Glee 's Brittana was one of TV's most prominent same-sex pairings. Now that they're broken up, Brittany is hooking up with Sam — is that really such a bad thing?
Santana and Brittany do the titular deed in "The Break-Up."
Image by Jordin Althaus/FOX
Nobody said it was easy: when Glee decided to break up several of its most popular couplings, fans were bound to be upset. But the Brittana break-up cut especially deep. With so few strong lesbian relationships on television, it's easy to get attached to the story of cheerleaders in love.
Chances are Brittany and Santana will find each other again. I believe in love. I believe in the TV myth that high school relationships are forever. In the meantime, the two can and should date other people, as hard as it might be for hardcore shippers to accept. That's the healthy, mature thing to do -- just as ending a difficult long-distance relationship was.
Santana makes the adult decision to end her relationship with Brittany in "The Break-Up."
Image by Jordin Althaus/FOX
The problem for many Brittana fans is that Brittany seems to be moving on to Sam, a character who is just dopey enough to be perfect for her, except for the fact that he's a guy. While Santana came out as a lesbian last season, Brittany has always been more of a free agent. Still, viewers -- particularly Glee's large LGBT fanbase -- expected that she might just stick to the same sex.
And I get that: the old cliche of a female character dating a woman and then going back to guys isn't exactly long-gone. It's disappointing to begin identifying with a queer character, only to have her return to her hetero ways. But sometimes it's realistic, particularly in the case of a character like Brittany, who always seemed more in love with Santana the person than Santana the woman. Having Brittany date Sam now doesn't take away from what she had with Santana -- nor does it change Santana's stated orientation.