Original airdate: April 27, 2010
On this episode of Glee, we continue the theme of taking fun and likable characters and making you kind of hate them. We already torched Will and Finn, fostered a real distaste for Artie, and this week the character on the chopping block is Kurt which pains me to say because he started as one of my absolute favourites next to Rachel. Let's get to it.
We kick off the episode with Sue having a chat with Kurt and Mercedes, who are new Cheerios as of just last episode. Sue dislikes the fact that Mercedes is wearing track pants instead of a skirt as most of the female Cheerios do. Mercedes isn't comfortable wearing them because they don't fit right and Kurt jumps right in to tell her not to be ashamed of her body like a sweet friend. He's not ruined yet. Mercedes claims she's worried about showing too much skin and causing a sex riot though. Kurt and Mercedes giggle delightedly at their sassyness.
A big cheerleading magazine is coming to do an article on her in one week and she wants Mercedes to lose 10lbs and wear a "gender appropriate" outfit before then or she's off the team. Wow, what an insane bitch. I know she's the villain and she's supposed to be over the top but I hate it. It is the point of the episode though so just wait.
Will finds the auditorium has been padlocked and confronts Sue about it. She explains that she's booked it solid for her Cheerios to practice inside for the big magazine shoot. Will wants to complain to Figgins but Sue isn't fazed since she's blackmailing him so I guess that means...his hands are tied.
Will breaks the news to the glee kids that they can't practice in the auditorium for a week. They are not pleased and want to do something about it, either by doing a sit-in or torching the place to the ground which would not be super productive. Will calms them down by saying he's going to check out some off-site locations for them to use for the week. He promises them he'll find a new home. Which is the title of the episode and the theme of this episode so be prepared to hear that word a lot because the writers really don't want you to miss this fact.
Kurt approaches Finn outside with a swatch board and asks his opinion on colour since he's redecorating his room. Even Finn is confused about why Kurt would be seeking his fashion advice but he picks a colour at random to placate him.
At lunch, Mercedes comes to the table with chicken, a salad, and dressing on the side to which Kurt scoffs at. Mercedes rightfully tells him that it's healthy but Kurt protests that she has 10 lbs to lose in a week so all he's eating is celery and a Splenda for breakfast. Kurt, you were such a good friend earlier why are you telling her to starve herself now? The answer is popularity. He was all good being supportive until Sue threatened to boot them off the Cheerios, that's all it took for him to turn on his friend and shame her into starving herself.
I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent right now, forgive me but the songs this episode are long and mostly not my jam so boring and this is something that really bugs me about teen shows. Any time there is a teen show about underdogs or unpopular kids, they whine about how unpopular they are and how they want to belong and be part of the in-crowd. I'm really over it. Being popular was barely a thing in my school, yes there were popular people but they were mostly nice, hence why they were well liked. I was not popular but I didn't yearn to be popular. I didn't want to be part of those groups because I had nothing in common with them. I just wanted to hang out with my group of friends and have a good time. You know what show really spoke to me as a teen? Freaks and Geeks. I adored it and no one around me watched it or cared about it which is a shame. It was the first show I saw that followed a group of kids that didn't care about being popular, the Freaks anyway. The Geeks definitely complained about their lack of popularity but it seemed more genuine and like they just wanted to be accepted and not called losers and excluded. I don't know, how much do kids in real life actually care about being "popular" in the movie/tv show sense? Personally, I really just didn't give a shit.
Back to it, Mercedes is feeling dejected and goes to the worst two people for advice. Santana, and Brittany (who believes her cat is reading her diary). She asks them what they do to lose weight and they apparently use Sue Sylvester's Master Cleanse which is a mixture of water, maple syrup, lemon, cayenne, and ipecac. I realize that this is a dark comedy and they're lampooning ridiculous weight loss tricks but I still feel like this is really irresponsible. Then again, they've listed ingredients that no person would or at least should want to ingest but it just feels kind of gross to have it mentioned so casually when the characters who engage in it suffer no real consequence from it. Mercedes points out how unhealthy this is but the girls don't care because they're cheerleaders and that's the only thing that matters. I'm really happy that this intense mentality that you're a cheerleader or nothing didn't really exist in my school...or I was oblivious to it like I was most things. Who knows?
At Finn's house, his mother is clearing out all his father's stuff. If you'll recall, Finn's father is deceased and has been since he was super little, like he never really knew his father. His mother is just now getting rid of his stuff and Finn is not taking it well. She's of the mind that it's just stuff and I totally get that and that she wants to move on but I mean, she could maybe ask her son if he wanted to keep something as a memento? I don't know, it seems overly harsh for her to just decide, I'm getting rid of all this stuff and you get no say. Even if he never knew his father, I think it's fair for Finn to want some attachment to where he came from. He calls his mom out for acting so differently, getting rid of his dad's stuff, new clothes and haircut and she admits that she's seeing someone new. I remember she seemed to cycle through boyfriends in the pilot so this one must be pretty serious if it's now finally making her want to get rid of her late husband's things. She's seeing Burt Hummel the actual best dad so yeah, I can see that as a pretty good step up.
