Watching Glee Until It Gets Bad S2E4: Duets
by thethreepennyguignol
Duets: let’s do-et (does that scan? Probably not. I’m leaving it. I’m determined to make it work).
This week’s episode, Duets, is all about the double-hander; an exploration of chemistry between certain cast members, some old, some new, and some Sam Evans, much to my chagrin.
First, let’s talk about Santana this week. Now, I have made no attempt to hide the fact that this series is utterly biased, but I need to talk about the make-out scene with Brittany in this episode, because ladies, this was a moment in time for little closeted me. I can almost quote this scene line-for-line; I rewound it so many times and watched it over and over again, for Reasons I Did Not Entirely Understand at the time. It could almost pass as a throwaway Glee cutaway gag, but knowing what this turns into makes it a special moment for me – Santana’s coming out plot was one of the first times I’d ever seen a woman who loved women on TV in such a focal role, and this will always have a huge place in my heart because of that. Happy Pride Month, etc.
Additionally, Naya Riviera and Amber Riley have a duet this episode, of River Deep, Mountain High, and I implore you to listen to it again. It’s better than you remember, and I know you already think it’s amazing.
These two work so well together, their voices match, their energy is correct, the song choice is ideal; it’s a standout from the whole show, for me, and I genuinely punched the air when I realized it was in this episode. They ate, left no crumbs, bankrupted several local restaurant chains, all of it.
In fact, there are several really fun performances in this episode – I still find the earnest awfulness of Finn and Rachel’s duet incredibly funny, and honestly, what a treat it is to see Harry Shum Junior get a chance to step up to the plate with his duet of Sing; his physicality as a performer matches perfectly with this song, and it’s such a delightful little spotlight on one of the show’s most talented (and most prominent in the last Best Picture Oscar winner) performers.
There’s also Kurt’s duet with himself here, which I have…mixed feelings about. Not the performance itself, which I really love, but the plot that surrounds it. Glee, as I mentioned before in these recaps, has jettisoned itself from reality, so when it slaps Kurt on the wrist for thinking Sam (we’re getting there, I promise) might be gay, it doesn’t sit great with me, though Mike O’Malley lifts this plot out of insulting territory. I get it, Kurt hasn’t always been the most restrained when it comes to his crushes so far, but the predatory gay implications feel a bit weird, maybe because Chord Overstreet just gives me nothing to work with, and it’s hard to see what the characters are so invested in.
Yes, okay, let’s get to it – it’s Chord Overstreet bashing time. No, that’s not really fair – it’s Sam Evans bashing time. Sam is symbolic, for me, of Glee trying to appeal specifically to the audience they thought they had at the time, trying to create a little Beiber-esque pop star to sell music and convince a few more teen girls to part with their money to slap his poster on the wall or something. There are plenty of characters who fall into stereotypes in this show, but Sam is the one who feels outrightly cynical to me – hey, we’ve got a big teen girl fanbase, and what do teen girls like? Cute boys with floppy hair who sing with acoustic guitars! The show does, to an extent, try to muss him up a bit, with those Sean Connery impersonations and lampshading of his boy band looks, but it all feels like a lazy veneer of quirk over a character brought in to fill a very specific gap in the roster.
And Dianna Agron, bless her, is going down with him. The sinking feeling that hit me when I heard the first cutesy chords of Lucky by Jason fucking Mraz while Agron does a tight-lipped smile and swings her sensible skirt around nearly had me swallowed whole by the couch. There is virtually nothing interesting about this pairing, the first in a long line of shit plots Quinn gets stuck with for the next few seasons, and not even the chemistry between Overstreet and Agron to justify it.
While that’s a harsh note to leave this episode on, I do quite like Duets – the performances are some of the best of the season so far, and Brittany and Santana are starting to really take shape as the sapphic icons they always will be in my heart.
But – and I need you to hold hands with your nearest loved one or cat – I’m leaving this review on a jumpscare. That’s right – next week, it’s Rocky Horror Glee Show Time!
If you’d like to support my blog and get access to exclusive content, please consider supporting me on Patreon, or if you’re interested in my fiction work, check out my books!
(header image via Billboard)
The Cutprice Guignol 