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eurosong · 3 years

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Undo my ESC '21 (semi-final two)

Good afternoon folks, and welcome to the second part of Undo my ESC – my annual quest to make the year’s Eurovision better (at least, for me xD) by making a feasible change in each country – it could be something as small as altering a lyric or a staging detail, or as big as a different artist entirely winning the NF. Semi-final one was here so let's jump straight into SF2!

🇸🇲 San Marino: We're thrown into the deep end here with a fan fav that doesn't do at all for me. I'm one of maybe 5 people on the planet who prefers Freaky by far, I guess? I'm happy for Senhit to be getting so much love and for the diminutive serene republic to finally have a shot at a good result - but I'm not so keen on the way it's been done. There's a bit of cognitive dissonance for me because my favourite thing about Adrenalina is Flo Rida's rap, but I don't like the idea of bringing in famed American artists like "ringers" to elevate a song above one with "only" local talent. I would be so tempted to give the rap part to local artist IROL instead to spit some hot bars in Italian.

🇪🇪 Estonia: I had hope this year, I really did, for my era of absolutely adoring Estonia at ESC to be revived after 4 painful years. There were so many good songs at this year's Eesti Laul, like those of Ivo Linna, Egert, Gram of fun, Heleza - but ultimately, my huge favourite was, as expected, Jüri Pootsmann. Anyone who followed this blog back in 2016 knows how much I adore Jüri and was desperate to see him get a redemption arc at ESC itself. Magus melanhoolia was one of the best songs of the season for me and one of the best stagings. As much as I prefer '20 artists to get their shot in '21, problematic Uku with his toxic ex vibes song will have to step aside and let the Jüri renaissance happen here.

🇨🇿 Czechia: I really dig Benny Cristo - he has personality, presence and his own enjoyable style. At first I was kinda disappointed with Omaga because I was expecting something more in the vein of Kemama, with more pronounced Afrobeat influences. But it has grown on me a lot too. My change? Add more Czech than just one blink-and-you-miss-it line, mate! (Article continues below)

🇬🇷 Greece: I see this being talked up as potential televote top 3 and I just don't get it. Maybe it's the way the chorus rhymes dance with itself three times (and uses the term rockin' romance unironically); maybe it's the way that there are better 80s-inspired songs both in ESC and many fallen tributes in the NF season... it just leaves me cold. I actually preferred Supergirl and my change would be for Stefania to bring something with some actual Greek flair.

🇦🇹 Austria: I’ll echo what I said last year about Österreich – how did they go from Conchita to a guy who wished he wouldn’t have gay kids like this? I find both of this guy's songs insipid in different ways and I would invite Pænda back instead to avenge her getting robbed with the beautiful Limits. Or give a second shot at glory to the incredible Cesár!

🇵🇱 Poland: Unpopular opinion, but I absolutely love The Ride, and I feel bad for Alicja, but I much prefer it to Empires. What started as an ironic fondness for Rafał's cringy uncle vibes ended up being genuine appreciation - it's one of the few 80s-inspired songs that sound like they actually could have come out of that decade rather than like modern pastiches. And Raf actually does have an awkward charisma. My change - insert some Polish! Poland does so well with natural sounding bilingual efforts in JESC, they should bring it to the main contest too!

🇲🇩 Moldova: I was lowkey prepared to be disappointed by Moldova - I actually enjoyed Prison a lot and the news that they were going in a completely different direction didn't sit so well with me. And yet, I also love Sugar. Natalia's power! My changes: get rid of that weird scene with literally egg on her face - too on the nose for me. And incorporate a bit of the stellar Russian translation, Tuz bubi, because I'm always going to be advocating for more linguistic diversity xD

🇮🇸 Iceland: Daði Freyr can literally do no wrong with me. Whilst it doesn't have the same intense extra-fandom hype that Think about things did, I think I like Ten years even more. Nothing to change here.

🇷🇸 Serbia: It's no secret that Hurricane were far from my favourites at Beovizija 20, and that I find this a downgrade for Sanja compared to her powerful '16 song. And yet... Hasta la vista grew on me a lot, and so has Loco loco. It's something that is definitely scratching an itch at this year's ESC and the burst of anarchic energy it'll provide will be amazing. I am seriously tempted to change to the acoustic version, though, which has all the attitude of the original but is more beautiful for me and lets the girls' voices shine more.

🇬🇪 Georgia: Georgia keeps serving acquired tastes, and as a patron saint of marginal genres and I love them for that. This year, they've gone for something that even many fans of Tornike find hard to swallow - gone is the roaring rock of last year, replaced with a much more contemplative, soft effort that reminds me a little of Lou Reed. I enjoy both songs, but I can't deny preferring 2020. At the same time, I admire the chutzpah required to send something so different. I just wish there could be a moment to properly showcase T's powerhouse vocals.

🇦🇱 Albania: It was an odd Festival i këngës this year, outdoors in the freezing cold and without the orchestra that makes the songs soar so much more for me. Karma is a perfectly respectable winner, albeit one that lacks the immediacy and rawness of Shaj, Ktheju tokës and Mall. In my ideal alternate reälity, Arilena Ara would have been invited back. She'd bring a song as beautiful as Shaj - and not do a revamp into English that removes its edge this time.

🇵🇹 Portugal: 2015-2020 was a full on Portugal stan era for me. I want to believe that this year is an aberration and that in 2022, our lusitanian neighbours will produce the goods once again. Because ending a colossal streak of not sending songs that don't include Portuguese for this? I am baffled. I wanted the anthemic Joana do mar, produced beautifully by Luísa Sobral, or the timeless Contramão, which sounds like it escaped a Nouvelle Vague soundtrack. Saudade, Por um triz or a number of others would have been grand too.

