The morning after ...

[apocalypsos]

Okay, here's my thing with the whole Kurt/Finn thing. It kind of boils down to four bullet points.

1. Kurt's crush on Finn was understandable up to the point where it started going overboard.
2. The writing and acting when it comes to Kurt's crush on Finn has been really problematic at times.
3. I don't consider what Kurt did to be sexual harrassment.
4. No matter what line Kurt may have crossed, he never EVER reached a point where he deserved for Finn to start repeatedly yelling the word "fag."

First off, the crush.

There's nothing wrong with Kurt having a crush on Finn. There's nothing wrong with his hoping that maybe, just maybe, Finn might be bi and possibly hasn't even considered it yet. I mean, hell, we write fic like that ALL the time.

And up to a point, there was nothing wrong with Kurt's crush. Where Kurt started to cross a line was in introducing his dad to Finn's mom. If he has a crush on Finn, there's nothing wrong with that either. But attempting to arrange it so that you'll have to share a room with your crush, whether you meant it to be that way or not, is going too far. It's the sort of awkward teenage behavior most people look back on in their own lives and go, "Shit, why did I DO that?", and Kurt's going to be the same way.

Secondly, the writing and performance.

I love Chris Colfer, I do, but the thing about Chris is that when he plays upset and grimaces and gets all uptight -- like he does when Finn says something that upset's Kurt's hope that Finn might show some interest in him -- he makes the same face all the time and there's something really unsettling about it. Chris has a really expressive face and in my opinion it takes what's a normal crush gone a smidge too far and makes it a little more uncomfortable to watch than need be.

As for the writing ... okay, I honestly believe that at this point in the storyline, the writers intend for Kurt to possibly still have a crush on Finn, but at least be somewhat realistic about it. He's gone from being more flirtatious like he was in earlier private moments with Finn -- helping him with that one song a way back comes to mind, where he was trying to backseat-drive Finn's love life towards experimenting with guys -- to attempting to make him happy about the sharing-a-room situation. I think that Kurt's at a point where he still has a crush on Finn, but he's trying to be a realist about it for the obvious fact that his dad's happy with Finn's mom. At no time last night did he appear to be inappropriate with Finn, unless you count the mere fact that they had to move in together, which was the result of earlier questionable behavior, not any that happened last night.

Third, the sexual harassment bit.

Kurt's crush on Finn isn't creepy because he's gay.

I repeat, KURT'S CRUSH ON FINN ISN'T CREEPY BECAUSE HE'S GAY.

Where the crush becomes creepy is in manipulating a situation so that you and your crush can share a bedroom. It should be creepy if a woman does it as well. You're attempting to invade your crush's private space. That's out of line.

That said, I feel like the accusations of sexual harassment go too far in this case.

Do I think what Kurt initially did was wrong? Yes. Do I think he was, as of last night's episode, thinking of sneaking up on Finn at night and sticking his hand down his pants? Oh, hell, no. They moved in together and Kurt's biggest crime was redecorating badly. (I thought it was rather nice, but then again I'm not a 16-year-old straight boy.) If the worse crime he's committing is arranging for the situation in the first place, that's not sexual harassment, that's just being stupid. Teenagers are really good at that.

Meanwhile, Finn was flinching away from Kurt and changed in the bathroom. That's not right, either. Finn realizing Kurt has a crush on him may be the sharpest he's ever been on this show. That still doesn't give him the right to act as though Kurt is going to pounce on him like a jungle cat every time he comes near him. Kurt spent the entire episode trying to make the best of the situation, albeit awkwardly. Finn spent the entire episode having a freakout that his new gay roommate would see him naked or touch him. Kurt may have behaved inappropriately by arranging for them to share a bedroom -- something he seems (at least to me) to regret having done on some level -- but Finn was the one who started crossing lines and didn't stop the second they started sharing a bedroom.

And as for the last bullet point?

Nothing would have made it appropriate for Finn to have called Kurt a fag. NOTHING. It wouldn't have been appropriate even if Kurt had tried to give him a blowjob without his consent, it wouldn't have been appropriate even if Kurt has tried to kiss him, it wouldn't have been appropriate even if Kurt has spent every night they shared a bedroom flirting heavily with him. Burt may have missed out on Kurt's crush on Finn, but everything he said about Finn saying that word was on point.

It's completely unforgivable for me, and I almost want to congratulate Glee. I used to like Finn, at least in some small part. And I know he's a teenage boy and they say this shit, but ... that's it. I'm done with him.

Comments

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

YES. THIS. All of it, to what you said. Except for not being able to forgive Finn. But other than that one point (which is just a matter of opinion) GOD YES to everything you said. Next time somebody says Kurt deserved it I'm pointing them here.