Brittana fandom changed the world for me, not just by shaping what I got to see on this show ā and the revolutionary thing I am seeing right this second with this double gay wedding ā but also by showing me the blazing blue magic of fandom power.
Someone on Tumblr, after my proposal recap, was like, “Glad to see you admitting the fact that Glee‘s writers only put Brittany and Santana together because lesbian fandom forced them to.” And I was like, “Admitting the fact?” Girl, no. “Celebrating the fact.” “Praising the fact.” “Proclaiming the fact.” “Glorifying the fact.” These writers steered this show off of sexist cliff after sexist cliff over the last sixĀ years. The fact that a fandom full of queer women kept them on the path of goodnessĀ with this one thing? I’ll never shut up about it.
I love you I love you I love you like never before.
It’s a different thing in pop culture now, but in December 2009, when Brittany said what was meant to be a throwaway line about having sex with Santana, it was:Ā 90210 and Melrose Place reboots using women kissingĀ as ratings stunts. It was FlashForward, a broadcast TV show with a lesbian character that was cancelled in a hot minute. It was Stargate Universe on Syfy, but the lesbian character was a on spaceship ten million light years away from a wifeĀ she never even saw. Callie and Arizona were the only thing we had to believe in back then, and even that was up in the air because of the way Grey’s Anatomy unceremoniously dumped Erica Hahn off into a parking lot and never mentioned her again just a few months beforeĀ GleeĀ aired its pilot.
It’s important to know what the world looked like when Brittana fandom decided to change it.
We like to think equality for gay people is a done deal in this country, but it’s not. “Are you ready to give America what at least 52% of it will legally tolerate?” is a thing Sue said when she was coaxing Kurt and Blaine into their tuxes, and that’s the fact of it. Seeing a double gay wedding on broadcast television is still a big damn deal. The culture war isn’t over.
Brittany and Santana’s, and Kurt and Blaine’s vows are very T.S. Eliot, very Alfred J. Prufrock, very “all of the suffering and heartache that has come from and will come from loving you is worth it, and will always be worth it, and I will say yes to the hard parts forever, because it means I get to wrap myself up in the fact of you, to see and be seen by you ā the only one who has ever truly known me ā for the rest of my life.”
Thank you for not wearing the leopard lounging robe.
Kurt was hurled into the dumpster in the McKinley High School parking lot, the collateral damage of gladiator culture, but he crawled out. And he came out. And he wondered if he would be alone forever, in hisĀ one-queer town. He had nothing but the strength of his own voice and the fire of the dreams he hid away from everyone, even himself sometimes. Blaine had everything. Well, everything except a place where the curtain closed. The world was his stage and the lights were always on. Kurt and BlaineĀ found each other, and danced around each other, until they realized they didn’t have to stand alone in the cold outside.
Sweet Lady Kiss 4 Life, Literally
Santana was trapped in a barbed closet of her own construction, sharpening her knives and testing them on other people in case she ever had to turn them on herself. She forced herself to be alone, to not give in to the only thing she really ever wanted. Brittany was never afraid. And she was never understood, except by Santana. They were everything to each other, but they kept finding ways not to say it. They built their own obstacles, and they toppled them. They built them again with reinforcements.Ā Santana and BrittanyĀ ran with each other and from each other, colliding and colliding, a supernova of inevitability.
Riese: Is this like Obamaās last term in office? Murphyās last season? You know how we fantasize about like Obama doing everything weāve wanted him to do in his last year because why the fuck not? (I mean i know itās more complicated than that.) Is thatās what Ryan Murphyās doing?
They say “I do.” All four of them. And everyone kisses, husbands and wives.
And Tumblr explodes riiiiiiight … now!
Pierce Pierce gives a rousing speech about how Brittany is the most beautiful person in the barn, and not just because everyone else in here is ugly as butts. And then, confirming my buddy Lauren’s suspicion that people who aren’t on Tumblr don’t understand 80 percent of what is happening this season, everyone puts on OTP hats and dances around Heya to “Hey Ya!” It’s pretty special.
