Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2020-01-10 10:20 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2020-01-10 10:20 am
Now You're Just Some Programme That I Used To Know.
Some more notes on our Glee rewatch! We've gone through the third season and are now in early season four. I originally stopped watching at some point in late season four, I believe, so we're approaching uncharted territory. (But not Uncharted territory. I bet Nate can't sing.)
I love the extreme intensity with which Blaine performs. He's always so into it!
I think Kurt and Blaine may be the only couple in Glee who actually communicate about the problems in their relationship and find ways to resolve them. It's really noticeable in contrast to the other relationship plotlines.
(Their relationship becomes much less functional in season four, which has an early episode where the writers evidently went 'you know, I'm bored of the canonical couples; let's break up ALL OF THEM.')
Season three isn't my favourite (that would be season two), but I do love how much of it is devoted to Rachel becoming friends with everyone. She's come so far!
Blaine having an intense duet of 'Somebody That I Used to Know' with his brother is even weirder than I remember it. If they had an affair, it would explain why Blaine never talks about his brother.
Slightly shipping Quinn and Artie after Quinn's accident in this rewatch, which I wasn't expecting! Artie helping and encouraging her as she gets to grips with the chair is very endearing.
I like that friends in Glee are prepared to say 'I love you' to each other. I love the Kurt-and-Rachel dynamic so much; it's probably my favourite relationship in Glee. I got slightly tearful when Kurt showed up to surprise her at the start of season four, when she was alone and upset in the big city. Rachel's friendship storylines are so much more enjoyable than her romantic ones.
Season four of Glee introduces a bunch of new characters and then only gives them plotlines with each other, which strikes me as an odd choice. Sam and Blaine, in season two, were more successful character introductions because they actually interacted with the characters we already knew and cared about, rather than the show going 'now, after that scene with characters you know and care about, let's switch to a load of strangers!'
I'm pretty interested in what makes a late character introduction work or not work. Obviously, in some cases, such as Doctor Who or Waterloo Road, a general cycling of characters is expected and new characters don't really feel like latecomers. In canons where the cast is mainly static and then they throw in a new significant character, though, what determines whether I'll go 'ooh, I like you' (e.g. Nathaniel Plimpton of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Blaine Anderson of Glee) or 'YOU'RE TOO LATE, THERE'S NO ROOM IN MY HEART' (e.g. Sam Drake of Uncharted, the new Glee kids of season four)?
I wonder whether it depends on how emotionally invested I am in the canon. I was having fun with Glee before Blaine showed up, but I wasn't really invested, so I could cheerfully embrace the new guy. The more I care about the existing characters, the more likely I am to resent new characters for taking screentime away from the ones I'm invested in.
I'd be interested in hearing about late-arrival characters that worked or didn't work for you!
I love the extreme intensity with which Blaine performs. He's always so into it!
I think Kurt and Blaine may be the only couple in Glee who actually communicate about the problems in their relationship and find ways to resolve them. It's really noticeable in contrast to the other relationship plotlines.
(Their relationship becomes much less functional in season four, which has an early episode where the writers evidently went 'you know, I'm bored of the canonical couples; let's break up ALL OF THEM.')
Season three isn't my favourite (that would be season two), but I do love how much of it is devoted to Rachel becoming friends with everyone. She's come so far!
Blaine having an intense duet of 'Somebody That I Used to Know' with his brother is even weirder than I remember it. If they had an affair, it would explain why Blaine never talks about his brother.
Slightly shipping Quinn and Artie after Quinn's accident in this rewatch, which I wasn't expecting! Artie helping and encouraging her as she gets to grips with the chair is very endearing.
I like that friends in Glee are prepared to say 'I love you' to each other. I love the Kurt-and-Rachel dynamic so much; it's probably my favourite relationship in Glee. I got slightly tearful when Kurt showed up to surprise her at the start of season four, when she was alone and upset in the big city. Rachel's friendship storylines are so much more enjoyable than her romantic ones.
Season four of Glee introduces a bunch of new characters and then only gives them plotlines with each other, which strikes me as an odd choice. Sam and Blaine, in season two, were more successful character introductions because they actually interacted with the characters we already knew and cared about, rather than the show going 'now, after that scene with characters you know and care about, let's switch to a load of strangers!'
I'm pretty interested in what makes a late character introduction work or not work. Obviously, in some cases, such as Doctor Who or Waterloo Road, a general cycling of characters is expected and new characters don't really feel like latecomers. In canons where the cast is mainly static and then they throw in a new significant character, though, what determines whether I'll go 'ooh, I like you' (e.g. Nathaniel Plimpton of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Blaine Anderson of Glee) or 'YOU'RE TOO LATE, THERE'S NO ROOM IN MY HEART' (e.g. Sam Drake of Uncharted, the new Glee kids of season four)?
I wonder whether it depends on how emotionally invested I am in the canon. I was having fun with Glee before Blaine showed up, but I wasn't really invested, so I could cheerfully embrace the new guy. The more I care about the existing characters, the more likely I am to resent new characters for taking screentime away from the ones I'm invested in.
I'd be interested in hearing about late-arrival characters that worked or didn't work for you!
no subject
I think this pattern holds for me too, and maybe even applies to more than just characters. Like recently I was talking about a show whose first two seasons I loved deeply, but that really went downhill in season three -- except that's really a huge oversimplification. The later seasons brought in a great f/f pairing and heavier science fiction themes, which are both things that I love in in their own right! It's just that the show was no longer doing the same things I'd loved so much to begin with, and I felt the loss of that too much to fully appreciate the new things it was doing instead.
(I am really trying to come up with a premise for a Glee/Uncharted crossover now. I guess there's no reason Cassie can't be interested in musical theater! It could be kind of fun to set Nate and Elena's completely different brand of shenanigans against the romantic drama of the Glee adults...)