As much as the Breakup episode hit hard, it took massive guts to break up that many major couples in one episode. They risked upsetting SO many fans.
Posted Mar 4, 2020, 2:41 AM UTC
15619
very accurate <3
10
I liked it. I thought the show was relied too much on the ships.
6
It took a lot of guts, and Blaine will forever have a mark or two in the bad boyfriend column for what he did to Kurt, but it was necessary for Klaine and Finchel to break up; realize what it's like without each other.
Brittana shouldn't have broken up, though Santana's reasoning was very mature.
I loved Finchel becoming friends again but it honestly felt like a slow burn fanfiction.
4
They did upset so many fans.
3
It wasn’t a risk or mature or bold, it was bad writing and forced drama lol. I guess nostalgia or people just watching the series is clouding people’s brains from what the actual reactions were to eps like this. RIB were not capable of writing healthy relationships.
3
Exactly. We all knew that they would all get back together sooner or later. It was just a bad attempt at trying to create drama and conflict. I know Glee is pretty unrealistic, but imagine if all the couples that you know would break up at the same time. It would be so weird.
2
I didn’t think it was weird because it fell into the themed episodes Glee did. Like everybody trying to lose their virginity on the same night back in S1? Glee’s drama and conflict exists on another plane of reality in my head - and that’s not even a diss to the show! Just the tone they set way back in the first ep.
2
I mean, that’s a valid take. They certainly did it for dramatic purposes - and the hopes of stringing people along as they hope for a reconciliation. That element is there, no doubt. However, I thought the episode was very strong and loved how it took a moment to reevaluate these characters. This whole episode could have been a disaster and breaking everybody up could have been a soulless dramatic affair... it didn’t feel that way for me. It felt poignant, the characters deepened, the musical moments were powerful. I know the episode had a lot of backlash, but for me it was the one promising and mature moment in the show post S3. (Minus The Quarterback, of course.)
2
I mean sure, but it's not like they did it for the growth of the characters/show, it was just for temporary shock value. Everyone knew they were all going to end up back together. So instead they relied on their shitty writing to break them all up at the same time.
Brittana's was the only mature, realistic decision that I could've believed and supported even if I didn't like it, I like the idea of them realizing they need to grow on their own first before seeing how they can work together. But using cheating to break Klaine up was so tired and shitty of them. Long distance couples can break up for multiple reasons, so even if Brittana broke up for being long distance as well, Klaine could've had other LDR-related issues to break up about. Like Kurt being too busy and enjoying his new life, as they showed. They didn't have to force in a cheating just to "justify" the break up. And I hated Finchel so meh
2
Also Mr Schue and Emma
1
I was about to write this but then I realized I don't think they broke up, will just went on a trip to DC.
6
[deleted]
-1
Well damn 😂
0
Furthermore If they hadn't broken up we wouldn't have got Santana singing Mine to Brittany or them singing The Scientist which were two of the best songs of that season
1
I sometimes wonder if that was the writers saying, “you want Finchel, Klaine and Brittana to be treated equally? We’ll break them all up in the same episode!”
1
I get the anger that fandom felt after viewing the Breakup. From IRL perspective, I think the Breakup episode representative of what happens to high school graduates. Going through my yearbook sure I can point out couples who dated in high school. Two were friends who married immediately after high school, one ended up divorced, the other married still today. My classmates who went to college found their SO's, or they came out of the closet. Those who stayed in the area married former graduates, upper and lower class who they didn’t date in high school. Or married someone from another local high school. I can’t recall anyone who dated in high school, stayed together through college and married, or who reunited to marry. One couple from my class who never dated in high school or college, but ended up marrying when they worked for the same employer. Now I’m not saying it doesn’t happen. I attended a small and rural high school, so not a good sample. A more RL representation was Tike. Even at 18, I thought friends who broke up to go off to college smart and healthy. Tragic, perhaps, but college is a time to become an adult, meet new people, explore opportunities and ideas, find out who you are, and what it is you want.
Oh yeah, I too cheered when Brittana got back together. Klaine? Wow, the rollercoaster ride at Six Flags.
1
It loved it. It’s a classic
1
I thought it was very mature and bold of them to break everybody up. SO much of the show’s fanbase is built on the ships so this move showed me that they cared more about showing these characters and relationships grow rather than pleasing fans. Of course, they kinda give in to that by teasing these couples reuniting just a few episodes later. However, I thought this episode was very smart and gutsy so I greatly admired it.
They gave into it big time in season 6, minus Finchel. I cry every time during the breakup episode though.
Gonna just reply with some of the writing moments I appreciated...
The follow-up with Rachel and Finn. The show could have easily moved forward and never brought up the train scene again. Or they could have just limited its impacts to what we saw in season 3 - Finn painfully breaks up with Rachel so that she does not put her dreams on hold for him; Rachel is heartbroken but excited about what her future holds; essentially it’s just something that happened to move them from point A to point B. Instead the writers twisted the scene on its head and analyzed the negative impacts of this pivotal moment. Finn regrets immediately that he let Rachel go. He was trying to be strong and do the right thing, but he quickly learns that adult life rarely goes to plan. He was convinced that he made his decision and he couldn’t go back no matter what, but... he should have done what he wanted and followed her because now there’s a wedge between them that he can’t erase. And Rachel with time resents him for what he did, moreso him dropping all contact. It wasn’t the strong gesture we saw before; it was cowardly. He might have been trying to do the right thing, but he hurt her and she wants better.
Then with Kurt and Blaine... I know people think the cheating was OOC, and for sure it happened too quickly for us to get a good understanding of how their relationship could crumble like this. However... I thought that the writers even acknowledging the changing power dynamics between the characters was smart. It was there from the start, but not really obvious until Kurt was on his own. Kurt was independent; Blaine was dependent. Nothing wrong with either, but they were headed for disaster by not addressing it... which is what happened. Blaine feels neglected by Kurt moving on and starting a new life. Both are caught up in their own feelings and fail to realize how the other is coping. Kurt deserved to be happy and doing his own thing, but I could also understand why Blaine felt like he was just a piece of Kurt’s less important past. Whether it’s for better or worse, this ripples through the rest of their relationship.
And Santana and Brittany is pretty obvious. Both characters were at their bests with each other, but we knew them as individuals who had a penchant for the dramatic. Santana gets angry easily. Brittany kinda lives in her own world. Their personalities exist on a wave (if that makes sense)... which is what makes their mature break-up even more rewarding. There was no yelling or betrayal. Just two people acknowledging that they loved each other but needed to do what was best for the time being. Maybe back in earlier seasons I would have thought a break-up for them meant a rollercoaster of emotion, but this was just a simple, sad goodbye. Yay for character growth!