Re: 5x07 "Puppet Master" Watch & Discussion thread

[ColferInspired]

[ColferInspired]

After reading a few posts and the Blarren stans saying how cute Blaine is and seeing a lot of the screenshots, I now believe RIB are laughing at the Klainers.

And to think they want someone like Blaine.  

So, they want someone to control them, like they are a puppet, talk/think/act for them.

And I love Elliot even more.  

What a sweetheart.

[ColferInspired]

http://a-grimm-warning.tumblr.com/post/68433823483/into-the-groove-acapella-glee-cast-featuring

[ColferInspired]

Does this sound like Blaine to you?

This is someones observations:

narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may include:

• Believing that you’re better than others
  
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
  
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
  
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
  
• Believing that you’re special and acting accordingly
  
• Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings
  
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
  
• Taking advantage of others
  
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
  
• Being jealous of others
  
• Believing that others are jealous of you
  
• Trouble keeping healthy relationships
  
• Setting unrealistic goals
  
• Being easily hurt and rejected
  
• Having a fragile self-esteem
  
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
  

I am not sure if Blaine has all these traits, but I agree with quite a few.

[ChrisColferFan1]

Does this sound like Blaine to you?

This is someones observations:

narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may include:

• Believing that you’re better than others
  
  
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
  
  
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
  
  
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
  
  
• Believing that you’re special and acting accordingly
  
  
• Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings
  
  
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
  
  
• Taking advantage of others
  
  
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
  
  
• Being jealous of others
  
  
• Believing that others are jealous of you
  
  
• Trouble keeping healthy relationships
  
  
• Setting unrealistic goals
  
  
• Being easily hurt and rejected
  
  
• Having a fragile self-esteem
  
  
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
  
  

I am not sure if Blaine has all these traits, but I agree with quite a few.

It does in my opinion. Especially the 4th one.

[opals]

Does this sound like Blaine to you?

This is someones observations:

narcissistic personality disorder symptoms may include:

• Believing that you’re better than others
  
• Fantasizing about power, success and attractiveness
  
• Exaggerating your achievements or talents
  
• Expecting constant praise and admiration
  
• Believing that you’re special and acting accordingly
  
• Failing to recognize other people’s emotions and feelings
  
• Expecting others to go along with your ideas and plans
  
• Taking advantage of others
  
• Expressing disdain for those you feel are inferior
  
• Being jealous of others
  
• Believing that others are jealous of you
  
• Trouble keeping healthy relationships
  
• Setting unrealistic goals
  
• Being easily hurt and rejected
  
• Having a fragile self-esteem
  
• Appearing as tough-minded or unemotional
  

I am not sure if Blaine has all these traits, but I agree with quite a few.

Hell, I thought Blaine exhibited all but one or two of those behaviors in this episode alone.

[Ranwing]

Recovered enough from my turkey overdose (but it was delicious) and hitting the stores for early Black Friday sales to watch the ep. Need to make my weekly complaint that it was far too much McKinley and far too much fucking Blaine and not nearly enough NY. Ok. Now that that's out of the way I can critique properly.

Blaine - It looks like the writers were mining the LOL Blaine tag on Tumblr for material to use here. Blaine as a huge ego? Check. Blaine is only interested in himself? Check. Blaine wants everyone to work towards his benefit? Check. Blaine expects his fiancé to focus on his needs at all times regardless of what might be happening in Kurt's life? Check. His narcissism really ran rampant here and it was really unpleasant to watch at times. Creating a puppet of his fiancé? Creepy enough (this is the kind of stuff that I imagine serial killers do before they start racking up the victims). But he said straight out that he missed having Kurt telling him what he wanted. Wow... that just goes beyond being inconsiderate into the realm of really disturbing behavior. Your fiancé may have a major event that can benefit hi professionally and all you care about is that he's not being attentive enough to your pity party? It's a real shame that Kurt doesn't find out a fraction of what Blaine gets up to when he's not around because he would be running as fast in the other direction as his fabulous shoes could take him.

Sue - Jane is far too good for this show, but at least they gave her something enjoyable here to work with. I like that Sue takes her responsibilities as principle very seriously and wanted to keep her job for the right reasons. And I liked seeing her playing with her feminine side just a bit - she looked gorgeous with her new look. And admittedly, my heart warmed when she referred to her Porcelain being in NY an unavailable for an emergency makeover.

Will - Matt is so wasted on this show. Refreshing to see him have a chance to do what he's so good at. Would trade any one of Blaine's dozen or so solos per episode to give Will a few more chances to sing.

