![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Gleecap: Wheels (S1E9)
Fast Forward Count: 0! (The Artie TMI reveal was a close call, but so quick it didn't leave me time to dive for the remote) Woot! Either the show is definitely relying on horrifyingly embarrassment less or I'm getting tougher!
Okay, so Sue's back to her normal evil-villain self, they need funds to get the bus needed so Artie can travel to competitions with them, Quinn is pestering Finn to get a job (and questioning his manhood and tweaking his guilt complex regarding – oh yeah – the baby that ISN'T EVEN HIS BECAUSE SHE IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES), and Quinn's parents haven't found out about her pregnancy yet. Somehow? I don't know. You should be looking into jobs yourself, sweetheart, considering all the time you've freed up by being off the cheerleading squad.
So the club shows an alarming lack of consideration about the bus predicament and Artie's feelings on the matter, and even puts him on the spot to force him to agree that funding the bus isn't really necessary and not good for the team, thereby eliminating any feelings of guilt that they might have otherwise had. Bullshit, dudes. Not cool at all. Go to the store, pick up a package of break-and-bake or a box mix and some frosting, and contribute to the development of diabetes and cavities in your classmates!
In other club news, the crew will be performing Wicked's ″Defying Gravity″ which excites me. The lead solo will, of course, go to Rachel, which dismays both Kurt and Mercedes, both of whom I would enjoy hearing from once and a while as well. Rachel is crushed by their lack of concern for her star potential and both M and K are crushed by the Schuester. Of course.
And then the Schue reveals is big plan: he's acquired wheelchairs (those are expensive, Schue! Why didn't you put that money towards the damn bus, your desperate plan to teach the club a lesson be damned) and everyone is going to have to take their turn experiencing a hint of what life is like for Artie (except for the fact that they can all look forward to getting out of the chair at the end, thereby making it a lesson in enduring 3 hours rather than appreciating the extra effort Artie has to go through just to survive in an abled world). Whatever, carry on gleeks.
Whoa, okay. So is Quinn actually attracted to Puck, at least to some degree? Because smashed eggs and destroyed home-ec rooms aside, there was definite flirting going on there. Hmmm, and I'd been thinking that it was really all due to poor-choices, loneliness, and booze. Hmmmm. And I wonder if walking into the middle of that is going to pluck any strings in Finn's somewhat thick skull.
Awwww, it's Kurt & Burt time! Kurt shares that he has Glee club woes, to which Burt responds, ″It's not about a guy, is it? Cuz I'm not ready to have that conversation.″ Oh Burt, just wait until season 2! Start preparing your responsibility speech now, dude. Anyways, I love that Burt immediately jumps to his son's defense without judgment (well, without judgment on anything other than Kurt's hair-product, at least). Upon learning that Kurt was denied the solo because it is traditionally sung by a girl, Burt replies that Kurt sings like a girl, ″but in a good way″ and the funny thing is, he meant that honestly. And then there is Kurt and his ennui. Oh Kurt, such teenage wangsty drama. Love it.
Oh hey! In the girl-on-the-wrestling-team flashback was that Zizes?
So Burt goes to Figgins regarding the solo and Will's discrimination and gets an agreement from will to hold auditions for the defying gravity part. Awesome, so we are setting up a competition between Rachel and Kurt, this should be a glorious fight to the death. Okay, so it would seem that we are now setting the stage for Britt's transformation into lovable idiot, yes? And Rachel – it's a lot harder to flounce in a wheelchair, isn't it? I hope we're all learning something from this.
Okay, so how did Will's valid point that McKinley needs more ramps at school entrances lead directly into Sue holding open auditions for the Cheerios. And no ramps. What?
Quinn, stop being a harpy. Especially in front of Puck, he's enough of an asshole already without more ammunition. Finn, stop being a moron and also grow a backbone. And get a job, all three of you! And will SOMEONE START FESSING UP THE TRUTH PLEASE? How long is this gonna take? And stop smirking, Puck!
Cheerio tryouts! Oh Sue. You are delightfully evil, as always. And was that another Zizes shot? Reporter kid has a name! (It's Jacob. I doubt we care much).