Meanwhile, Will is looking for offsite practice locations which utterly baffles me because why can they not just practice in the choir room. The choir room is separate from the auditorium, they don't need to practice there all the time and it's only for a week. Just suck it up and use the choir room to do at least vocal rehearsals. But, whatever, apparently, a skating rink is sure to be a better practice space, never mind the permission slips/waivers and what not you'd need to draft up to be allowed to take students off-campus for maybe an hours practice? You're super good at your job, Will.
I can't stay too mad because it's here that we are reintroduced to April Rhodes (the fantabulous Kristin Chenoweth who you all know I'm in love with). She's super excited to see him because she totally just had a sex dream about him and she's saying this all into a microphone to everyone who is here skating. I kind of love her "don't give a shit" attitude, tbh. Will is embarrassed and asks her not to keep talking into the mic but April doesn't hear that because she smells a duet. She commands the DJ play Fire by Bruce Springsteen and launches into the song, Will jumping in but this is her song and I'm here for it.
The performances are downhill from here. Will asks her what's up and why she's in town again. April was super pumped to be off to Branson but she was so excited that she stopped at a bar to calm down. That's where she met an old rich guy and became his mistress. Will is disappointed because she thought she was going to make a life for herself but April thinks she's just a washed-up dreamer and will never be anything. Will is awkward and changes the subject to his glee kids needing a space to practice but only temporarily and April readily gives him permission to sing at the roller rink. This sounds like a fun idea except for all the red tape I mentioned before and the fact that the acoustics would probably be terrible and also, it's a week and they'd get better practice done in the choir room.
Anyway, it's all settled but Will makes the mistake of mentioning he's showing the apartment and April's all like "what now?" so Will explains that he needs to find a smaller place because he's getting divorced. April is not at all sad to hear this because it means Will is free to date, namely her. She gets the bright idea to offer to sublet his apartment but she wants to see it first. She tells him she's going to get a bikini wax and then come and check the place out and you know what she's angling for. Get you some, April.
The Cheerios are getting weighed and this again feels really gross. They're going for comedy here but I kind of don't find the funny in Sue praising a mentally disabled girl for becoming just like every other teenaged girl "sadly obsessed with vanity". First, Sue is a monster for putting looks and weight pressure on a girl who doesn't have the same mental cognition as a neurotypical person and; Second, can this stereotype of vain teen girls die in a fire, please? Can we not belittle girls for feeling the pressure to present the way adult society has pressured them to present as? Because the problem is not the teens, it's with society and it's really gross that people make fun of young girls for being looks obsessed when last I checked, plenty of adults, male and female, are just as looks obsessed too and it's super harmful. We're shaming kids for behaving the way we teach them to but also pressuring them to be that way. It sucks.
Mercedes is next and Sue is upset that she's still wearing track pants. Mercedes doesn't care though because she's been eating healthy and walking everywhere and wants to see how well she did. She gained two pounds and oof, I feel that. Weight loss is so hard for some people and is sucks when you put in so much work and seem to only gain. I have the same issue and it honestly makes me want to quit my efforts to get healthy so I've stopped looking at the scale and just eat as healthy as I can and do my workouts. I'm definitely getting better at cardio, becoming more flexible and stronger, even if I don't feel like I'm losing any actual pounds but honestly, I just don't care. I do the stuff I do because I enjoy it and try to stay focused on that. Sue is obviously not encouraging her and informs her that she now has four days to lose the weight and get into a proper uniform or she's out.
Finn confronts Kurt at school about how their parents ended up meeting and Kurt gladly explains that they met at Parent-teacher night. His way of introducing them is hilariously awkward "You both have dead spouses, you should talk." But, it works and now their parents are dating. Finn is still not happy about this but Kurt is very happy. He knows that Finn's mother has been selling their furniture and informs him that they'll be living together by midterms. Kurt then explains that this was why he was asking Finn about swatches earlier and he tells Finn not to sweat the old chair because he is going to buy a new one. I really hate this. Let Finn keep the damn chair, what does it matter? His mom can move on but she shouldn't expect Finn to be exactly where she is about it and get rid of everything.
Will tells everyone about the skating rink practice area but no one is that thrilled with it because these are teens in the Millenium and roller rinks are basically dead and super uncool to them. I feel old. Kurt stands up and says that everyone needs to find a sense of unity. Then he starts singing a song I'm super not familiar with and this performance is not holding my interest, as much as I like Kurt and his voice, I'm just bored. It's A House is Not a Home by Dionne Warwick and it's very pretty but I guess I'm just not feeling it. Next.
