Emma Pillsbury
Emma Pillsbury | |
---|---|
Ken Tanaka (ex-fiancé) | |
Children | Daniel Finn Schuester (son) |
Relatives | Betty Pillsbury (niece) |
Religion | Christian |
Emma Pillsbury Schuester (previously Pillsbury-Howell) is a fictional character from the
Mays feels the character has much depth, juxtaposing Emma's position helping the students with her own phobia of germs and love for a married man. She explained that "the character is not a stereotypical TV-style husband-stealer who immediately would be luring the dude into the sack, but rather seems like a real person facing real issues."
The character has been well received by critics, including Mike Hale of The New York Times, who praised Mays for being able to "[register] Emma's devastation with just the slightest widening of [her] enormous eyes."[2] Critics responded well to the development of Emma and Will's relationship. Eric Goldman of IGN wrote that their first kiss was "hard to not feel good about".[3] Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly, however, suggested that it may have been "more intriguing" to leave their romance unresolved.[4]
Storylines
Emma is introduced as the
Emma and Will pursue a relationship, but Emma fears that he may be repeating patterns from his relationship with Terri because of his difficulties with being alone.
In "
When Will is named to a national blue-ribbon panel on the arts in Washington, DC, early in the fourth season, he expects Emma to come with him, but Emma is very reluctant to do so: she doesn't want to leave her job for several months while he's away. They ultimately agree that Emma will stay behind and the two will reunite on weekends.
Development
Casting and creation
Emma is portrayed by actress
"Everything, really. Actually, the second I got the sides. I got the sides just for that character before I got the whole script. And just from the sides alone in the pilot, I could tell she was such a well developed character. And there was so much going on with her just from those few sheets of paper that I had kind of describing who she was. I knew immediately that there was a lot that was going to be going on with her. And I think that's hard to find sometimes with roles for women. There's maybe not so many layers to them, always. And I just felt from the get go that there was so much going on. And I also knew that Ryan Murphy was involved. I knew that was exciting to me, too. As soon as I heard that, I knew that there would be something good on the page. So I was immediately drawn to it."[24]
Debbie Gibson auditioned for the role in 2009. The show would later confuse Gibson and Tiffany Darwish in a joke in a 2011 episode featuring Gwyneth Paltrow.[25]
Characterization
In the
Mays has deemed Emma an "amazing" character to play, and has explained: "I don't find that female characters are always written with a lot of depth, but she's so well defined on the page. Sure, she's terrified of germs and in love with a married man, so seeing her as the voice of reason for the kids is amazing."[28] Emma's relationship with Will will continue to grow, as "she has these moments of clarity when she's talking to Will because he calms her."[28] Mays described her in an interview with TheTVChick:
"She is a romantic at heart. But she's practical. She's very interesting, because she does have those dreams and hopes of finding the right man. And in her mind, even though
Ken Tanaka is a very nice man, he's not exactly like Will, but he's good to her and he's solid. He's got a job, and he understands her and he understands all her quirks and stuff. So she's practical, she knows that just might be her lot in life. So it's weird. She's got this very dreamy side about her and who she wants to be and what she wants her life to be like. But she's also got this very practical, down-to-earth, well this is kind of the best I can do thing. It's funny a lot of people have thought that part about her is weak. Like a weak character flaw, but I actually don't think that's true. I really just think that's the practical side of her. I think that's her being practical. And I think a lot of people are like that sometimes."[24]
Discussing Emma's style and costuming, Glee's costume designer Lou Eyrich has explained: "We wanted to make her look like everything's so neat—perfectly ironed and tucked-in shirts with matching belts, shoes and pins. We wanted to make her stand out from the other teachers. She's always so happy and excited, so we wanted her outfits to represent that sunny disposition. In the pilot, we made her look much more teacher-y. Now we're having more fun with her character, keeping her bright and unusual. Quirky is the word. Emma's also always in stacked Mary Janes or T-strap heels. It takes the outfit down from being too stylish or too sexy. It makes her look prim and almost old-fashioned."[29]
Relationships
Emma's relationship with glee club coach
Reception
Variety's Brian Lowry deemed the adult cast of early Glee "over-the-top buffoons", however opined that Emma offered "modest redemption".[35] The Los Angeles Times's Denise Martin called Mays as Emma "just as funny" as Lynch's Sue, and noted: "Emma doesn't get the zingers Coach Sue gets, but she makes me laugh just as hard."[36] Harris commented that, "Despite the sad seriousness of [Emma's love for Will], the tightly wound Emma [...]also is one of the funniest characters in Glee. Go figure. It's funny, because everything is kind of heavy that's going on in her life, with these phobias and this guy she loves who's married, yet she still is a bit of the comic relief."[1] Mandi Bierly for Entertainment Weekly noted of the episode "Vitamin D" that she had hoped Emma would decline Ken's proposal: "I want Emma to be strong and know it's better to be without someone for the right reason than to be with someone for the wrong one."[30] Mike Hale for The New York Times praised Mays' performance in the episode. He noted: "Jayma Mays registered Emma's devastation with just the slightest widening of those enormous eyes. In fact all the best non-singing moments in the episode were hers."[2]
