Of all the canonical lesbian ships sailing the TV Sea, none has been as mistreated and maligned by its own creators as the SS Brittana. Glee‘s writers accidentally set Brittany and Santana’s ship sailing with a single line of dialogue, a throwaway joke, and spent the rest of the couple’s three-year relationship in a state of obtuse and antagonistic bamboozlement before finally acknowledging in the season four finale that they simply never had the words – or frankly the desire – to do Brittana justice.
And now that Brittany is off at MIT (because Heather Morris is off having a baby!) and Santana is getting a brand-new girlfriend (because Demi Lovato is taking over Fox!), we find ourselves in quite a pickle. What’s a Brittana shipper to do with Dantana?
We know we’re not alone in our complicated feelings about the arrival of Dani on Glee. Like you, we’re teetering between skeptical and smitten. On the one hand, it drives us crazytown bananapants to realize Santana and Dani are getting a duet, some legit flirty dialogue, and a full-on kiss in one single episode when fandom had to fight for years for Brittana to share that kind of screentime. But on the other hand: Seeing Santana floored into a gameless stupor by a crush is kind of amazing.
I actually asked our resident Glee experts to weigh in on this conundrum. Here’s what they had to say:
Elaine Atwell: When I first heard about Demi Lovato as a love interest, I pretty much just yelled “MEH” as loud as I could. But then, when I saw her on the preview for this week’a episode, carrying a guitar on her back and talking about “getting off” and looking like a precious little cherub, by heart (and my brain) melted. So as much as I am still pissed about the way Brittana was handled, I was at least satisfied with their goodbye, and I think that this storyline is a genuine attempt to make things right with Glee‘s lesbian viewers. DON’T MAKE ME REGRET TRUSTING YOU, MURPHY.
Valerie Anne: I’m very excited about Demi Lovato joining in the shenanigans of The Loft Crew. I think she is an INSANELY talented singer, and I think joining her voice with the likes of Santana and Rachel will be the best idea Glee has had since the Troubletones. I understand why some people might be hesitant, because it’s not like the show has a great track record with dealing with two-lady relationships tactfully (or any female character?), but I think this could be really wonderful. I think Glee has a clean slate with Santana now, and it’s a chance for her to have a grown-up relationship with someone she hasn’t known since she was in high school, to go through the awkwardness of a first date, the “should I text her” excited panic, etc. Of course, there are 10,000 ways they could mess it up or make it offensive, and there’s a pretty good chance they’ll do about 9,000 of them, but I’m staying optimistic about it. Brittana was an emotional roller coaster for the ages, I’m read for Santana to have some flirty fun with a familiar friendly face. (Yeah, alliteration!)
Dana Piccoli: I feel fantastic about Demi Lovato. This is exactly what I have wished for, in print, out loud and gently to my tear- stained pillow at night. I’ve wanted someone who is going to challenge Santana, someone who will light a fire in her. I think Demi can be that girl. She has a lovely energy about her, and she can wail. Even if this is not a long lasting affair, I think it’s good for Santana to explore her new life with someone like Dani. When you’ve been standing out in the rain for so long, a ray of sunshine feels damn good.
Ali Davis: Just because something is a bad idea doesn’t mean it won’t be fun for a while.
How are you feeling about the start of Santana’s new relationship on tonight’s Glee?
