Popular - This is a family from hell.

Popular: 1x07 Queen B.

Brooke: Here are the rules: you may invade my space and destroy my family and have my father fooled with those big brown bambi eyes you bat around like a striper looking for tips, but this is one battle you’re losing. This is the line of death, cross it and die.

The McPhersons move in with the McQueens, and different ideas clash from the very first day. While the parents disagree over where the mugs are supposed to go in relation to the coffee machine, Brooke and Sam fight over who gets the right sink in the bathroom. The parental units do it for love, but for Brooke and Sam, asserting their own private space within their forced community becomes a struggle that must be won at all costs, and there is no room for compromises. The episode pits them against each other on a different level: Nicole, banned from taking part in the homecoming queen election, has decided to seek out a position of power instead. She becomes chair of the homecoming committee, which means that she “helps” Principal Hall with counting the votes for the candidates, and naturally, still being the dishonest opportunist (with a strange deep affection or loyalty for Brooke) despite denying it, she picks two people she expects won’t seriously run against Brooke (fellow Glamazons Poppy and Mary Cherry), and one she thinks can’t possibly win (Carmen). She didn’t take into account that both Poppy and Mary Cherry are human beings with dreams and ambitions and do intend to campaign, especially Mary Cherry, who harbours a deep self-consciousness under her glamorous façade that is deeply rooted in the fact that her mother, Cherry Cherry, never took her seriously (“you certainly have a huge enough to head to balance that tiara on”). While both Mike and, to Sam’s chagrin, her mum, decide to help out Brooke with her campaign, she makes up her mind to support Carmen (“Why do people always crown somebody they secretly can’t stand? Why do they compromise themselves?”). Part of her motivation for helping Carmen certainly is her anger over the fact that her mum, of all people, is on board with Brooke’s campaign, but on the other hand, Carmen is her FRIEND, so her decision is completely justified, and she even starts the whole thing as nicely as possible, and, after Carmen expresses her wish not to be part of a dirty campaign, prepares a completely positive one.

Mary Cherry, on the other hand, decides to win at all costs, and does so with the ridiculous amount of money her mother contributes to her campaign. Poppy originally intended to follow Nicole’s warning against running her own campaign, but is then reminded by one of her friends that she has a responsibility besides her loyalty to Brooke:

Lady T: The 411 on the streets is that you decided to be invisible so that you don’t offend Brooke McQueen. Thought so. Girl, we need to talk. It’s very important to me and to the minority students at school that you run for Queen.
Poppy: Okay, wait, this is just a race for a cheap rhinestone crown, lady, it is not a political event.
Lady T: For us, Poppy, for people of color, everything’s political at some point. I mean, in the magazines, in the commercials, I never see me looking back at me, it’s like I’m invisible.
Poppy: Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel the same way.
Lady T: You see what I’m saying? So we gotta represent. The last queen of color I can think of was Cleopatra. She been there for two millenniums. It’s time.

The question is, of course, if a show that has so far not once made race an issue should rely on a newly introduced character that isn’t going to be around much giving some talking points about the lack of representation and diversity in Kennedy High – and in an episode that also, for the first time, features the problematic “underclass”, consisting of the Tuna-sisters (May likes to eat dirt, and cat litter) and Freddie, whose legitimate concerns are kind of buried in the ridiculousness that goes on around him. The balance between serious issues and using characters that will never reach even the basic level of three-dimensionality is difficult to achieve, and it’s sad that a serious issue is handled like an afterthought in this episode (on the other hand, this is still considerably better handled than all the times Glee stumbled into trying to be serious about race, so I’ll let this one slide).

Poppy only decides to seriously run after Nicole tells her that she wouldn’t even be able to win if she tried – there’s an unfortunate line about adding flavour to the race somewhere in there – and she does so quite successfully, since she at least knows the name of all the chess club members. Brooke gives an honest speech, but when Freddie asks her if she knows his name, after being in the same classes for years, she doesn’t know the answer. “How do you expect me to vote for you when you don’t even know that I’m alive.” – and Brooke realizes that she may not deserve to become Homecoming Queen. Things start to fall apart for her. Sam has occupied space that previously belonged only to her at home, and her power is slowly slipping away from her at school as well. 

The next day in school, Brooke finds posters with the most embarrassing photo ever taken of her on every wall. It’s a picture her dad decided to present to the awkwardly assembled family – Sam brought it to school to cheer up Carmen for the upcoming race – and everybody thinks Sam is responsible, since Sam has a history of being evil and mean (even though, as said before, she usually actually does the right thing and people fail to credit her for it). Carmen is outraged that Sam has soiled their positive campaign, and Brooke doesn’t really have a reason not to blame Sam for the whole thing, even though she feels like something more essential about herself has been revealed. 

Nicole: That poster means nothing.
Brooke: No, that poster means everything. That picture of me was a moment I couldn’t spin. A picture of me up there looking horrible. I mean, maybe that is the first time that anyone in this school has seen me be real.

Sam is hurt because nobody believes that she didn’t have anything to do with her campaign, not even her mother. In protest, she moves to the utility closet (like Cinderella). 

The next day in school, as Mary Cherry promises a car as a campaign present, Carmen talks to Brooke and explains that it wasn’t her decision to put up those posters. 