At Will's apartment, April shows up and makes herself super comfortable. Will is not looking impressed at all. I think her chances of banging it out are slim to none, sorry girl. She even brought an overnight bag because her idea of checking the place out includes spending the night to see if she likes it. Will is super not comfortable so April clarifies that she's not looking for a hookup, even though everything she's said up until this point screamed that she was. He agrees to let her stay over as long as she sleeps on the couch. He also tells her that there's food in the fridge but that the liquor cabinet is off-limits. April is fine with that because she brought her own but Will is not impressed. She starts to sing One Less Bell to Answer by Burt Bacharach and it's honestly super pretty. Will joins in with A House is Not a Home again so it becomes a duet/mashup of sorts. It's pretty but we literally just heard the previous song so it feels a bit redundant? Still love hearing K-Chen singing though so it's cool.
The Hummels and the Hudsons are eating together and Kurt is beyond happy, making a huge toast to their first dinner as a family. Finn refuses to accept that they're a family and Burt agrees, saying that he and Finn's mom, Carol, are just enjoying each other's company. He then asks Finn about basketball which Finn likes but admits he likes football better. They both start talking sports ball stuff and Kurt suddenly does not look happy because the spotlight is not on him. Burt even offers to take Finn to a game so they are getting along well.
At home, Kurt is upset with his father who doesn't get decorating and colours. Kurt snarks that he'd be able to tell colour difference if it involved sports uniforms so Burt confronts him about being jealous of him chatting with Finn about sports. Kurt whines that it hurt to see his father bond with the son he clearly wishes he had and Burt is like hold up, I sat through Riverdance multiple times for you. To me, that's way more loving than just having a similar interest as someone else but Kurt isn't satisfied and kicks Burt out so he can moisturize and feel sorry for himself because he didn't think that getting what he wanted would backfire on him. Can you tell that I'm really pissed at Kurt this episode? This is only just the beginning too because I'm pretty sure it comes out that he set his parents up to force his crush to move in with him so that he could wear him down and date him and that's just super gross.
In the cafeteria, Mercedes is drinking a diet shake. Artie and Tina try to talk her out of the crazy fad diets but she won't hear it. She wants to look great and fit in and she'd prefer if they stopped looking like food that she wants to eat. She storms off but doesn't get very far when she sees Rachel and Jesse walk by, also dressed like food and she faints.
In the nurse's office, the nurse says that Mercedes' blood pressure is low and she goes to get her some ginger ale to drink while she waits for her mother to pick her up. Quinn is sitting there, not sure how or why she got in but she hands Mercedes a granola bar. Mercedes says she's not hungry but Quinn knows she is because she's absolutely been there. Apparently, Quinn had an eating disorder but when she got pregnant, she started making healthier and better food choices until she realized she should do this for herself too. It's a nice sentiment but I get Mercedes' frustration with this advice coming from a slender girl who seemingly doesn't have a weight problem. It doesn't mean Quinn doesn't struggle with her appearance or pressure to be thin, trust me. I look back on some pics of myself as a teen when I thought I was so fat and I actually got comments that I was fat and I get so mad at myself and everyone around me and society's standards. I was not fat but I sure as hell was made to feel like I was and it messed me up so much that I still struggle with it at times today. The most liberating thing about growing older and more comfortable with yourself is that you stop giving a shit what others (outside the people you care about) think of you and you just do what makes you happy. I wish I could travel back in time and give teen me a hug and tell her this but, be real, I probably wouldn't listen because when you're in it, it feels so defeating and you cannot believe it will get better. Oof, sorry I'm going off on so many tangents this episode but I had feels that I needed to express.
Quinn offers to stay with Mercedes until her mother comes to get her and it's a very sweet little moment that I appreciate but also? Sue is a complete monster who is directly forcing these girls to develop these eating disorders and she should be kept far away from all children at all times.
At Will's apartment, April is still hanging out there and is obviously looking to stay around a lot longer. Will finally puts his foot down, saying that they can't make a habit of cohabiting. He calls her out for drinking and partying away her unhappiness but that she will always feel empty until she finds a real home. Get it? Home. Everyone is looking for a home this episode. Anyway, April agrees that she's worth more than what she's giving herself credit for and vows to stop being some old rich guy's mistress. She compliments him for his excellent advice and leaves him alone in peace.
Kurt confronts Finn at school the next day and admits that he made a mistake setting their parents up. Finn sees through this and asks him if it hurt to see him and his dad talking sports stuff. Kurt admits that he felt brushed off and invisible and Finn says that he doesn't like that his mom is forgetting his dad. They both agree to break up their parents.
Finn's big plan? To threaten to flush his father's ashes down the toilet. That's, really fucked up. His plan to shame his mother for getting rid of his father's things by flushing away his father's remains, she capitulates his demands. She takes the urn and sits it on the chair, asking Finn to come watch tv with the family. Immediately, Finn is uncomfortable with this and Carol doubles down. Asking his father, Christopher, if he wants to watch the basketball game. Finn says she's acting crazy and she tells him he's being selfish. She likes Burt and she's finally happy in a way she hasn't felt since Christopher died. Finn still doesn't want to hear it and she points out that they aren't fine, they're living with ghosts and memories and she can't do it anymore. She wants them to find a home. Get it???