...
So either Sue is up to something or her grinch-like heart grew a few sizes in the space of a minute. I imagine we'll find out which is which soon. Will is right to be suspicious.
Oh dear, all is not well in Finn & Puck land. Is this the beginning of the end?
Well, so we find out about why Artie is in the wheelchair, followed very quickly by his revealing to Tina that, while he may not be able to use his legs, some things are still in fine working order. *ahem* Thanks for that, Artie. Also, is Tina's stutter improving? She got through almost that whole two-line stretch without it.
And then Burt gets an anonymous call from an asshole calling his son a fag. Nice. And Burt doesn't know how to handle it, and wishes Kurt's mom were around to help. Kurt looks like he wishes for the same. Burt does not want Kurt to miss out on something he loves but he also doesn't want Kurt hurt, either. And the world is a cruel place. Especially in Lima, Ohio where the assholes clearly reign with impunity.
Rachel continues to be self-aware of how annoying she is, but can't seem to muster the self-control to, you know, stop it. To be fair, I can't either, so I can see how making big behavioral changes like that are hard. I just... don't see her trying much, either.
And now Quinn's back, stressed about the financial pressures of pregnancy (and likely the pressure of a major change in school status, worry about life in general, and fear about her parents' reaction to the eventual pregnancy reveal that I still don't know how they haven't discovered yet. Oh, and maybe worry that Finn will discover the truth, too) and making ultimatums to Finn, who still hasn't gotten a job. Are we still doing this? You are all annoying me right now, okay? Go away. This episode is nothing but Quinn character assassination (what little of it she has). Only now Rachel, who was an onlooker to this whole exchange, is looking at her wheelchair speculatively. What? Are you going to sell it, Rach?
What did Puck do to the cupcakes? OH YOU SHIT! And what a TERRIBLE story! A terribly hilarious story. A shark severed your spinal cord? *groan* And did you bother to tell Quinn not to eat the cupcakes? I mean, it's likely too early in the pregnancy for the marijuana to show up in the kid's meconium, but still.
And now Sue is training with her newest Cheerio, a student with Down syndrome. While still being herself, it's closer to being Sue-lite than actual Sue-zilla. I am intrigued. Well, no, not really, but still.
Time for the diva-off! Kurt's up first. Wow, he sounds pretty damn good, I have to say. Okay, so they are layering the two tryouts together. Lea sounds good too, really good. Tough choice, though Kurt looks a little nauseated, doesn't he?. KURT DID THAT ON PURPOSE! He could totally hit that note! Dude, did you really? Argh.
And now Puck has stolen from the cupcake bus fund to help Quinn pay the baby bills. They bond and flirt and Quinn tells him that she doesn't believe him to be a Lima loser. Awww. Heartwarming. Other than the stealing money from the handicapable bus fund part. And then Finn shows up and Puck shoves the money down his pants. Riiiiiight.
Rachel has apparently helped Finn get a job. He'll have to remain in his wheelchair for the duration since she used the threat of a lawsuit to get him said job, but hey, in this economy?
And now that Puck's pot cupcakes have garnered them $1200, they have the money for the bus! Only, instead, Artie would like to use the money for something with a little more lasting an impact, and would prefer to devote their earnings to the construction of a handicapped ramp in the school's auditorium. Rock on, Artie.
And then Figgins drops the bomb that Sue has forked over a check for three new handi-ramps so the club can use the money for the bus after all. Will thinks Sue's erratic behavior of late is due to a brain tumor.
Instead, we discover that Sue has a sister with special needs living in a group home of sorts that she feels like she doesn't visit enough. And so Sue brings her sister a pompom, smiles in a completely legit and honest way, and reads her a story. I... Okay, Sue. You surprise me once again. (I get that this is the writers choosing a convenient outlet for their episode's moral and impact and all that hand-wavey jazz, and that nothing in Sue's character in the past would suggest that she has much of a heart, etc etc etc, but I'm still allowed to be touched, alright. Bite me.)
And then Artie takes Tina out on a wheelchair racing date and her stutter is not apparent and she kisses him. Oh, okay. So Tina has been faking her stutter. And Artie is hurt and betrayed and wheels away from her.
