Samcedes Episode Analysis: The Rocky Horror Glee Show 2.05 (Part 2)
by Akilah
Sam: Sam doesn't know what the role of the "creature" is and Quinn defines it for him. "He's a cute blond like you, you'll be perfect for the part," she says. Santana, who is a Cheerio like Quinn, adds "You better start working on those abs." Sam is surrounded by pretty popular girls who are flirting with him and focusing on his good looks. Sam, wanting to impress them, plays along. "Are you kidding me, you can cut glass with these babies," he says. He continues to brag, "I don't have a problem showing off my body."
In the locker room he works out with Finn and Artie and discusses his strick diet. He says that if he skips gym or eats a hotdog, he hates his self for a few days. Its an extremely unhealthy body image to have. Finn questions him on it and Sam responds that if he "wants to be popular and win Quinn for good," then he "has to look the part." This statement shows that Sam is playing a role. He doesn't quite know who he is yet and he's allowing other people to direct him in the play called high school. But the statement also shows that Sam is motivated by popularity, so much so that he's willing to push his body to extremes in order to meet unrealistic expectations of his body. He thinks everything is based on his looks, including his relationship with Quinn. Its quite sad.
Sam may have talked a good game about being comfortable showing off his body, but when its time to get on stage in his little shorts, he's completely insecure. Later, back in the locker room with Finn (his proxy) who is also having body image issues, he lifts the weight off Finn's shoulders both literally and figuratively (Finn was bench pressing, and Sam helped to remove the weight above him). Sam reveals that he also has body image issues. Finn tells Sam that he's perfect, but Sam doesn't agree. Sam then tells Finn to "just be you, and the sexy will flow through."
Why can't Sam take his own advice? Perhaps because he can only recieve validation from others. He's not his own man yet, he still looks to others for guidance and direction, and what people think matters way more than what he thinks. He looks at his perfect abdomin in the mirror and sees fat that clearly isn't there. Maybe this has to do with the symbolic dyslexia. There's a disconnect between what's acutally there, and what he percieves to be there.
Its clear in this episode that Sam is very insecure and is using his body to compensate for his lack of self confidence and sense of identity. Sam is operating on a shallow level. He's shallow with his self, focusing on the physical because he doesn't really know his true (deeper) self yet. He's shallow in his relationships, believeing that the main way to win Quinn is through his body and good looks. He's shallow with other people, not in a malicious way, but in the way that he can't see what's underneath the facade they present to him. Sam is unable to "read" or see beyond the surface of his self or other people. But he is only at the beginning of an incredible arc of character growth.
Samcedes: When Quinn tells Sam that he's cute like Rocky and Santana makes a comment about his abs, Mercedes, who is only sitting one seat away, shakes her head and scrunches up her face in disgust. The conversation is so shallow that its repulsive. Mercedes is anything but shallow, and can't stand to see it in other people. I think its safe to say that she didn't think much of Sam at this point. She probably just saw him as another pretty popular kid, lacking substance. But who can blame her? Sam is playing the role convincingly. Its no wonder she didn't take notice of him until he was mature enough to leave the popularity game behind.
I don't have much commentary about Mercedes and Sam playing Frank and Rocky because I haven't seen the movie. But I do know that Frank created Rocky to be his lover. Perhaps it suggest that Sam is Mercedes perfect man. Unfortunately, the two never interact in the ND production, at least not in what was shown.
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