“Glee” resumes in four days (YEA!) so I better finish up the analysis of “Never Been Kissed” and write the one for “Special Education.”
Storyline B: Beiste and Mr. Schue
Sigh. I know why I’ve been dragging my feet on writing this part. I just hate to say I didn’t like it, but there it is. I didn’t like it. I really wanted to like it. I wanted it to be sweet and tug at my heart. But it just made me uncomfortable. It felt smarmy. Inappropriate. The hot teacher giving the unattractive female football coach a pity kiss. And the boys talking to Beiste before their mash-up performance was even more cringe-worthy, if that’s possible. “You’re so pretty when you smile,” Puck says. C’mon, Puck would seriously say that to her? Only if he wanted something, or if he was trying to get out of doing something. The hug at the end was cute, but that was about it.
Trust me, I’ve been an unattractive girl all my life. We know who and what we are. And we’re not going to believe it when the hunk tells us we’re pretty, or special, or whatever. We’re going to know that someone put him up to it, either with threats, or promises, or on a dare. Or just because he feels sorry for us. But we know he doesn’t feel it.
The only way the scene with Schue and Beiste was digestible to me was when I reasoned it out as maybe Will gave her the kiss so she could get past the “this has never happened to me before” phase. Meaning, Beiste was stopping herself from even looking for a relationship because she felt like a man would be freaked out / turned off by the knowledge that she had never even kissed a guy. So Will kissing her was like saying to her, “Okay, you’ve had your first kiss now. You’re past that hurdle. Now you can feel more confident about putting yourself out there.”
Storyline C: Artie and Puck
Three cheers for this new friendship! Fantastic! Unfortunately I can’t come up with a good mash-up name for Artie and Puck. Auck? Partie or Tuck won’t work. Anyway, I think they are super together. One of my favorite moments in the episode was when Puck was in Figgins’ office, yelling that no one cares about him, and as he runs out and up the stairs, Artie rolls by. Puck is a bully whose threatening façade stems from an inner vulnerability. He wants someone to understand him and care about what happens to him. Artie is going to be one of those people. He is looking beyond the “bad boy” antics and seeing Puck’s potential, to be a good student and a nice guy. And this might cause Puck to see past the wheelchair and Artie’s nerdy clothes, and discover a guy he could actually be buds with.
One thing is for sure, Artie and Puck need more duets! “One Love/People Get Ready” was terrific! I didn’t totally love the reggae, but their voices sounded amazing together. As far as the scene goes, Puck’s bravado meshed with Artie’s uncertainty as the other students filled the empty guitar case with dollar bills was on point for both characters. And the “cap” bit was brilliant!! When Puck took the hat off the guy’s head and threw it to Artie,that was a reference to where the term “handicapped” was thought to have originated. The myth has been perpetuated for years that the term “handicapped” stemmed from the “cap in hand” maneuver used by street beggars for centuries. In actuality, the word “handicapped” evolved from a betting game called “hand in cap.” Sounds similar, but the origin of the word comes from quite a different source. Check out snopes.com for more information if you’re interested.
gleekette
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