While yes, I agree that faking her stutter isn't cool. And to Artie, who has been the butt of jokes and discrimination and all the shit that town and the world in general heaps upon him, to fake a disability and suffer those consequences needlessly when he cannot just... stop when he gets tired of it the way Tina can, is a tremendous let down and insult. On the other hand? Tina was so cripplingly shy and overwhelmed by social anxiety that she faked a stutter for years to avoid speaking to others. This is not just someone who wanted to have a joke or laugh at another's expense. That is a legitimate problem. Just not one with an obvious physical sign.
Basically, I think it sucks for everyone.
Damn. Is anyone in this club going to actually get together and stay that way? All their relationships are just of the hookup-of-the-week variety.
And now its time for more Kurt & Burt time (which is quickly becoming my favorite part of this show)! Kurt admits to Burt that he blew the competition on purpose and Burt is upset because he didn't stick his neck out there for Kurt to deliberately toss his shot. But seeing his dad do that for him and then suffer afterwards due to the terrible treatment of their peers showed Kurt that the point is that Burt would have suffered through any of the mistreatment (that Kurt is now used to himself) in order to stand up for his son. And that means a hell of a lot more to Kurt than a solo. And since Burt was willing to stand up to protect Kurt, Kurt wants to do the same for his dad and try and protect him from the shitstorm of discrimination that would be sure to fly his way were his son to stand up in front of an audience and sing a girl's song that included an impressively high note. Burt looks like he is about to cry.
Was Kurt's mother independently wealthy? Because Kurt has an impressive wardrobe for a kid whose dad is the sole wage earner with a tire shop in a cow town. And the earlier episode said that his dad had bought him a shiny Lincoln Navigator (or something) as a bribe. I am going to go ahead and assume that was show inconsistency/convenient retcon in favor of tweaking your characters to meet your story needs.
Oh my god. After that awesome scene of awesome they are now doing their wheelchair performance. To ″Rollin' on the River.″ Really. Oh my god, show. Wtf? Puck has the most adorable goofy smile in one of the shots though. So that's kinda cute. And it features someone other than Finn and Rachel on point.
Okay, so Sue's back to her normal evil-villain self, they need funds to get the bus needed so Artie can travel to competitions with them, Quinn is pestering Finn to get a job (and questioning his manhood and tweaking his guilt complex regarding – oh yeah – the baby that ISN'T EVEN HIS BECAUSE SHE IS A LYING LIAR WHO LIES), and Quinn's parents haven't found out about her pregnancy yet. Somehow? I don't know. You should be looking into jobs yourself, sweetheart, considering all the time you've freed up by being off the cheerleading squad.
So the club shows an alarming lack of consideration about the bus predicament and Artie's feelings on the matter, and even puts him on the spot to force him to agree that funding the bus isn't really necessary and not good for the team, thereby eliminating any feelings of guilt that they might have otherwise had. Bullshit, dudes. Not cool at all. Go to the store, pick up a package of break-and-bake or a box mix and some frosting, and contribute to the development of diabetes and cavities in your classmates!
In other club news, the crew will be performing Wicked's ″Defying Gravity″ which excites me. The lead solo will, of course, go to Rachel, which dismays both Kurt and Mercedes, both of whom I would enjoy hearing from once and a while as well. Rachel is crushed by their lack of concern for her star potential and both M and K are crushed by the Schuester. Of course.
And then the Schue reveals is big plan: he's acquired wheelchairs (those are expensive, Schue! Why didn't you put that money towards the damn bus, your desperate plan to teach the club a lesson be damned) and everyone is going to have to take their turn experiencing a hint of what life is like for Artie (except for the fact that they can all look forward to getting out of the chair at the end, thereby making it a lesson in enduring 3 hours rather than appreciating the extra effort Artie has to go through just to survive in an abled world). Whatever, carry on gleeks.
Whoa, okay. So is Quinn actually attracted to Puck, at least to some degree? Because smashed eggs and destroyed home-ec rooms aside, there was definite flirting going on there. Hmmm, and I'd been thinking that it was really all due to poor-choices, loneliness, and booze. Hmmmm. And I wonder if walking into the middle of that is going to pluck any strings in Finn's somewhat thick skull.