🇧🇬 Bulgaria: I wasn't expecting much from Bulgaria - I really didn't and don't like TGS and the majority of songs in Victoria's NF-but-not-really aren't my cup of tea. I was happy she got her second chance, but resigned to not liking the song much that would get picked. And then, my fav, which was last in many community ratings, ended up being her pick. I adore GUIGO and believe it has the possibility to do very, very well at Rotterdam and be one of the 'moments' of the evening.

🇫🇮 Finland: CRIMINAL how YLE treated Aksel - it felt like he wasn't the defending champion, and that Erika Vikman had won the previous year. They also - I believe, deliberately - split his vote by making his just one of a number of ballads, so of course what stood out most were the two decidedly non-ballady songs. Finland only two years ago had a single-artist UMK. They could and should have brought it back for Aksel. I'd hope Hurt would win it, because that song is stunning.

🇱🇻 Latvia: I was, and am, delighted that Latvia stuck with Samanta Tina. The lady lives and breathes ESC, even wrote a university thesis about it, and if she tried so many times, finally won and then DIDN'T get to go to ESC, I would have gone to LTV headquarters personally to remonstrate. I really like both her songs. The moon is rising is poised, powerful and like nothing else this year. The only thing I'd change is adding some Latvian because it's a gorgeous language and we've been waiting for ages to hear it again.

🇨🇭 Switzerland: Gjon's song is once again not really my cup of tea, or tears - but I enjoy it better than last year's and I'm glad he's back. Highkey wish it did include Albanian or Romansch like confused commenters last year thought it did.

🇩🇰 Denmark: There is literally no excuse for Denmark's treatment of Ben & Tan. I'm not even a big fan of their music at all, out to not even allow them to compete in DMGP to defend their win with Iron heart? Even though there are songs that competed in DMGP that I prefer a lot, most notably Står lige her, I would probably have let them have a proper second chance.

And the automatic qualifiers voting in this semi -

🇫🇷 France: For me, France had an absolutely enthralling, sincere, perfectly Gallic entry that hit me so hard in the feels. And whilst I respect Voilà, no, that wasn't it. It was Pourvu qu'on m'aime, easily one of the best songs I heard all year inside NFs or out. I find Voilà a little too mannered and affected, whilst PQM is a shot straight from Juliette's heart into mine. In my dream, it'd have won CVQD and be receiving the same love that Voilà is right now.

🇪🇸 Spain: Whilst it is getting next to no love in the fandom and seems quite forgotten, I find Voy a quedarme one of the best songs sent from this country in several years - and I say that having preferred Memoria. I am proud of Blas and love that he had a hand in writing this song. My change? He said recently that the staging in Rotterdam won't be inspired by the poignant music video despite wanting it to be - I would incorporate elements from it in the live.

🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Frankly, I think almost all the Big 5+1 brought it this year, with the notable exception of Germany. Embers is the banger that I never thought was coming from James Newman, and it's been one of the biggest earworms of the season. I wouldn't change anything about it - I'd just ensure that the staging replicated the energy of the video as much as possible!

#eurovision #esc 2021 #opinion #eurovision song contest #eurovision 2021

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celestialholz · 4 years

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So, let’s talk about The Folly of Jephthah...

Spoiler-y review ahead, friends! Under a cut accordingly. (Spoiler, but not one you need to be saved from: bloody LOVED IT. <3)

Okay, so unpopular opinion: last year’s Flambeau ep did nothing for me. As much as I love Felicia and am always happy to see her return (although this is the first thing I’ve seen from this year’s series, I’m sure she’s a joy this time round too), I felt balancing the episode between her and Flambeau just didn’t work, which is a shame because the actual episode plot was great. He got half the screentime, very little of his normally electric chemistry with FB, and it felt like an absolute waste of the brilliance that is John Light. So beyond anything else, I was desperately hoping that series eight would bring back all of the above; that he’d grow, both as a character and in his acquaintance with the good Father, which is what I want from a Flambeau episode, and that we’d get to see Felicia shine in her own right in a different tale. Now, probably worth mentioning that I ship Flambeau and the Father to the moon and back (#geniushusbands), but that really wasn’t why the episode didn’t work. It didn’t work because neither of them got the time they deserved, and instead became one another’s plot, which is doing a severe disservice to both - they’re strong characters who can more than carry an episode alone. You’ll find no slander from me, Felicia/Flambeau pals - you’re all super valid. Personal preference alone. :)

... But I think perhaps the BBC felt the same way, at least about the time balance, because what we got was an incredible return to form for my favourite Frenchman that isn’t Jean-Luc Picard. We managed to firmly reestablish the wonderful friendship/fairly profound gay overtones of him and FB, at the same time as watching him actually become something of a dad. Allow me to elaborate on why this was so damn amazing...

a) Instant exposition. We’re immediately in on Flambeau, all the reasons why we love him condensed in two or three minutes - flirting, charm, manipulation, theft. Let’s go. THIS is what we were missing last year already.

b) THE CHEMISTRY. IT’S RETURNED. I LOVE IT. I’m obviously a touch biased here, but I’ve never met a Father Brown fan who doesn’t love the dynamic between these two, whether it’s seen platonically, in a familial sense, or romantically. We only get to see this glory once a year, and it came back in all its fully-fledged chaos. Mark and John are absolutely fantastic together, truly. <3 We start with this lovely confessional scene (the GROWTH from The Blue Cross conversation in the same place is just moving, honestly - we need a proper side-by-side comparative, really. I can’t do graphics, please help lol), and we just have this delicious banter; neither is particularly harsh, again showing the growth of friendship over time, but it’s to the point and snappy. Kit Lambert understands that we need to go places but also be instantly grabbed, and it’s managed so well.

