Blaine's dark side

I admit, the first time I watched the performance of My Dark Side I wasn't thinking too much about the meaning of the lyrics or how they pertained to Blaine's situation particularly. I was too busy being excited over Blaine singing with the Warblers again (in his blazer!!!) and swooning over Warbler Jeff (who I affectionately refer to as Cutie-Blondie Warbler, and who I realize is far too young for 27 year-old me to be swooning over). The second time I watched it I began listening to lyrics more and decided I didn't think it quite fit. My sister's boyfriend summed it up when he asked, "Why is Blaine asking the Warblers to stay?" And I had to think about that. Why was he asking the Warblers to stay? They're the ones who are always trying to lure him back to Dalton. They're the ones who want him. Did he think they wouldn't like who he'd become during his time at McKinley? Did he think they wouldn't be his friend without his talent? Was he worried they would judge him for what he had done to Kurt? I didn't really get it.

It was until the third time I watched the performance that it clicked. Blaine wasn't singing to the Warblers. And he wasn't singing to New Directions. No, Blaine was singing to himself. The place he knows that isn't so pretty, that hardly anyone ever goes? That's McKinley. And he's asking himself if he's going to stay, even if it hurts. He went there to be with Kurt. That was his only reason for transferring. And so yes, everything McKinley hurts now that Kurt is gone; gone from the halls, gone from his life. Going back to Dalton would be running away. Running to a place where he can go back to LBKPRBW (Life Before Katy Perry Rocked Blaine's World) and pretend this horrible thing that he did never happened. He's not asking if the Warblers really love him or if New Directions ever really accepted him. He's asking himself for forgiveness.

I'm finding Blaine's cheating storyline to be very interestingly handled. Let's be for real, cheating is hardly untouched ground for Glee. If I am remembering correctly Quinn, Puck, Finn, Rachel, Tina, Brittany, Sam, and Mercedes have all cheated on their respective love people. Puck, Finn, Rachel, Mike, Santana, and Sam have all been the "other" in a cheating scenario. Most of these other cheating storylines took place over an episode. Why have we had four episodes in row that have dealt with either the act itself or the aftermath? What makes Blaine's experience any different? In my opinion, I find it interesting that he's the first person to take any kind of ownership or responsibility for what he did. Blaine is devastated and does nothing but blame and berate himself. He's tortured with the guilt of hurting Kurt. In contrast, in season 2 Tina almost gleefully told Artie she had cheated with Mike and was leaving for him, Rachel tried to excuse her behavior by comparing it to Finn's past with Santana, Sam started dating Santana before breaking up with Quinn for revenge, and Brittany (bless her) still probably has no idea she cheated on Artie. To be completely fair, Mercedes also took ownership of actions and told Shane immediately after cheating with Sam, but since her and Shane's relationship was something basically no one was interested in (partially because Shane had no personality whatsoever, not to mention dude couldn't act his way out of a paper bag), it didn't need more than a quick side arc over two episodes.

I'm interested to see where they take Blaine from this. He's had so little character development outside of his relationship with Kurt, that I'd like this to be the beginning of him really finding himself (as he mentions in the song!!) as a person and not part of a couple. Even though I maybe didn't get it right away (again, I'm blaming Cutie Blondie Warbler's adorableness) My Dark Side turned out to be a fairly brilliant song choice for Blaine and sets the stage nicely for things to come. 

In fact, for the first time in a while, I feel like every song this episode was expertly chosen to both fit the theme AND the characters singing. Sure, if I so choose I could read too much into the differences in song choices between the two male duos and the female duet (such as why were both boy songs about being heroes while the girl song was about needing a hero?), but instead I'm choosing to reinterpret Holding Out for a Hero as Marley not choosing between her Mega-Studs, but needing to accept herself, warts and all, and be her own hero (just like Blaine has to accept himself as someone who made a mistake and hurt someone he loved). Because in the end, if they keep going with her bulimia story, she really is the one who'll have to save herself.

And what can you do?