Awwww, it's Kurt & Burt time! Kurt shares that he has Glee club woes, to which Burt responds, ″It's not about a guy, is it? Cuz I'm not ready to have that conversation.″ Oh Burt, just wait until season 2! Start preparing your responsibility speech now, dude. Anyways, I love that Burt immediately jumps to his son's defense without judgment (well, without judgment on anything other than Kurt's hair-product, at least). Upon learning that Kurt was denied the solo because it is traditionally sung by a girl, Burt replies that Kurt sings like a girl, ″but in a good way″ and the funny thing is, he meant that honestly. And then there is Kurt and his ennui. Oh Kurt, such teenage wangsty drama. Love it.
Oh hey! In the girl-on-the-wrestling-team flashback was that Zizes?
So Burt goes to Figgins regarding the solo and Will's discrimination and gets an agreement from will to hold auditions for the defying gravity part. Awesome, so we are setting up a competition between Rachel and Kurt, this should be a glorious fight to the death. Okay, so it would seem that we are now setting the stage for Britt's transformation into lovable idiot, yes? And Rachel – it's a lot harder to flounce in a wheelchair, isn't it? I hope we're all learning something from this.
Okay, so how did Will's valid point that McKinley needs more ramps at school entrances lead directly into Sue holding open auditions for the Cheerios. And no ramps. What?
Quinn, stop being a harpy. Especially in front of Puck, he's enough of an asshole already without more ammunition. Finn, stop being a moron and also grow a backbone. And get a job, all three of you! And will SOMEONE START FESSING UP THE TRUTH PLEASE? How long is this gonna take? And stop smirking, Puck!
Cheerio tryouts! Oh Sue. You are delightfully evil, as always. And was that another Zizes shot? Reporter kid has a name! (It's Jacob. I doubt we care much).
...
So either Sue is up to something or her grinch-like heart grew a few sizes in the space of a minute. I imagine we'll find out which is which soon. Will is right to be suspicious.
Oh dear, all is not well in Finn & Puck land. Is this the beginning of the end?
Well, so we find out about why Artie is in the wheelchair, followed very quickly by his revealing to Tina that, while he may not be able to use his legs, some things are still in fine working order. *ahem* Thanks for that, Artie. Also, is Tina's stutter improving? She got through almost that whole two-line stretch without it.
And then Burt gets an anonymous call from an asshole calling his son a fag. Nice. And Burt doesn't know how to handle it, and wishes Kurt's mom were around to help. Kurt looks like he wishes for the same. Burt does not want Kurt to miss out on something he loves but he also doesn't want Kurt hurt, either. And the world is a cruel place. Especially in Lima, Ohio where the assholes clearly reign with impunity.
Rachel continues to be self-aware of how annoying she is, but can't seem to muster the self-control to, you know, stop it. To be fair, I can't either, so I can see how making big behavioral changes like that are hard. I just... don't see her trying much, either.
And now Quinn's back, stressed about the financial pressures of pregnancy (and likely the pressure of a major change in school status, worry about life in general, and fear about her parents' reaction to the eventual pregnancy reveal that I still don't know how they haven't discovered yet. Oh, and maybe worry that Finn will discover the truth, too) and making ultimatums to Finn, who still hasn't gotten a job. Are we still doing this? You are all annoying me right now, okay? Go away. This episode is nothing but Quinn character assassination (what little of it she has). Only now Rachel, who was an onlooker to this whole exchange, is looking at her wheelchair speculatively. What? Are you going to sell it, Rach?
What did Puck do to the cupcakes? OH YOU SHIT! And what a TERRIBLE story! A terribly hilarious story. A shark severed your spinal cord? *groan* And did you bother to tell Quinn not to eat the cupcakes? I mean, it's likely too early in the pregnancy for the marijuana to show up in the kid's meconium, but still.
And now Sue is training with her newest Cheerio, a student with Down syndrome. While still being herself, it's closer to being Sue-lite than actual Sue-zilla. I am intrigued. Well, no, not really, but still.
