“Glee” went to Sectionals last night. More importantly, the show put aside its anti-bullying crusade – for one week at least – and delivered the funniest, most entertaining episode in a while. (Which, I think, is important for a comedy series.)My two favorite episodes this season have probably been “Duets” and last night’s “Special Education.” It’s no accident that both of these eps eschewed big-name guest stars, delivering heavy-handed messages in a clumsy way, or shoehorning a single pop star’s songs into the plot.
It was almost as if the only goal of the episode was to make us laugh as much as possible and provide us with dazzling musical performances. (Imagine that!)
The hour had New Directions traveling to Sectionals to face the Dalton Academy Warblers (with new member Kurt) and the Hipsters, those GED-getting golden oldies.
One thing the show has done consistently well this season (consistency isn’t really its strong suit) is display its self-aware side. Emma’s slam of Will’s predictable set-list (Rachel-Finn ballad, Mercedes glory note, and scene!) was a funny way for the show to address how formulaic it can be at time. It also convinced Mr. Schue that he needed to shake things up.
If you read these recaps, you know that a more low-key Mr. Schue has been winning me back lately. Well, that mostly went out the window last night because Will went back to his moronic ways. First, there’s his continued quest for Emma. Didn’t he agree to back off after the “Rocky Horror” episode? Why was he trying to subtly win her back by inviting her to Sectionals? As harsh of a twist as it was to have Emma marry Dr. Carl (a silent John Stamos cameo), maybe it’ll finally get Will to back the f--- up! Honestly, isn’t there anyone in that town besides Emma or his ex-wife that he can date? It’s pathetic.
Slightly less pathetic is how bendable of a choir director he is. Just because Emma made a snide, insightful comment about his set list, it doesn’t mean he had to go and rip Rachel and Finn’s solos away from them. (And this is coming from someone who has been begging “Glee” to further showcase its talented ensemble.) As Finn said, “you don’t bench the star quarterback before the big game” just to make sure everyone plays. Will’s heart was in the right place, but this made him look like the flake he is. (At least he finally stood up to self-absorbed Rachel.)
Unfortunately for Rachel and Finn, this mini-argument ended with Santana revealing that she’d slept with Finn, who was still telling Rachel that he was a virgin. I thought they’d patch things up by the end of the episode since (as Finn pointed out) he slept with Santana while he and Rachel were broken up, so it wasn’t like he cheated on her. The only problem was that she had sought solace in “am-badass-ador” Puck’s arms and, even though he shut her down before they could really do anything, Finn felt betrayed.
As season 2 of “Glee” has really become “The Kurt Show”, my biggest complaint has been the marginalizing of Lea Michele, probably the show’s breakout star from the first year. This season, Rachel has had nothing to do besides acting like a selfish, annoying bitch and…well, that’s pretty much it.
Well, last night she did that, but Michele finally (THANKFULLY) got to play up Rachel’s insecurities (her jealousy of sexy Santana) that help explain why she’s the neurotic mess she is. She also got to play tender in her scenes with Kurt last night. (Those two are much friendlier when they’re not competing for solos.)
Speaking of Kurt, he enlisted Rachel’s help in his audition for a solo with the Warblers. When we first saw Dalton Academy and its music group a few weeks back, I felt like it all seemed too good to be true and I waited for the other shoe to drop. Well, the shoe didn’t really drop last night, but it kinda got a little loose on the foot because it turns out the Warblers preach uniformity and take themselves WAY too seriously.
We’ll see if anything else comes of that because we’ll be seeing more of the Warblers following their first-place with New Directions at Sectionals. Personally, I hate ties (everything should have a winner and a loser) and I think they’re copouts, but I understand why the show did it from a storyline standpoint.
Next week is the Christmas episode, but before we look forward, let’s look back at this week’s musical performances.
“Don’t Cry for Me Argentina”…A-: The dual Rachel/Kurt vocal was reminiscent of their take on “Defying Gravity” from season 1. Only this time, I didn’t think it was nearly as balanced – I thought this was a terrible choice for Kurt’s audition (why is that a good idea for an all-guy group?), so I didn’t enjoy his portion as much. (Though Blaine motioning Kurt to put his hands down as he was about to emote was gold!) Lea Michele, on the other hand, was BRILLIANT. This was a reminder of why she was the star of this show, once upon a time.
“The Living Years”…C+: Too obviously pre-recorded for my taste. I think it would’ve been funny if the Hipsters were the glee kids in old people makeup. (They TOTALLY had a Mercedes, and they even had someone in a wheelchair! Come on!)
“Hey Soul Sister”…B: Other than Darren Criss’ unbelievably charismatic lead vocal performance, this was actually pretty meh. (“Teenage Dream” was much better.) Blaine’s hamminess did make me a bit suspicious about his advice to Kurt to not “try too hard.” Could he be intentionally trying to keep Kurt down? (The guy is pretty much too good to be true so far, so why not?)
“I’ve Had the Time of My Life”…B-: Dianna Agron and Chord Overstreet have pretty good chemistry, but that was about the only thing they brought to the table in this cutesy and totally unnecessary cover. (At least it was better than the Black Eyed Peas’ version.)
“Valerie”…B+: Great to see Santana get a solo lead, and she mostly worked it. (I felt she could’ve pushed it out even more.) Mike and a-dolt-erer Brittany’s dancing was excellent, but why is that such a big deal for what’s supposed to be a singing competition?
“Dog Days Are Over”…B+: Is there any reason at all this couldn’t have just been a solo for Tina? Cute choreography, and I’d love to tell you more, but my DVR cut this number off right towards the end. Sorry.
So what’d you think of this episode? Do you fantasize about your own funeral? Did you miss Sue at all and can you think of any other comedy that can still be really good without its funniest character? Finally, how long will Lauren stick around New Directions? (She sure picked up those dance moves pretty quickly for someone who dissed show choir right before they went on.)
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