c) The fakeout! The fact it was his daughter, and then it wasn’t, but no, hang on, IT BLOODY IS. That’s just a microcosm of how Marianne’s learned from Flambeau that we see more in-depth throughout, and it’s so clever.

d) Flambeau trusts FB. With his daughter’s entire life choices. “There is no man I trust more” indeed... I cherish that this is a spiritual sequel to series four’s episode - Marianne was a whole waste of a single episode character, and she’s absolutely brilliant here too. You see everything she was then, all the potential, all the heart beneath the lack of morality... eurgh. I love her. Gill does an epic job here of balancing these different aspects and still making her so convincing as Flambeau’s daughter.

e) Dad vibes. Seriously, so many dad vibes, from both of them. This is literally what happens when you plot something with one of your parents as a kid, and the other disapproves, and there’s a mini battle in your house but you know it’s all fine because they each love you and you love them. It’s so stupidly sweet that they have this dynamic, that’s been built on from The Cat of Mastigus’s family vibe. Where’s the crime family AU where they bring her up? I’ll write it one day, probably...

f) The general family vibe of the whole thing. My god. Just... Bunty fully believing he won’t hurt anyone? That little Mrs M kiss? Brown just permanently knowing that he won’t go too far, that he’ll have that innate knowledge of where to stop; that he’d never just abandon her to her fate? Brown absolutely trusting Mrs M to be the bag carrier, again knowing that she won’t be hurt? That Flambeau looks so damn offended when Marianne’s eating scones with them? Kill me. Just murder me. It’s precious, without ever being too saccharine. It feels so damn in character for everyone and I adore it - it shows how far they’ve all come, and we didn’t get a damn shred of that last year. It was still very much Flambeau and Brown against the gang, and we see that develop amazingly this time around from past series. <3

g) ... FB is just having far too much fun with all of this, bless him. It’s like “Make us a plan, dear priest”, and suddenly you’ve got chess pieces and elaborate riddles and the man who doesn’t judge as the awkward judge, and it’s fantastic. I really enjoy these moments when you see how bored FB is of his quaint life, that he needs these nuances and intellectual challenges because as much as he loves his vocation, his family and his congregation, they aren’t quite enough to keep him fully happy. I love the role they gave him in this, more as an overseer; the formula of him and Flambeau racing off and being naughty is great and I’ll never tire of it, but this was a different take and it worked so damn well.

h) The dynamic between Marianne and Flambeau is exceptional. It builds so well from what we saw of them before, what we often see of Flambeau; that we’ve always had this guy who is supremely immoral but actually cares far too much, is very afraid of being damaged even more, and so hides behind this intellectual shield until he can’t anymore. We’ve got that constant oneupsman/womanship that we’re so used to with this delightful new spin, with a truly worthy adversary, and we learn so much more of the fact that Marianne really is a chip off the old block - a villain with far too much heart, whilst also being fully her own character. The interplay between them and FB is even better here than it was in series four and it’s a damn delight to watch. The different ways they approached their acquisition of the pieces, too, was just engaging, and again spelled out both the similarities and the differences between them as characters.

i) That whole heel turn/constant twist thing that Flambeau brings is always amazing, but it’s just awesome here. Handcuffs into book stealing into Flambeau putting himself deliberately in danger, on the back foot, to save her, to her saving him... it’s just great. The best thing about Flambeau eps is that we never quite know where we’re going - he’ll win, but we never know how, or to what degree. I think we all know he was never going to shoot that poor guy, but hell, it still had me endlessly intrigued about how it was all going to go down, whether we’re be in fake death central again, whether he’d be properly injured in the process... gah. Just gah. The family reunion thing felt so very earned by the end, because not only had they been through the emotional wringer, but they’d gained one another’s respect... and in the kitchen, of all places. The family, watching the family reunite. Perfection. And it isn’t all sunshine and roses, which I appreciated immensely - you can’t fix abandonment so quickly, and it never felt like a full redemption, just a wonderful beginning. And he won, because of course he did. Beautiful, truly. <3

j) Chess. I don’t care how you wish to take that, that’s just... that’s peak gay, friends. Charged conversations over a chess board, full intellectual prowess on display, smiles all around, and Father Brown finally winning a confrontation between them? Look, I’m just saying, Father - asexuality is super valid. Just marry the man, good lord... but however you all viewed it, the point is, the single best part of Flambeau episodes is always the electricity between these two, and this whole chess thing just brings it front and centre. This is why I felt bereft last season, because we just didn’t get any of this absolute magic, and that was the true crime of the episode. My personal thanks to Kit Lambert for bringing this wonder back. <3

Tl;dr: Flambeau’s back, folks, and he’s better than ever. Found family, actual family, duplicity, scheming, and a very, very bored priest to tie it all magnificently together. God, I hope the rest of the series is this good... <3

#father brown #father brown spoilers #flambeau #marianne

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spaceorphan18 · 5 years

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Finding Kurt Hummel: 2009

Masterpost

6x12: 2009

And... here we are, back to the start of all the things. I don’t necessarily count this as part of the finale - I feel like this and Dreams Come True were two separate entities that they decided to throw together to make it seem like a two hour finale. But I’m glad that we got this kind of an episode - because I feel like it’s a way to show just how far this show came in it’s short six years. I know there’s discussion as to whether or not this would have been a good ender instead of DCT, and while I do see the appeal of the circular narrative, I prefer how it was aired -- looking back before closing the book for good.