Time for the diva-off! Kurt's up first. Wow, he sounds pretty damn good, I have to say. Okay, so they are layering the two tryouts together. Lea sounds good too, really good. Tough choice, though Kurt looks a little nauseated, doesn't he?. KURT DID THAT ON PURPOSE! He could totally hit that note! Dude, did you really? Argh.
And now Puck has stolen from the cupcake bus fund to help Quinn pay the baby bills. They bond and flirt and Quinn tells him that she doesn't believe him to be a Lima loser. Awww. Heartwarming. Other than the stealing money from the handicapable bus fund part. And then Finn shows up and Puck shoves the money down his pants. Riiiiiight.
Rachel has apparently helped Finn get a job. He'll have to remain in his wheelchair for the duration since she used the threat of a lawsuit to get him said job, but hey, in this economy?
And now that Puck's pot cupcakes have garnered them $1200, they have the money for the bus! Only, instead, Artie would like to use the money for something with a little more lasting an impact, and would prefer to devote their earnings to the construction of a handicapped ramp in the school's auditorium. Rock on, Artie.
And then Figgins drops the bomb that Sue has forked over a check for three new handi-ramps so the club can use the money for the bus after all. Will thinks Sue's erratic behavior of late is due to a brain tumor.
Instead, we discover that Sue has a sister with special needs living in a group home of sorts that she feels like she doesn't visit enough. And so Sue brings her sister a pompom, smiles in a completely legit and honest way, and reads her a story. I... Okay, Sue. You surprise me once again. (I get that this is the writers choosing a convenient outlet for their episode's moral and impact and all that hand-wavey jazz, and that nothing in Sue's character in the past would suggest that she has much of a heart, etc etc etc, but I'm still allowed to be touched, alright. Bite me.)
And then Artie takes Tina out on a wheelchair racing date and her stutter is not apparent and she kisses him. Oh, okay. So Tina has been faking her stutter. And Artie is hurt and betrayed and wheels away from her.
While yes, I agree that faking her stutter isn't cool. And to Artie, who has been the butt of jokes and discrimination and all the shit that town and the world in general heaps upon him, to fake a disability and suffer those consequences needlessly when he cannot just... stop when he gets tired of it the way Tina can, is a tremendous let down and insult. On the other hand? Tina was so cripplingly shy and overwhelmed by social anxiety that she faked a stutter for years to avoid speaking to others. This is not just someone who wanted to have a joke or laugh at another's expense. That is a legitimate problem. Just not one with an obvious physical sign.
Basically, I think it sucks for everyone.
Damn. Is anyone in this club going to actually get together and stay that way? All their relationships are just of the hookup-of-the-week variety.
And now its time for more Kurt & Burt time (which is quickly becoming my favorite part of this show)! Kurt admits to Burt that he blew the competition on purpose and Burt is upset because he didn't stick his neck out there for Kurt to deliberately toss his shot. But seeing his dad do that for him and then suffer afterwards due to the terrible treatment of their peers showed Kurt that the point is that Burt would have suffered through any of the mistreatment (that Kurt is now used to himself) in order to stand up for his son. And that means a hell of a lot more to Kurt than a solo. And since Burt was willing to stand up to protect Kurt, Kurt wants to do the same for his dad and try and protect him from the shitstorm of discrimination that would be sure to fly his way were his son to stand up in front of an audience and sing a girl's song that included an impressively high note. Burt looks like he is about to cry.
Was Kurt's mother independently wealthy? Because Kurt has an impressive wardrobe for a kid whose dad is the sole wage earner with a tire shop in a cow town. And the earlier episode said that his dad had bought him a shiny Lincoln Navigator (or something) as a bribe. I am going to go ahead and assume that was show inconsistency/convenient retcon in favor of tweaking your characters to meet your story needs.
Oh my god. After that awesome scene of awesome they are now doing their wheelchair performance. To ″Rollin' on the River.″ Really. Oh my god, show. Wtf? Puck has the most adorable goofy smile in one of the shots though. So that's kinda cute. And it features someone other than Finn and Rachel on point.