This was one of those shows that had us all in a chokehold. I wasn't a Gleek back in the day but the cultural impact was definitely felt. And I actually kinda miss that. That period of time had so much impactful media that had everyone tuning in, messy and not messy but definitely interesting. I would catch the show whenever it was on tv and I was definitely entertained.
Just gonna write and not think too much about it here.
Let me start by saying, Mr.Schue was actually nuts. Like when I catch you fr. Wow was this dude so inappropriate and cringe. I still remember the weird ass seduction song he did for that one teacher, ugh the full body cringe. Also his multiple performances with children that were absolutely not right. Sue was so right about him honestly especially that Kesha performance, she was crazy but she knew she was crazy and was also entertaining. He just always thought he was right and moral but was actually a major dick. And an asshole to the kids, the mind Games whew boy.
Honestly Rachel wasn't as bad as people say, she was annoying as all hell but in terms of mess she shared that position with a lot of the other divas on that show. The one thing I could never get with is her getting into Nyada when Kurt didn't, it was for the plot and an obvious ass pull but she was so awful right after highschool. Like why leave school, and then her play for a tv show and then bomb that lol. And yet still succeed, she was good but she wasn't that good.đ
I think they just needed to follow the original cast instead of introducing these new kids, the only good new cast came out at the very last season. The new cast was so boring and Unique was such a creep, we were supposed to feel sorry for him but nope. Though the plot point of Schue choosing twerking over Unique getting a bathroom outside of the girls/boys to go to was such a peak example of his dramatic loser choices as a teacher. Also his poor Spanish.
Love her or hate her, Santana was entertaining. Such an asshole but she was consistent with it and that's more then I can say for anyone else, her struggle with her sexuality was portrayed well to me. And I'm glad her and Brittany got a happy endings, despite the drama and bs plots lol.
So much of the music was good, say what you want I still listen to Glee versions of songs. 4 minutes, Telephone, Glad you came, Annie are you okay, are all bangers. The cast worked super hard on those performances, you can really tell this show was hard work if nothing else. The guest stars were always interesting lol, even Gwenyth Paltrow was on this thing, hell Kate Hudson was too!
Quinn deserved better and so did her actress. I don't know what Ryan's problem with her was but it impacted the script in a shit way. Cory dying was heartbreaking but I feel they handled it well on the show. One of the only instances of them doing that, rare maturity from Ryan's camp. I liked how we never had a cause for the death, just the emotions and the impact of it.
Tina was underused, you could see how awesome she was in the last seasons. I hate Blaine, man but was he so annoying. I think Kurt should of ended up with someone else instead of sticking with the one dude he got into a relationship with in highschool. Especially with how much work he had to do to get with Blaine and keep Blaine. Gaslighting toad to me. Anyways low-key a Sebastian/Kurt shipper so that's my bias on that. But I'd settle for anyone aside from Blaine.
I really missed the cast once the new cast was introduced, I would have actually appreciated the show following them and seeing where they all need up and how they struggled with what they wanted to do.
The cast of this show had so much scandal and tragedy. As always peace to Corey and Naya, gone too soon. Absolutely burn in hell to the pedo, what a cowardly piece of shit. Leah Michelle is annoying but the hate for her is overblown as hell, and downright fucked up(she can't read meme? Come on now). Chord Overstreet, I still remember you for that one great song Hold On and I thought you were a band before I realized that was your name lol. And that you are the guy from Glee.
Anyways, would love to hear your thoughts lol.
Yeah... The absolute irony of the Beiste storyline having shoehorned being trans in the end... Just an overall feeling of disappoint and disgust.
Not to mention, the actress that played Sunshine--the girl who Rachel had sent to an 'inactive' crack house--ended up trans-ing IRL. Sad.
Remember Coach Beast and her stupid-ass transing?
We couldnât possibly have a big, gender-nonconforming woman, no no no. You see, sheâs not really that attractive, and sheâs big, so she actually wants to be a man, and IS a man, despite her prior characterization being about how much she wanted to be accepted as the woman she is.
Fucking hated that plot line. One of my first exposures to the trans BS, and I hated it from the start and could tell how stupidly sexist it was even then.
Hear that, little girls? If you arenât small, feminine, and pretty, youâre a MAN, baby!
Omg fr! Especially after they gave her that domestic abuse storyline to show it didn't matter what you looked like,men would abuse any woman. I think it's because the actress transfer in real life, but also there was so much trans stuff sneaked into media back then. When you look back you can see the gradual creep on culture it had.
Edit: My bad guys, I misremembered, she is not trans.
The actress is actually a butch lesbian in real life and still is. That storyline was just god awful. (Also I'm checking wikipedia and lmao the character is listed in the category of "Fictional gay men". She's a straight woman!)
That's great! I also read she retired? Either way hope she's doing well.
I forgot about the abuse too! And no, I just checked, and the actress did not transition. It was just Ryan Murphyâs twisted fantasy of empowerment lol.
Oh you're right, I misremembered. Ryan Murphy is really obsessed with TQ stuff so it was always in his work.
