Glee: 6 Reasons I Love the Halloween Bit in “Props”—and One Reason I Don’t
“What’s a guy gotta do to get a candy situation up in here, huh?” Indeed, Blaine.
- It’s an actual comedic moment for Blaine and Kurt (and Darren and Chris). When have we had any of those? We’ve had heart eyes, playful banter, angst, comfort, dorkiness . . . but not hilarity. Blaine’s hair gel plot from “Prom-asaurus” was funny—but ended up more serious and tender. It was great to see them both do a comedic bit this over-the-top together for once. More, please.
- It retroactively provides a couple moment. Which is odd—because other than “Purple Piano Project” and “The First Time” (and ostensibly, “Extraordinary Merry Christmas,” where they’re playacting), Kurt and Blaine had next to no scenes together that had anything to do with them being a couple. And truly, up until “On My Way,” rarely any real scenes together at all. So this moment is a reminder of that. A sort of painful reminder.
- It’s yet another example of Kurt and Blaine’s obsession with reality TV. So score one for continuity. And I suppose, for reality TV?
- It’s just fabulous to think about how much work went into this seconds-long moment. The Halloween set, complete with kids in costumes traipsing over lawns. Little details like the jacket Kurt wears, which is Mercedes’. Or Blaine’s Trick-or-Treat basket, which is a pirate wearing an eye-patch.
- It’s such a playful moment for Kurt and Blaine, which again, we don’t get to see often (or at all). Kurt and Blaine, when they’ve been together on screen, are often at school or the Lima Bean. We never get to see them let go like this and be so carefree and silly. More recently we’ve had glimpses of their more silly side—in the prom photo/dino ride, or in the hilarious blink-and-you’ll-miss-it vampire scare moment at Regionals. But during the month when this moment would’ve occurred, we were watching Kurt and Blaine deal with the West Side Story auditions and Sebastian, and there wasn’t anything silly about those plot lines.
- It’s very weird to see Blaine impersonating someone. This is Blaine after all. He was punching a bag a few weeks after this, right before Sectionals. We’ve just never seen him actually do something like this. Again: it’s a tiny moment that to me, shows us Blaine as he is with Kurt, when he’s not performing his usual Mr. Gentleman schtick. And it’s ironic, because he’s performing here, too, obviously. But it’s for fun and not because he’s trying to protect himself. Sob. Kurt, on the other hand, has done this kind of performing before (“Le Jazz Hot” comes to mind, and even his delivery of the “T-rex eating the Jew” quip from “Purple Piano Project,” or more recently, Margaret Thatcher Dog).
What don’t I like about this moment? Gender stuff. This is the episode where Sue asks Kurt to don a dress for competition—not Blaine. LettersfromTitan posted a beautiful reaction ficlet exploring that issue, and in particular a take on Blaine’s processing of Sue’s request. So what does it mean that Kurt is Snooki, and Blaine, The Situation? Is it a casual, yet wrong-headed reminder about gender roles in a relationship, that someone is the “guy” and someone the “girl”? We could argue quite easily that as far as Kurt and Blaine go, neither is a pure stereotype with regard to traditionally masculine or feminine traits. But sometimes the way their own fluidity is presented is rather subtle, and this Halloween bit is all image, so it holds a kind of power. Then again, it’s Halloween. Costumes allow people to be something other than themselves. So are Kurt and Blaine’s costumes a representation of how they see themselves? Are they just playful opportunities to imagine themselves in other ways? I know these are big questions to raise about such a short, seemingly throwaway moment, but Glee is spattered with such moments and details, and if you’re reading this, you know that too.
1. Kurt looks lovely in drag.
2. Like, if Santana was strangely turned on by Puck’s effort, you’d be holding her back to keep her off Kurt. AND WHAT I WOULDN’T PAY… *ahem*
3. Blaine won’t be as convincing in drag. Kurt also is comfortable with his femininity — as long as no one thinks he’s a girl. And this is just a performance, but not a stage performance.
4. The problem with performing on stage as a woman is that, in Glee, performance is heightened reality, whereas Hallowe’en is just playing.
I think that’s it.
1. Agreed. Love his eyes.
2. I forgot about the Santana bit . . .
3. Eyebrows are a problem.
4. Yes. Yes!
I see your point, but I would like to point out moments like More Than A Woman wherein Kurt danced the male part and Blaine the female part. And Love Shack where Blaine wore a suite, and Kurt wore jeans, and the fact Blaine dragged Kurt onto the floor by his tie, something you commonly she women do to their boyfriends.
As well as the fact that Kurt and Blaine have sung almost the exact amount of “girl songs” this season.
For sure–as I mentioned above, neither Kurt nor Blaine is presented consistently as a female or male stereotype. Maybe my issue here is that Kurt’s often been pegged as “feminine” and Blaine “masculine,” which oversimplifies them, and the Halloween bit, because it’s so visual and “loud,” if you will, seems to continue that oversimplification?
Ooh, and I want to think about the songs comment some more, Miss Olivia. Some of Blaine’s (at least three, IIRC) have been specifically female empowerment kinds of songs, in a in-spite-of-what-you-assume-about-me-I’m-tougher-than-that kind of vein. Kurt’s Madonna and Whitney songs are not angry like Blaine’s–one is a love song asking the lover to stay, but not to expect him to change for said lover. The other is a song of thanks–for the ways the other/s has/have affected him. Blaine’s only other female-artist solo, I think, is “Last Friday Night,” a get-out-of-control party song. There are others they did this season, but I like thinking about the solos a bit more–to me they reveal more character. And some hold more weight than others narratively. To me Kurt’s two bold audition pieces this season stand out that way. For Blaine, the songs I mentioned above loom large. But I’m totally digressing now, sorry!
I just think for Halloween Kurt would choose to be the character in the fabulous outfit, whichever gender. And I think this is an interesting way to start to explore what Unique brings to the table. Is a dress a costume– an expression of what one is not– or an extension of one’s actual self? Are both cases performances? And who gets to decide, and under what circumstances?
Yeah, it’s hard to see Kurt choosing the nipple t-shirt over a leopard print 😉 And I really like thinking about Unique too in this regard, especially Blaine’s reaction to her. He and the others seem to see her as in costume–and want her to relegate that to performance. Easy to see why Blaine might think that way, since there is certainly a performance!Blaine versus the other one (the real one? or not?), even if that’s not tied to costuming.
And yes–the who gets to interpret what about it, and when–is important.