Critics commented positively on the development of Will and Emma's relationship; TV Guide's Natalie Abrams wrote that she had been waiting for them to kiss since the pilot episode.[31] Flandez felt that the kiss made the "poignant moment" of the glee club's final performance "even more dear", and hoped that it would not be the last between them,[37] while Aly Semigran of MTV praised the development and called the kiss "sweet [and] longing".[38] Goldman wrote: "Schue and Emma finally coming together was very hard to not feel good about, even though you know it just won't be that easy when the show returns".[3] Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times opined that it was clear Ken and Emma would not marry, and added that when Will kissed Emma: "I died".[39] In discussing Will and Emma's conversation about how she would have left Ken if Will had shown any interest in her, Pardue commented: "That's maybe the sweetest and the saddest thing I've ever heard." She called the kiss between Will and Emma "romantic" commenting that it made her "heart happy".[40] Entertainment Weekly's Dan Snierson commented that although there was satisfaction in the episode ending on the kiss, it may have been "more intriguing" to conclude with Will finding Emma's office empty, or "before she smiled approvingly after their kiss", questioning whether it was too soon for the two of them to begin a relationship, or "about freakin' time".[4]
Emily VanDerWerff of
Musical performances
Mays performed a cover version of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady in the episode "Mash-Up", a studio recording of which was included as a bonus-track on copies of Glee: The Music, Volume 1 purchased from Target stores.[42] Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal called the performance "lovely",[43] and Andrea Reiher for Zap2it similarly praised the piece: "wow, she has a nice voice! She's no Julie Andrews, but she'll do."[44] Eric Goldman for IGN commented: "Seeing Emma sing "I Could Have Danced All Night" was sweet, though was it just me (or my TV), or was the volume on her vocals a bit unusually loud? I also could have done without Will's line telling her she should sing to help her keep the beat as she danced – come on Glee, you're a musical. Embrace it and just let her sing."[45]
Mays said that she "had fun singing," but found the experience "terrifying," as she had never given a musical performance on camera before. She derided her choreography skills, and elaborated: "I was so nervous that day. I had to keep eating bread and toast because my stomach was so sick. But it was an interesting experience. It was definitely a challenge for me. Of course if they ask me to do it again, I would do it again. But I'm not going to go begging them for it."[24]
In her first lead solo performance since the first season, Mays performed "
In season three, Mays performs "Wedding Bell Blues" in the episode "
In season four, Mays is one of eight singers featured in the performance of "
References
- ^ a b c d e Harris, Bill (September 3, 2010). "Jayma Mays finds Glee on TV". Toronto Sun. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ a b Hale, Mike (October 8, 2009). "'Glee' Watch: Time for a Little Competition". The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ a b c Goldman, Eric (December 10, 2009). "Glee: "Sectionals" Review". IGN. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ a b c Snierson, Dan (December 10, 2009). "'Glee' recap: Puttin' on a Show". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ a b Ryan Murphy (director, writer), Brad Falchuk (writer), Ian Brennan (writer) (May 19, 2009). "Pilot". Glee. Season 1. Episode 1. Fox.
- ^ Ryan Murphy (director, writer), Brad Falchuk (writer), Ian Brennan (writer) (September 9, 2009). "Showmance". Glee. Season 1. Episode 2. Fox.
- ^ Brad Falchuk (writer, director) (October 7, 2009). "Vitamin D". Glee. Season 1. Episode 6. Fox.
- ^ Brad Falchuk (writer, director) (December 9, 2009). "Sectionals". Glee. Season 1. Episode 13. Fox.
- ^ a b Brad Falchuk (writer, director) (April 13, 2009). "Hell-O". Glee. Season 1. Episode 14. Fox.
- ^ Brad Falchuk (writer, director) (April 13, 2009). "The Power of Madonna". Glee. Season 1. Episode 15. Fox.
- ^ Brad Falchuk (writer, director) (May 4, 2009). "Bad Reputation". Glee. Season 1. Episode 17. Fox.
- ^ Brad Falchuk (writer, director) (June 10, 2009). "Journey to Regionals". Glee. Season 1. Episode 22. Fox.
- ^ Paris Barclay (director), Brad Falchuk (writer) (November 30, 2010). "Special Education". Glee. Season 2. Episode 9. Fox.
- ^ Harper, Jen (November 30, 2010). "'Glee' Recap: A Shocking Breakup and a Surprise Wedding". BuddyTV. Archived from the original on December 4, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
- ^ Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (October 4, 2010). "Asian F". Glee. Season 3. Episode 3. Fox.
- ^ Eric Stoltz (director), Brad Falchuk (writer) (January 17, 2012). "Yes/No". Glee. Season 3. Episode 10. Fox.