Jake/Marley/Bree - A complete snooze-fest, though I was glad to see both girls realize that Jake was no good for any of them. And I know that Bree is no angel and at first I was dreading a repeat of the Quinn storyline, but I liked that she was taking a very different track on how to handle things. There was no question that she meant to have an abortion (and I wish that the show would have had the balls to use the word instead of just pussy footing around and saying that Bree would be going to the doctor). The pregnancy scare might have been a false alarm, but it hammered home some painful truths to Bree That she would be the one shouldering the consequences and that Jake couldn't be counted on. Good for you, girl.

Kurt - Absolutely loved Get Intro the Grove. The performance on the show was far better than the audio clip they released and Kurt is an absolute tiger on stage. And he and Elliot had great chemistry together. I liked how Elliot was not afraid to voice his opinion but was then willing to allow Kurt to make the final decisions as leader. And when he said that he wouldn't let Kurt disband the group because their initial performance was played for an audience of one, he showed far more support for Kurt than Kurt's own fiancé has shown in a very long time. And cheers for Kurt for not letting Blaine off the hook and making it clear that he didn't like the way he was being treated. Please let this be the start of something good.

And as for their one audience member being someone who had connections to get them a bigger venue, that might be improbable but it's hardly the most improbable thing that's ever happened on this show so I'm hardly going to be bothered by it. I was just delighted to see what looked like a failure for Kurt being spun into a huge win. Kurt followed his gut instincts, held firm to his decisions and things worked out in the end.

BTW - when the fuck did Blaine have time to make puppets of not just Kurt, but all of ND and the NY crew (including Elliot who we don't know if Blaine ever actually met)? Doesn't he have homework?

[ColferInspired]

Maybe Kurt described Elliott over the phone at one time?

[Lottie2303]

Wow, reading on various websites, people really hated the episode and point out how bad Blaine/Darren was during the episode. And this is the last episode before hiatus in the official Klaine-are-engaged-timeline?  

I love the a-capella version of GITG. Can I download it somewhere?

[ColferInspired]

Wow, reading on various websites, people really hated the episode and point out how bad Blaine/Darren was during the episode. And this is the last episode before hiatus in the official Klaine-are-engaged-timeline?  

I love the a-capella version of GITG. Can I download it somewhere?

I think even more Klainers are jumping ship.

I just started following several that no longer like Blaine on tumblr.

Elliott is such a sweetheart. I adore him.

It does look like that the writers visited the lol Blaine tag by how this episode is being described.

Chris was right about writers drinking (but maybe Kalen or Kalena however she is called wrote that bit in the puppet video).

But I am glad Kurt did get a win.

[Lottie2303]

Wait, Bree is pregnant?  

[sheny]

Wait, Bree is pregnant?  

She thought she is, but she isn't.

[ColferInspired]

“The issue with late Glee isn’t that it fails so often. It’s that it doesn’t reach very high. “Puppet Master” is a new coat of paint on another diva episode mixed with another pregnancy/love triangle subplot mixed with another Sue-Will detente. The retreads aren’t illuminating, which is an even bigger waste considering none of the New Directions are yet animated by anything with the force of Rachel’s longing or Santana’s anger or Kurt’s struggle.”
—   The A.V. Club 5x07 recap (x)

Don't these idiot's at Fox get it that these are what fans want, Kurt, Rachel and Santana?  

I thought they wanted to save the show, not turn away more viewers.

New York has so much potential with these three.

Why can't they see this?

[Ireth]

This episode was horrible, half the McKinley parts were boring, half of them were rage inducing (the Blaine parts). Stay away from that creepy creep, Kurt!

I loved NY, but there was so freaking little of it. I love Elliott, he's so sweet, and I love Into The Groove.

[SippyCupofLuv]

After reading a few posts and the Blarren stans saying how cute Blaine is and seeing a lot of the screenshots, I now believe RIB are laughing at the Klainers.

And to think they want someone like Blaine.  

So, they want someone to control them, like they are a puppet, talk/think/act for them.

And I love Elliot even more.  

What a sweetheart.

This is why, strangely enough, I kind of enjoyed it, couldn't help myself laughing at the absurdity of it all... BECAUSE it seemed so blatantly written to mock Blaine and his sycophant fans.

It was like the 'lol Blaine' tag OVERTLY onscreen so only the diehard apologists would 'miss' (more like "ignore") the "Blaine is an attention-whoring, controlling, narcissistic, self-absorbed dick!" that was painted in bright, Blaine-glow colors.

