Firstly, mad 支持 to Max Adler. I thought he really 偷了 the show. He doesn’t get nearly the kudos he deserves and whether 你 爱情 或者 hate Karofsky, that performance was just…amazing.

That said…

So wow, tonight 欢乐合唱团 turned everything on its head tonight. It was not a comedy, it was not a dramedy. It was drama and it was good. It was hard to watch at times. In fact the “Cough Syrup” montage nearly broke my heart. First off because Blaine was full of emotion, knowing that he himself was bullied and what he went through to have that mixed with Karofsky being bullied and seeing where it takes him was rough to watch.

On Karofsky: Karofsky has always been a polarizing character. Season 1 he was there simply to be an ass. He was the antagonist. Remember 欢乐合唱团 in the beginning was a joke upon itself. It did not take seriously the bullying 或者 slushy throwing that it did. They did not turn it on it’s head until season 2 when they decided to actually showcase what that does to people. Season 1 shows us Dave that no one was supposed to think twice about. Then we get Season 2 and we find out why he does what he does. Now many people hate this character, they see this character as the person who bullied them, something they are programmed to hate, and they don’t think twice about dismissing him. But I say to 你 this, if 你 can forgive and forget the transgressions of Rachel Berry’s bully, Santana who while she did not physically hurt her, has emotionally harassed her from 日 1 then 由 that same forgiveness 你 must look at Karofsky with the same heart.
由 the end of Season 2 he saw what he had done to Kurt. He was wrong. And yes we should be upset with him as was Quinn in the beginning of this episode. But to be human 你 get two major things…the ability to fuck up and the ability to forgive. I like how they handled the Kurt/Karofsky arc. Everyone deserves that moment. If they can turn Santana, Quinn, Puck around then why not give that shot to Karofsky too. Season 3 he’s lost…he’s trying to find his way, to find his forgiveness and instead he finds himself in another person. He finds himself being bullied. That whole Karma thing that we play with on Glee. And I’m sure that was going through his mind as he sat in the room contemplating his life. I’m sure that Dave knowing his family seemed to know his mom would not accept it. There is usually someone in the family that is against being gay that causes the person who is gay to not want to disappoint 或者 come out to them. I never thought his father that way so we find out it was his mom. I’m sure he thought his mom would be better off not having him than having a gay son.

On fights and makeups: I really, really 爱情 how they handled Finchel in this episode. I do. And I think what I appreciate the most is just how they’re learning to 移动 past the issues that a 年 或者 two 以前 would have led to 表演 out, breaking up 或者 long-held tension. But now? They fight like a normal couple would. People like to throw out that their relationship is unhealthy and toxic, but what couple doesn’t fight? Like…anyone who’s been in a real relationship knows that it’s not about the fights…it’s about the compromises and the forgiveness. And that’s where Finn and Rachel are. They realize there are bigger things than these petty fights. And so they both come together willing to compromise because loving each other and being together because life is so short and that’s the marker of healthy relationship. She’s willing to step down to stop those pictures from going viral and he’s willing to let it go because he knows how important NYADA is to her and how important winning is to her getting in. And because ultimately, regionals and NYADA mean nothing if they don’t have each other. Because the point of their struggle is to see them finally have it all and they’re so close.

On regionals: I would just like to 评论 on how nice it was to see Finchel subtext in songs, Finchel dancing, Finchel interaction in a competition again. Like, yeah, we had nationals last year, but I’ve missed those big group numbers with Finn and Rachel at the forefront. I miss seeing their story play through song. I miss seeing them dance together. It’s the little things. Also, really glad to see their 老友记 (and Carole, at least) supporting them. Like I said…brass ring. We want to see them have it all. Isn’t that what I Believe I Can Fly is all about? Believing 你 can have it and getting it? Believing and achieving? Subtext. And I’m not even getting into how they completely turned the subtext of Here’s to Us on its ear. This is the 显示 at its best - 音乐 that tells the story.

