During the actual shoot the contenders formed a circle of longing. Hannah wanted Alex, who wanted Damien, who wanted Lindsay, who wanted Samuel, who wanted Hannah. While Alex gave the mentors chills, Hannah seemed distracted (she wanted to focus on Damien instead of Alex), Lindsay didn’t sparkle, and Samuel couldn’t move beyond his usual squinty stare.
The bottom three ended up being Hannah, Lindsay and Samuel (finally Alex and Damien got a break, although I maintain that Damien is nothing special). Hannah performed for Ryan Murphy first, singing Taylor Swift’s “Back to December.” With no one to harmonize with, Hannah’s voice was shown to be truly lackluster and it made me wonder why she was even chosen to be a contender in the first place. Yeah, she’s funny and very likable, but (and this is gonna sound harsh) I don’t think she would have even made the first cut if she wasn’t a fat ginger. (Believe it or not, Glee lacks redheads even more than it does the hefty.) I don’t mean that to sound negative — it’s just a fact. I really like Hannah, and although she is, according to Ryan Murphy, what Glee is all about and fans all over would easily root for her, she’s just not talented enough.
Lindsay was next, singing “Maybe This Time” from Cabaret. Lea Michelle and Kristin Chenoweth sang this on Glee and it’s one of my favorite performances in the entire series. Although Lindsay sounded good, she seemed fake and didn’t go far enough with it. She smiled too much, and lacked genuine hope and determination in her facial expressions. Ryan told her that he just didn’t root for her like he did for Hannah, possibly because he couldn’t see her as a believable underdog. Lindsay teared up, saying that she couldn’t accept imperfection because she’s adopted. This finally got Ryan to see promise in her.
Samuel was last, performing “Animal” by Neon Trees. He went out there, tossed his dread locks around and did some sexy moves. Typical Samuel. He sounded alright, though he seemed croaky to me and put on a weird English accent at the end. Ryan told Samuel that he thought he was too slick and difficult to relate to, even comparing him to Russell Brand — which I’m pretty sure wasn’t a compliment.
Ryan then brought up a comment Samuel had made about being reluctant to play a gay person because of his family's religious beliefs. Ryan yet again brought up his desire to write a dynamic religious character that, now that Cameron is gone, Samuel could possibly play. Seriously, this again? I honestly don’t understand why Ryan Murphy thinks that Glee is lacking in the religion department. Quinn pretty much fills this role. She’s religious and yet she got pregnant at 16 and has cheated on multiple boyfriends. Oh, and did he forget that entire episode where everyone railed on Kurt for being an atheist? Seriously? Seriously? Why does this keep coming up?
Ultimately Hannah wasn’t called back, and I was sad to see her go. Hannah was the most likable person on the show by far, even if she is an untalented, fat ginger.