Hello, My Name is Kurt Hummel

The first half of the episode is dedicated to reframing the characters we’ve grown to love and we get to start with Kurt. I kind of love that we spend time with the characters who weren’t developed in the pilot - not only because it gives us a different perspective of the pilot, but because these are the characters who the show gravitated to, and who really became solidified in our hearts. And of course, Kurt gets to go first - because he wasn’t even in the pilot to begin with - and now this character is the male lead of the show. It’s kind of poetic really.

But before we get too deep, I need to point something out. It’s funny to me that we can all look back at things and remember how they were - but there is a reality to the fact that we can never really go back. The truth is - in the six years being on the show, Chris Colfer grew up - going from a slightly chubby-faced kid, into a full-fledged adult. And no matter how hard they try, they can’t undo puberty.

Chris is amazing in a lot of ways - he holds himself inward like he did in the first season, he tries to mirror the same mannerisms, he even tries to speak slightly higher again. But you can’t mask the obvious - this kid is, well, not a kid anymore, and it shows. Just needed to point that out ;)

Anyway - when we open with Kurt, we see this very lonely and sad kid, slumping through the halls, still getting rammed into lockers by Karofsky (and Puck), and talking about how no one notices that he even exists.

I like that he mentions his mom here - that he says she said he was a happy child. And I have to wonder in these lonely days, if he misses his mom more. She was a kind soul - a contrast to his dad’s gruffness, that soothed his unique heart. He could be different - but his mom always loved him. Mom isn’t around anymore, and the world seems cold and lonely.

He mentions in this voice over that he wonders if anyone would notice if he was gone. Yes - Kurt was situational depressed before he joined glee. And yes, he was toyed with suicide -- maybe not to the extent that he’d try anything (he had his dad to look out for - and I feel like that always kept him going) but it was definitely a thing the show wants to point out as real. And in the middle seasons - when Burt says glee saved his kid’s life - this is what Burt was referring to.

Well - lucky for Kurt, as strange and awkward as Ms. Pillsbury is, she does do her job - and she does notice Kurt. And really, let’s give Emma some credit here, because if Emma hadn’t talked to Burt, Kurt probably wouldn’t have joined glee - and who knows what would have happened.

I like the little scene between Emma and Burt. Burt knows something’s different about Kurt - and has suspected for a long time that he’s gay - but really doesn’t want to go there, and still thinks there might be some time for Kurt to grow out of being gay. Luckily Emma kinda brushes pass that and explains to Burt that Kurt’s depressed and might possibly hurt himself. And Burt, being the good dad that he is takes it seriously.

Joining a Team

Hey! It’s Kurt’s old room - complete with weird bird cage chair and a sewing machine. And those very white walls. I’m surprised Kurt hadn’t already redesigned it into something more spectacular - but if he was feeling depressed, well then he probably didn’t feel like doing much of anything. Anyway... Burt comes down to talk to him, and we get little snippets of what their life is like with each other.

Kurt comments about making dinner -- which is what he probably does a lot of the time. He likes cooking, Burt probably doesn’t, so Burt’s probably okay with him doing a majority of the meals. Burt isn’t that comfortable talking about things - but makes an effort (which is huge!). But within the conversation, Burt comments that they’re usually doing their own things and not really being a big part of each other’s lives.

Burt, I don’t think, really knows how to handle the situation - and his solution is to get Kurt some friends, and find something that Kurt’s happy to do. I don’t think yelling at his kid to join the football team is great advice, but I also don’t think Burt really knows what to do in this situation either, and reaches out in the only way he knows how.

It’s interesting to me that Burt comments that Kurt’s basically alone all the time down there in his room. And it made me think about how Burt was probably all alone too - not having met Carol yet, and probably feeling low-key depression (or just apathy) since his wife died. Sure, Burt probably played poker with his buddies every once in a while, too -- but I get the impression that Burt is as lonely and isolated inwardly as Kurt is outwardly portraying. It’s just an interesting dynamic here before they kind of turn a corner in Preggers.

Rachel Berry

Burt made a demand that Kurt has to join something by the end of the week... So Kurt, to his credit at least tries. But first - I’d like to point out Kurt awkwardly needs to find a place to sit for lunch - and through our trek through the lunch room, we’ve got all the cliques and groups hanging around. And this isn’t 2009, this is almost 1989. Everything’s so stereotypical - it might as well have been a Saved by the Bell episode. Oh Ryan Murphy and your issues regarding being in high school that play out through your numerous shows....

Anyway - back to Kurt. He finds Rachel Berry and promptly sits down. And then tells her how wonderful she is (cause he watches her MySpace videos) **headdesk** And this, folks, is what we call retconning because I don’t actually believe that season 1 Kurt would be watching Rachel’s anything. But the show is trying to connect its characters - and set up the Hummelberry friendship, so fine, I’ll let you pass. The revert to early Rachel Berry is pretty funny.

I’m not entirely sure what’s going on with Kurt’s hair during this episode. They kind of go through all of Kurt’s iconic looks throughout season 1 and 2, which may have been the point. Or maybe they forgot that Kurt wore his hair in one way during all of season 1. Hard to say.

Anyway... oh Rachel. Kurt says he needs to join a club and Rachel says speech club is closed (man - why didn’t we get to see Rachel in speech club, that would have been hilarious). But then goes into a whole thing about how glee club is now open and looking for members. And Kurt kind of hangs on for dear life as Rachel rambles on in her run-on sentences.

