An old high school rival of Mr. Schu, embittered about his failures in the music business after being 'the man' in Glee Club back in the day, is threatening to cut Glee from the school budget in his role as member of the school board. Tina tries to help Artie with his handicap. Rachel and Jesse attempt to find out who Rachel's birth mother is.
WHAT I LIKED
- The duets were spectacular. More on that in "The Music".
- Granted, it took a daydream sequence to do it, but Kevin McHale (Artie) tore it up, and the dance scene in the mall was a LOT of fun to watch.
- It was nice to see the Artie/Tina relationship get some significant screen time, as well as some growth. The show now needs to give Tina slightly more backstory to flesh this out a bit more.
- With NEIL PATRICK F'N HARRIS on board this week, they backgrounded Sue, but the one scene they did have against each other was the definition of a small dose really packing a wallop.
- Wait a minute, Terri Schuester still exists? I wasn't sure until the bar scene.
- I knew another shoe was going to drop with Jesse being in New Directions, and they finally dropped it, but I was glad they didn't go with the obvious "spy" route.
- With one simple touch of the shoulder, the writers have convinced me that Quinn has palpably changed in outlook and personality. Now watch them screw with me in the finale (where it's been confirmed that Quinn has the baby in that episode).
- The community theater director is the Stewart's obnoxious neighbor on early seasons of "Hannah Montana". I know that because I have a seven year old daughter, but I like this particular character actor, so that's cool. And at least it wasn't Sandy Ryerson, that would have been too obvious.
- The overall story involving Bryan Ryan was OK, but I'm not clamoring for a character return anytime soon. Yes, NPH can sing, and that was his best contribution for the show, but the rest was just "a'ight".
- Well, they went there with Rachel's mom. I'm sure many, many Gleeks are in a quivering joyful puddle over this, especially the Broadway babies. I'm feeling like I wish the producers had the guts to NOT go that direction with it. Yes, I'm positive I'm in the minority with this one.
- The de-emphasization of much of the Glee kids this episode didn't seem a fair tradeoff for the glory of NPH in this episode, but again, with such a large cast, folks can't be front and center every week.
- Gaga next week. *sigh*
- OK, I'm convinced the writers are trying to make Emma unlikeable. I'm sorry, but there's no guidance counselor on this planet that would have crushed Artie like that. Yes, it's TRUE...but it could have been a lot more tactful than that. And knowing the spoilers about what...or in this case, who...is coming up in Emma's life, I wonder if the writers aren't trying to get fans to realize that Emma Pillsbury isn't the white fluffy cloud she's seemed to be all season.
"I have a secret room upstairs. Like Letterman" - Sue (Thanks for that image of NPH and Jane Lynch doing the dirty. Newsweek guy can kiss it about gay actors not playing straight very well...)
THE MUSIC
This episode had two of the best duets yet - Will and Bryan on "Dream On" and Rachel and Shelby on "I Dreamed a Dream". Both blended really well together and were "moments" for the show overall. "Safety Dance" was more for the group dance than the number, but Artie did it capably (and the group dance was pretty sweet, especially the differing camera angles). "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was downright sad despite its lilt, and while not the best performance on the show ever, it drove the point it was supposed to drive.
MY FINAL THOUGHT
This was as much an "event show" as the Madonna show earlier this season, but there's some plotty goodness in the mix that still managed to find its way out. As much as the "poor Artie" episodes tend to run towards the mauldin, Kevin McHale makes the best of his Afterschool Special material and is consistently entertaining in what he does. And his romance with Jenna Ushkowitz's Tina is sweet and, as a counterpoint to most relationships in this show, relatively stable. And the revelations with Rachel's mom will no doubt impact Regionals, when it comes, in some fashion.
However, just like "Home" seemed to wedge Kristen Chenoweth into an excuse to be on the show and sing, this felt somewhat like they did the same with NPH. Yes, his singing was fantastic, and him and Matt Morrison really need to do a Broadway show together (revival of "City of Angels" anyone?). But the character didn't make me want to see him *back* at some point, and I just feel like he was there to get the non-Gleeks to peek in and see what the fuss is about.
But all in all, it gave the Gleeks what they wanted in spades, and with the viewing numbers the show is getting right now, that's what they're looking for. Three shows left in the season...and I'm wondering how they're getting to Regionals given that they've barely addressed it to this point in the season.
Until next time, don't stop believin'.
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