Sue is in the stands with the reporter and waiting for her Cheerios to perform. The reporter isn't really having Sue's shenanigans though and informs her that this is a hard-hitting investigation. She doesn't seem to clue in and proceeds to talk up her Cheerios. They walk out in silence, backs to the crowd and Sue is a bit confused. Then Mercedes walks out and makes a big speech about the Cheerios being about perfection and looking hot but that she thinks it should be about something different. She does a Mean Girls, how many people feel like x type of speech before launching into Beautiful by Christina Aguilera and inviting anyone who agrees with her to join all the Cheerios on the floor. It's a nice performance but I'm just not feeling this episode's slow and dreary song choices.
Sue thinks this has tanked her chances with the reporter but shock of all shocks, the reporter loves this. He was prepared to write a hard-hitting piece on how awful Sue is but seeing the Cheerios performance about inclusivity made him completely change his mind about her. I know this is supposed to be funny but I'm kind of pissed. Sue is horrible and this just reminds me of how easy it is for assholes to get away with shit.
At the Hudson home, Burt is waiting to talk to Finn. Finn wants to unleash but Burt stops him to go first, saying that he understands that Christopher is Finn's hero and he could never replace him but that he cares about Carol and wants to be her hero for as long as she'll have him. He then asks Finn what he wanted to say but Finn has been converted to Burt's awesomeness and instead asks him to stay and watch the game, even offering him Christopher's chair. Yay, Burt! I'm glad this happened because honestly, as much as Finn was being a dick this episode, I understood where it came from and it can be scary for your life to shift so much at this age. Also, I really feel like Carol could have handled it better and not just started to get rid of stuff. Also, also, let Finn keep the damn chair if he's so attached to it. He can get rid of it on his own time but if it's usable and it makes Finn feel good? Let him keep it.
At school the next day, April is telling Will all about how she took his advice and marched over to old rich guy's house and demanded that he get divorced and have her as his wife or get packing but instead, he died. Right in front of her. Will is super concerned but April is A-OK because to shut her up, old rich guy's wife paid her out two million dollars. So, she's going to sober up and head off to the Broadway to pursue her dreams. She hasn't even had a drink in a whole 45 minutes and she plans to launch her all-white production of The Wiz...
Will decides to brush past that and she thanks him for his great advice. The kids come in and ask if she told them yet. April announces that she bought them the auditorium and named it the April Rhodes Civic Pavillion. So now, they own the auditorium and can use it whenever they want. So, yay! Can they also stop pretending they're the super poor and underfunded glee club? Because damn, not a lot of schools have auditoriums period. We put on all our plays in the gymnasium. April and the kids put on a performance for him, Home from The Wiz and the episode ends.
So, the glee kids found a home, April may have found a home, and Finn and Kurt may have found a new home with their parents' dating. This episode fell kind of flat for me. The jokes aren't working as well because the humour involved is kind of...misogynist? Like the big joke is that girls are obsessed with looks and will do whatever to be pretty and lol look at this drunk chick letting herself be used by some old dude because she's money-obsessed. Chicks, am I right? I don't know, I think I might just be in the wrong place to watch this but I just get tired of this, especially knowing that this show is written by three men. To give them some credit, they tried. They tried to put a good message in the end about loving yourself but I don't think they fully understand how to develop a story like this and I do kind of side eye them for having Quinn saying her baby made her make better choices about her body. Getting pregnant does not automatically make you eat better, it's still a lot of work.
It feels very simplistic and as an excuse to get one of the kids to sing Beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I loved the performance and it's a great song with a great message but it feels very forced in and hollow. I looked past it back then because I thought well, it's a goofy show and they just wanted to put in a good message while still being a bit funny but honestly? This kind of set them on the path of thinking they can tackle really big issues that they really have no business tackling because they are lazy. Also, this episode gave me no Rachel and I miss her so hopefully, she returns to us in the next episode Bad Reputation.
On this episode of Glee, we continue the theme of taking fun and likable characters and making you kind of hate them. We already torched Will and Finn, fostered a real distaste for Artie, and this week the character on the chopping block is Kurt which pains me to say because he started as one of my absolute favourites next to Rachel. Let's get to it.
We kick off the episode with Sue having a chat with Kurt and Mercedes, who are new Cheerios as of just last episode. Sue dislikes the fact that Mercedes is wearing track pants instead of a skirt as most of the female Cheerios do. Mercedes isn't comfortable wearing them because they don't fit right and Kurt jumps right in to tell her not to be ashamed of her body like a sweet friend. He's not ruined yet. Mercedes claims she's worried about showing too much skin and causing a sex riot though. Kurt and Mercedes giggle delightedly at their sassyness.
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| Sue is not amused by their comradery |
A big cheerleading magazine is coming to do an article on her in one week and she wants Mercedes to lose 10lbs and wear a "gender appropriate" outfit before then or she's off the team. Wow, what an insane bitch. I know she's the villain and she's supposed to be over the top but I hate it. It is the point of the episode though so just wait.
