Samcedes Episode Analysis: 2.04 Duets (Part 2)
by Akilah
Sam: Sam’s dyslexic. He reveals this in the previous episode. So that means that his perception of words sometimes gets skewed and he has a hard time reading. But this is symbolic. Within the Glee narrative, Sam’s perception of people is a little bit off. He can’t always see people for who or what they are. He definitely can not read them. Sam takes people at face value, not really understanding that they may have deeper motivations. This inability to “read” people allows him to be easy to manipulate. In this episode Sam is bounced around all over the place. He’s in and out of people’s schemes and doesn’t even know it. Its going to take Sam quite a while before he gains a clear perception and becomes his own man. But for now, this is where he’s at, so let’s take a look at him in 2.04.
When Mr. Schue introduces Sam as the new member of ND, Finn is so excited that he jumps out of his chair and stands side by side with Sam. He then tells Sam where to sit. Finn sees Sam as someone he can direct, and at this point, Sam is cooperating.
Sam replaced Finn as QB, but he also replaces Finn as Kurt’s new unrequited love interest. Kurt approaches Sam about doing a duet, and also accuses him of dying his hair. When Kurt learns that Sam has never heard of the classic musicals that feature male duet partners, he says “Maybe you are straight.” Sam replies by saying “What,” as if he didn’t quite catch what Kurt said. Its obvious that Kurt is accusing Sam of being a “closet case” and is trying to get closer to him romantically. But Sam can’t see this. Again, he’s unable to read people and see through to their motivations.
Finn approaches Kurt and doesn’t want him to take advantage of Sam, but he and Rachel plot and make their own plans for using Sam. They decide that Sam should win the competition so that ND can blieve in him. This act of generosity is completely shallow and surface. Finn and Rachel don’t really want anyone else to “win” or lead in ND but them. Sam is just a tool in their quest to keep power. Letting Sam win is just a symbolic gesture to keep the rest to the club from rebeling against them. Sam is nothing more than a tool in their quest to hold onto the leadership in ND.
When Finn confronts Sam about singing with Kurt, Sam doesn’t see the big deal. Finn tells him that if it got out, that he could jeopardize his popularity. Sam says that Finn is confusing his head, since Finn is the one who told him that Glee club is cool, now he’s telling him that it potentially marks him for bullying. Finn has been manipulating Sam since day one. Sam just doesn’t have the perception skills to be able to see this.
Sam tells Finn that he gave Kurt his word and in his “world, that’s that.” Its refreshing and immediatley sets him apart from Finn and other members of ND. Sam is willing to embarrass his self in order to maintain his integrity. He’s loyal and trustworthy. Let’s compare this to what Finn did to Artie in 2.03. No wonder Finn is taken aback. He thought Sam was just a blond version of himself.
We learn that Sam is primarily motivated by two things, popularity and integrity. These two things can’t always co-exist, as Sam learns when he leaves the locker room and is attacked by slushies. Welcome to New Directions.
Quinn witnesses this and helps him clean up. There’s attraction and they do a lot of eye gazing. They are a perfect picture, until Sam opens his mouth. He speaks in Navi and Quinn is not impressed. She rolls her eyes and looks embarassed for him. But Sam continues. He can’t quite pick up on the fact that she doesn’t like it and thinks he’s behaving like a dork. Again, Sam’s perception of what’s going on around him is limited.
When Kurt tells Sam that he won’t be doing a duet with him, Sam asks Quinn to be his new partner. They reharse in a classroom that has a solar system model, and Sam points out “Venus, the planet of love” and looks at Quinn. Quinn tells him that its really “Mars, the planet of war.” Sam mistakes war for love. Again, his perception is off. Quinn is completely aware of what this is and isnt feeling love, but war with herself. Sam is just a small part of it. She rejects Sam’s kiss and lets him know that he’s not really in her plans. Sam is in and out of people’s plans and he doesn’t really have much of a say in any of it.
Finn and Rachel manipulate Sam and Quinn into performing together. Rachel uses the promise of popularity and power to influence Quinn, and this makes her agree to sing with Sam. He now has a purpose and can be part of her plans. But Sam can’t really see this because he can’t really see Quinn. He’s blinded by her. He tells her that she should wear sunglasses to cover her eyes, because they are such a distraction.
Can we talk about their duet song for a minute. Its called “Lucky,” thats when you get something that you really haven’t earned. Well, Sam and Quinn win the competition and it was not something they earned. They only won because Rachel and Finn voted for them and “threw” the competition. See, everyone else voted for themselves, so the only way anyone could win is if Rachel and Finn voted for them. They chose Sam and Quinn before they even performed. “Lucky,” indeed.
What we learn about Sam in this episode is that he’s loyal, honorable (Kurt described him as such), and has integrity. But he’s also driven by popularity, trusts people too easily, and isn’t able to see deeper than surface level with most people because he can’t read their motivations. Sam has a lot of growing to do, but he also has strengths that many adults never possess.
Samcedes: Sam and Mercedes meet for the first time in this episode and there are a few Samcedes moments. Clearly when Mercedes sees Sam for the first time, she thinks he’s cute.
And during her performance with Santana, Sam was checking out her ass when she did the booty shake. At the end of the performance he looks at Mercedes and Santana and licks his lips.
Before Kurt performs his solo, Mercedes and Sam are sitting next to each other in the choir room.