Murphy also has a lot of LGB content in his shows, and he hires a lot of gay actors. I wish he'd realize that the TQ are anti-LGB.
He loves mess too much and is a narcissist, it was speculated that Pucks actors pedophilia was known by him and the writers, not mentioning all the other stuff he pulls in his shows. He's always been good at starting a project but not finishing it, American Horror Story being a good example, every season would start interesting and then devolve into nothing or just be bad.
the one true gripe I have with that show - because remember, first and foremost it is a SATIRE and therefore everything in it is going to be crazy - is coach Bieste.
Bieste was the ONE masculine woman on that show. Yes, Jane Lynch's character had short hair and wore a track suit, but she was vehemently feminine in her other aspects of life (the very cut of her track suit is more feminine). Bieste was unapologetically herself, and felt STRESSED that the world percieved her as less of a woman just because she liked the things she liked. She just wanted to be seen as the woman she is.
then they take the one masculine woman and make her a "man" - and tell every other little tomboy out there that she's wrong and. actually a man. fuck that awful fumble. she was more groundbreaking as is than trying to trans her character.
I'm so glad someone (ToNorth to be precise) started this discussion, and I have been enjoying reading everyone's opinions.
I have recommended the show solely because of Sue Sylvester, who is one of the funniest characters ever seen on TV. Some of the musical numbers are genuinely good, though not a lot of them are to my taste due to the maximum use of the auto tune.
As many others have said, I hated how the story line of the coach Beiste ended up. I enjoyed the self-aware irony the show sometimes had. I admired the voice and the talent the actress of Mercedes had, but didn't enjoy how her character was written to be (almost) always rude and arrogant - at least Rachel ended up being often reasonable and compassionate. I didn't enjoy Archie and his voice was annoying to me. I admired Brittany, and she was funny. My favorite performances were Rachel's Don't rain on my parade and Kurt's version of Rose's turn. The new kids were just waste of time, and most of the seasons after Cory's death weren't enjoyable, except for Sue Sylvester parts.
I sometimes feel a little ashamed for having enjoyed Glee, but I did, so.... Sue me. ba dum tsss (sorry, I'll just go and die in a corner now.)
I loved Sue, she provided such entertainment, villainy, drama and yet sanity at the same time. Constantly calling out the Glee club's nonsense and especially Schue's. That scene where she tells Tina and Blaine to shut up lol, we always thought what did the randos in the school think of these people singing in the halls and they thought stfu! As Sue helpfully told us.
I watched the first few seasons with my housemates and we loved it. Then it got really weird.
I didnât know most of what you wrote here but I love how you described it.Thank you.
Haha thanks, the later seasons just didn't have the it factor of the previous ones. They fumbled the bag when transitioning the main cast out of highschool and the plot line showed that.
Worst Mr. Schue moment was when that one new character who had an eating disorder didn't want to wear a revealing costume on stage and he berated her for being selfish and not a team player and kicked her out. That man really kicked a 15-year-old child out of class because she didn't want to parade around half naked in front of her teacher and a bunch of other students, including one who had been encouraging her anorexia.
Even taking out the eating disorder, getting mad at an underage girl for not wearing a skimpy outfit when you're like 40 and her teacher should be an immediate firing.
I always liked the Treble Tones covers though. Naya Rivera had such a beautiful voice. And while I do think Rachel Berry is incredibly talented, it always annoyed me that they acted like she was the undisputed strongest singer in the club when Mercedes was just as strong or better than her vocally.
Worst Mr. Schue moment was when that one new character who had an eating disorder didn't want to wear a revealing costume on stage and he berated her for being selfish and not a team player and kicked her out. That man really kicked a 15-year-old child out of class because she didn't want to parade around half naked in front of her teacher and a bunch of other students, including one who had been encouraging her anorexia.
He was so disturbed!! And he did it infront of everyone and made it out to be some line in the sand moral moment. Totally out of touch moron.
I always liked the Treble Tones covers though. Naya Rivera had such a beautiful voice. And while I do think Rachel Berry is incredibly talented, it always annoyed me that they acted like she was the undisputed strongest singer in the club when Mercedes was just as strong or better than her vocally.
Santana and Mercedes had equal amount of talent to Rachel and even more so with respect to Mercedes. Ryan Murphy definitely had his favorites, Rachel was delusional as hell. Remember when she put that girl in a crack house because she had a better voice then her.đ Mercedes lucked out with Rachel thinking she was better because it could of gone different lol.
Remember when she put that girl in a crack house because she had a better voice then her.đ
Fun fact: "That girl" was Filipina singer, Charice, who is now known as "Jake".
Honestly I respect the honesty of Rachelâs motivation đ showbiz is pretty evil I feel like Ryan might have been telling us a bit about himself here but Rachel is definitely a better singer than he is a show runner
All true, but that's why I was checked out with her character when she was playing diva in New York and ruining her chances at her dream. Like she was selfish but she always had her eyes on the prize do it was all unbelievable to me.
Sue is best character. One of the best evil women characters in tv I've seen. Inspiring.
She was so unhinged lol.