Will finds the auditorium has been padlocked and confronts Sue about it. She explains that she's booked it solid for her Cheerios to practice inside for the big magazine shoot. Will wants to complain to Figgins but Sue isn't fazed since she's blackmailing him so I guess that means...his hands are tied.
Will breaks the news to the glee kids that they can't practice in the auditorium for a week. They are not pleased and want to do something about it, either by doing a sit-in or torching the place to the ground which would not be super productive. Will calms them down by saying he's going to check out some off-site locations for them to use for the week. He promises them he'll find a new home. Which is the title of the episode and the theme of this episode so be prepared to hear that word a lot because the writers really don't want you to miss this fact.
Kurt approaches Finn outside with a swatch board and asks his opinion on colour since he's redecorating his room. Even Finn is confused about why Kurt would be seeking his fashion advice but he picks a colour at random to placate him.
At lunch, Mercedes comes to the table with chicken, a salad, and dressing on the side to which Kurt scoffs at. Mercedes rightfully tells him that it's healthy but Kurt protests that she has 10 lbs to lose in a week so all he's eating is celery and a Splenda for breakfast. Kurt, you were such a good friend earlier why are you telling her to starve herself now? The answer is popularity. He was all good being supportive until Sue threatened to boot them off the Cheerios, that's all it took for him to turn on his friend and shame her into starving herself.
I'm going to go off on a bit of a tangent right now, forgive me but the songs this episode are long and mostly not my jam so boring and this is something that really bugs me about teen shows. Any time there is a teen show about underdogs or unpopular kids, they whine about how unpopular they are and how they want to belong and be part of the in-crowd. I'm really over it. Being popular was barely a thing in my school, yes there were popular people but they were mostly nice, hence why they were well liked. I was not popular but I didn't yearn to be popular. I didn't want to be part of those groups because I had nothing in common with them. I just wanted to hang out with my group of friends and have a good time. You know what show really spoke to me as a teen? Freaks and Geeks. I adored it and no one around me watched it or cared about it which is a shame. It was the first show I saw that followed a group of kids that didn't care about being popular, the Freaks anyway. The Geeks definitely complained about their lack of popularity but it seemed more genuine and like they just wanted to be accepted and not called losers and excluded. I don't know, how much do kids in real life actually care about being "popular" in the movie/tv show sense? Personally, I really just didn't give a shit.
Back to it, Mercedes is feeling dejected and goes to the worst two people for advice. Santana, and Brittany (who believes her cat is reading her diary). She asks them what they do to lose weight and they apparently use Sue Sylvester's Master Cleanse which is a mixture of water, maple syrup, lemon, cayenne, and ipecac. I realize that this is a dark comedy and they're lampooning ridiculous weight loss tricks but I still feel like this is really irresponsible. Then again, they've listed ingredients that no person would or at least should want to ingest but it just feels kind of gross to have it mentioned so casually when the characters who engage in it suffer no real consequence from it. Mercedes points out how unhealthy this is but the girls don't care because they're cheerleaders and that's the only thing that matters. I'm really happy that this intense mentality that you're a cheerleader or nothing didn't really exist in my school...or I was oblivious to it like I was most things. Who knows?
At Finn's house, his mother is clearing out all his father's stuff. If you'll recall, Finn's father is deceased and has been since he was super little, like he never really knew his father. His mother is just now getting rid of his stuff and Finn is not taking it well. She's of the mind that it's just stuff and I totally get that and that she wants to move on but I mean, she could maybe ask her son if he wanted to keep something as a memento? I don't know, it seems overly harsh for her to just decide, I'm getting rid of all this stuff and you get no say. Even if he never knew his father, I think it's fair for Finn to want some attachment to where he came from. He calls his mom out for acting so differently, getting rid of his dad's stuff, new clothes and haircut and she admits that she's seeing someone new. I remember she seemed to cycle through boyfriends in the pilot so this one must be pretty serious if it's now finally making her want to get rid of her late husband's things. She's seeing Burt Hummel the actual best dad so yeah, I can see that as a pretty good step up.
Meanwhile, Will is looking for offsite practice locations which utterly baffles me because why can they not just practice in the choir room. The choir room is separate from the auditorium, they don't need to practice there all the time and it's only for a week. Just suck it up and use the choir room to do at least vocal rehearsals. But, whatever, apparently, a skating rink is sure to be a better practice space, never mind the permission slips/waivers and what not you'd need to draft up to be allowed to take students off-campus for maybe an hours practice? You're super good at your job, Will.
I can't stay too mad because it's here that we are reintroduced to April Rhodes (the fantabulous Kristin Chenoweth who you all know I'm in love with). She's super excited to see him because she totally just had a sex dream about him and she's saying this all into a microphone to everyone who is here skating. I kind of love her "don't give a shit" attitude, tbh. Will is embarrassed and asks her not to keep talking into the mic but April doesn't hear that because she smells a duet. She commands the DJ play Fire by Bruce Springsteen and launches into the song, Will jumping in but this is her song and I'm here for it.
