#mister zay babineaux i love you sir

[ambitionsource]

S1 Rewatch - Maggie’s Take [ 1.06 ]

officially hitting the midpoint of the season, this episode i think focuses on some things that maybe deserve more spotlight...

Favorite scene

Lots of good options this episode!! There aren’t any that are like the obvious standout in my opinion as there are in some episodes, but I think I would have to give the point to Charlie and Zay once again with their conversation in the black box (although Isadora and Lucas on the fire escape is a close second). First of all how pure and good is it that both of them so often just have the natural instinct to hang back and help clean up -- angels, I tells ya! -- but just... the softness and vulnerability in this scene between two boys who are barely friends at this point will always get me. I love how Zay tries to brush it off and Charlie doesn’t let it go, not in an obnoxious way but just by like... continuing to look at him. Without saying anything at all. Or how Charlie completely understands what he’s going through, just in his own Experience of it (more to do with his sexuality, mayhaps?) but is able to connect with Zay on that level. Zay spends the entire episode feeling disconnected, and then for the first time we see him start to find his footing again with Charlie. Also, Charlie being like if you had asked me to hang out, I would’ve said yes... I know how to have fun since someone taught me how............ sirs.... sirs.........

Favorite performance

While I love the charm of Charlie backing Zay on piano with “Perfect Places” (and continually looking up to smile at him while doing so), there’s an unbreakable tie between “Mr. Brightside” and “Happy Days Are Here Again / Get Happy” for me. Like, “Mr. Brightside” is iconic just by existing, but then you have Zay sing it, and just the whole staging of it with the Manhattan visuals... I just think that one has such a cool concept to it and I’m in love with the acoustic version of it. But with “Happy Days” ... I am a sucker for a MF performance as it is. And this one really solidifies the endless potential between the two of them, and shows Maya like... coming to his rescue as he implodes lmao. It might also be because this is one of my favorite Glee duets EVER, and imagining Maya and Farkle with that same kind of warmth and playful energy... like when I imagine how Farkle must keep looking at Maya and there’s this sense of like he really actually might have a Friend in that moment................. I’m fine. It’s fine.

Favorite character (within context of the episode)

Zay Babineaux no contest. In some ways, this episode belonged to him. We went into this episode knowing we wanted to spend some time with him, and I feel like his conflict is just... so real. And relatable. And he delivers 3 iconic performances (Perfect Places, Mr. Brightside, and FourFiveSeconds) so he is just like... on fire. AND he was in Puttin On the Ritz and tap danced the hell out of it. And he went a majority of the episode WITHOUT dancing, arguably his fallback talent but still shone regardless. Like... there is no contest here. This is Zay’s episode and I love him very much.

Favorite line(s)

“I’m just saying, anyone that dedicated to a suit jacket and the career of Rachel Berry can’t be straight.” –Jada Babineaux

“I’m familiar with his work, yes.” –Riley Matthews, about Lucas James Friar

“No, really. That feeling where you know you should be living the life, everything is in place for you to reap the rewards, but you just feel… like you’re not really there. Like you’re outside of your own experience and so everything is intangible. Disjointed... like I said, I get it.” –Charlie Gardner

An underrated moment

What struck me rereading this time around was how when Shawn is meeting with the techies to tell them about the performance assignment, he’s sitting on the floor with them in a circle. It just hit me that that’s totally how they would probably all sit, and there’s something really like... homey and warm about that. Shawn treats these kids like they’re all on the same level, none of them above the other, and that’s probably a small part of the reason that the techies have so much mutual respect. The techies in general just sparkled this ep... like Asher and Dave giving Isadora a standing ovation... ugh I love them all...

Anything I would’ve changed

Would’ve done a little more description about the numbers I think, at least like “Happy Days.” Otherwise, nah.