Tina proposes to Mike and it goes about as well as you’d expect.He tells her they’re way too young to get married and that this show is going to piss on her right up until the very end. But he did save a slow dance for her, so that’s something.
Riese: Seriously everybody STOP. There are other things to do besides getting married. Like: going bowling, moving into an apartment place for the two of you to share, looking at puppies in the park, rowing boats on a river.
And then! All the moms sing “I’m So Excited!” The only one who gives Gloria Estafan a run for her money is Amber Riley, obviously. And then! Kurt and Blaine and Santana and Brittany sing “Our Day Will Come.” (Relevant lyric: “Nobody can tell me Iām too young to know I love you, so.”)
Riese: Haiiiii Sugar Motta! Double wedding solid, this is such a deal. This is so weird and gay. Look at this show!
La la la. I hope Quinn hasn’t been eaten by a bear or killed by A. La la la.
La la la. She’s probably at a clam bake. La la la.
The next day, Tina and Artie have a champagne brunch in the choir room and agree to make some Slytherin babies together if they’re not married by the time they’re 30.
And finally, Sue invites the newly married couples to the auditorium to give them wedding presents. They’re good ones! Honeymoons! She cancelled the one Kurt and Blaine had planned for themselves. (Kurt, give me that shirt!) For Kurt and Blaine, a weekend trip to Provincetown staying at Andrew Sullivan’s Cabana House. For Santana and Brittany, a month-long, all expenses paid trip to Paradise Island. Brittany says my favorite thing she’s ever said in this show. Ever. “That’s where Wonder Woman was born!” And Sue says, “Lassos of Truth included!”
And then SueĀ says her next legacy couple is Faberry. Because she can’t get enough of the lesbians. Oh, Glee. You’re so Glee.
Klaine and Brittana agree to Skype every year on their anniversary and celebrate together every fifth year. And they leave hand-in-hand for their honeymoons.
And this is the pilot script, where we both spoke zero words.
Ā Riese: “Your notes should just read 9:23 Whereās Quinn? 9:26 Whereās Quinn? 9:32 Whereās Quinn? 9:46 Whereās Quinn? 9:50 Have they, like, talked about Quinn not being there?” – Abby
I can’t believe it’s real. I can’t believe Brittany and Santana areĀ married. They were secondaryĀ characters. They were held pinkies and background hugs. Their relationship was meant to be a joke, was morphed into a sexy placation. But the goddamn thing about stories is they come to life in ways writers never expect.Ā TheyĀ are, quite literally, magical.
Like the story of Brittany S. Pierce, who saw the truth of Santana Lopez’s heartspace, knew her straight through and right down to her toes, the hidden parts of her,Ā the wounded kitten behind theĀ caustic roar. The story of how Santana saw Brittany too, the brillianceĀ of her brain, her unicorn spirit. And the story of how Santana built her life around Brittany and built walls around herself, insisting it was just friends, and not the kind of love that rearranges the alchemy of your whole soul. And then Santana came out of the closet. And Brittany was never in it. They lifted each other up; they held each other close; they broke each other’s heart sometimes, the way wild things always do; they healed each other; they eased the violence and the hatred and the cruelty of the world, alone together, for each other. Santana asked Brittany to be her wife,Ā and Brittany said yes because her genius math brain understood thatĀ in a world full of infinite variables, there are some things you just Know. They were married in a barn in Indiana. Mrs. and Mrs. Pierce-Lopez.
Call it fantasyĀ if you want, but here’s a thing Neil Gaiman taught me: “Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
Dorothy Snarker, your brownies are in the mail.
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I’m not even ashamed to admit I cried like a baby during this episode. It was beautiful. Yes, the pacing was weird and there were some eye-rolling moments. But I don’t care. My two OTPs are married. The wedding was beautiful and I am so happy for the couples. Gah! This episode will go down in history, at least for me, and these couples will always have a special place in my heart.
I know some Brittana fans were upset at the wedding being shared by Klaine, but I can’t be mad about that. It was a very special moment between friends. And Glee very fairly gave both couples equal spotlight.