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| Back off, this is my solo! |
The performances are downhill from here. Will asks her what's up and why she's in town again. April was super pumped to be off to Branson but she was so excited that she stopped at a bar to calm down. That's where she met an old rich guy and became his mistress. Will is disappointed because she thought she was going to make a life for herself but April thinks she's just a washed-up dreamer and will never be anything. Will is awkward and changes the subject to his glee kids needing a space to practice but only temporarily and April readily gives him permission to sing at the roller rink. This sounds like a fun idea except for all the red tape I mentioned before and the fact that the acoustics would probably be terrible and also, it's a week and they'd get better practice done in the choir room.
Anyway, it's all settled but Will makes the mistake of mentioning he's showing the apartment and April's all like "what now?" so Will explains that he needs to find a smaller place because he's getting divorced. April is not at all sad to hear this because it means Will is free to date, namely her. She gets the bright idea to offer to sublet his apartment but she wants to see it first. She tells him she's going to get a bikini wax and then come and check the place out and you know what she's angling for. Get you some, April.
The Cheerios are getting weighed and this again feels really gross. They're going for comedy here but I kind of don't find the funny in Sue praising a mentally disabled girl for becoming just like every other teenaged girl "sadly obsessed with vanity". First, Sue is a monster for putting looks and weight pressure on a girl who doesn't have the same mental cognition as a neurotypical person and; Second, can this stereotype of vain teen girls die in a fire, please? Can we not belittle girls for feeling the pressure to present the way adult society has pressured them to present as? Because the problem is not the teens, it's with society and it's really gross that people make fun of young girls for being looks obsessed when last I checked, plenty of adults, male and female, are just as looks obsessed too and it's super harmful. We're shaming kids for behaving the way we teach them to but also pressuring them to be that way. It sucks.
Mercedes is next and Sue is upset that she's still wearing track pants. Mercedes doesn't care though because she's been eating healthy and walking everywhere and wants to see how well she did. She gained two pounds and oof, I feel that. Weight loss is so hard for some people and is sucks when you put in so much work and seem to only gain. I have the same issue and it honestly makes me want to quit my efforts to get healthy so I've stopped looking at the scale and just eat as healthy as I can and do my workouts. I'm definitely getting better at cardio, becoming more flexible and stronger, even if I don't feel like I'm losing any actual pounds but honestly, I just don't care. I do the stuff I do because I enjoy it and try to stay focused on that. Sue is obviously not encouraging her and informs her that she now has four days to lose the weight and get into a proper uniform or she's out.
Finn confronts Kurt at school about how their parents ended up meeting and Kurt gladly explains that they met at Parent-teacher night. His way of introducing them is hilariously awkward "You both have dead spouses, you should talk." But, it works and now their parents are dating. Finn is still not happy about this but Kurt is very happy. He knows that Finn's mother has been selling their furniture and informs him that they'll be living together by midterms. Kurt then explains that this was why he was asking Finn about swatches earlier and he tells Finn not to sweat the old chair because he is going to buy a new one. I really hate this. Let Finn keep the damn chair, what does it matter? His mom can move on but she shouldn't expect Finn to be exactly where she is about it and get rid of everything.
Will tells everyone about the skating rink practice area but no one is that thrilled with it because these are teens in the Millenium and roller rinks are basically dead and super uncool to them. I feel old. Kurt stands up and says that everyone needs to find a sense of unity. Then he starts singing a song I'm super not familiar with and this performance is not holding my interest, as much as I like Kurt and his voice, I'm just bored. It's A House is Not a Home by Dionne Warwick and it's very pretty but I guess I'm just not feeling it. Next.
At Will's apartment, April shows up and makes herself super comfortable. Will is not looking impressed at all. I think her chances of banging it out are slim to none, sorry girl. She even brought an overnight bag because her idea of checking the place out includes spending the night to see if she likes it. Will is super not comfortable so April clarifies that she's not looking for a hookup, even though everything she's said up until this point screamed that she was. He agrees to let her stay over as long as she sleeps on the couch. He also tells her that there's food in the fridge but that the liquor cabinet is off-limits. April is fine with that because she brought her own but Will is not impressed. She starts to sing One Less Bell to Answer by Burt Bacharach and it's honestly super pretty. Will joins in with A House is Not a Home again so it becomes a duet/mashup of sorts. It's pretty but we literally just heard the previous song so it feels a bit redundant? Still love hearing K-Chen singing though so it's cool.
The Hummels and the Hudsons are eating together and Kurt is beyond happy, making a huge toast to their first dinner as a family. Finn refuses to accept that they're a family and Burt agrees, saying that he and Finn's mom, Carol, are just enjoying each other's company. He then asks Finn about basketball which Finn likes but admits he likes football better. They both start talking sports ball stuff and Kurt suddenly does not look happy because the spotlight is not on him. Burt even offers to take Finn to a game so they are getting along well.