And because for a change Blaine in-world was being treated in direct response to his behavior, called out for it and even mocked, I could laugh AT HIM along with raging.

The main thing that ruined the episode was Tina's "oh we're so sorry. You have it soooooo hard (unlike us other seniors who will also be graduating and competing at Nationals, but whatever...) no wonnnnder you were being so controlling, (unlike every other time you're a controlling douche, but again, whatever...)... here, have everything you wanted like you wanted it and a solo (which you were getting anyway, so againx3, whatever...), Blainey-days."

...that, and that horrible and creepy attempt at Queen. Ugh!   

NY, of course, was awesome! Kurt and Elliot on GitG were amazing!   And as much as I'd love that performance to have been live if for no other reason than all the phone numbers from hot guys that would be given to Kurt,... I kind of prefer it went down like it did. The apparent dud of a first gig made the better gig at the end feel more earned... and the whole situation was a good, mature contrast to kiddie!Blaine McKinley.

Plus, like Adam Crawford, it showed AGAIN someone being more respectful and supportive of Kurt than his own fiance! Elliot was lovely, even while disagreeing with Kurt.  

God, the difference in quality, depth, and maturity (and writing) between NY and McKinley is like Day and Night!

ETA: Also, from a Glee meta/analysis/'what are the writers doing?!' perspective this episode is a goldmine of interesting 'information'. The whole Marley/Jake/Bree conflict has potentially insightful implications about Klaine and where it may, or may NOT, be going after all.

[ColferInspired]

This is what I don't understand New York side is written so much better, it's like the writers are forced to make it work, but the McKinley side they make it look like crap.

So, what is going here?

People are praising the New York side, so why don't they just give it to us, drop McKinley and maybe save the show, if it's not too late.

People aren't demanding for more Blam, Blaine or the noobs. It's Kurt, Rachel and Santana they want.

Is there a method to this madness, or are Fox and RIB just plain mad, or just plain stubborn, or just plain arrogant.

Maybe they are all three.

[ColferInspired]

I would like to go on certain forum to see the reactions, but they have locked the subforum so no-one can lurk anymore.  

Which shows they don't want anyone criticising there precious cupcake Blaine.

[Ranwing]

About the complaining of Kurt's band members about the crappy location for their first gig... I dated a musician in college an went to a ton of live shows (this was back in the day when I could stay up all night and then just shake it off) - both his and other acts. No band gets to play a big stage before really proving themselves first. Either they had to have a following where they could expect a certain number of attendees (because when I came to the venues, I was asked what act I was specifically coming to see), or they have to audition for one of the various open slots (usually getting to play at a less desirable time and opening up for the headlining act of the night). Pamela Lansbury was actually very fortunate that Kurt was able to land them any open stage at all without having the whole band auditioning first. No matter where they played, they were going to spend their first show playing at a lousy time or to an indifferent audience. They were going to have to earn their way to better venues. They had the chance to play at Callbacks primarily because the owner was receptive to Kurt as a NYADA student and they were fortunate that Kurt thought to take advantage of that in order to get them a gig without any real fuss.  

So for them to get the chance to play a big stage for their second show is a stroke of great luck - playing for the right person at the right moment. And it was so refreshing that Kurt for once, by sticking to his gut instincts and pushing the band to go along with him (even when the rest of them were dubious at best) ended up being rewarded at the end.  

And thank you Rachel and Santana for being such a good friends and promising not to rub it in Kurt's face that their first gig was such a bust. Your show of faith is underwhelming.  The only one of them who really stuck by Kurt, respecting Kurt for his artistic choices (even if they didn't work out) was Elliot. Is it any wonder that I'm shipping them now?

[Ranwing]

Am I the only one who thinks that Kurt needed to carefully check the inside of his puppet before sticking his hand in it because given how attached Blaine was to PuppetKurt (and the fact that he would rather try to steal it back rather than go to NY to see his actual fiancé perform in his band's first gig), I don't want to think about what else (besides his hand) got stuck in that puppet.

Yeah... my brain went there.  

[fantastica]

Am I the only one who thinks that Kurt needed to carefully check the inside of his puppet before sticking his hand in it because given how attached Blaine was to PuppetKurt (and the fact that he would rather try to steal it back rather than go to NY to see his actual fiancé perform in his band's first gig), I don't want to think about what else (besides his hand) got stuck in that puppet.

Yeah... my brain went there.  

Ewwww! Lol   

[valkeakuulas]

I only watched the Kurt edit and WTH was that? I actually had my mouth agape during their phonecall where Kurt mysteriously turns into a puppet!  Is there something missing in the edit or why...what...how....WHY!?

