So last night I watched Glee with my kids. We loved the Mike Chang storyline, grooved on Brittany's girl power number, awwww-ed over the sweet (but short) Klaine moments, and adored the Dreamgirls piece. I may have shrieked a little when Emma's ginger supremacist parents showed up (RALPH MALPH!), even though my kids thought I was a little nuts.
(All I can say is thank goodness for Twitter, where I found other Happy Days fans to squee with.)
But the Mercedes/Rachel diva-off left a seriously bad taste in my mouth.
Don't get me wrong, Rachel is The Character Most Likely To Irritate Me On A Regular Basis. I went into the episode predisposed to support Mercedes' side of the situation. But her sense of entitlement, lack of willingness to put in the effort necessary to succeed, and overall arrogance made it impossible for me to support her decision.
First, a callback is NOT an insult. It's a normal part of theater practice. Asking both of them to sing again was perfectly reasonable under the circumstances.
Second, double-casting is ALSO not unheard of in theater circles. Again, it's not an insult - it's an attempt to give the spotlight to two talented actors, especially in a significant role like Maria. And for once, Rachel suppressed her inner diva long enough to congratulate Mercedes, to swallow down her disappointment and give props to her friend and rival. (Of course, she also assumed she'd get the best performance slots and Mercedes would get the less-attended ones, but that's minor compared to Mercedes' full-on diva meltdown.)
So Mercedes tells the directors to shove it - and why? What in her behavior and attitude indicated that she was done wrong? (In this situation, of course. Like I said, I was predisposed to be on her side, since I do think that in the past she HAS been shunted aside and ignored in favor of Rachel.)
She blew off dance practice and whined about it (and she wants to play the lead in a musical? Honey, you can't make it through a few dance moves, you'll never survive a full-on production). She complained non-stop about how she deserved to shine - but what did she do to EARN it?
Okay, the episode clearly pushed some buttons for this former actor/drama teacher/playwright.
And then Rachel went and blew my newly-earned sympathy by shafting Kurt in the Class President race. Ugh. You're back on my bad side, kid.
Never mind me. I'll just be rolling around in the awesomesauce that is Mike Chang, Brittany, and Klaine. At least until the hiatus is over!