- ^ Paris Barclay (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (February 7, 2012). "The Spanish Teacher". Glee. Season 3. Episode 12. Fox.
- ^ Eric Stoltz (director), Ali Adler (writer) (May 15, 2012). "Nationals". Glee. Season 3. Episode 21. Fox.
- ^ Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (director), Ryan Murphy (writer) (October 4, 2012). "The Break Up". Glee. Season 4. Episode 4. Fox.
- ^ Brad Falchuk (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (February 14, 2013). "I Do". Glee. Season 4. Episode 14. Fox.
- ^ Bradley Buecker (director), Ian Brennan (writer) (May 9, 2013). "All or Nothing". Glee. Season 4. Episode 22. Fox.
- ^ Ian Brennan (director), Rivka Sophia Rossi (writer) (March 4, 2014). "Trio". Glee. Season 5. Episode 10. Fox.
- ^ a b Martin, Denise (April 26, 2009). "Video: 'Glee' team rewrites the school musical". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e "Exclusive Interview Jayma Mays (Emma) from Glee". TheTVChick. December 2, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ "Debbie Gibson Laughs Off 'Glee'-Tiffany Mix-Up". Access Online.
- ^ Jeff Szymanski, OCD in the Media Archived September 7, 2013, at the Wayback Machine (June 6, 2011). WebMD; Stephanie Smith, Glee and OCD (April 27, 2011); Chris Weise, Potential for Stigma-Smashing Greatness (November 7, 2001). Erasing the Distance.
- ^ Hinckley, David (April 13, 2010). "Plot starts to thicken, but 'Glee' returns with too many sudden twists and turns after mini-vacation". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
- ^ a b Wieselman, Jarett (May 19, 2009). "Meet The Cast of 'Glee,' I Did!". New York Post. Archived from the original on May 25, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
- ^ Ram, Archana (October 16, 2009). "Emma from 'Glee': The most fashionable character on TV right now?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 17, 2009.
- ^ a b Bierly, Mandi (October 8, 2009). "'Glee': Just say no to drugs (and to Ken!)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ^ a b Abrams, Natalie (December 9, 2009). "Glee Episode Recap: "Sectionals"". TV Guide. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (April 13, 2010). "Glee: "Hell-O" Review". IGN. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ VanDerWerff, Emily (June 9, 2010). "Journey". The A.V. Club. Retrieved June 9, 2010.
- ^ Canning, Robert (September 29, 2010). "Glee: "Britney/Brittany" Review". IGN. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
- ^ Lowry, Brian (May 14, 2009). "Glee". Variety. Retrieved June 3, 2009.
- ^ Martin, Denise (October 1, 2009). "'Glee': The top 5 reasons to rewatch 'The Rhodes Not Taken'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
- ^ Flandez, Raymund (December 10, 2009). ""Glee" Season 1, Episode 13 "Sectionals": TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ Semigran, Aly (December 10, 2009). "'Glee Recap': Episode 13, 'Sectionals'". MTV. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ Kennedy, Gerrick (December 10, 2009). "'Glee': We'll miss it". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- ^ Pardue, Liz (December 9, 2009). "'Glee': 'Don't Rain on My Parade' and 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' rock the 'Glee' finale". Zap2it. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009. Retrieved December 10, 2009.
- Onion, Inc.Retrieved October 27, 2010.
- ^ Linder, Brian (November 4, 2009). "Glee: The Music - Vol. 1 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 19, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2009.
- ^ Flandez, Raymund (October 22, 2009). ""Glee" Season 1, Episode 8: TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ Reiher, Andrea (October 23, 2009). "'Glee': Bust a move, Sweet Caroline". Zap2it. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (October 22, 2009). "Glee: "Mash-Up" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on August 31, 2011. Retrieved October 27, 2009.
- Daily News. New York City. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
- ^ Flandez, Raymund (October 26, 2010). "'Glee,' Season 2, Episode 5, 'Rocky Horror Glee Show': TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved November 1, 2010.
- Wenner Media. Retrieved March 8, 2011.
- ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (October 27, 2010). "Fly, Ryan Murphy! Be Free!". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 27, 2010.
- Rovi Corporation. Retrieved April 5, 2011.
- ^ "The Official Charts Company – Glee Cast". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
- ^ "Nielsen Music: Canadian Update (November 5, 2010)" (PDF). Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 9, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
- ^ Hankinson, Bobby (January 17, 2012). "Gleese Lightening OR Welcome NeNe Gleeks". Houston Chronicle. Jack Sweeney. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
- ^ Stanhope, Kate (January 17, 2012). "Glee Gets Lovey-Dovey in Winter Premiere: Ranking the Romantic Songs in "Yes/No"". TV Guide. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
- Mail.com Media. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
- ^ Lynch, Joseph Brannigan (January 18, 2012). "'Glee' recap: Synchronized Romance". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
External links
- Emma Pillsbury at Fox.com