I should mention, though, a contrast between Rachel and Kurt here, though. Kurt claims he’s kinda toying with acting while Rachel says she’s going to be on Broadway and that’s it - she’s determined and unstoppable. And I think it kind of speaks to their characters. Sure, Kurt does have ambition, but he also is able to put his relationships before his career - while Rachel will do the opposite. Idk - nice little bit of continuity here.

Popular

And... we get Kurt wearing the same, weird, glasses shirt he was wearing in the pilot when he goes to sign up! Anyway, Rachel has agreed to help Kurt with his singing, and of course - they decide to do a Wicked song (nice throwback to the diva-off in Wheels) about making one over to be popular. Could their be a more perfect song for them as their last duet? I think not.

I do like Kurt’s looks as Rachel (through the song) comments on his livelyhood - and how he won’t be an easy case to make over. We do get a bit of that old school Kurt shining through here in his facial expressions. And I do kinda love that it puts Kurt’s making over her in season 1 have even more context, which is fun (whether they intended that or not).

I’m not sure if I have a whole lot to say about the song itself. It’s pretty self explanatory - a conversation about being popular (which is a nice tie-in with the original theme of the show). And it’s also a way for Kurt and Rachel to begin the bonding process (again, even if I don’t fully buy the retcon here).

But more so - this is the last duet for Chris and Lea and they really just sell it. It’s been a long time, actually, since we’ve had a Kurt and Rachel duet - and it’s nice to have again. Their voices complement each other very well - and they have great give and take on stage. This performance just works - is funny, well sung, and all around entertaining. I have nothing but positive things to say about it.

As the show wraps up - Kurt is happy and excited, wanting to do the audition together with Rachel. However, Rachel has this weird idea in her head that you can’t team up to do auditions (even though Tina and Artie totally audition together). Rachel dramatically storms off - claiming that this is show choir and it’s every man for himself. Which is weird... because the purpose of show choir is to function as a full unit, not fight for solos, but I don’t think Glee really ever understood that concept.

Kurt stands there stunned - and again alone.

Mercedes Jones

Well - I’m glad it doesn’t take much to light a fire under Kurt’s butt. Since Rachel isn’t willing - Kurt goes out and seeks someone else (the same day!) - and it happens to be Mercedes Jones - future BFF. Kurt’s already enamored with her (which is adorable), and asks for her help preparing something for his audition.

She thinks he’s adorable (she calls him a pale, sexy, keibler elf - let that sink in for a minute) but she also calls him out for slinking around the school and his loud sense of style. He says that he feels more inside, but isn’t sure how to express it - and we get confirmation that Kurt lets his clothes express himself as a way that he can’t yet verbalize. Well - luckily for Kurt (man does he get lucky having some great women in his life) Mercedes takes pity on him - and decides to help him out -- even picking out his audition song.

Audition

So - we get the reprisal of Mr. Cellophane - what Kurt sang for his audition way back in the pilot. And I love that we get it from the back side. It’s not only a way to hide Chris’s growth into adulthood, but a neat way to show a new perspective.

In case you were wondering what Will’s notes are:

Great Breath Support

Impressive Range

Earsplitting falsetto (Note - does Will or the writers know that that’s not Kurt’s falsetto but his actual range?)

Gay. (Oy, whatever Will, not sure why that’s relevant)

Sweet Kid!!! (Will added the exclamation points)

Hummel Tires and Lube

With all the throwbacks, I’m realizing this is the last time we get to see all these places. Awww....

So, Kurt comes bouncing into his dad’s shop all happy about joining the glee club, and Burt’s excited for him. (I love that Burt thinks Beyonce is a kid in Kurt’s class.) I kind of side eye that a) you can only bond with other people within competition - but from Burt’s perspective I get it and b) the fact that Kurt feels they need a strong male lead. I get that Kurt might not feel confident yet to be a lead -- and that the show wants to bring back Finn (or at least his essence). But I’ve had this issue with the show all along. Kurt (and Artie) can be male leads - just because they aren’t ‘traditional’ doesn’t mean they can’t be. Oy show.

But the real bittersweet (and brilliant) moment of this scene comes at the end - and is a stark reminder of where we once were. His dad is proud of him, and clearly loves him. But Kurt still holds on to a deep secret - that he’s gay. And he just doesn’t know how to tell his dad that. We know what happens - we know that Burt’s going to officiate at Kurt’s wedding to a man some day. We know that everything’s gonna play out alright. But at one point in time - Kurt didn’t know. And this scene really puts us back in the mind set.

Also - I’d like to take a moment to mention that they use all the season 1 scoring - which a nice throwback to season 1, but also in building the atmosphere of the time period. It’s just a nice touch.

Little Moments

Kurt’s spotlight segment is over - but there’s still much more to this episode. As Tina and Artie are figuring out their own auditions (which they’re dared to do) Kurt and Rachel are busy getting lunch thrown on them. Ah kiddos...

[Guys - when they do the throwback to class where the fury is complaining about Rachel - check the chalkboard - there’s a history of Lima there and it’s kinda funny]

Also - Kurt is back to doing stunning background moments, because he storms behind giving a death glare to the punk group Artie and Tina are in - it’s glorious.

First Glee Club Meetings

Hey! It’s our first glee club meeting... Will’s not very good at this, but at least he’s enthusiastic. I don’t fully understand the need for the gloves though.

Of course - everyone’s already fighting over solos. Will at least says they’re going to take turns, but we all know how that’ll turn out. Meanwhile - Will wants to do a medley from Grease (ah, set up I see...) and Kurt raises his hand to do the Sandy part. Remember that weird, awkward Kurt gender stuff - hey it’s back.

