Samcedes Episode Analysis: 2.06 Never Been Kissed (part 1)

I usually start with Mercedes but I'm starting with Sam this time.

Samcedes Episode Analysis: Never Been Kissed (part 1)
by Akilah

Sam: "How did we end up with the only two girls in high school who won't put out?" Finn ask Sam in the locker room as the two boys sit next to each other in separate tubs. Sam has been telling Finn about his sexual frustration while dating Quinn. Finn tells Sam that he's in the same situation with Rachel. Except his situation really isn't the same at all. Sam is soaking in ice water to "cool down" but Finn is in steaming hot water. Shouldn't Finn also be in ice if he's in a similar situation? I think this speaks more about the girls they are involved with. Finn is with Rachel whom he loves and she loves him in return, thus the warm and relaxed nature of Finn's bath. Sam is involved with Quinn whom he "thinks" he loves, but she is holding out from him more than just physically. Quinn is closed off emotionally to Sam, but we'll get more into this in 2.08's analysis.

Sam, who still isn't his own man yet, asks Finn (his proxy) for direction regarding this situation. Finn teaches him a "cooling down" technique that involves creating a mental image that will help turn him off when he gets in the moment. Sam finds the perfect image, and its Coach Bieste.

When Sam is with Quinn again he uses this technique and it doesn't work out well (as usual when he takes direction from Finn). He says Bieste's name and Quinn immediately assumes he's cheating on her with his coach. Quinn is so convinced that she even goes to her old confidant Sue Sylvester about it. She then pressures Sam into confessing. The accusation is so ridiculous and absurd but Quinn really believes it. Its easy to understand why she does because its what Finn did to her last year with Rachel. See, Quinn is redoing her life, starting at the beginning of Sophomore year. She's back to being skinny, she becomes a Cheerio again, and she's once again dating a cute popular Football player. "I've been there before," Finn tells Sam when he comes to him about his problems with Quinn. Sam is playing the role of Finn in this round of Quinn's "Sophomore year," but he doesn't know it. "I've been there before," Quinn tells Sam after she removes his hand from her thigh, "It always leads to something more." Quinn is re-playing sophomore year, but this time she intends to win.

When Quinn sees coach Bieste, she lashes out at her. She is not going to lose again. This lashing out causes Mr. Schue to question Sam about what's going on. And Schue is very disappointed in Sam's behavior. "This is really bad guys. What if Coach Bieste were to find out about it? Think of how hurt she'll be." But Sam doesn't get it. "Its not personal," he says. He looks at Coach Bieste and sees a tough exterior. He can't "read" people, so he can't see that she's a very sensitive person underneath. "Its not like we're saying it to her face," Sam says. Sam is someone who needs things spelled out for him. Again, the narrative "symbolic" dyslexia, leaves him unable to "read" people, causing him to operate on a shallow level. He takes people at face value, that's why he can't see the motivations behind their actions. If someone is not saying it "to his face," then he doesn't know what they think. But he fails to realize that most people don't work this way, that they can fell and "read" when something's not right.

Coach Bieste is hurt when she finds out, so much so that she quits. The boys, regretting their actions, decide to dedicate their mash-up to her, hoping to gain her forgiveness. "We just want to apologize for hurting your feelings," Sam says. He's the one to directly offer the apology. It speaks to his moral integrity (one of his core characteristics), he can admit when he's wrong and he can humble himself enough to offer an apology. But it also speaks to his character growth. He now understands that he hurt her, and has learned from this.

The boys mash-up "Stop in the Name of Love," and "Free Your Mind." The song is really about Sam and all the things he's learning and needs to learn in order to grow. "Stop in the name of love, before you break my heart, think it over," Sam learned that he has to stop and think about his actions before he hurts someone. "Before you can read me, you've got to learn how to see me," this is an ongoing issue with Sam. He can't "read" people because he can't "see" them properly. This is his "relationship dyslexia." But he's starting to learn that everything and everyone isn't quite what meets the eye. That people are deeper than what he can see, if only he learns how to perceive them properly. "Free your mind and the rest will follow, be color blind and don't be so shallow," Sam doesn't become his own man and gain true perspective until he's able to "free his mind," and stop being so "shallow." Sam has a long way to go, but he's learning, so the journey continues.