Watercooler: In Praise of Glee's Santana
Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris
See, this is why you should make Christmas lists, kids!
Almost a year ago, Watercooler asked Santa for a few things in regards to Glee, and last night, we got the one we wanted the most: More Santana. In fact, it was like a "a very special Santanisode" that saw the spitfire who once declared "the only straight I am is straight-up bitch" officially embracing her Sapphic self and showcased the always-delicious Naya Rivera's ability to be all sorts of fierce, funny and believably vulnerable. Her version of "Constant Craving" with Idina Menzel? That was just extra awesome-sauce on the side.
Not that this is the first time Rivera has gotten the attention she so richly deserves. All season, while the rest of us have been wondering if Karovsky will get more than one scene this year, Santana's coming-out storyline has been brewing, and two weeks back, we got that Finn slap that sounded an awful lot like "buckle yourselves in, it's gonna get Lima Heights-adjacent up in here!" Lawdy, did it ever! Between the scene with her grandma and the "I Kissed a Girl" number, the focus on La Lopez made up for many of the hour's lesser moments. Our only worry is where this story goes from here.
Clearly, she'll need some help handling the aftershocks of being publicly outed (thanks to that anti-Sue commercial), so we really hope the writers handle it sensibly. Not responsibly — we'd never ask that from folks who just threw a teacher into bed with a student — just logically. Like, maybe use guidance counselor Emma as more than just an OCD punch line. Or have Blaine take a break from being smugly self-impressed to mentor her on how to become a well-adjusted gay teen with great hair like him. Just please, do not reduce her to yet another weepy, whiny martyr like last year's canonization of St. Kurt. That mess is now walking around in roll-neck ponchos and Santana deserves so much better than that.
Do you agree? How should they handle Santana's story now that everyone knows she's "Lebanese"?
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