So they can't show the actual Kurt angry or Blainey Wainey will look bad, so instead of letting Kurt be upset thay me a Blaine's vision of him bitchy and angry. Even though the millisecond of Kurt's real face after the phone call was enough to tell how disappointed he was. Which I guess he was entitled to...wait are they going to now lay the base of making Kurt look the hurt one? Or is this just a gratuitous episode to present the a-hole Blaine as a perfect man.

Santana was right though, him having a Kurt puppet is creepy and not even a little. I don't think it's cute or funny, based on your comments on what Blaine did with it.

Those brown pants Kurt wears while starting the Into the Groove are such amazing pair as well as the red ones.

[Glorfindel]

My TWoP post:

What the heck did I just watch? I think the show hit a new low, and that’s quite a feat. I’m not surprised that Hodgsons is the writer of this crap, but he must have gotten the idea and outlines of this episode from his bosses, and someone must have approved this nonsense before it aired, so I have no problem blaming the entire writers and producers team for this crap.  
It’s not just that they stopped trying; they stopped caring, and I suspect they are even running this show into the ground on purpose now.

Let’s first start with the game “How many storylines did Glee rehash this episode?” I saw:
#1 the control freak and selfproclaimed leader in the choir room,
#2 hallucinations due to some gas,
#3 teenage pregnancy (scare),
#4 bad boy Puckerman,
#5 Sue being in love and changing her clothes for the guy but then getting turned down,
#6 Sue wanting a make-over by her best gay (they even mentioned Kurt!),
#7 Sue vs. Figgins, although I guess that last one is more like a running gag now (gag me now).
And still it felt like this episode had no story at all and was just "filler". Or is "stuffing" a better word for a Thanksgiving episode? 

Puppets creep me out, but Blaine as their puppetmaster is so much creepier.  
And Darren can't carry a big storyline, when even Piano Brad and puppets act better than him.
They must do this on purpose to Blaine, right?…… right? I mean: they’ve practically ruined his character already, but in this episode they ran over it with a bulldozer a dozen times to make sure it’s beyond repair, and made him creepier than ever to boot. If that was meant to be funny meta (and I agree the writers must have read the lol blaine tag) it backfired imo. But even now that he's exposed himself (for those who weren't aware already) as the egocentric spoiled controllist he is Blaine will still get a solo at Nationals (quelle surprise) as a reward.  

To think that Blaine made a Kurt puppet and had him beg for forgiveness (and Blaine saying “I forgave myself a long time ago” indicated that it was indeed about the cheating)….. and that’s actual canon, not gas leak induced fantasy. Brrrrr.
Get that restraining order, Kurt.  

I love Jane Lynch, I appreciate Matt Morrison’s triple threat talents, and Iqbal Theba can be very funny. Their scenes and the 'Cheek to Cheek' performance were flawless and enjoyable to watch, as always, but could they please give them something new to do? The phrase “been there, done that” just doesn’t cut it anymore with Sue vs Figgins and Sue vs. Shue.  

And now on to New York:
(And no I didn’t forget to mention Bree/Jake/Marley/Ryder, I just don’t think they’re worth my time and effort. Jacob Artist can dance though: can't they somehow send him to NYADA?)

The storyline of Kurt booking a disastrous first gig for the band was funny, but as the New Yorkers get so little screentime it’s very hard to let any stories there develop naturally and gradually. There’s so little time in NY that when one of their characters gets something to do the other characters there are practically forced to be in the background, reduced to reaction shots and oneliners. And this episode part of their precious time again was being taken over by Blaine's woes.
What a waste of good actors and singers, and guest stars.  

The Callbacks performance was great and the band meetings in the loft looked so cozy. Having read the spoilers I went into this episode knowing that the ‘Into the Groove’ scene was a fantasy of Kurt expecting success while the real gig was brutal failure, so I was glad to see that there was a positive spin and silver lining for Kurt and Pamela Lansbury in the end.
Yes, the happy end was forced and unrealistic, but since the New York narrative gets no room to breath and barely a song and they make it work somehow anyway, I’ll take whatever I can get. See it as a reward for having to wade through 90% of Lima crap to get to the 10% NY island of fabulousness.

[AnneNeville]

I'm guessing 1.1-1.2 ratings. Anyone else?

[Glorfindel]

There was a time Sue wore feminine clothing and long hair, wow

Btw what's the background music? Sounds familiar

If you mean the scene with Sue and Figgins in the 80's the music was A-Ha's Take On Me (high on my wish list of Kurt solos, btw) and then of course the Carmina Burana, which they used for Sue's tantrums before.