First impression vs your reread impression

I think I’m harder on this episode in my memory than I should be. I kind of think of it as a less hype episode, but that’s not really fair considering the whole point of the episode is that it’s stripped down. And rereading it, I was relieved that it flowed way better than my memory has convinced me it does. So I came out of this reread feeling better about this one than before. But also, I’ll admit, I got so lost in the euphoria of my playlist playing “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” when I finished I may have gotten distracted...

[ambitionsource]

S2 Rewatch - Maggie’s Take [ 207 ]

oh honey we’ve got a big storm coming...

Favorite scene

We’re getting to the point now in the season where all these questions become a million times harder to answer. All the scenes have an oomph to them. All the characters are at their richest. All the performances go off. So forgive me for cheating and giving multiple answers from here on out most likely. So in 207, three answers jump to mind. 1) The sequence where Farkle is having his true meltdown, before “Santa Fe.” From a writing standpoint, I remember I was really proud with how that scene turned out. It was a fun challenge, trying to capture that anxiety and panic and loss of reality. A fun fact that you may or may not know is that nearly all of the lines of dialogue said by the hallucinated characters are repetitions or variations on dialogue that has actually already been said in the show, meant to highlight how Farkle’s brain has taken these (usually offhand) comments and held onto them obsessively and in some cases even warped them into something more antagonistic than they were. Then there was the pattern of tying the sentiments together into one overarching monologue of sorts, repeating that thematic word over and over, “enough.” It was just so fun to write, and I’m really happy with how it came together. 2) The Dylan, Lucas, and Asher argument in the booth. Ooh, buddy. This was a true turning point, both for the narrative and for Asher and Dylan as characters. To me, that is the scene where they rise from supporting characters to mains, and in some ways it’s a long time coming. I love how it highlights the imperfections at play between that trio, and the way that Lucas and Asher know exactly how to get at one another, but nothing gets me more than Dylan’s “HEY” and stepping in between them. How Dylan snapping seems to be what pulls Lucas out of his anger, and how Dylan’s anger only lasts seconds before it shifts into like shock / concern... ugh I love him. I love them! Definitely a standout scene, even back when I first wrote it, but even more so now that Dylan and Asher have such larger roles in the third season. 3) The unintentional coming out scene between Riley and Charlie. The whole thing is just rich with tension, like I love the moment where Charlie is like you can’t tell anyone you can’t -- and she just interrupts him and it goes dead silent until she’s emphatically like I would never tell anyone... like chills, bro. Chills. And the relief that comes from Riley finally understanding why he’s been acting the way he has... so good. The follow up to this choice is the Zay and Charlie scene at the end where the freedom of someone knowing seems to allow him the strength to kiss Zay in their studio... I love them. I love it all. Whew. 

Favorite performance

It’s getting hard... it’s getting tough to choose... like “Santa Fe” is up there because of the raw emotion of it and what it represents for Farkle and his arc. “Loser” is great too, mainly in concept, as we have Dasher acting as Lucas’s subconscious mind essentially and all of the cool choices in the production of the number. But I think I will have to go with “Waving Through A Window,” as that is such a standout performance in my opinion. It delivers emotionally, it has a cool flow and concept, there’s snow... whenever it comes on AMBITION shuffle I’m like oh yeah. Now we’re talking. And I love the visual of Isadora being stuck on the acting block / courtyard table, always inches from falling off the ledge but managing to avoid disaster. It’s just a really cool visual in my head. So that’s the top for me I think.

Favorite character (within context of the episode)

I literally can’t choose. I don’t know what to say. I think I’ll say maybe Charlie and Zay? Both in their storyline together as well as individuals. They’ve both got great solos (“Consideration” and “Exhale”), Charlie has his devolution emotionally and Zay finally (righteously) snaps at Angela. They find refuge, in Riley and Harper and of course each other. There are standout moments throughout the episode for their relationship -- holding hands at the top in the studio, Charlie hugging Zay in the hallway to comfort him and telling him it’s okay, the fraught moment of Charlie snapping at Zay about being at his locker which feels like a tiny unintentional step back, Charlie’s frazzled kiss on the cheek in public, the ending scene with another handhold and the softest kiss... ugh I love them. They were at a peak this episode, which makes sense considering what’s about to come...

