Samcedes Episode Analysis: 2.04 Duets (Part 1)
by Akilah
Sam and Mercedes finally meet in this episode
Mercedes: We first see Mercedes in the choir room, sitting next to Kurt, the two are laughing and joking. Sam is introduced as the newest member of ND and she and Kurt both give him an appraising look. They both seem to approve of him. Kurt tells her that Sam is gay because he dyes his hair platinum blond. Mercedes looks at Sam with a quizzical expression on her face, trying to see what Kurt see but she doesn’t. She tells Kurt, “You’re crazy.” Again, we see that these two are interpreting the world and things around them differently. Mercedes just doesn’t see what Kurt sees.
When Mr. Schue announces the duets competition, Mercedes turns to Kurt to ask who he’s going to sing with. Her question almost appears to be an invitation. I think she wants Kurt to sing with her. Kurt give her a look like he’s considering choosing Mercedes but his eyes lower, and he glances a the back of Sam’s head. Kurt loves Mercedes, but he really wants a boyfriend, and at this point, getting a boyfriend is more important to him then singing with her. This is an example of where Kurt is at this particular moment in his life. He’s ready to branch out of the comfortable pseudo-romantic relationship he has with Mercedes, so he can find an actual significant other. Mercedes is losing Kurt.
But someone else enters Mercedes life, that person is Santana. When Santana approaches Mercedes about doing a duet, Mercedes glares at her. “We can’t stand each other,” she says. Mercedes goes to her locker and angrily turns her combination and opens it. “I don’t get what the big deal is. Its just a free trip to Breadstix.” Mercedes is clearly angry here. She may not get along with Santana but I don’t think that’s where all of her anger is coming from. I think she’s partly upset because Kurt rejected her. She didn’t ask Kurt to sing with her, but she assumed that he would. Its obvious that Mercedes sees performing a duet as an act of friendship and affection. That’s why she asks Sanatana “why would I want to do a duet with you,” if “we can’t stand each other.”
Santana sees duets differently. She tells Mercedes straight up that “its a competition.” Then gives her something that I think Mercedes has been missing at McKinley, respect and validation. “We are the two best singers in this school!” Mercedes begins to open up, “our voices do sound good together,” she says and Santana agrees. “We will be the undisputed top bitches at this school!” Hello TroubleTones! Glee likes to do these episode parallels. In 2.04 Mercedes and Santana join forces for the first time. In 3.04, Mercedes and Santana create the TroubleTones. There are more parallels between 2.04 and 3.04 but I’ll discuss that when we analyze 3.04.
When we get to the duet we see Mercedes and Santana performing (“River Deep, Mountain High”) with so much confidence and badassness that Rachel and Finn twitch in the face and shift uncomfortably in their chairs. They have already schemed amongst themselves to have Sam Evans win the competition. But these girls are throwing a wrench in their plans. Mercedes and Santana are usually ignored in ND, but what they learn from that duet is that when they come together, they are a force to be reckoned. When its over, the girls just know that they’ve won. They are confident about it. Everyone in ND looks impressed but Finn and Rachel look scared. Its ND leadership against TroubleTones leadership, the prequel round.
Mercedes and Santana sit with each other during Mike and Tina’s performance. They are still confident that they’ll win. “I’m ready to get my Breadstix on,” Santana says. She and Mercedes fist bump. Mercedes wants to win the competition but she also joins in Mike and Tina’s song like the rest of ND, and Santana can’t understand that. Santana’s anger and resentment is so much more pronounced than Mercedes’ at this point.
I think Santana sees the worst in people first before she can see the good in them, and that’s why she can look at ND, especially its leadership, and see all the hypocrisy. Lets take a look at some of that hypocrisy. Rachel tells Quinn that she thinks it would be good to have healthy competition in ND, you know, a good “number two.” Really, Rachel? Mercedes and Santana are obviously her Finn’s real competition. But Mercedes and Santana are unacceptable. They don’t fit the mold of ND “leadership.” So Rachel and Finn create something superficial and non-threatening, something that conforms to their vision for ND, in the form of Quinn and Sam. ND is full of all types of hypocrisy, but Mercedes isn’t quite ready to see it like that, but Santana is.
When its announced that Sam and Quinn are the winners, Mercedes is shocked, but Santana rages. She jumps out of her chair, ready to attack. Mercedes has to pull her back and comfort her. Santana is full of all this anger, but Mercedes isn’t there yet. She will be eventually.
At the end of the episode, we see the last duet. Its between Rachel and Kurt. Kurt didn’t want to duet with Mercedes but he ends up doing a duet with Rachel. This is interesting. I wonder how Mercedes felt about that. There is one reaction shot of Mercedes and its very strange. Her eyes read, “what the hell is this,” but her mouth is frozen into some type of half smile.
