Glee and Social Issues (Part 2.5): Marley just Marley

Okay it's ten forty eight eastern standard time on November twenty ninth two thousand and twelve as I start to write this.

I have just watched the episode of glee dealing with what I just posted about body image issues and Marley Rose as a part of it.

And we're going to talk about this because I feel like I should.

(Spoilers up until episode eight of season four "Thanksgiving". Also this opinion based and a reaction to what I just watched about an hour/two hours ago at this point.) 

Okay.

So in my Part Two of Glee and Social Issues: Mercedes, Sam, and Marley I tackled the issue of body image. 

At the time I kind of knew what was going to happen in the episode but not really because glee is keeping a lid on spoilers. We were only up to episode seven of season four "Dynamic Duets" but I felt it was necessary before the episode to write this. Especially since "Thanksgiving" is a pivotal turning point for her character.

So let's talk about this okay?

Marley's storyline was handled perfectly.

All you naysayers I point to this episode of glee which handled it perfectly.

Kitty may have given her two pointer fingers and laxatives but this is way deeper.

Marley wants control and to be perfect.

And that is the motivation behind a lot of eating disorders and body image issues for teenage girls: control where they don't feel in it.

She puts pressure on herself to be the best like Rachel did but in a different way than Rachel did Marley Rose gain control.

It wasn't just Kitty or the mean words. It was more than that. Pressure she puts on herself to be better, to not be a quiet wallflower. THIS! This is something that needs to be on TV and I am much more hopeful than I was before seeing this episode.

It festered since Dynamic Duets and it comes full force tonight.

Melissa Benoist? You were amazing. All of your acting choices for this was spot on.

This storyline is being handled in a great way because it's not being solved right away. There are consequences as witnessed to this path she is on.

And I hope glee can continue this good momentum of handling this storyline by showing the gritty, ugly side of the path she is on with the hope that Marley will face her inner demons and become better. 

Because everything I have asked for in the last post has been answered in tonight's episode. In the hands of a lesser actress or a lesser writing team it would have been handled poorly. But it looks like the writers of glee have learned something since season thirteen episode fourteen "On My Way" mainly to develop a plot of a sensitive social issue and show it in a way that develops the character and also opens a discussion between viewers.

It has consequences that will be long reaching. I hope that Kitty will have to face hers for the role in this. Marley will have to face her own inner demons. Her friends are going to have to help her become stronger.

If they can do that then I will call this one of the strongest storylines I have seen from the show.

Hope for the best and expect the worst though.

However, tonight? 

This is what I've been asking for from you, glee.

This is what the dropped Sam plot from season two should have been. This is what Mercedes plot (if that is what they were aiming for in season one episode fifteen's "Home") should have been.

Now let's see if you can keep it up.

NOTES: What did you guys think? Good? Bad? Okay? How do you feel about Marley's storyline after the episode "Thanksgiving"?

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