Domestic Violence, "Glee" Style

I have really been enjoying "Glee" so far this season.  In fact, I think it's the only new show of the season which I ended up following.  It manages to be both cynical and idealistic, with both fun musical numbers and a real world where actions have real consequences.  And I'm engrossed by the constant play between the freaks and geeks on one side, and the cheerleaders and football players on the other.

However, last week's episode "Mattress" left me taken aback. And I see that I am not the only one.  To avoid spoiling the episode, and posting potential triggers to the main page, I'll continue behind the cut.

In this episode, the cat was finally let out of the pregnancy bag.  I felt like the show had been surprisingly neutral on the issue of whether or not Terri would be able to get away with her wacky fake pregnancy scheme.  The plans had been growing increasingly bizarre and complicated, and I think everyone was feeling like their patience was being tried by this.

Finally, Will realizes what is happening.  How could he not?  The scene in which he confronts Terri was emotionally charged, to be sure, but it was also quite a lot more violent than I would have expected from our doe-eyed Spanish and Glee Club teacher.  Terri was frightened by his verbal and physical intensity, and I think a lot of the rest of us were, as well.

A lot of people are reading this episode as, "Glee says that domestic violence is okay and normal."  Now I can certainly see that side of things.  Will goes about the rest of the episode as if nothing had happened, as if it had just been a regular old quarrel.  Terri doesn't press charges, and Will doesn't end up in jail or apologizing profusely for having grabbed her wrist and pushed her around the kitchen.

However, I want to give the show a little more credit.  Over the course of the season, it has methodically taken apart every single character so far.  Take the Asian girl with the blue highlights and the stutter (Tina Cohen-Chang), for example.  We all liked her, how could you not?  Until she admitted to Artie Abrams that she had been faking her stutter all along.  Yuck.  

Or, better yet, the scene where Finn Hudson announces to Quinn Fabray's parents that Quinn is pregnant.  In the form of a musical number.  Over dinner at her parents' house.  Was that at all appropriate?  No.  And it got Quinn kicked out of her parents' home.  

In each instance of character assassination (or maybe the term should be "self-immolation") the show soldiers on, content to let the audience make its own judgments.  I believe this is fully intentional.

In other words, I believe that we are meant to realize that Will is not an entirely likable character.  I think that the show meant to have our sympathy quickly switch to Terri, to feel her fear, and perhaps to understand why she had concocted such a bizarre ploy, which she was too frightened to drop.

That doesn't make it right, though, and I wish the show had dealt with the issue better.  As always, if you are experiencing a similar situation, you may want to contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-SAFE (7233).