Glee: The Voice of Reason and Reality

Glee has officially hooked me into liking every aspect of the show. It took some time, but here I am praising not only Glee's musical talent, which I don't think anyone has questioned... ever. I always had a few problems with some of the characters though, well, most of the characters except maybe Quinn and Puck. This episode, based around duets, really let us see sides of the characters we hadn't seen before. Brittany has feelings (apparently for both Santana {um. hot.} and Artie). Artie shows off his true emotions about that little joke he made with Tina about how "it still works," referring to his manhood even though he's paralyzed. Rachel's trying to be less self-centered, but luckily Finn's there to point out what everyone was thinking, which is that even though she wanted the new guy to win so he felt like a part of the team, she did it because she wanted to win nationals.

Anyway, but I digress from the point I really want to make which is: The interactions between Kurt, Finn, and Kurt's father, was easily the best conversation about homosexuality and how it affects people in high school, especially in a highly homophobic environment.

Last season, you might remember that Kurt had a huge crush on Finn. He pushed it so far that Finn freaked out on him. Now, then it made Finn seem like the bad guy in the situation, which, there was no excuse to constantly keep using the word "faggy." However this episode we finally got to see Finn's side of the story. He was being pushed too much by Kurt to be something he wasn't and Kurt wasn't listening when he said no. Well, Kurt found a new guy, the new character who is supposed to be like a mentee of Finn's. He was convinced the kid was gay and tried pushing for them to do a duet. Well, Sam, the kid whose sexuality I still question, is nice and agrees to do a duet with him even after getting slushied in the face and getting a talk from Finn where Finn makes quite the strong argument that while someone shouldn't hide who they are, they have to play by certain rules because we live in their world. He's referring to the fact that, sure, its cool that Kurt's a homo, but he needs to play by certain rules. It all boils (Get it? Cuz, like, to get things to boil, you need heat, sometimes even a flame... flamer... this conversation is about homos... ya. Now you get it.) down to the ideal world versus the actual world in which we live. Sure, it would be nice if any gay high school boy could ask another high school boy whether gay or straight without being ridiculed or worse for doing so, but that's not the world we live in. Maybe you crazy liberal west and east coasters might think that your progressive schools and liberal atmosphere don't reflect the show at all, but take a step into the Midwest's Bible Belt and you'll see a whole new atmosphere.

Later Kurt had a conversation with his dad. Kurt assumed his dad would be on his side, but much to his surprise his dad sided with Finn for pretty much the same reasons. He pointed out that Kurt was being too aggressive (obvi) and that, and here's what I felt was the best part of the entire episode (except for Mercedes and Santana's song), Kurt would have to be strong and be alone most of the time until he found someone as brave and strong as himself to be with, and Kurt shows that he can go it alone as he sings a duet exploring the masculine and feminine... by himself.

Glee has been the most progressive show on network television regarding the subject of sexuality. Not only is there a major gay character, there are characters whose sexuality is so obscure, we can't really place it into any category except sexually diverse. I'm talking about Brittany and more emphatically, Santana. It has always been hinted at that they may be wesbian wovers (Baby Mama anyone?), but they actually opened a scene with them on a bed about to get it on! So. Damn. Hot. Now, this doesn't really mean they're lesbians because they both sleep with guys on the show too, but they're not really bisexual either... they're just. Sexual.  I'm also going to predict that Sam, although flat out said he wasn't gay to Quinn, might just be bisexual (I mean, did you see the way he kept looking at Kurt in an almost adoring way while Kurt performed?), and that fact might have come out at the school he transferred from. I wouldn't mind seeing Quinn and Kurt get into a cat fight over him.

Ultimately, I used to hate Kurt. I thought his character was just going to be this stereotypical flamboyant homosexual whose story line would push for gay rights and be the ideal life for an unapologetic homosexual (in regards to his relentless advances onto Finn who clearly was not going to reciprocate any of those feelings) in high school. Thankfully they turned him into a realistic, reasonable character facing the real world.

This episode couldn't have come at a better time either with what's been happening in this country lately. With all the suicides and gay bashings going on, I hope that those who may be depressed or feeling worthless because of their sexuality watched this episode and feel a new passion for life knowing that their time for happiness is coming.

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Now, I was going to put links up to every song from Hulu, but they don't have clips up yet. So. The link to the episode is up top if you missed it and here are the times you should go to so you can watch the musical performances.
Rachel and Finn - Don't Go Breakin' My Heart: Elton John and Kiki Dee - 5:47

Mercedes and Santana - River Deep, Mountain High: Ike and Tina Turner - 15:29

Kurt and Kurt - Le Jazz Hot!: Victor Victoria - 20:52

Mike and Tina - Sing: A Chorus Line - 26:03 - This one displays Mike's humorous side with his inability to sing along with his talent for dancing

Quinn and Sam - Lucky: Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat - 33:29 (I totally called this one. Quinn's voice is so damn pretty in it too.)

Rachel and Kurt - Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy: Judy Garland and Barbara Streisand - 40:55