Fashion Friday

This week’s fashion item is probably one of the best purchases I’ve made in a long time! This is the Wildfox ‘Living in New York’ Sweatshirt that I bought at Nordstrom. It is so incredibly comfy and soft! I’ve already told you how much I’m in love with the color mint green right now so that’s another thing this sweatshirt has going for it! Now that it is finally getting cold enough in SoCal to actually want to wear a sweatshirt, this is perfect! It’s light enough to keep you just the right amount warm. The only bad thing about it is that it makes me miss being in New York City even more than I already do! Well only a little more than a month until I get to go back!! Starting the countdown now!

 

Gleek Speak: Give My Heart a Break

So last week I decided not to write a review on “Makeover” because, let’s be honest, there wasn’t a whole lot to say about that episode. Blaine became the Senior Class President, Kurt got the Vogue internship, and Rachel got it on with Brody. For me, I was counting down the minutes and seconds until the final scene just for the quick promo they always show at the end. As the obnoxious “Gleek of the Week” clip came up and I was silently screaming to myself, “Okay, we don’t care who’s the gleekiest,” I was not prepared to wrap my head around this sneak peek. For a week, spoilers surfaced and I refused to believe any of them, simply because the one honest couple on the show was going to be breaking up and my heart couldn’t handle that. I’m a true Klainer (yes, I hate that word but just let me have it. I’m still emotional from last night), and although I thought I was ready for things to be shaken up, I certainly wasn’t prepared for what went down in “The Break Up.”

The episode finally begins and we’re following around a bunch of people’s butts in the cafeteria. But now the important part. Blaine and Brittany stare longingly at Jake and Marley’s budding romance and reminisce on how every day used to feel like Valentine’s Day with their loves, before everyone got so busy and moved away. And so it begins as we zoom on Blaine’s distressed face and already I want to sob into a ball with my furry blanket. I really appreciated how quickly it jumped into the storyline, making the episode as a whole packed with significant scenes and all together feeling like a 2-hour episode.

Picking up from last week’s shocking ending with Finn showing up in New York not in uniform, it seems that Finchel is back. To be honest, I hardly noticed Finn had been gone and am already kind of sick of them being together again. Rachel seems like a weaker character when he’s around, already begging him to stay although she clearly has her sights set on Brody, who in my opinion, represents what I like about this new independent Rachel. There’s nothing there anymore, and I’m just waiting for them to realize it.

And then here comes the beginning of the end of my emotional stability. When Blaine tells Kurt that he misses talking to him, misses hugging him and misses messing around with him (I lost it), you can literally hear the desperation in his voice. He just simply wants to be with the person he loves, but Kurt seems too busy juggling his bosses’ calls to really notice it. “You’re coming in two weeks, right?” he asks. He just doesn’t get how much this pains him, and Blaine’s loneliness gets the best of him and does something that inevitably comes back to haunt him later in the episode.

Blaine can’t stand to be apart from Kurt any longer, and decides to fly to New York early and surprise him with a bouquet of roses. In this small moment, I am reminded why Klaine is my favorite couple. The look on Kurt’s face and the way Blaine says “Hi” right before they embrace is so real that I forget for a second that this is a fictional couple. Their kiss is so natural and effortless, perhaps the best one they’ve shared to date, but of course cockblock Rachel gets in the way and it’s the keyboard incident from “Original Song” all over again. But I don’t care. In this very moment, they are happy in love and I see sunshine and rainbows, until what happens next.

Finchel and Klaine go on a double date at a hip karaoke bar called Callbacks, and after Rachel sings a fantastic cover of “Give Your Heart a Break” with Brody, Blaine decides to rip everyone’s heart out with his tearful interpretation of “Teenage Dream,” the first song he ever sang to the love of his life. Darren sings live during this performance, showing the world just how talented he is, making me want to punch the TV screen and cry simultaneously as I let my fangirl flag fly. Nothing sounds more painful than this performance, not just because it’s sung live but because with every breath and hitch in his voice your heart breaks a little bit more and more, remembering the first time he ever sang this song to Kurt with the Warblers, when it was all just about flirting, when everything began. Following the performance, the two couples are walking through Battery Park and it seems like it’s about that time.

Rachel reveals she kissed Brody, and Blaine admits he was with someone else. “I hate life,” I whisper to myself. “I hate everything.” Kurt cries, Blaine cries, I cry. “Don’t Speak” starts up and it’s the perfect break up song, although we’re not positive on the future of these couples quite yet. The way they edited this performance was pretty cool, unlike Blaine’s pajamas. The couples both climb into bed without speaking, and we’re left feeling like death. Kurt does as well, clearly having been up all night waiting for Blaine to come out and talk. Instead it’s Finn, who is sneaking out without saying goodbye to Rachel, heading to Ohio because apparently people go back to their old high schools all the time to sing in the auditorium.