I started watching Alphas solely because I miss Mr. Vincent Nigel-Murray on Bones. He was my favorite squintern, and I seriously wept at his death two seasons ago. The kind of science-fiction of Alphas is not usually too much my thing, but I was scrolling through Netflix options the other day and came across it and decided to give it a try.

Let's be for real, Alphas main premise, people with unusual abilities, has been done before. I mean Heroes, anyone? But there is enough in its universe to make it compelling and not a poor knock-off like it could have become. I really enjoy the tenuous relationship the main Alpha teams has with the government. And I hope they explore more how conflicting it must be for the team to do what they do, seeing as mostly they're finding people just like them for the sole purpose of locking them away. Their own fear of the government turning on them and locking them away too is palpable in many episodes, coming to a head when their handlers incarcerated them all looking for a mole in the group. I hope they delve more into the main team's thought process on what makes them different from those they put away.

I do really enjoy how, unlike say Heroes, the abilities often seem rooted in science. As if a certain bodily mutation could make the ability possible. Bill's ability is triggered by his fight or flight response. Cameron's was compared to someone with perfect pitch. My only complaint about their abilities, at least as pertains to the five main team members, is that they are all cliches that match their character. The autistic boy is a virtual computer. The big black man is super strong. The hot girl can push you to do anything she wants. The all-American white boy has perfect aim. And the shy, overly sensitive girl is literally over sensitive. Wouldn't it have perhaps been more compelling to watch the geeky autistic boy bust out his super strength? To see the shy, socially awkward girl bend people to her will? I think people who are more incongruous, have more layers and conflicting personality traits and abilities are more interesting.

I have only just finished Season One, which ended with quite a reveal (literally: the alphas were revealed to the world on national TV much to the dismay of the government) and am looking forward to where this will take the team.

Smash!

I watched the first five or six episodes roughly around the time they aired, but then got distracted and put watching more on hold. I stopped right after The Workshop (which I think is my favorite episode after the finale), though part of the reason came from watching the promo for the next episode. I knew Karen was going to be singing that horrific Touch Me song, and everything I'd read about it said it was just disastrous and revolting and it's sometimes hard for me to watch something that I know is going to make me embarrassed for everyone involved. Like the horrific Touch Me song. Tom and Julia were just so obviously appalled and insulted and screaming at Derek and all Karen could do was sit there wrapped in a ridiculous sheet trapped in the bed/jail contraption. Like I said, hard to watch.

Even without watching, I'd been keeping somewhat abreast of the show. I knew of some of the bigger plot points, like getting rid of Michael as Joe DiMaggio and replacing Ivy with a super annoying and not super talented movie star in the  role of Marilyn, and was keeping up with the music as well (really the only reason to watch some musicals). Finally I decided it was time to wade back into the world of Smash...and promptly devoured it. Once I plowed through what I can only ever refer to as that horrific Touch Me song I was hooked and couldn't stop. I finished Bombshell around 1:15 this morning and am devastated that NBC is keeping season two on hold as a mid-season replacement.

So yes, as you can clearly see, I am definitely a fan of Smash. That's not to say that Smash doesn't have it's fair share of flaws. For me personally, the biggest issue is the constant pitting of Karen vs. Ivy. Clearly Katherine McPhee is talented. She's a lovely singer and a decent enough actress (despite what my sister constantly refers to as her "dead eyes") and a pretty girl, but there's nothing you can do to make me believe that her Karen possesses some kind of elusive "star quality" that Megan Hilty's Ivy lacks. Everything about Ivy's performance of Marilyn was superior: from her singing to her commitment to the overly enunciated breathy voice even down to her body shape. Like I said, Karen's a very pretty girl, but she's tall and slim and willowy. Marilyn was definitely not, and Ivy's more soft, rounded, and fleshy shape is much more the Marilyn ideal. For me, this point of Ivy's superiority was driven home the most in the finale episode during Karen's performance of I Never Met a Wolf Who Didn't Want to Howl. I wish I could find a youtube clip of the number so you could see what I mean. They intercut the number with a few clips of Ivy singing it oh so many episodes ago at Nick Jonas' birthday party (Lyle? Was that his character's name?), and it's clear that Ivy just so much more naturally embodied that combination of sweet innocence, sex bomb, and joy that Marilyn was able to contain. Karen was very much playing a part, whereas Ivy became Marilyn Monroe (which I suppose has a darker significance considering the way Ivy concluded the finale episode). I wish I could put a video of both performances here so you can see the difference I mean, but I can't find either so you'll just have to watch the whole show instead! Ivy sings her version in episode 4 The Cost of Art and Karen hers in the season one finale Bombshell.