Brooke: You know, Carmen, out of all the people who are nominated, I hope you win.
Carmen: Thanks but I think everybody knows you’ve got it pretty much sown up.
Brooke: Not necessarily. I actually was just on my way to Principal Hall’s office to withdraw my nomination.
Carmen: Why, Brooke. Please say it’s not because of the posters.
Brooke: It’s a bunch of things, actually.
Carmen: Well,  I’m not gonna let you do it. Look, I can’t imagine what it must be like to try to be perfect. Okay, I used to try, but lately I’ve realized I like being a little flawed. I do. It’s more me. I realized that being unperfect doesn’t mean I don’t deserve a chance to be Queen. I think everybody deserves a moment to wear that golden crown, you know? So what. If people saw those posters, and so what if you feel momentarily awkward and gross in your life, I mean you’ve had to have a couple of moments of loserdom, god know before now I’ve had a lifetime of it, but I’m still going for it. And you should too. Don’t let these recent setbacks stand in your way of your right to feel special, cause if you do you are saying to people like me who put up with far worse that I’m not entitled to wear that crown, and Brooke, I like to think that I am.

Underneath the slightly failed attempts this episode makes, there’s a well-handled thread about representation, and what kind of person is qualified to represent the student body. Should it be someone who appears to be perfect, or someone the students can identify with? 

Harrison votes for Carm. Brooke votes for Carm. Carm votes for Brooke. Sugar votes for Poppy. April votes for nobody. And writes her own name on the ballot. May eats hers. Nic votes for Poppy (!). Poppy votes for Brooke. Sam votes for Carm. Mary Cherry adds a massive amount of fake ballots. 

Brooke ends up winning because, in a way, being exposed to the entire school like this and learning a lesson has earned her the right (naturally, I’d have loved to see Poppy win). She also realizes that Mary Cherry was the one who used the picture, not Sam. 

Sam, meanwhile, is visiting her dad’s grave. 

“...and I think you wouldn’t like the person I’ve become, so I’ve got to change that. As you know I’m in this situation now that is really unpleasant and heinous, I just feel like I’m failing everybody, myself, mom, you. Especially you. In my heart I know you’d want mom to be happy, and she is trying so hard, and I just screwing it up for her, I think I never really said goodbye and that’s why I’m holding on so tight, so I’m here to tell you that you were the best dad ever. You and mom, you were my home. But I’ve got a new home now, and somehow, I’ve gotta make that work. But don’t work this isn’t a final goodbye. Every time I go to a ball game or write a story or do something brave I know you’ll be there. Right by my side.”

I love that the show returns to the idea that Sam McPherson’s greatest inspiration and motivation is trying to become a person her father would have been proud of – and every time an episode argues that she is acting selfishly because she is trying to bring down Brooke, when in fact, she is simply following her moral compass, I will defend her choices. Her mother watches her from the distance and apologizes for not trusting her, for assuming that her daughter would be the kind of person to do something so horrible to Brooke (“If I doubled your allowance for the next six months could we pretend that that was just a lapse of judgement on my part and not a black mark on my permanent record?”). 

Brooke has learned that Homecoming Queen is a title she has to earn, by taking the students seriously (knowing their names…), by not taking it for granted. Sam has realized that she needs to prove that she isn’t the horrible person people seem to expect her to be by finding a better way to deal with her complicated situation at home. All of this leads to the first lasting armistice of Popular!

Sam: Does it make you feel any different when you win Homecoming Queen?
Brooke: Actually, yeah, it does. Even if it’s only for like a moment. But yeah.
Sam: Gonna wear that crown to bed, aren’t ya?
Brooke: Actually, I wore this crown in here to give to you. So you could try it on.
Sam: And the reason for that would be…
Brooke: Okay, this arrangement sucks, okay, I hate having you in my hair. And I know you hate having me in yours too.
Sam: Did they not know that people our age are moody and need their space?
Brooke: Totally. I think the only way we’re not gonna kill each other is, I think, we both have to get used to wearing the crown around here.
Sam: And the sink? By now it’s a principle of the matter, isn’t it?
Brooke: Yeah.
Sam: So… what I thought we could do is this. Each Friday night from now on we’ll flip for it and the winner will get it for that week.
Brooke: Okay, call it.
Sam: Heads.
Brooke: Okay fine. I’ll myself over to the bad sink, tomorrow. Congratulations. Oh, and McPherson, don’t use my moisturizer. I mean it.

When Brooke is gone, Sam puts on the crown for a moment and looks at herself in the mirror while Sparklehorse’s Homecoming Queen is playing.

Random notes: 

Brooke: That lamp is butt ugly. 

Sam: This lamp is a part of my history. I boycotted home economics in seventh grade for being gender exclusionary and wired it myself in shop class. 

Brooke: Let me make it simple for you, roomie. This lamp is going in over my dead body. 

Sam: Oh fine, glad to help you out! Hey, boys, back it up nice and slow, Brooke there is going to lie under the back tires.

Their “playful banter” is always so close to actual flirting, it’s ridiculous. 

Nicole: The chess club is to our Queenly race what New Hampshire is to the Presidential election. Small, easy to step right over, but the voice of the people. They’re the voting barometer. Honey, trust me, there’s no competition.

Sam: If elected, Carmen Ferrera will see to it that the voices of the ignored and alienated at Kennedy High will be listened to and accepted. 

April: Yeah, that’s real great and all, but cut to the chase. What your new roomie Brooke McQueen look like nudie.

Again, unfortunate. Oh look, the gross girl that is too reproachable (and too OTT) to even fit into Sam’s clique might also be gay (April’s obsession with Brooke is going to be a running joke on the show). 

I think Mike telling Jane that Brooke is “her daughter” is one of those things you are never ever supposed to do to as a responsible parent. Especially when Brooke’s mum isn’t actually dead, but missing. 

Mary Cherry is the original Lady Gaga. LIGHTBULB DRESS. 

Cherry Cherry, about Mary’s loss: “They always give it to a pretty girl.” OUCH. 

Cherry Cherry: Guess what I did when I lost that crown? 

Mary Cherry: Shot ‘em?

No obligatory movie reference this time around: Queen B., self-explanatory.