Tuesday's "game-changing" episode of Glee was all the talk of the entertainment world this week as Gleeks and the media alike were eagerly anticipating the episode in which Rachel and Finn and Kurt and Blaine would finally get it on. Yes, the media were applauding the "progressive" displays of gay sex between high school boys in the "milestone" episode titled, "The First Time."
The highly anticipated episode, slated to feature sex scenes between gay characters Kurt and Blaine and also Rachel and Finn, was nothing more than a 55-minute hype about the possibility of four high school students losing their virginity. The last few minutes of the show didn't give viewers quite the flesh fest they were so eagerly awaiting. But that didn't matter to the media - they had nothing but praise for the "groundbreaking" episode that "advocated loving and responsible sex," even if showing sex between two high school boys during primetime is a bit "controversial."
After the TV-14 "Viewer discretion is advised" content rating aired, the episode began with a scene in which Artie, the student directing the upcoming musical "West Side Story," encouraged leads Blaine and Rachel to lose their virginities in order to better understand the sexual awakening of their characters. Sex is "one of humanity's most basic and primal urges," Artie told his stars.
This led Rachel and Blaine to contemplate for the remainder of the episode just how and when to lose their virginities in order to optimize their performance. Yes, the life-changing, irrevocable loss of virginity for the sake of a high school play. But remember, the show advocated "loving and responsible sex."
For the rest of the episode, viewers were left wondering in multiple scenes whether or not Rachel was going to have the courage to approach boyfriend Finn about having sex, and whether or not Blaine was going to successfully seduce Kurt into having sex at home, in a gay bar, in the car, or on stage before the big show. The giveaway is when Rachel states to Blaine, "I can't play a girl who has a sexual awakening if I haven't been awakened myself."
During the last few moments of the show, viewers finally see Rachel and Finn alone in his house where she whispers, "I'm going to give you something that no one else is ever gonna get." Finn then moves his hand over her back to unfasten her dress and the two are later seen under the comforter of his bed, staring at one another, fingers interlocked.
Similarly, Blaine and Kurt are seen lying on a bed next to a roaring fire, staring passionately at one another as the camera cuts away, we see them move toward one another as producers imply that these gay teens have just consummated their relationship.
The scenes of the couples cuddling flash back and forth with Blaine and Rachel's performance of "One Hand, One Heart" from West Side Story.
Implied sex between high school students is going to raise some eyebrows as it's a controversial subject to weigh in on during primetime. The Parents Television Council president Tim Winter said, "The fact that Glee intends to not only broadcast, but celebrate children having sex is reprehensible. The gender of the high school characters involved is irrelevant. Teen sex is now more prevalent on TV than adult sex and Glee is only playing into that trend. Research proves that television is a teen sexual super peer that can, and likely will, influence a teen's decision to become sexually active. Fox knows the show inherently attracts kids; celebrating teen sex constitutes gross recklessness."
But Ryan Murphy, the show's raunchy, boundary-pushing gay-friendly creator defended the episode to Entertainment Weekly saying, "Everybody has seen a straight couple losing their virginity, but has anyone dovetailed the gay and straight stories together and given them equal weight? That seemed like an exciting choice and a new thing."
Perhaps it is "an exciting choice." In Hollywood.