And the best Samcedes moment of the episode was after Rachel and Finn perform their awful duet. Mercedes is the first to respond to it. “Okay, do I even need to say it…” she says, but guess who finishes her sentence. “That was really rude,” Sam says, as if answering Mercedes question. These two are on the same wavelength and don’t even know it.
by Akilah
Sam: Sam’s dyslexic. He reveals this in the previous episode. So that means that his perception of words sometimes gets skewed and he has a hard time reading. But this is symbolic. Within the Glee narrative, Sam’s perception of people is a little bit off. He can’t always see people for who or what they are. He definitely can not read them. Sam takes people at face value, not really understanding that they may have deeper motivations. This inability to “read” people allows him to be easy to manipulate. In this episode Sam is bounced around all over the place. He’s in and out of people’s schemes and doesn’t even know it. Its going to take Sam quite a while before he gains a clear perception and becomes his own man. But for now, this is where he’s at, so let’s take a look at him in 2.04.
When Mr. Schue introduces Sam as the new member of ND, Finn is so excited that he jumps out of his chair and stands side by side with Sam. He then tells Sam where to sit. Finn sees Sam as someone he can direct, and at this point, Sam is cooperating.
Sam replaced Finn as QB, but he also replaces Finn as Kurt’s new unrequited love interest. Kurt approaches Sam about doing a duet, and also accuses him of dying his hair. When Kurt learns that Sam has never heard of the classic musicals that feature male duet partners, he says “Maybe you are straight.” Sam replies by saying “What,” as if he didn’t quite catch what Kurt said. Its obvious that Kurt is accusing Sam of being a “closet case” and is trying to get closer to him romantically. But Sam can’t see this. Again, he’s unable to read people and see through to their motivations.
Finn approaches Kurt and doesn’t want him to take advantage of Sam, but he and Rachel plot and make their own plans for using Sam. They decide that Sam should win the competition so that ND can blieve in him. This act of generosity is completely shallow and surface. Finn and Rachel don’t really want anyone else to “win” or lead in ND but them. Sam is just a tool in their quest to keep power. Letting Sam win is just a symbolic gesture to keep the rest to the club from rebeling against them. Sam is nothing more than a tool in their quest to hold onto the leadership in ND.
When Finn confronts Sam about singing with Kurt, Sam doesn’t see the big deal. Finn tells him that if it got out, that he could jeopardize his popularity. Sam says that Finn is confusing his head, since Finn is the one who told him that Glee club is cool, now he’s telling him that it potentially marks him for bullying. Finn has been manipulating Sam since day one. Sam just doesn’t have the perception skills to be able to see this.
Sam tells Finn that he gave Kurt his word and in his “world, that’s that.” Its refreshing and immediatley sets him apart from Finn and other members of ND. Sam is willing to embarrass his self in order to maintain his integrity. He’s loyal and trustworthy. Let’s compare this to what Finn did to Artie in 2.03. No wonder Finn is taken aback. He thought Sam was just a blond version of himself.
We learn that Sam is primarily motivated by two things, popularity and integrity. These two things can’t always co-exist, as Sam learns when he leaves the locker room and is attacked by slushies. Welcome to New Directions.
Quinn witnesses this and helps him clean up. There’s attraction and they do a lot of eye gazing. They are a perfect picture, until Sam opens his mouth. He speaks in Navi and Quinn is not impressed. She rolls her eyes and looks embarassed for him. But Sam continues. He can’t quite pick up on the fact that she doesn’t like it and thinks he’s behaving like a dork. Again, Sam’s perception of what’s going on around him is limited.
When Kurt tells Sam that he won’t be doing a duet with him, Sam asks Quinn to be his new partner. They reharse in a classroom that has a solar system model, and Sam points out “Venus, the planet of love” and looks at Quinn. Quinn tells him that its really “Mars, the planet of war.” Sam mistakes war for love. Again, his perception is off. Quinn is completely aware of what this is and isnt feeling love, but war with herself. Sam is just a small part of it. She rejects Sam’s kiss and lets him know that he’s not really in her plans. Sam is in and out of people’s plans and he doesn’t really have much of a say in any of it.
Finn and Rachel manipulate Sam and Quinn into performing together. Rachel uses the promise of popularity and power to influence Quinn, and this makes her agree to sing with Sam. He now has a purpose and can be part of her plans. But Sam can’t really see this because he can’t really see Quinn. He’s blinded by her. He tells her that she should wear sunglasses to cover her eyes, because they are such a distraction.
Can we talk about their duet song for a minute. Its called “Lucky,” thats when you get something that you really haven’t earned. Well, Sam and Quinn win the competition and it was not something they earned. They only won because Rachel and Finn voted for them and “threw” the competition. See, everyone else voted for themselves, so the only way anyone could win is if Rachel and Finn voted for them. They chose Sam and Quinn before they even performed. “Lucky,” indeed.
What we learn about Sam in this episode is that he’s loyal, honorable (Kurt described him as such), and has integrity. But he’s also driven by popularity, trusts people too easily, and isn’t able to see deeper than surface level with most people because he can’t read their motivations. Sam has a lot of growing to do, but he also has strengths that many adults never possess.
Samcedes: Sam and Mercedes meet for the first time in this episode and there are a few Samcedes moments. Clearly when Mercedes sees Sam for the first time, she thinks he’s cute.
And during her performance with Santana, Sam was checking out her ass when she did the booty shake. At the end of the performance he looks at Mercedes and Santana and licks his lips.
Before Kurt performs his solo, Mercedes and Sam are sitting next to each other in the choir room.
And the best Samcedes moment of the episode was after Rachel and Finn perform their awful duet. Mercedes is the first to respond to it. “Okay, do I even need to say it…” she says, but guess who finishes her sentence. “That was really rude,” Sam says, as if answering Mercedes question. These two are on the same wavelength and don’t even know it.
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