Beautiful recap, Heather <3
I definitely cried a couple of times. For me, I was watching Glee before I ever saw The L Word or watched Grey’s Anatomy, and so Santana was the first queer Latina character that I think I ever saw on TV. And i get really invested in the shows I watch, so that was amazing for me, to finally see myself represented like that. To see her keep getting stories and lines and to have her relationship with Brittany progress the way it did, it was so affirming for me.
Ugh, it just made me really, really happy. Also, when her abuela showed up, I definitely cried. (also Heather, I really love your version of Sue’s comments about what the bible says about homosexuality).
Also, where was Quinn?
Seriously, where was QUINN!
in my heart :,( also, she will be back for the last episode w/e
Brittany and Santana had an early joint bachlorette party where Quinn was the…entertainment. She was to tired afterward to attend.
I was so excited for this episode, this moment…Brittana means the world to me and I am glad and proud that this happened. Also they brought back the Troubletones which in my opinion is the 2nd best thing glee ever did. I did miss Quinn tho, I know it was a scheduling thing that prevented Dianna from coming back but they could have made some comment about it…I want her to have a happy ending too…YAY Mike Chang!!
Is Dianna coming back for any of the last episodes?
She’s in the finale.
(For the record, it’s my head canon that Quinn didn’t attend because she’s still not over her “Two Time Thing” with Santana. But don’t worry, I’m sure Rachel can help her mend her broken heart )
My headcanon is that she didn’t come because Rachel didn’t ask her to be her date. I mean, Quinn showed up when Rachel called everyone to help jump-start the new Glee club again, so obviously Santana and Brittany fucked up by not making Rachel hand over the invitation.
HA! Ok, so now I am abandoning my head canon and adopting yours, obviously ;)
Heather Hogan, I love the way you love your television characters.
Reading all your beautiful feels about PLL and Glee makes me so happy, and I haven’t watched either of those shows in years.
You are a treasure.
But but but you still keep up with Mona on YouTube, right??
I don’t even know what you are talking about and I wish I did but I came back here to tell you I drank 2 glasses of wine tonight and watched this Glee episode and cried several times so thank you for inspiring me to do that.
The way Brittany and Santana were looking at each other in every scene smashed up my heart into the happiest little pieces and now I have all these joyous little jagged heart slivers coursing through my veins and slicing up my insides, filling me with love.
My own wedding took place in a courthouse after hours with my person and our 2 best friends, and I sobbed through the vows that I wrote and I had to stop twice to blow my nose because my face was a mess and it was so gross but like so perfect because then we were all cry-laughing and everyone should get to cry-laugh with the person they love about the never-ending snot running down their face on their wedding day, you know?
<3
I am actually surprise by the praise of this episode. Is it the fact that brittana made it that we are ignoring how Klaine was forced down our throats when this episode should have been all about brittana, how annoying it was to smash their vows together…idk I guess I thought there would be more critqiue but ok. Anyways the parts with just Santana and Brittany were awesome and I loved them at the very end of the episode seemed like they were a real couple. I do feel sorry for anyone who isn’t apart of fandom because so much of this episode would not make sense….and idk it felt like Ryan Murphy just wanted to give brittana fans a bone to shut them up about how screwed up with those two characters. And I know why Quinn wasn’t there she wasn’t available for filing do to being overseas doing a USO concert….but still they could have i operates her some how
When I was 16 I was deep, deep in the Brittana fandom. For a good year the only thing I read was Brittana fanfiction, the first two years of my tumblr archive are just glee, and really and truly, the brittana fandom was the only queer community I had for most of high school. I stopped watching glee after season 3, I couldn’t do it anymore. The writing is shoddy, Ryan Murphy made me want to throw things at my tv, and I needed a hobby besides crying at fanfiction in the middle of the night. This episode is the first episode I’ve watched since the season 3 finale. And my 16-year old self is SO FUCKING HAPPY. I’m not emotionally invested in the characters anymore, but when I was 16, Brittany and Santana made me believe in true love. I hate that that’s true, but their love (and the attention given to it in fanfiction) gave me some inkling of hope that maybe someday I would meet my person and could live happily ever after. I remember the Valentine’s Day episode where they FINALLY kissed, that damn episode made me happy for weeks. I watched it over and over and over.
