normal person for a change'), but alas it was not to be. (I'd probably have been less optimistic had I known at the time of watching that the writer was Brennan, who is responsible for most of the Glee episodes that tick me off.)

I agree whole heartedly. I loved the episode for the laughs, "your face tastes AWESOME." <I want to say that next time I kiss my boyfriend. But the overall issue of bisexuality? Handled very poorly. Seriously, is Brad the only writer who can handle serious issues and balance with comedy? Look at "Preggers" laughing hysterically one moment, and then tearing up at a sweet moment the next. Brad should just write every episode.

I'd be really interested in seeing how Glee would hold together if one were to rewatch it whilst skipping every Brennan episode. There'd obviously be gaps in the plot, but I think it might still be able to maintain more of a sense of continuity than it does now.

Yeah, the whole Kurt/Blaine/Rachel thing kind of ended weirdly and abruptly. They were all kind of dicks in this episode, which usually I don't mind because they're teenagers, but it felt less... intentional or something here. The whole 'bisexuality isn't real!' thing is kind of not ok, but I would have accepted it as Kurt being hurt and dramatic if there had been any indication that we were supposed to think it was bullshit.

On the other hand, there were a lot of really fun scenes. And Blaine waking up in Kurt's bed! Will and Bieste being BFFs! Also, I loved the kitchen scene between Kurt and Burt, which isn't much of a surprise. I can't help but feel that the whole 'hey dad, how about you go learn about gay sex now' thing was some kind of a revenge, which Kurt will probably really really regret later on.

(My reasons for Glee are also not deep. I've accepted that it's kind of a stupid show, with some moments of utter brilliance. I'm pretty sure this comment is rambly as hell and makes very little sense, but oh well.)

They were dicks. Writing-wise, I didn't mind it in Rachel's case, because, although I do love her, she's always been quite selfish and thoughtless, but Blaine was dickish in ways that didn't seem to fit with his established character so far, and Kurt's dickishness, as you say, needed to be addressed as not okay and wasn't.

But, yes, parts of the episode were a lot of fun! (Oh, I love the Kurt-Burt relationship so much. Burt doesn't really know what he's doing, but he tries so hard, bless him. He said he watched Brokeback Mountain, and I bet it was because he was trying to understand his son better, which is an adorable thought.)

I felt oddly dissatisfied by it all - I really wish they hadn't rushed the bisexuality thing, because that's just what it felt - rushed. I liked that Blaine stood up for himself and called Kurt out on being a hypocrite (which he WAS), and I also liked that Rachel felt like she could get any guy she wanted just by snogging him (poor Kurt! She was so selfish in that cafe scene!), but Blaine's sudden 'nope, gay' sort of felt like an omg we've run out of time shitshitshit moment. It felt like deleted scene territory, yknow?

Also, blocking - I wish Kurt had been sitting next to Mercedes at the party during that duet instead of her being all by herself! I get that it was because he felt really lonely with Blaine being all Rachelisawesomeyo, but Kurt! Mercedes is right there. That was a bad directors choice, I think.

I actually loved Finn in this episode! I reckon he got some of the best lines, hands down. The drunk girls description cracked me the hell up. It's so true - I'm a happy drunk girl, hahhahaha. I think he was written really well.

Also, Rachels party dress. Seriously. Seriously? I want to Queer Eye her, and I'm not even gay.

Edited 2011-02-23 20:16 (UTC)

It really did feel as if something had been cut from the storyline. When I saw there were only two minutes left of the episode, all I could think was 'how on Earth are they going to wrap this up properly?' Answer: they weren't.

I didn't even notice Rachel's dress at first, but the more I rewatch the Blaine-Rachel duet (and I have rewatched it a lot) the more terrifying it becomes. RACHEL. I HAVE NO DRESS SENSE WHATSOEVER, AND EVEN I CAN RECOGNISE THAT THAT THING IS HIDEOUS.

I kind of really want to see fic now where Kurt stole Rachel's dress during their tidy-up session, whisked it away and burnt it. Because, omg, he really, really would. It was so bad.

Yeah, I just sat there and stared at the screen like it was all a big joke. I'm inclined to believe that Kurt was just freaking out a bit at the prospect of losing Blaine once and for all - to Rachel, no less - but still. Glee tends to be completely insensitive and get away with it at times, but damn.

I'm inclined to believe that Kurt was just freaking out a bit at the prospect of losing Blaine once and for all - to Rachel, no less

I can see that, which is why I'm not holding it against Kurt himself; I am holding it against the writer, because bisexuality is a much-misunderstood thing and needs to be treated carefully. Challenging what Kurt said would have been great; both leaving it unchallenged and having Blaine go 'oh, okay, not actually bisexual after all' at the end has some very unfortunate implications.

Yep, I completely agree. What you said pretty much encompasses the "but still" that I tacked on to the end of that statement, lol.

Ahahaha, yes, I thought so. I didn't think what I was saying was a point you'd missed; I just... inexplicably felt the need to make your own point at you, apparently. I need only the flimsiest of excuses to start rambling.

It's cool, I do the same thing. :)

Ian Brennan, this isn't the first time you've written characters inconsistently for the sake of a joke or for drama. I don't approve.

Seriously. SERIOUSLY. The man is just... not allowed to do this any more.

I love the Kurt/Rachel friendship but feel like it SHOULDN'T have survived. She was regressed s1 Rachel (thanks Ian) and she was just... terrible. And Kurt was genuinely good to her. God. This episode was so problematic for me.

Rachel really was a dreadful friend in this episode. I'm amazed Kurt was so nice to her in the final scene. He would have been well within his rights to break off his friendship with her, but I'm so glad he didn't. ONE OF MANY THINGS ABOUT THIS EPISODE THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, BUT AT LEAST IT'S A POSITIVE THING THIS TIME.

(Sudden thought: 'I bet Ian Brennan wrote the episode in which Jesse egged Rachel.' Checked. Of course. I was wondering whether I'd missed something, because that scene seemed to come out of nowhere to me; all I'd missed was the writer's name, apparently.)

I love all your points and I want to second all of them! And I feel your pain re: characterisation.

Ian tends to write all of my least favourite episodes. I don't dislike all his episodes, but those I dislike are all his.

But I loved so many bits and pieces of this episode. In fact, I actually loved most of it: the party, Rachel in general, weepy Santana, Schuester's drunk marking, etc.

It's just the mis-steps that tainted it a bit.

Ahahaha, Schuester's drunk marking was delightful. A+ FOR ALL. There were many things I adored about this episode, so it's a shame that it simultaneously annoyed me immensely.

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