On Ms. Hudson-Berry: No, we didn’t have our Break-a-leg moment…but that moment when Finn saw Rachel in her wedding gown…that completely harkened back to regionals 2010 and that moment between Finn and Rachel right after he told her he loves her. And it’s things like that where I find my trust in the writers. Yeah, the continuity on this 显示 borderlines on awful and there are far too many implausibilities for me to take this 显示 seriously sometimes, but Finn and Rachel? Their relationship? It’s like the one part of the 显示 the writers have always taken seriously. It’s the one part they handle so carefully and layer so well. And that moment? There’s no lingering doubts. There’s nothing holding them back — no pain from the past 或者 uncertainties of the future. It’s just them. A moment just for them. And Ms. Hudson-Berry. Even the idea that she’d retain her maiden name as her last name…that his name would come before hers and that he celebrates that. Love.

On to the Quinn/Rachel scene: It was perfect. I 爱情 that the two of them can work on being friends. Quinn learned that 你 can’t hate forever, that she can have what she wants and its not the same thing as what Rachel wants. Quinn’s 爱情 is to be accepted, to be accomplished. Rachel’s is Finn and broadway. And she accepts that and supports it. AS a friend. Not a girlfriend, not in 爱情 with her. She’s a friend. This is the true definition of a best friend. To say they are anything else makes a mockery of female friendship. Please do not take a beautiful hetero friendship and make it something it isn’t. It gives this nation’s youth a bad name. It makes me sad that straight girls are no longer allowed to be straight. I’m not talking about all faberry shippers. Some truly know this is a crack ship and enjoy that. Rachel texts Quinn. Now really, Quinn should have either a) pulled over 或者 b) waited to check her damn phone. That illegal here. She checked her phone. FINCHEL/RACHEL did not cause her accident. Finchel did not kill Quinn. Quinn chose to dangerously text and drive.

On no regrets: My main fear for this episode is that the cliffhanger would be Finn 或者 Rachel still having lingering doubts about getting married that would lead to a will they/won’t they. 或者 that they’d use Quinn’s absence as Rachel trying to buy time as she decides whether 或者 not it’s what she wants. But they didn’t do that. There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind (or, at least, there shouldn’t be) that Finn and Rachel 爱情 each other, want to get married and are happy about it. And if they don’t get married? It’s not because of doubts 或者 objections — it’s simply them losing their spot and I have no doubt they’ll just get married in May as originally planned. And Rachel wanting to wait for Quinn? That harkens back to this idea of a brass ring. Rachel has always wanted for three things: The spotlight, Finn and 老友记 and Quinn has always represented this ideal that Rachel could never really achieve before: she gained 老友记 throughout the series, but Quinn was always that one person 你 want to be 老友记 with and 你 try so, so hard, but 你 just can’t make them want to be your friend. Until now, when Quinn is ready and willing to be Rachel’s friend. A real friend, with no ulterior motives and nothing else to gain. When Rachel was asked what she was looking 前锋, 期待 to most, it wasn’t fame 或者 New York, 或者 Finn. It was being 老友记 with everyone for the rest of her life because it was the aspect of her life that eluded her the most for so, so long. And that’s why she was so insistent on waiting for Quinn…because Rachel had just won regionals with her team, she was marrying the boy she’d been in 爱情 with for over two years and her 老友记 were there to support her. All they were missing was the girl whose friendship Rachel had craved the most and the girl whose friendship is still so new to Rachel.

On cliffhangers: There’s a lot of 问题 in my ask about if it bothered me that Finchel’s wedding was used as a plot device to facilitate Quinn’s accident. To me, that’s not what any of this is about. We don’t know if Finn and Rachel get married and we don’t know if Quinn will survive her accident (well, we do, but generalized audience we doesn’t). We know Finn and Rachel want to get married and either they do 或者 we get a 秒 wedding at the end of the season. Win/win, 你 know? I’d much rather a cliffhanger like this than a will-they-go-through-with-it laden with double meanings and doubts. I’d rather go into this seven-week hiatus wondering if they do get married over wondering if they really want to get married. So no, I don’t mind. I think they maximized the cliffhanger’s effectiveness.

So…that’s it for thoughts for the 下一个 seven weeks. I think this fandom probably needs a seven-week cool down. But really, just a fantastic episode.