And now, what feels like a lifetime later, I have a real life queer community (thanks to autostraddle and a-camp, let’s be real). I have real people to be emotionally invested in rather than fictional characters, and the only queer people in my life aren’t just on tumblr. Seeing Brittany and Santana get married reminds me just how much I’ve grown up, and while their wedding didn’t make me tear up like I know it would have four years ago, reading this recap absolutely did. Because Heather is right. This honest to god dream come true on television is because of a fandom. The two people who I so badly wanted to live happily ever after are going to, and although I don’t care nearly as much as I used to about them, it still means the world to me to see it.
This is beautiful. <3
I have a lot of feelings about this episode:
1. I’ve been waiting for 6 years for glee to cover “hey yeah” and it was everything I could have wished for.
2. The wedding dress scene reminds me of the Lizzie McGuire Movie, especially Brit’s light up dress.
3. I want my future wedding to look exactly like this, with all of the pintresty/barn things, but I swear if anyone says a goddamn thing about us being “brave” or “inspirational” I’ll throw a fit. That was the most annoying part about this episode, and I hope I don’t have to explain why. Santana isn’t trying to be an inspiration, she’s just trying to marry her lady.
4. I want to comment on the Pierce Pierce line about needing to give a toaster, but target was closed…because that shit was hilarious and I’m sure my neighbors heard me laughing
I cannot believe you just name-checked the Lizzie McGuire movie! I loved that movie! I had the soundtrack!
I’d have opted for Brittany’s younger sister and Santana’s father as attendees before I’d select Quinn. I missed them, partly because we heard of them but never met them.
Oh wow, I forgot Brittany even had a younger sister! I’m so used to watching PLL that I don’t even think teenager characters have parents, but yeah, it would have been neat to see Britt’s sister. I wonder who would have played her. That girl who plays Prim in The Hunger Games?
Heather, that was so beautiful. I literally was tearing up reading it. Thank you so much for writing this amazing review!!!
Okay, I’m off to fangirl in a corner now.
Thank you, Terri. :)
I was so excited about this wedding! I’ve been to plenty of weddings in real life that did not have the emotional effect of finally seeing our girls getting their happy ending. In a perfect world, would I have preferred it without a Klaine trim? Yes. But since I know the Gleeverse time continuum is running short, and we must invest time in stories we don’t care about, such as new New Directions and Warblers I’m focusing on the fact that the wedding happened. Also that Santana got her Abuela back.
Thank you Heather for this final recap of Brittana. Your words about Brittany and Santana knowing each other’s truths and it being a love that rearranges the alchemy of your soul were exactly what I craved. If the wedding didn’t already have me in tears, this was the final emotional dam breaker. I’m as in love with your writing as I am with these two fictional characters.
Thank you Riese for you clever snarky add ins and yes “Where is Quinn?” We all know where she was IRL, but for Gleeverse to not even offer one of their ridiculous expositions seemed crazy, given the importance of The Unholy Trinity friendship.
Lastly, thank you to Dorothy Snarker, because there was no way I believed that early that this could or would play out this way. And this amazing fandom who continued to believe and to fight back until they got their happily ever after.
Amen to all of this!
I was really hoping the recap would be called The Chickening :( (Sidebar, that was one of my favorite scenes ever!)
Damn. DAMN. Now I want to rename it. :(
It’s ok, it probably wouldn’t be appropriate emotionally
In addition to being proud of the fandom for demanding more of Brittana, I think a huge credit and thank you should go out to Naya Rivera. She has definitely been the captain of this ship. She didn’t just appreciate us as her fans, but she fought right along with us for this relationship to be taken seriously. She never wavered in her belief that Brittany was Santana’s soulmate. She recognized the need for Santana’s story to be told, not just because it would boost her career and storyline, but because she knew many of her fans needed to see themselves represented on tv.
And I read she’s expecting her first baby! Congratulations and high fives to her!