The thing is, duets are a form of communication. When Santana approached her about a duet, Mercedes was surprised to learn that she and Santana speak the same language, that they can communicate. On the other hand, Rachel was able to communicate with Kurt in a way that Mercedes wasn’t. The communication breakdown between Mercedes and Kurt continues.
by Akilah
Sam and Mercedes finally meet in this episode
Mercedes: We first see Mercedes in the choir room, sitting next to Kurt, the two are laughing and joking. Sam is introduced as the newest member of ND and she and Kurt both give him an appraising look. They both seem to approve of him. Kurt tells her that Sam is gay because he dyes his hair platinum blond. Mercedes looks at Sam with a quizzical expression on her face, trying to see what Kurt see but she doesn’t. She tells Kurt, “You’re crazy.” Again, we see that these two are interpreting the world and things around them differently. Mercedes just doesn’t see what Kurt sees.
When Mr. Schue announces the duets competition, Mercedes turns to Kurt to ask who he’s going to sing with. Her question almost appears to be an invitation. I think she wants Kurt to sing with her. Kurt give her a look like he’s considering choosing Mercedes but his eyes lower, and he glances a the back of Sam’s head. Kurt loves Mercedes, but he really wants a boyfriend, and at this point, getting a boyfriend is more important to him then singing with her. This is an example of where Kurt is at this particular moment in his life. He’s ready to branch out of the comfortable pseudo-romantic relationship he has with Mercedes, so he can find an actual significant other. Mercedes is losing Kurt.
But someone else enters Mercedes life, that person is Santana. When Santana approaches Mercedes about doing a duet, Mercedes glares at her. “We can’t stand each other,” she says. Mercedes goes to her locker and angrily turns her combination and opens it. “I don’t get what the big deal is. Its just a free trip to Breadstix.” Mercedes is clearly angry here. She may not get along with Santana but I don’t think that’s where all of her anger is coming from. I think she’s partly upset because Kurt rejected her. She didn’t ask Kurt to sing with her, but she assumed that he would. Its obvious that Mercedes sees performing a duet as an act of friendship and affection. That’s why she asks Sanatana “why would I want to do a duet with you,” if “we can’t stand each other.”
Santana sees duets differently. She tells Mercedes straight up that “its a competition.” Then gives her something that I think Mercedes has been missing at McKinley, respect and validation. “We are the two best singers in this school!” Mercedes begins to open up, “our voices do sound good together,” she says and Santana agrees. “We will be the undisputed top bitches at this school!” Hello TroubleTones! Glee likes to do these episode parallels. In 2.04 Mercedes and Santana join forces for the first time. In 3.04, Mercedes and Santana create the TroubleTones. There are more parallels between 2.04 and 3.04 but I’ll discuss that when we analyze 3.04.
When we get to the duet we see Mercedes and Santana performing (“River Deep, Mountain High”) with so much confidence and badassness that Rachel and Finn twitch in the face and shift uncomfortably in their chairs. They have already schemed amongst themselves to have Sam Evans win the competition. But these girls are throwing a wrench in their plans. Mercedes and Santana are usually ignored in ND, but what they learn from that duet is that when they come together, they are a force to be reckoned. When its over, the girls just know that they’ve won. They are confident about it. Everyone in ND looks impressed but Finn and Rachel look scared. Its ND leadership against TroubleTones leadership, the prequel round.
Mercedes and Santana sit with each other during Mike and Tina’s performance. They are still confident that they’ll win. “I’m ready to get my Breadstix on,” Santana says. She and Mercedes fist bump. Mercedes wants to win the competition but she also joins in Mike and Tina’s song like the rest of ND, and Santana can’t understand that. Santana’s anger and resentment is so much more pronounced than Mercedes’ at this point.
I think Santana sees the worst in people first before she can see the good in them, and that’s why she can look at ND, especially its leadership, and see all the hypocrisy. Lets take a look at some of that hypocrisy. Rachel tells Quinn that she thinks it would be good to have healthy competition in ND, you know, a good “number two.” Really, Rachel? Mercedes and Santana are obviously her Finn’s real competition. But Mercedes and Santana are unacceptable. They don’t fit the mold of ND “leadership.” So Rachel and Finn create something superficial and non-threatening, something that conforms to their vision for ND, in the form of Quinn and Sam. ND is full of all types of hypocrisy, but Mercedes isn’t quite ready to see it like that, but Santana is.
When its announced that Sam and Quinn are the winners, Mercedes is shocked, but Santana rages. She jumps out of her chair, ready to attack. Mercedes has to pull her back and comfort her. Santana is full of all this anger, but Mercedes isn’t there yet. She will be eventually.
At the end of the episode, we see the last duet. Its between Rachel and Kurt. Kurt didn’t want to duet with Mercedes but he ends up doing a duet with Rachel. This is interesting. I wonder how Mercedes felt about that. There is one reaction shot of Mercedes and its very strange. Her eyes read, “what the hell is this,” but her mouth is frozen into some type of half smile.
The thing is, duets are a form of communication. When Santana approached her about a duet, Mercedes was surprised to learn that she and Santana speak the same language, that they can communicate. On the other hand, Rachel was able to communicate with Kurt in a way that Mercedes wasn’t. The communication breakdown between Mercedes and Kurt continues.
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