And then we get into some really uncomfortable stuff as Rachel says that the solos shouldn’t be about race, or disability, or ‘whatever’ as she points to Tina and Kurt (eesh). And yeah - Rachel - sit down, you are being racist. This is supposed to set up Mercedes breaking down though - and I am glad they finally, even if it’s at the end, address some of the racial stuff with Mercedes here.

Kurt, though, looks annoyed (rightfully) at be labeled as a ‘whatever’ - and looks to Will for some kind of support - or at least wanting to shut Rachel down. But this is Will - and he’ll learn that he’ll never really be able to do that.

Kurt doesn’t say anything here - but let’s take a moment to appreciate Chris’s background acting again. Ah, welcome back to season 1.

Lima Bean

So - Kurt and Mercedes are already hanging out together - lovely! I totally get season 3 Kurt vibes from this scene, but ah well - who cares, it’s cute.

Finn has joined the club by now - and Kurt’s complaining cause despite scenes ago saying they need a male lead - Kurt’s now irritated (as he should be) about being ignored for something more ‘traditional’.

The point of this conversation is kind of to prop up Finn as needing them as much as they, supposedly, need him. Mercedes is kind about the whole thing - and tries to see the positives, while Kurt goes on about being pushed out, and that the popular people seem perfect and don’t have issues. (I feel like there’s some commentary about celebrity culture in here, too)

But what I like is that Mercedes is constantly positive. Kurt’s kind of a negative person by nature - and she does bring out this brighter side of him, which is great! I do think it’s fun that they throw a nod into Mercedes’s crush. Kurt kind of shrugs it off as nothing, but it’s a cute moment.

Also - we get a throwback to Finn saying Mercedes should do the costumes - and Kurt says he’ll be the one helping her do that. Cracks me up that they use this episode to ‘fix’ some weird/minor issues in the pilot. Retcons ;)

I’d also like to point out -- do you know who is standing right behind Mercedes at the moment -- where Kurt can see that blazered back (that he’ll probably see a lot of over his life time - now that I think of it...). BLAINE!!!!

I’m so glad they let Blaine have a little moment in this episode.

We get this super cute inner monologue of Kurt wrestling with himself over his crush on Finn as his future husband makes his way behind him. I love that. I love that they let that little crossing paths moment happen.

Anyway - Kurt’s gotten to Mercedes enough that she’s going to call an emergency meeting about Finn joining the club.

Emergency Meeting

And... we get rather meta in this scene - I love that they mention DSB being a nod to The Sopranos Ending - which was a legit thing I heard way back when.

But mostly, this is where everyone bands together and decides Finn isn’t so bad. Yay Finn! Sure.

Everyone goes around saying how Finn has been kind to them. Kurt references his first scene of the show - being able to take off his Marc Jacobs jacket before being thrown in the dumpster (and then twitches - cause comedy).

As Rachel throws out the message of the episode, and the show, about accepting of each other for being different (sure, fine) we get a camera lingering on Kurt. And - omg. This brings me season 2 feels. And remember the time when Kurt often looked into the middle distance wistfully? Oh kiddos - it does get better. Or it has Bette Midler. Which ever you prefer, really.

But really - this scene, more than any other in this episode, really captures young Kurt. I mean, Chris does angst so well, and it’s a nice little reminder of how this lonely and awkward kid grew into something incredibly special.

Back to the Start

And then we get Don’t Stop Believin’ - as it was way back in the pilot. It’s edited differently, more so to feature Finn (personally I like the original edit better - but I can see why they did it this way).

But it’s a sweet little moment. Remember when this show was filled with hopes and dreams and went out of its way to make people feel special? Remember when this show was an anthem for people who were weird or different or awkward or just plain didn’t fit in? Remember when this show was fresh and not bogged down by baggage and bts drama? For a moment - we can listen to Don’t Stop Believin’ and remember way back when and think about all the possibilities that were open to us.

As a final confession - I would like to say this - I actually like this episode much more than the pilot - and probably would have been more invested in the show had it started with this. But as much as they tried to recreate the feeling of season 1 - they just didn’t capture the dark and grittiness that accompanied it. And this is a pilot to something that would have been vastly different. And that’s okay.

I am glad that we got this episode (I wish they had done more episodes like this, tbh), and I’m glad we got to dig in just a little deeper to Kurt’s story. It’s been a fun journey, and I do think it was brilliant to have this episode right before the end. But as I said at the start - I’m glad it wasn’t.

There’s room for just a little more of the story, time to close everything up....

#finding kh #kurt hummel

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365queerstories · 6 years

Text

Six of Crows

by Leigh Bardugo

What it is: A YA fantasy duology (the sequel is called Crooked Kingdom) that follows six people as they form an unlikely team to try and break into what is supposed to be an impenetrable fortress.

Why it’s on this list: Even in a setting where words like ‘gay’ don’t exist, it is made very clear that quite a few of the leads are queer. There’s a bisexual boy, and two gay boys, as well as a bisexual girl. Now, the girl really only has one love interest, who’s a dude, so some might say that her queerness is more a Word of God thing, however I personally as a bisexual girl-like creature feel like there is enough in the text to make it pretty clear that she’s bi. Six of Crows also has exceptional rep in terms of disability (dyslexia, addiction, adhd, and a badass boy with a cane, to mention a few).

Where you can find it: Any bookstore worth its shelves should have Six of Crows in it. You can also hang out with the author on her website, or here on tumblr at @lbardugo.

Official Synopsis | Unofficial Powerpoint Presentation

(art by Kevin Wada)

Six of Crows is kind of like Ocean’s Eleven. If everyone in Ocean’s Eleven was a shitty teen, it was set in a rich fantasy world that finds beauty in every dark alley and ice fortress, and the thing they’re trying to steal is actually a political prisoner with a dangerous secret.