I am so happy for her and Ryan. My first thought when I heard the news was the scene during the performance Tik Tok and Brittany threw up and the only one to do so right after was Santana. In real life Heather is the first of the glee kids to have a baby, so life imitating art, I am not at all surprised that it’s Naya that follows suit. This is why I ship Heya as well as Brittana. They make it so easy for me to love them and see them thru lesbian-colored glasses.
wait WHAT??? I haven’t watched Glee or read recaps since Brittany left Santana for Archie and WOW things have progressed in leaps and bounds since then
It really is almost unbelievable.
Glee infuriated and alienated me so much a few years ago that I just stopped watching. I couldn’t deal with getting my feelings stomped on amongst other things.
But, I’ve watched a couple of episodes this season and had to watch the wedding episode. I thought it was uneven as hell and completely unrealistic. And, I was seriously pissed off they couldn’t even address the Quinn issue. But, I loved it too – despite all it’s ridiculousness. I did tear up and two of my OTPs, both of which I was convinced wouldn’t be allowed to last, got married (though I gotta admit, I really wanted each couple to have their own special day).
Anyway, I ramble. I just wanted to say how much I’ve enjoyed your recaps this season and your ongoing love for Brittana and its fandom. Your recap just summed it all up perfectly. I probably cried more reading it. Basically perfect recap is perfect.
Thank you, sweet friend. And I agree that it’s been an infuriating ride at (most?) times, but damn, this one made me cry.
Oh my God I have so many feelings about this episode. It wasn’t perfect. Like where the hell was Quinn,(Or Santana’s dad or Britt’s sister) and why was Klaine’s storyline so rushed, but the Brittana parts were amazing. Brittana hasn’t been this much of a focus on the show since season 2, and this time it’s a happy arc, and everything feels awesome. When I was a confused thirteen year old, unsure of who I was, suddenly Brittana was there.I never even saw being gay as a possibility before Glee. And then Landslide happened and all the locker scenes and just like that everything changed. As Santana began to realize that she was in love with her best friend, I was realizing the same thing right along with her. It feels good that a couple so important to me is getting some closure. My OTP has gotten married! And I need one of those hats :)
Yeah, we should see about all going in together and buying those hats in bulk.
Well, shit. I haven’t even watched Glee since season 3 but this recap was goddamn beautiful.
Thanks, S! (You were right to spare yourself the heartache and rage, though!)
Heather, I sincerely wish I had read your recap before I watched the episode because the way you wrote about it made it sound so much more beautiful than I felt.
a) The Abuela bit was nice. I actually wish that you included the real dialogue because I actually really enjoyed Sue’s reverse “Sue”chology in pointing out the follies of Abuela’s bigotry.
b) They definitely reused the bridesmaid dresses for the foiled Finchel wedding.
c) wtf the Klaine aspects was so out of character for Santana and Britt that it’s insulting. No way in a million years would Santana go from destroying Kurt for interrupting her proposal to INSISTING THAT HE SHARE THE ALTAR WITH HER???
d) No fucking way would Schu be in the bridal party. No. Fucking. Way.
e) Having “Heya” be the wedding song is ridiculously meta. All the shipper portmanteaux. They’re not winking at the fandoms; they’re bludgeoning them with all this fanservice.
f) but seriously WHERE IS QUINN THIS IS RIDICULOUS. This is on the same level of her absence from the Finn Memorial episode. Her absence on both parts completely retcons her ENTIRE storyline from the show, what the ever loving fuck.
I am definitely disappointed that they hackneyed Klaine into this episode, mainly because if I were in the fandom, I would be incredibly insulted as to how the show has treated this couple this season. I mean, Kurt and Blaine as individuals have actually done some of the best character development so I’m happy for them, but all the circumstances that have been thrust on them this season is just so painful and cheap.
That being said… Faberry? Sigh. I don’t know what to think.
