The Cutprice Guignol

Alright, my loves, there’s something I need to talk about, right here, up front. And that’s Landslide.

I can’t tell you how important this is to me (and not just because it introduced me to Fleetwood Mac). I’ve already written a little about Santana and Brittany’s romance plot in this season, but this – this might be the most impactful part of it to me. I remember seeing this for the first time, watching the whole thing with a lump in my throat that still makes an appearance even now, seeing the way Santana looked at Brittany and finding a little corner of myself I had tried to ignore there on the screen in front of me.

It’s such a heartfelt moment (and those are getting fewer and further between as the show goes on), played so beautifully by Naya Riviera, and it still feels so seminal to me to see a show take this love story so, so seriously. It’s not a joke, it’s not a sexualized act for men to consume, it’s a complex relationship between two women who love each other, and don’t know how to navigate that. It’s gorgeous, and nothing will dissuade me of that. This Landslide was an island in the midst of a whole lot of doubt, confusion, self-hatred, and fear for me, and I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s a hard whiplash from last week’s nonsense, and I’m so happy to see it.

Ugh! I’m not used to being that nice. Uh…I still hate Gwyneth Paltrow in this episode, can we talk about that? She’s brought in as a sex education teacher in this episode, and it’s as inappropriate as you would imagine from Glee, but what gets me the most is how sexless and beige her performance is. That Kiss number with Will? Wallpaper paste. She gives me nothing, which, for an episode about sizzling sexual chemistry, isn’t ideal. I cannot stand this romance plot between them, it feels so prescribed in order to give Will a love interest to counter Emma’s marriage with Carl, and I can’t believe I have to pretend to care about it for another week after this.

I do really dig Jayma Mays this week, though – I don’t think she’s always used particularly well by the show, with Emma bounced between various love interests who are determined to bully her out of having an anxiety disorder, but her fear of sex and relationship with Carl is one of the highlights of Sexy. Her adorably innocent version of Afternoon Delight (a fucking banger, by the way) is perfect, and the therapy storyline around her and Carl as she tries to navigate their relationship is actually pretty strong; I’ve come to enjoy John Stamos in this role a lot more on this rewatch, his care for and attraction to Emma bumping up against his frustration as they attempt to work out how, if at all, their marriage works.

Chris Colfer (freed from the chains of having to spew biphobic myths, at last) is so goddamn funny in this episode, as he and Blaine try to innovate a sexy performance to go up against the Nude Erections; watching Chris Colfer pull a variety of “pet bird trying to pass a particularly hard stool” faces is stupidly funny for me, however silly it is. There’s also some much-needed Burt/Kurt stuff in this episode, and I really can’t say enough good stuff about how the show handles Burt as a character – a straight man navigating what it means to be a parent to a gay child, and doing his level best to give Kurt everything he needs to handle love and sex with other men in the process. The writing and performances are just right, a little cringe and a little adorable all at once.

Sexy, despite the great big Gwyneth Paltrow-shaped hole in the middle of it, is a pretty fun episode, with an incredible performance at the centre of it to really lift it out of mediocrity. Anyway, I’m off to watch Landslide ninety times on repeat and cry; have a good weekend, everyone!

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(header image via Yideo)