Well, really, everyone has at least one dangerous secret, in this series. And okay, it’s not really that much like Ocean’s Eleven, except in that it’s a heist story that is so tense and twisting that I could actually feel my heart racing as I sped through it.

This duology is a wild ride, and it’s made all the more enjoyable because it has what every good heist story should have - an amazing group of loveable, morally questionable characters that make up the team. It’s such a diverse crew too, and each character has layers upon layers of lies and truths, so that even as the reader you’re often not sure who to trust. That just adds to the fun of it all, really.

Now, let’s talk about Jesper for a second. Jesper is the team’s sharpshooter, but he’s also a gambler and a charmer. He’s a member of The Dregs, the gang that about half this team is part of, but his loyalty is to Kaz, rather than the gang’s actual leader. Although in this fantasy world they don’t have the language for things like ADHD or dyslexia (or sexualities, but I’ll get to that in a second), Jesper is very obviously ADHD-coded. He’s impulsive, he’s a risktaker, and he feels the most focused and alive when in stressful or life-threatening situations. Having a bisexual ADHD kid in a fantasy novel left me, a bisexual ADHD kid, just beaming.

But Ziggy, you might be saying. You said they don’t have the language for sexualities. So how do you know he’s bi?

“What do you like?” “Music. Numbers. Equations. They’re not like words. They … they don’t get mixed up.” “If only you could talk to girls in equations.” There was a long silence. [...] “Just girls?” Jesper restrained a grin. “No. Not just girls.”

This exchange made this book, already excellent, that much better. This is a conversation between Jesper and Wylan, the team’s demo man and runaway and eventually Jesper’s partner. Seriously, right off the top every time these boys interact there is unmistakable chemistry between the two of them. At first I was worried it was just me being overly hopeful, but by the time we got to this conversation I knew it wasn’t just me. We get to watch them as they grow closer and closer throughout the two books, going from cautious allies to friends who would trust each other with their lives and secrets, to something a little more romantic.

Well, a lot more romantic.

They’re frickin’ adorable, folks, I don’t know how else to say it. A little hopeless, and messy at times, but so, so adorable.

Although they are definitely the main, most explicit queer rep in the series, I’ll give a quick shout out to Nina, who is said to flirt with everyone and who is a chubby ex-soldier who is also a terrifying magic user. Like I said, some consider her only rep as far as Word Of God gets you, but I found it pretty obvious in the text, personally. Still, your mileage may vary, in terms of whether you agree with me on this.

There’s one other main-ish character (-ish only because he’s mostly in book two and is not one of the six) who is also explicitly interested in someone his own gender. As talking about him in any regards is in and of itself pretty spoilery, I won’t say more about him, but I did want to at least mention him.

Six of Crows really reminded me that fantasy didn’t have to be something static, that you could have excellent representation even if the characters don’t have the modern language to deliver it in the way we’re used to seeing. Honestly, it inspired me to be better in my own fantasy writing. Leigh really sets the bar high here.

If you like reading great casts of characters attempt impossible feats and grow closer because of it, all while still not sure if they can trust one another, then this book is absolutely something you’re going to enjoy. Get ready to be on the edge of your seat the entire time, as all the while you fall for this great little gang.

Just a head’s up, this book does have some graphic violence, and the second one has some character death. As almost all of the characters have some form of PTSD, there is some rough stuff in their backstories as well, including abuse, sexual violence, and the like. I personally found it very well handled, avoiding a lot of the cliches that these kind of backstories can fall into, but regardless, they should be warned for. If you need a more full trigger warning list, let me know.

Reading Six of Crows? Let us know what you think! And if you’re looking for more great queer content, reminder that this is Day 4 of 365 queer reviews, one for each day of 2018. You can find all the reviews here.

#six of crows #leigh bardugo #mlm #boys in love #bisexual girl #bisexual boy #gay boy #book #mlm main character #wlw #wlw main character #mlm supporting character

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drpepperphd · 6 years

Text

AYASES TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2017

OH MAN WHAT A GOOD YEAR FOR MUSIC ! ! ! ! ! AND GAMES ! ! ! ! ! ! yknow what ! ! ! this was just a good year ! ! ! fuck what u all say ! ! ! anyways heres the list and under the cut ill talk about the album and have some Honourable Mentions ! LETS GO ! !

10: A Crow Looked At Me by Mount Eerie

9: Concrete Desert by The Bug vs. Earth

8: Time Away by Casey Lalonde

7: Savage Sinusoid by Igorrr

6: Outer Edges Remixes by Noisia

5: Someone Elses Story by CXDR

4: It Happens Too Briefly To Know by Jr. Adelberg

3: Romaplasm by Baths

2: World Eater by Blanck Mass

1: II by Phuture Doom

wow ! ! okay so lets talk about feelings bitch

A Crow Looked At Me; so like fuck thats a sad album huh ? its straight up just grieving But With Guitar. im a massive fan of mount eerie and like literally everything phil elverum ever does, so its unsurprising this made the cut in the end, but this is one of those albums where once its over youre just left there, probably crying, just like “well shit now what to do i do with my life”

Concrete Desert; years back the bug and earth did a 2 song split that to this day i still absolutely adore, so as soon as i heard they were making a full length album together, i kinda flipped my shit ! ! and it lived up to all my expectations, and then some ! the album perfectly captures both the gritty and noisy and cold and empty sounds that both the bug and earth make separately, and just mashes it into this beautiful and dark album