Why do I get the feeling that this show is the result of Glee writers giving the fans a slap in the face. It just reeks with fan irony.  Somebody spends a lot of time trolling.

Someone certainly spent a lot of time on the lol Blaine tag on tumblr. But instead of doing something with that fair criticism they just trolled it, ridiculed it and made it worse.

America's Gay Sweetheart?  Blaine?  

Yup, and in this same episode Sue called Kurt a sassy, toothless elf. Fun!  

And.. There is just no way to bring dignity to "what does the fox say" in the glee world. But.. To add to the zany puppet night GaGa follows ( in my time zone anyway) with, get this, the Muppets! I have no words.

Fun fact: apparently Glee and the GaGa muppet special aired in some parts of the USA at the same time.  

This is why, strangely enough, I kind of enjoyed it, couldn't help myself laughing at the absurdity of it all... BECAUSE it seemed so blatantly written to mock Blaine and his sycophant fans.

I'm not sure if the writers are trolling the Klainers, I think they're indeed giving the fans who don't like Blaine a slap in the face. Either way: they're losing goodwill and viewers because of it.

The main thing that ruined the episode was Tina's "oh we're so sorry. You have it soooooo hard (unlike us other seniors who will also be graduating and competing at Nationals, but whatever...) no wonnnnder you were being so controlling, (unlike every other time you're a controlling douche, but again, whatever...)... here, have everything you wanted like you wanted it and a solo (which you were getting anyway, so againx3, whatever...), Blainey-days."

Typical Blee: Blaine is a douchebag and messes up big time, and then he gets rewarded with being called a hero and/or leader, and of freakin' course a Nationals solo.
 

Plus, like Adam Crawford, it showed AGAIN someone being more respectful and supportive of Kurt than his own fiance! Elliot was lovely, even while disagreeing with Kurt.  

 This.

And thank you Rachel and Santana for being such a good friends and promising not to rub it in Kurt's face that their first gig was such a bust. Your show of faith is underwhelming.  The only one of them who really stuck by Kurt, respecting Kurt for his artistic choices (even if they didn't work out) was Elliot. Is it any wonder that I'm shipping them now?  

I'm shipping them like mad (really: the way Elliot followed Kurt around during 'Into The Groove': he's got a major, major crush on Kurt), and I'm not even a shipper!!!!!  

I only watched the Kurt edit and WTH was that? I actually had my mouth agape during their phonecall where Kurt mysteriously turns into a puppet!  Is there something missing in the edit or why...what...how....WHY!?

So they can't show the actual Kurt angry or Blainey Wainey will look bad, so instead of letting Kurt be upset thay me a Blaine's vision of him bitchy and angry. Even though the millisecond of Kurt's real face after the phone call was enough to tell how disappointed he was. Which I guess he was entitled to...wait are they going to now lay the base of making Kurt look the hurt one? Or is this just a gratuitous episode to present the a-hole Blaine as a perfect man.

I noticed this too. By making Kurt a puppet it distracted from and undermined the words Kurt was saying to Blaine.
But if you actually listen to why Kurt's upset and what he is saying to Blaine, it's a very serious conflict and Kurt has a valid reason to be really pissed.

Blaine not only didn't come to New York although he promised (which can be forgiven as he had detention), but he didn't even call Kurt about it.
If Kurt hadn't called Blaine himself a few minutes before the band would perform he wouldn't even have known that Blaine hadn't come (well, he would have known because there was only 1 person in the audience, but you get my drift). So Blaine would have stood him up, big time.
How is that in any shape or form excusable?

But the one time that Kurt gets to yell at Blaine and call him out on his bad behaviour they make Kurt a puppet so the effect is diminished.
They made Kurt a puppet when he's scolding Blaine for seeing him as a puppet!  


Blaine deliberately standing Kurt up at Callbacks, combined with Blaine's desinterest on the phone earlier and his creepy Kurt puppet conversations is making the hairs in my neck stand on end. What a lousy excuse of a bf,....excuse me: fiancé.
How are the Klainers excusing this behaviour, which is actually a lot worse than whatever neglect Kurt might have shown before Blaine f*cked a random?

[Glorfindel]

I'm guessing 1.1-1.2 ratings. Anyone else?

Maybe even lower.
At least I hope so, because this was utter crap.

Too bad one of the best, most sexy and funniest Kurt songs was buried somewhere beneath all that dung.

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