Which brings me to something I simply LOVE about the show and that is the music. Sure, every once in a while when they randomly break out into real pop songs it can feel a little forced, but when it comes to the original songs, seriously I would so pay to go see this musical. I can take or leave some of the covers, but I've downloaded every song from Bombshell's playbook. And the fact that it comes and goes, like you'll hear the same song more than once adds an element of reality to the show, the fact that this is a musical that's still being built and rehearsed. You'll hear different people sing the songs and some lyric tweaks, and it's a realistic element that I find adds greatly to my level of enjoyment.

I'm very much looking forward to the next season. I know there's going to be a new show-runner, and with that some obvious changes (such as the exits of certain obnoxious characters that had the potential to be superbly slimy, but instead just became a nuisance), but I think that can only help Smash. There were some brilliant ideas that were entertained this season, but some definite kinks that need to be worked out too.

And so I'll leave you with one of my favorite numbers, where you get to see both Ivy (the blond in green) and Karen (the brunette in blue) in action. Neither of them are Marilyn at this point, only soloists in the chorus, but still super fun.

American Idol: Top 3

Joshua: I'd Rather Go Blind - Joshua is my favorite contestant this season. Let's make no bones about it, I'm hoping he's the winner (despite picking Phillip Phillips in the office pool). But I was kind of bored with this performance. I loved his outfit (though one of his backup singers needed to work out his t-shirt issues) and I LOVE when he busts out the old fashioned mic like he did back during Queen week, but the song itself was just okay.

Jessica: My All - I will be the first to admit that Jessica is not my favorite contestant. I think she's extremely vocally proficient, but majorly lacking in both emotion and stage presence which strongly detracts from most of her performances. So maybe I'm biased because I already don't like her, but am I listening to the same song as the judges? Because this was a hot mess. Did she even sing a single word? For real, girlfriend was straining on some of the high notes and mumbled her way through the low notes and threw so much vibrato into the song that it would be impossible for me to hum the tune back to you. And they praised it as the greatest thing ever? If you're going to be a judge maybe you should actually, you know, judge?

To be fair, whenever she gets off stage and starts talking I find her adorable. Why can't she have that much personality on stage?

Phillip: Beggin' - I really like this song. And I didn't hate Phillip singing it. He's made me crazy the past few weeks, singing stinker after stinker (Time of the Season anyone? Seriously, I was offended on behalf of the Zombies), but this was actually not that bad. Although Steven then did kill any good will I had towards Phillip by saying he could be the next Springsteen. Is he serious? Steven had better be seriously high right now, because attempting to compare Phillip with Bruce is just sacrilege.

Joshua: Imagine - I was slightly worried when I heard this was his song choice, just because David Archuleta had such a moment with song back in Season 7 (I was totally Team Cook, btw). But I didn't need to worry. I loved when he got down on his knee towards the end. I loved seeing JLo crying and singing along (I love it when they cry!). It was simple and beautiful. Though, does Steven know what the phrase "over the top" means? I don't think so...

Jessica: I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing - Really, this is the song you chose? Really? It was just so blah and trying to hard to have a moment and just eh. And she was wearing a pantsuit. A beige pantsuit, no less. Really?

Phillip: Disease - Holy crap. Phillips is wearing a color other than gray! Okay, it's just brown, but still. It's not gray! And...I am again not hating this. Partly because I love the hot blonde girl on sax, but I also just like the slow jam version of this song. I may or may not actually download this. Oh, and Randy's little bait and switch moment was douchey.