Something happens with Wemma, something happens with Brittana and some other stuff goes down that I sort of just tune out. Sure, Santana’s rendition of “Mine” by Taylor Swift was beautiful and all, but they’re definitely not the strongest couple and sometimes just get thrown to the wayside. I’m ready for some closure, and we get that with Finn and Rachel at least. This scene in the auditorium between the two of them was honest and heartbreaking, as if we needed more of that. But we know they’re done and I rejoice again just like the last time they broke up. It is definitely Lea Michele’s strongest scene to date, giving me a headstart on the waterworks for the final performance of Coldplay’s “The Scientist.” Ryan Murphy has already turned this episode into a dramatic and emotional one, and the only thing he could do that would make it hurt more is by adding flashbacks. Oh, wait. I guess we’re on the same page. As all four “broken up” couples stand up there on that stage, we see scenes of the first Finchel kiss, the hallway scene at Dalton, the memorable Wemma makeout sesh and a cute Brittana moment. Okay, now I’m sobbing and it’s not going to stop anytime soon. Perhaps the hardest thing to watch has been this performance, and when we are told that we will have to wait a month to see what happens next, I’m somehow okay with that. I need time to digest, to wipe away my tears and to theorize about the future of this so-called comedy.

Gleek Speak: Oops They Did It Again

Hey guys!! So since my roommate is a huge fan of Glee, she’s going to be giving you all a weekly recap/review of each episode. Just so you are all warned…she is a huge Klaine fan! Enjoy!!

Oops…Glee did it again, didn’t they? After rumors that Ryan Murphy would be doing yet another Britney Spears-themed episode titled “Britney 2.0,” I bet most of us thought to ourselves, “Oh great, another tribute episode that tosses moving storylines to the sidelines.” But what happened was quite the opposite. With exciting performances and unique arrangements of selections from the pop star’s catalog came further development of Glee’s newest members, a budding relationship for Rachel, and new alliances. Even as a loyal fan, I have to admit that this season, only being two-episodes deep, shows way more promise than the last, which lost itself in muddled plot points and more discontinuity than even I can handle.

The episode’s focus is Brittany, naturally, who is going through an emotional rough patch with Santana being away and Sue kicking her off the Cheerios for letting her grades slip more than usual (if that was even possible). So when Will suggests another Britney-themed week to inspire her, she takes it to heart but in a very different way than before. Instead of providing show-stopping routines that the first tribute episode had plenty of, she sinks into an even further depression that is both off-kilter and slightly worrisome. From dumpster-diving for clothes to nearly shaving her head, she’s so off her game that her love affair for Cheetos gets in the way of performing “Gimme More” with the gang at a pep rally. Worst of all, she lip-syncs.

Over in New York, Kurt and Rachel have found a home 45 minutes outside of the city with a rent they can afford. It’s so great to see them together in the one place they have dreamed about making it to. While Kurt is beginning to set forth on his mission to get into NYADA in January and has applied to Vogue in the meantime, Rachel learns about her dance teacher, Cassandra July, and a past of broken dreams on Broadway. This gives way to an outburst after performing a sexy number with her new friend, Brody, where Cassandra refuses to admit that Rachel has improved all but slightly. She gets kicked out of the class, and while you can’t help but feel bad for her, it’s still interesting to see her as an underdog type of character.

Perhaps the best additions to this show have been Marley, the sweet and innocent one, and Jake, the new resident bad boy and so-called “Womanizer.” Marley gives in to his ways and agrees to meet him on the bleachers where they sing a wonderful mash-up of “Crazy” and “You Drive Me Crazy.” Their chemistry is undeniable, and I’m having major flashbacks of Puck and Rachel on these very steps back in season one. Jake, even with moments of vulnerability and kindness, maintains his tough guy façade when he gets into a fight with some jerks in the cafeteria. Will breaks it up and brings him into the choir room, where his half brother, Puck, is waiting for him. It doesn’t seem as climactic as I would’ve expected, but when Puck stresses how much joining Glee club made him into a man, his surprise appearance feels heavy with significance.

In an effort to get Brittany back to her old self, Sam takes it upon himself to insure her that she has a friend in him. For a moment I was strangely half-wishing for them to kiss (I mean, it’s happened once before), but the inner Brittana fan in me made me quickly forgo that hope. What was nice about this scene was that it was just the two of them together, alone in an empty auditorium and having an honest conversation. This season, it seems like the writers are really trying to bring together kids that haven’t previously interacted before, making up for the loss of older characters who have now graduated.

Kurt and Rachel continue to make over their apartment, and while heading out for a late night cake run, Brody shows up with flowers and to tell her something that was “inappropriate over texts.” Brody lets her know that he thinks she’s sexy and goes in for the kill. Rachel resists (why Rachel, WHYYY), but Brody doesn’t give up that easily. He admits that whatever they’re doing, he’s always thinking about kissing her. Damn Glee, you’re really taking advantage of this 9:00 PM time slot, aren’t ya? From the looks of next week’s promo, the sexual tension will surely continue to rise and I’m perfectly okay with that. But something tells me this Brody character is acting a little suspicious.

Finally, with friendship comes heartbreak for Marley, who is quickly betrayed when Jake and the new head cheerleader Kitty announce their relationship. In the closing montage, she sings a beautiful rendition of “Everytime” while shots of Rachel painting over Finn’s name on the wall signal that she’s attempting to move on.

Ryan Murphy has said numerous times that this season is all about going “back to basics.” I can definitely see that in place, and this show is starting to find again its rhythm and what made it so special in the first place. So BRB, gonna go put the Jarley mash-up on repeat and pretend that I can be Rachel Berry for a day.