At home, Kurt is upset with his father who doesn't get decorating and colours. Kurt snarks that he'd be able to tell colour difference if it involved sports uniforms so Burt confronts him about being jealous of him chatting with Finn about sports. Kurt whines that it hurt to see his father bond with the son he clearly wishes he had and Burt is like hold up, I sat through Riverdance multiple times for you. To me, that's way more loving than just having a similar interest as someone else but Kurt isn't satisfied and kicks Burt out so he can moisturize and feel sorry for himself because he didn't think that getting what he wanted would backfire on him. Can you tell that I'm really pissed at Kurt this episode? This is only just the beginning too because I'm pretty sure it comes out that he set his parents up to force his crush to move in with him so that he could wear him down and date him and that's just super gross.
In the cafeteria, Mercedes is drinking a diet shake. Artie and Tina try to talk her out of the crazy fad diets but she won't hear it. She wants to look great and fit in and she'd prefer if they stopped looking like food that she wants to eat. She storms off but doesn't get very far when she sees Rachel and Jesse walk by, also dressed like food and she faints.
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| I shamelessly made this gif becaue this episode has a disappointing lack of Rachel in it |
In the nurse's office, the nurse says that Mercedes' blood pressure is low and she goes to get her some ginger ale to drink while she waits for her mother to pick her up. Quinn is sitting there, not sure how or why she got in but she hands Mercedes a granola bar. Mercedes says she's not hungry but Quinn knows she is because she's absolutely been there. Apparently, Quinn had an eating disorder but when she got pregnant, she started making healthier and better food choices until she realized she should do this for herself too. It's a nice sentiment but I get Mercedes' frustration with this advice coming from a slender girl who seemingly doesn't have a weight problem. It doesn't mean Quinn doesn't struggle with her appearance or pressure to be thin, trust me. I look back on some pics of myself as a teen when I thought I was so fat and I actually got comments that I was fat and I get so mad at myself and everyone around me and society's standards. I was not fat but I sure as hell was made to feel like I was and it messed me up so much that I still struggle with it at times today. The most liberating thing about growing older and more comfortable with yourself is that you stop giving a shit what others (outside the people you care about) think of you and you just do what makes you happy. I wish I could travel back in time and give teen me a hug and tell her this but, be real, I probably wouldn't listen because when you're in it, it feels so defeating and you cannot believe it will get better. Oof, sorry I'm going off on so many tangents this episode but I had feels that I needed to express.
Quinn offers to stay with Mercedes until her mother comes to get her and it's a very sweet little moment that I appreciate but also? Sue is a complete monster who is directly forcing these girls to develop these eating disorders and she should be kept far away from all children at all times.
At Will's apartment, April is still hanging out there and is obviously looking to stay around a lot longer. Will finally puts his foot down, saying that they can't make a habit of cohabiting. He calls her out for drinking and partying away her unhappiness but that she will always feel empty until she finds a real home. Get it? Home. Everyone is looking for a home this episode. Anyway, April agrees that she's worth more than what she's giving herself credit for and vows to stop being some old rich guy's mistress. She compliments him for his excellent advice and leaves him alone in peace.
Kurt confronts Finn at school the next day and admits that he made a mistake setting their parents up. Finn sees through this and asks him if it hurt to see him and his dad talking sports stuff. Kurt admits that he felt brushed off and invisible and Finn says that he doesn't like that his mom is forgetting his dad. They both agree to break up their parents.
Finn's big plan? To threaten to flush his father's ashes down the toilet. That's, really fucked up. His plan to shame his mother for getting rid of his father's things by flushing away his father's remains, she capitulates his demands. She takes the urn and sits it on the chair, asking Finn to come watch tv with the family. Immediately, Finn is uncomfortable with this and Carol doubles down. Asking his father, Christopher, if he wants to watch the basketball game. Finn says she's acting crazy and she tells him he's being selfish. She likes Burt and she's finally happy in a way she hasn't felt since Christopher died. Finn still doesn't want to hear it and she points out that they aren't fine, they're living with ghosts and memories and she can't do it anymore. She wants them to find a home. Get it???
Sue is in the stands with the reporter and waiting for her Cheerios to perform. The reporter isn't really having Sue's shenanigans though and informs her that this is a hard-hitting investigation. She doesn't seem to clue in and proceeds to talk up her Cheerios. They walk out in silence, backs to the crowd and Sue is a bit confused. Then Mercedes walks out and makes a big speech about the Cheerios being about perfection and looking hot but that she thinks it should be about something different. She does a Mean Girls, how many people feel like x type of speech before launching into Beautiful by Christina Aguilera and inviting anyone who agrees with her to join all the Cheerios on the floor. It's a nice performance but I'm just not feeling this episode's slow and dreary song choices.
Sue thinks this has tanked her chances with the reporter but shock of all shocks, the reporter loves this. He was prepared to write a hard-hitting piece on how awful Sue is but seeing the Cheerios performance about inclusivity made him completely change his mind about her. I know this is supposed to be funny but I'm kind of pissed. Sue is horrible and this just reminds me of how easy it is for assholes to get away with shit.
