Now I should start off by saying that I am not trying to start any kind of ship war, this is not about whether or not Kurt and Blaine should be together or anything like that. This is just a simple discussion on the merits of Blaine's storyline in this weeks Glee episode “The Prom Queen”.
Oh and spoilers ahead, so proceed at your own risk.
I really enjoyed this week's Glee, sure it had the plot holes and inconsistencies we have come to expect (and in my case love) from Glee but over all it did what it was supposed to do - it made me feel. One of the major reasons I love this show is the fact that, despite it's ridiculousness and absurdity it manages to make me remember what it felt like to be a teenager and “The Prom Queen” was no different.
There are so many things I could talk about in relation to this episode;
Why didn't Brittany and Santana kiss?
If you don't want people to think you're gay don't were a red beret, or cry in the hallway, in front of everyone!
How is Jonathan Groff so awesome and Jesse St James such a dick?
Quinn slapped Rachel and she kind of liked it... Abusive Faberry? (Also why is Finn still even on this show?)
And why do I kind of ship Sam and Mercedes now? (I'm not going to lie I kind of ship Sam with everyone he is so adorable... don't hate on me Kummers, I love you too.)
Chris Colfer = the most adorable person ever aka why can't I be a gay man?
And again, no Brittana kiss, really?
But instead I am just going to focus on the most powerful moment of the entire episode. I am not talking Kurt's Prom Queen acceptance speech, Karofsky's emotional apology or even Brit Brit standing her ground with Artie (not to mention her dancing with some hott lady extra). All those moments are amazing, and they mean something, but the most empowering moment for me was when Blaine stood up in front of that crowd and asked Kurt to dance...
I know Kurt's the one who has the Prom Queen joke played on him (we all knew that was coming thanks to she who shall not be named), that was horrible - the fact that he expected more from people broke my heart more then anything. But this is Kurt we're talking about, if anyone was going to be able to deal with this, it's Kurt Hummell. If there is one thing he has proven over two seasons of awesomeness it's that he knows who he is, and he is not going to let anybody change that.
Blaine, on the other hand, is not as strong. I know he was brought in to be this kind of mentor character for Kurt, someone who had already been and done what Kurt was going through, but as time has gone on we have learnt that Blaine isn't as strong as we once expected. There have been various hints, when he falls for the gap guy he admits he doesn't really have all that much romantic experience, he's got issues with his dad and who could forget his ill fated experiment with bisexuality (Kurt's reaction to which upset me personally). And of course we learnt when he was first introduced, that Blaine had been bullied out of his first high school, but it wasn't until this episode that we actually found out the extent of this drama.
Blaine's unenthusiastic response to Kurt's adorable prom proposal prompted a good explanation (how could anyone resist Kurt). This led to Blaine's heartfelt confession that he had attended at dance at his old high school, with a male friend - who happened to be gay (I didn't get the feeling that there was anything more then friendship happening there) - after which he was beaten up. I just want to mention that Darren Criss was amazing in the scene, it wasn't over done, it was understated, beautiful and hurt my soul.
Again I don't in anyway want to detract from what Kurt has had to deal with, because it sucks. It is incredible how strong he is to deal with it all so well and still see the best in people, I wish I had his strength. What Blaine went through - and he still manages to function like a normal person, that is amazing. Young folk out there should take note that this it what can happen, if you follow the abusive bully into an unsupervised area you could get killed rather then kissed, I'm glad Glee finally acknowledged this.
Anyway after Blaine's confession I finally think I get him. All the things that people (including me) have been picking apart about his treatment of Kurt suddenly become more understandable (he's still not perfect but I get where he's coming from). It also his reaction to Kurt's fabulous outfit was kind of acceptable. I think would have understood anyway because if there is one thing I learnt from high school it's that sometimes it's better fly under the radar. I don't agree mind you, Kurt was always going to wear something like that (he needs to let his freak flag fly), I just think Blaine was scared and let's face it, he probably should be.
Blaine is trying to protect Kurt, but he's also trying to protect himself. You don't go through a beating without getting some scars (I think the pun was intended there, but I'm not 100% sure).
This is why, when Kurt stood up to accept his crown, I didn't know how Blaine was going to react. Everything we have learnt about his character suggests that he would run - I would have run. I mean it's a self preservation thing really. Let's face it, it's Kurt's battle, not his and at this stage I still wasn't sure where they were going to go with the whole Klaine relationship. So I'll admit it, I was worried Blaine was going to do something unforgivable, like leave Kurt to deal with all these horrible people on his own... when Kurt turned around and Blaine was standing there holding out his hand and asking him to dance my heart actually skipped a beat.
After everything, he was there for Kurt and that made up for all the bad things that had happened.
Blaine's been through so much, he's made mistakes and he doesn't always know who he is, yet he still managed to come through when it counted and that's why I think it was the bravest and the most powerful moment of the entire episode.
You go Blaine Anderson! Show all of us out there who aren't as strong and as sure of ourselves as Kurt that we can be brave as well.
Now I'm pretty sure next week's Glee is going to be a bit off, it seems to be every second week, but I am excited so see what happens with Blaine, not only this season but next season as well.
Anyways, thanks for procrastinating with me again.
xx