Time Away; so idk if anyone knows but i am a HUGE casey lalonde fan, their music has meant a lot to me and helped me through a lot, so its only fitting they drop an album this year and its beautiful as hell ! ! from start to finish, time away took me through a bunch of feelings, all relevant to this year, doing what casey lalonde does best and making an incredibly enjoyable and comfy album yet again

Savage Sinusoid; i mean shit igorrr sure as hell exists huh ! ! suddenly savage sinusoid is released and its god damn chaotic as hell, and really focuses more on the... lets say Guttural side of igorrrs music. i mean all good albums should start with a dude screaming his lungs out honestly

Outer Edges Remixes; so the first time i listened to the outer edges remixes i was in public, but that did not stop me from boppin my head and all that shit cause literally every song on this album goes the fuck OFF ! ! ! like i honestly cant say anything else its just incredible remixes of older noisia songs with their incredible style of their album Outer Edges

Someone Elses Story; oh my goodness here onwards things are probably gonna get lengthy and emotional ! ! so i absolutely Love every piece of music avery releases, her music has comforted and helped me for years, and i still remember the first time i heard her music with the album Lost No Longer, which to this day continues to be my Comfort Album. now this album carries that weight twofold, as this album is about the past 3 years for avery, which coincidentally is for how long her music has been helping me. now ngl, i definitely cried listening to this album, every song just hit a different part of me, and you can feel each emotion that shes experience over the past 3 years in just 9 songs. a beautiful way to wrap up her alias as cxdr, and come out publicly under the name avery, and i cant wait to see where her music goes next.

It Happens Too Briefly To Know; i honestly did not expect to come to love this album as much as i do now ! on the surface its good indie rock, not anything new but not too familiar either, playing with the genre with interesting changes in the pace of songs. changing the pace during songs more often than not. it felt simple enough, but slowly over time i just kept coming back to this album, listening to it over and over again, and ive really come to appreciate every minute detail of this album, not to mention the feeling of youth it seems to so expertly capture

Romaplasm; oh my god, oh my GOD. alright so i really love baths, and this is undeniably his best release yet, it nearly placed second on this list, but i think world eater just BARELY tops it, for entirely different reasons though. hearing such openly gay songs from a big artist is... incredibly refreshing to say the least, even if they can be incredibly depressing, with lyrics such as “queer in a way thats failed me”. this album goes on such an incredible journey through everything baths does so well, starting to bright and happy and reaching an incredibly depressing song only 2 songs later, which jumps right into an incredibly uplifting and headstrong track, basically continuing in weird patterns like this but somehow flowing really well, until it does what i loved about his album obsidian. what i loved about obsidian is how it progressively got darker and grittier, to the point where the final track had some distortion in it. this takes it to an entirely different level, by going in an entirely different way. this is done in the last 3 tracks, so from wilt to coitus the album grows softer, almost like its dying (not a hard conclusion to reach with such track names) to a point in coitus where it even fizzles out for lack of a better word. and as coitus ends, in comes broadback, an oddly happy sounding song, especially in contrast to the last few tracks. the lyrics on the other hand, definitely not so happy, but vaguely hopeful. then baths does something that he hasnt done in his music before. he screams. and he just screams “dont want you to die” over and over until the end of the song. words cannot explain what this album does to me, but good god it sure as shit does it

World Eater; with each release blanck mass has done, hes gotten progressively more Intense. his first album was just an ambient album, his second release was grittier, it actually had beats, and now theres world eater. when rhesus negative kicked in on my first time listening to world eater, i fucking lost it. its such an angry and intense and fast song, and it goes the fuck off. the album goes in and out of angry songs and softer songs, in such an entrancing way that even the worst track on the album is still amazing and something id just listen to on its own. id like to mention literally every track on the album and talk about it but that would just take up way too much time, but i do want to just say the rat and silent treatment are fucking incredible songs that are like nothing ive ever heard and everything about this album just fucking RULES

II; ever since this album dropped in march, it has been my album of the year, nothing swaying that opinion any other way. i god damn love phuture doom, and the whole arg and everything about the lead up to this album was god damn amazing, and when it was all finally uncovered and we all listened to it for the first time, it blew our fucking minds. II takes what everyone loved about phuture dooms first album and ramps it up to 10, making the darkest and angriest and grittiest black acid cult shit imaginable. one song after the other, each proceeding to just impress and enthrall me more and more, and then you get the 4 minute ambient (and frankly kinda scary) ending, and honestly i needed to lay down after hearing II for the first time. the story and mystery of phuture doom deepens further, and quite frankly i worship my new overlord Entity0, whatever the fuck that even is

honourable mentions time ! ! ! !

Death Peak by Clark; wow ! new clark album ! fuck its cool as hell ! god damn ive listened to this album too much ! !

Humanz by Gorillaz; yeah so what if you dont think its their best album ! its still a damn good album !

Utopia by Bjork; UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU WHAT A BEAUTIFUL ALBUM

Human Goings by Neil Bones; FUCK ME EVEN NEIL BONES RELEASED A NEW ALBUM ITS ALL HAPPENING THIS YEAR AAAAAAAA

Rainbow Mirror by Prurient; hey what the fuck new prurient ? Oh Hey Its Three Hours Long. combines his work under vatican shadow and prurient really well ! ! ! !

The Journey Man by Goldie; what the fuck goldie released a new album and its actually GOOD ? ? ? oh it goes for 2 hours huh. Fuckin Okay Mate

Evolution Of The Universe by Medium; my god what a fucking intense and angry dnb album good shit

WELL I GUESS THATS ALL FOLKS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! yeehaw and have a Happy New Cheers

#ayatext #WOW this took so long to make its been really hard having to choose a top 10 and ORDER THEM TOO....#i had to have honourable mentions just cause so much good music has come out this year

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