And mean to everyone except of course the trans charcaters because even she wouldn't be that evil rolls eyes
Sue-icide lol, and then what she took was multivitamin gummies.đ
She had some great scenes, especially when she'd roast Mr.Schue.. "enough grease to make a pancake" lmao.
I've just rewatched Glee & have been dying to discuss it with other radfems!!
Imo Ryan Murphy has way more of an affinity for writing gay male characters and storylines than anything else, which is why the Kurt bullying storyline comes across a lot stronger than anything else in the series. The difference in effort for that vs the later seasons and some of the love triangles is so obvious.
I also think it's really interesting that they try to repeat the same plot line except trans with Unique and it is so incoherent and just doesn't work at all. Like maybe the most confusing trans storyline ever.
Absolutely, it was really impactful but then his love of drama ruins it because the way he wrote Kurt in relationships was so typical 00s. Desperate and settling for the first guy who showed interest. Also Kurt's actor did really well with the role and is now a successful children's writer. Just loves peacefully and without mess, good for him.
Omg right! Like Unique catfished a guy in a really creepy way and still thought of himself as a victim. Not to mention his woe is me act and constant "sass'(just rude ass remarks especially to women). All he did was come across like a gay stereotype.
I missed this whole coach Beiste storyline and I checked on the actress and I have to say damn sheâs gorgeous- itâs amazing how many âgetsâ glee got and they just wasted time on absolute stupid nonsense like annoying ass Kurt trying to shag annoying ass Finn.
The deaths were so fucking weird it seemed typical Hollywood creepy shit.
So much of that cast had issues but then I remember it's Ryan Murphy and he is a classic narcissist.
Hah, I was just up last night watching some Glee clips. You read my mind! I was never a big fan of the show when it aired, always found it a bit too cringe, but some of the dance and song numbers were really well done. One of my favorites was that Adele mix, Rumor Has It/Someone Like You:
I wasn't too into it either! But watching it again as an adult it's such an entertaining trainwreck lol. The second hand embarrassment used to leave me paralyzed when I was younger, just oof, you have to hide your fave because the show did embarassing moments really well. The awkwardness oozed through the screen.
Their performances were top notch, no notes. And Mercedes was severely underused, her vocals were amazing and were better then Rachel's in my opinion.Santana did well here too.
IKWYM about it being too viscerally embarrassing to sit through at times. The moment I saw Schuester and that teacher with the big eyes I dipped.
Omg please tell me you remember his cringe ass seduction dance he did to her. Holy hell he thought he was hot AF too doing that lmao. Absolute loser.đ
Some edit videos I like watching about the show lol.
Schue being a loser/asshole:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u9UKQSOTRt4
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FPvGKllfXjM&pp=ygURZ2xlZSBtciBzY2h1ZXN0ZXI%3D
Moments that make me laugh( it's defo messy):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh_a2AI6JhI&pp=ygULR2xlZSBzY2VuZXM%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk4wLOCd_6Q
Show was like a trainwreck, reality tv show and hurricane all at once.
I stopped watching it because I was fast forwarding to the musical numbers & just occasionally watched the songs but I did think the show got over dominated by male vocals.
I never saw it, but I believe it had one of the first examples of a GNC woman being transitioned on a television show. The coach went from being a woman to a "gay trans man" in 2015. Which was right when the trans craze began to take hold.
That was honestly really disappointing because in previous seasons she had dealt a lot with the consequences of being a GNC woman and made peace with it. She admitted she felt bad when boys made fun of her looks despite her tough exterior, even in jest and was insecure about being 40 and never having been on a date or kissed before.
Then they give her a husband and he was abusive which was actually pretty groundbreaking because no one saw the signs of domestic violence due to the fact that she was large and masculine. But she wouldn't leave him because she didn't think any other man would have her. Showing that domestic violence can happen to any woman and the reasons they might not leave was another really impressive first.
And then.....they transed her and basically erased every positive message about GNC women they had spent seasons building up. But not shocking because Ryan Murphy is literally obsessed with trans ideology.
Ugh. That is so gross. But, in a way, I admire the realism. An insecure, middle-aged GNC woman finally takes a chance at love only to be abused. And then her response to said abuse is to pretend she's actually a man instead of a dumb, wimpy girl. And everyone cheers this on instead of examining if her traumatic marriage (combined with a lifetime of being mocked for being GNC) just MIGHT have influenced her to seek transition as a magic solution to her problems
This was my feelings too, the DV storyline was actually well done for a show like this and then they transed her out of nowhere. It's sad, especially because those were things the irl actress probably dealt with.
Wasn't there also an episode where a student in a wheelchair wanted to be on the football team?
I feel like Glee primed the pump on the more absurd ideas that young people believe in these days. It's not just that they believe in TWAW and TMAM, but they're also allergic to any common sense "exclusions" even where safety is an issue.
Hard agree. I thought Bieste was a rare example on TV and then they just transed her in the space of an episode.
I didnât know that! I used to watch the show regularly but I stopped after a few seasons when I felt it got bad.
Thatâs disappointing to hear. I felt that they had quite a few GNC characters and I really liked that. But of course they started transing. đ
Yep, it was pretty pathetic.