Favorite line(s)

“You know what, you’ve got a lot to think about. Let me just get out of your hair. Best of luck with this next phase in your life, sir. Save a little social security for the rest of us provided climate change doesn’t kill us first!” --Lucas James Friar, to Eric

“I mean, but what am I going to do instead? Follow in the footsteps of my mom? I won’t survive veterinary school, Mister E. And you can only cure lung cancer once!” --Darby Winters

“Might be nice to help combat the impending danger of climate change and issues with renewable resources by studying environmental sciences or maybe aeronautical space engineering in pursuit of space materials that could be used as new energy sources. Ooh, or a rodeo clown!” --Dave Williams

“Actually, I’m near-sighted. But I wear contacts.” --Dylan Orlando, in response to Eric asking if his future plan is “short-sighted”

“I looked into “space cowboy,” but as it turns out you need a degree in aerospace engineering as well as a license to boy cows, and that seems like a lot of work. So then I thought, well, if I don’t have the capacity to work, what else is there in this capitalistic hell we call society? Sure, I could probably enter myself in human cage fights and scrap to death for spare change, but I think that would hurt after a while and to be honest, I think I’d feel a bit like a piece of meat if I took up that mantle. Who would I be fighting to impress? The bourgeoisie? Hard pass. But after some deep, probing soul-searching, I finally hit the one. Trophy husband. Now, I know what you’re thinking. To accomplish such a grand ambition, I’d have to get someone to like me. And that’s a pretty hefty task, believe me I know, but I’ve devised a work around. This is, as Dave would say, galaxy-brained thinking, Mister E. I’m going to put an ad on Craigslist.” --Lucas James Friar

“It’s easy to say you believe in someone. Showing up for them is a different story.” --Zay Babineaux

“We’re friends, Lucas. We care about you. Asher wasn’t lying about that. And when you decide you want to do something about this, we’ll be there. When you need us... we’re going to be there for you. No matter what.” --Dylan Orlando

“I don’t know if this will make you feel better or worse, but the truth is it all comes down to endurance. How long you can take it, how long you can stick it out until it ends up being your shot. The true test of who lives the dream is who hangs on… and who gives up.” --Harper Burgess

An underrated moment

There are so many it would be so hard for me to pick one if I thought about it too hard, so I’m gonna go with my gut. My favorite mini moment in the episode is during the end montage, when Dylan climbs in the window to comfort Asher. There’s a lot of small details I like about it that occur just within like 30 seconds -- Asher’s routine with crushing up his anxieties (a thing elaborated on in Cruel Summer), how commonplace it is for Dylan to climb in the window, and how he jumps into comfort mode and they both fall into that without any words at all. I just love it. And I can picture the way Dylan kisses his cheek and then his shoulder and then rests his head against him so perfectly... I adore them. They are angels.

First impression vs your reread impression

Obviously, even when I wrote this last year it felt major. Because it is. This is the turning point episode, literally and narratively. It’s smack in the middle, and from here I knew everything was going to be bigger and more, especially since we pulled the (metaphorical) trigger with Farkle. We knew that was a narrative risk, but we felt strongly about it, and we took every method we thought possible to set it up well, be cautious about it to y’all (with trigger warnings and hotlines, etc.), and then follow through on it in a way that balanced realism with care and attention. I think we managed to pull it off, but it was a great relief that you all reacted so well to it (in terms of the narrative, not like joyously LMAO) and trusted us to carry it forward. That kind of trust in a writer means a lot, and that’s what I’ll always remember when I think about this episode. Thankfully, we all survived it, and now here we are on the cusp of S3. Insane. And now onto 208... the storm is here...