At the Hudson home, Burt is waiting to talk to Finn. Finn wants to unleash but Burt stops him to go first, saying that he understands that Christopher is Finn's hero and he could never replace him but that he cares about Carol and wants to be her hero for as long as she'll have him. He then asks Finn what he wanted to say but Finn has been converted to Burt's awesomeness and instead asks him to stay and watch the game, even offering him Christopher's chair. Yay, Burt! I'm glad this happened because honestly, as much as Finn was being a dick this episode, I understood where it came from and it can be scary for your life to shift so much at this age. Also, I really feel like Carol could have handled it better and not just started to get rid of stuff. Also, also, let Finn keep the damn chair if he's so attached to it. He can get rid of it on his own time but if it's usable and it makes Finn feel good? Let him keep it.
At school the next day, April is telling Will all about how she took his advice and marched over to old rich guy's house and demanded that he get divorced and have her as his wife or get packing but instead, he died. Right in front of her. Will is super concerned but April is A-OK because to shut her up, old rich guy's wife paid her out two million dollars. So, she's going to sober up and head off to the Broadway to pursue her dreams. She hasn't even had a drink in a whole 45 minutes and she plans to launch her all-white production of The Wiz...
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| Uhh, who's going to tell her? |
Will decides to brush past that and she thanks him for his great advice. The kids come in and ask if she told them yet. April announces that she bought them the auditorium and named it the April Rhodes Civic Pavillion. So now, they own the auditorium and can use it whenever they want. So, yay! Can they also stop pretending they're the super poor and underfunded glee club? Because damn, not a lot of schools have auditoriums period. We put on all our plays in the gymnasium. April and the kids put on a performance for him, Home from The Wiz and the episode ends.
So, the glee kids found a home, April may have found a home, and Finn and Kurt may have found a new home with their parents' dating. This episode fell kind of flat for me. The jokes aren't working as well because the humour involved is kind of...misogynist? Like the big joke is that girls are obsessed with looks and will do whatever to be pretty and lol look at this drunk chick letting herself be used by some old dude because she's money-obsessed. Chicks, am I right? I don't know, I think I might just be in the wrong place to watch this but I just get tired of this, especially knowing that this show is written by three men. To give them some credit, they tried. They tried to put a good message in the end about loving yourself but I don't think they fully understand how to develop a story like this and I do kind of side eye them for having Quinn saying her baby made her make better choices about her body. Getting pregnant does not automatically make you eat better, it's still a lot of work.
It feels very simplistic and as an excuse to get one of the kids to sing Beautiful. Don't get me wrong, I loved the performance and it's a great song with a great message but it feels very forced in and hollow. I looked past it back then because I thought well, it's a goofy show and they just wanted to put in a good message while still being a bit funny but honestly? This kind of set them on the path of thinking they can tackle really big issues that they really have no business tackling because they are lazy. Also, this episode gave me no Rachel and I miss her so hopefully, she returns to us in the next episode Bad Reputation.
re: the popularity thing--I'll just chime in to say that for me it wasn't a crisis about being popular/the coolest, but more the fact that I perceived myself to be completely hated and despised (I have no idea how true this actually was, in retrospect), and that was deeply painful to me. I felt, for a time, that I had no friends and was actively disliked. Things eventually got better as I found new people, but the stretch between when my friends from the previous year stopped talking to me to when I found my theater people was a really rough time.
ReplyDeleteOf course, this was more an issue for me in middle school than in high school, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
also I'm obsessed with the gif you made of Rachel and Jesse in food costumes
DeleteI totally get that. I was a mess in middle school. All of my past friends grew past me and then I felt lost and alone. I didn't really feel I belonged anywhere until I met some awesome people in grade 8 but the entirety of grade 7 was hell for me. It still wasn't that I wanted to be popular, I just wanted to belong somewhere and have people I could count on.
DeleteOnce I found people I clicked with, I was pretty satisfied. I didn't really pay the "popular" people much mind. In fact, though we weren't friends, the popular people were always pretty nice to me. The bitchy mean girls at my school were exactly that, the bitchy mean girls who hung with each other and were despised by everyone. They were not sought after or idolized at all. I guess that's the thing I don't get, that the movies seem to miss these dynamics. People are popular because a lot of people like them so wouldn't it stand to reason they're nice? I guess that's why I was never obsessed with becoming part of their group, I just viewed them as a group of friends rather than some personality-less blob that you can join at will even if you have nothing in common with them to boost your rep.
I don't think cliques worked the same way at my school but I think I was also very naïve and unobservant too so who knows?
And thank you, I love that gif and I needed some Rachel and Jesse content because I missed them this episode. Honestly, love her or hate her Rachel is the most interesting and fun character on the show. I like her precisely because she's not perfect but she has a passion and a drive that you can't help but root for, even if she's a bit annoying at times.
yeah, that's a really good point about mean girls vs popular girls. the most popular girl in my year was the most popular because she was genuinely kind and generous and without guile. you couldn't NOT like her.
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