Joshua: No More Drama - Oh. Those shoulder pads are sparkly. I'm into it. I only wish his mic was equally sparkly. Oh. Oh! And then he took of the jacket. I LOVE IT WHEN HE TAKES OFF THE JACKET! Okay, he had a little trouble, it wasn't as smooth as When a Man Loves a Woman, but I don't care. Take the jacket off! Take it all off! Okay, or not. Let's remember this is a family show. But still. Woo woo!

I loved all the other contestants in the audience, especially Hollie next to that one giant girl (Shannon?) They were so into it! Too cute.

Jessica: I'll Be There - While it was definitely her best vocal of the night, in my opinion, I was still underwhelmed. It sounded to me like something that would play during the end credits of a movie. Like, I felt like I should have been exiting the theater while she was singing. I did like her outfit, though. Well, other than the super hein boots.

Phillip: We've Got Tonight - The song's only half over. I'm bored. He's in tune, hitting all the notes, but I'm bored. And sleepy.

Okay, I'm such a dork. I love the hometown visits. Though somebody's daddy better cry or it's just not worth it...

Joshua's Hometown Visit: First off, he's just adorable with his fear of flying. And I'm jealous of the crawfish boil. Yum.

Jessica's Hometown Visit: See, she's got so much personality when she's not on stage! Oh, and I loved her little brothers. Too cute.

Also, I used to live in San Diego and work in Chula Vista, so I spent most of her visit looking for places (and people) I recognize.

Phillip's Hometown Visit: Holy crap, and now he's in purple! Damn dude, color it up and I would totes vote for you! I mean, not really because a. I don't vote (except for that one time when I was at Adam Lambert's house, but how can you not vote for him when you're AT HIS HOUSE) and b. if I did I would vote for Joshua (and okay, my sister and I might have once). Oh, daddy's crying. And now Phillip's crying! I LOVE IT WHEN THEY CRY!!!!

Joshua FTW!

Glee: Props/Nationals

Things I Liked About Last Night's Glee

1. Coach Bieste's continuing storyline with Cooter: Having it take time for her to decide to leave was much more realistic than wrapping it up in one episode. I'm glad that this was something that took several episodes and we got to see her thought process, her justifications for staying and the reasons for her breaking point.

2. Brittany's throw-away line regarding her bisexuality: Bisexuals have not gotten the greatest rap on Glee (see Kurt and Santana's rants against Blaine's and Brittany's sexuality struggles from Season 2), so it's nice to remind everyone that someone actually is bisexual on the show. Yes, she's with Santana now (a couple I'm still not 100% on bored with, but that's a discussion for another time), but she really did love Artie, too.

3. Unique: Girlfriend was bitchin. Seriously, can I be her friend?

4. Coach Bieste and Puck: I think she may give Mr. Schue a run for his money on Teacher of the Year. Schue was way less douchey than he was last year, but he hasn't quite made it back to his Season 1 glory.

5. The redemption of Jesse St. James: And Carmen Thibedeaux remembering his audition from two years ago (I would seriously LOVE to hear Jesse St. James sing Giants in the Sky.)

6. Sue's character development: I really like what Sue has become. She's still ridiculous and destructive and outrageous to the point of being past offensive, but then there are moments when her humanity shines through (like when she hugged Beiste or when she took care of sick Mercedes). Her crazy is still all there, but it's more fun seeing her as an ambiguity rather than a straight villain. I like complexity.

7. Blaine and Kurt's Halloween costumes: I can never un-see Blaine as The Situation. I realize Kurt was in drag, but for me it was Blaine that was just hilarious. He's always so put together! My favorite Blaine moments are always the ones where he's a little weird or flustered.

My only real complaint: I wish the character switch had been a little longer. Everyone was so funny in the background doing their impressions of each other (and Finn and Puck were so sweet as Kurt and Blaine!). It would have been better to see more of it. Plus, I think Tina needed a little more time to see how hard it is to be Rachel, how much effort and work she puts into what she does, hoe much pressure everyone else puts on her, and how effortlessly she makes it look for her. They touched on that a little, but I think they needed to go into just a touch more.

All in all, this was one of the best two episodes of the whole season. Glee has a lot of flaws, but I just love it anyway. Yea Glee!