Thank you Heather for a fantastic recap. It’s been a wild ride and I still can’t believe a fairytale about 2 cheerleaders had a happy ending. The fandom may have shown you its blazing blue magic, but it also owes you and Reise and your friends/colleagues at Autostraddle and other sites like AE a big thank you for giving us a voice that could not be ignored. In today’s social media driven environment, I think “the powers that be” can pick up the emotional thread expressed by the masses but they can often discount, or aren’t able to ascertain, the essential arguments because those arguments arise from a cacophonous, emotionally-charged din. You and your fellow writers organized and articulated our thoughts so well and gave us a platform to present those opinions so the messages were delivered. Thanks for being our champions then, now and forever.
This episode may not be perfect (though I will do everything I can to fanfic it into perfection, with everybody’s sisters, parents and Quinn being there, all Britt’s unicorn-trolling wisely explained
and Wonder Woman being a real person in Glee-verse), but this recap sure is.Thank you, Heather, for the prefect recap. I hope both you and Riese (and everyone who watched with you) managed to enjoy this episode at least a little.
Thank you for recapping this show through all its ups and downs. Mostly downs)
And thank you for this happily ever after. I’m sure we wouldn’t get it without you being there rooting for Brittana (what Cara said). You may have stopped believing like any rational adult would, but this is your victory, too.
I haven’t seen the episode yet but I definitely cried just reading the recap. It makes me wish someone with more tech savvy than me could put together a Brittana-only version of Glee to keep forever. As crazy and flawed and sidelined as it was at times, this was my first lesbian love story and I almost wish it meant less to me. Thanks lesbian blogger community for making it go here.
I’m still mad Kurt and Blaine got married. I mean congrats to that fandom but if ever there were two people on this show who were destined to crash and burn it is these two. They have serious communication issues and rushing into a marriage is not the way to solve it. I see a lot of infidelity and an eventual split in my Post-Glee headcannon.
I too would have liked to have seen Santana’s dad since she did talk about him more than any of her other family members. I was happy to see abuela again though despite her bigotry. That actress also plays Jane’s grandma on Jane The Virgin. And Gloria Estefan is always a good time. Brittany’s parents were perfectly cast as well. The only actress other than Coolridge who might have been a better mother for Brit is Lisa Kudrow.
Agreeing with turkish, as usual
About Klaine and Lisa Kudrow playing Britt’s mom
This episode was so amazing, I teared up. I finally got the feeling that Brit & Santana were a couple, and Kurt & Blaine like always make my heart explode with their cuteness I can’t even handle it. This episode was filled with so much happy!!
I totally agree with Riese’s point about Tina. Girl can’t get a break, it’s terrible.
Did anyone else notice that the show is trying to conceal/minimize the gay kissing scenes? When Brittana & Klaine kissed at the wedding, Klaine was in shadow, and Brit was covering their faces partially? I noticed this in previous episodes this season when Brittana kiss they are totally in shadow and you can’t see anything!! Even with all this progress, are they trying to hide the kissing? Or am I reading too much into this?
from what I read, I’m probably the only one who’s stopped seeing this show and also it took a huge turn. shocked with all these events, sounds like a good ep… but glee’s not for me.
Oh Heather, how I’ve missed you. Terrific recap!
lol, I loved the dialogue that you wrote between Abuela and Sue. All the commentary on the Bible was pretty correct.
Sorry to be out of the loop but what did “Hey ya!” have to do with Brittanna fandom?
This episode is another example of how I HATE what they did with Tina’s character. She never got a good episode or decent storyline the entire series. Though, the actress did well with what little she was given.
But, this recap was beautifully written. You’re right that this wedding showed the power of social media and fandom. I think the actors playing Santana and Brittany have so much chemistry that they really make the relationship seem sweet and authentic. I’ve cried at many Brittanna moments. I’d say they did an overall good job w/ this episode.
Sidenote: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1335851532/geek-loves-punk-comedy-about-a-lesbian-geek-and-he
The abuela scene made me cry so hard, because all I kept thinking about was my grandmom and if she would ever do that. Yes, abuela still thinks women marrying women is wrong, but something must have changed even a little bit if she’s showing up to her nieta’s wedding. And maybe when she sees how happy Brittany and Santana are, she’ll change her mind. And maybe my grandmom will change her mind.