Glee: Till Now: Mid-season Finale

My first post for this year and before I forget Happy New Year 2012 to all….Now I know this is a very late post, I should have already done with it when Glee went off for its mid-season hiatus returning this month, i.e., 17th January but my semester exams were going on and after they finished something or the other happened and I forgot all about it. But no worries I’m back and although I’m starting to lose interest in the show but I thought why not do it…..so here goes nothing(also be sure to remember it contains spoilers !)

Now Let’s recap what we know so far – Last year New Directions went to Nationals but there you go they lost because of a kiss, maybe not so much but that kiss onstage while it was a contributing factor their losing can also be attributed to the fact that they had not been ready…come they had no song prepared till the landed in New York. And the way it was….i’d say Rachel was being a hypocrite because she had told Jesse that she wanted to focus on nationals but she and Finn were skirting around one another…..and kissing in front of Jesse….definitely bad in my opinion. Sorry I’m ranting but it was what made me start lose interest in the show.

But moving on this season, its senior year for some of our fellow gleeks and they are all into doing all they can to get into their colleges of choice and end high school with a bang. Rachel and Kurt are now closer to one another, technically they want the same thing…but wait for it they get a big shock, in the form of Harmony. Both have been thinking they were one of a kind with their voices enough to get them to Broadway but there people out there who are as good as they are and have been working hard to achieve their dream of making it big on Broadway as well…a rude awakening but a good one for both Rachel and Kurt.

Finn for a lack of better word is as clueless as ever. He has no idea what he wants to do after high school and definitely has no idea what he wants with life…and frankly speaking I have no idea what Rachel sees in him. Quinn has left New Directions and gone the outcast way, dying here hair getting a tattoo (of none other than Ryan Secreast) and smoking. Sam has left town after his dad gets a better job. Mercedes has a new boyfriend who looks like a giant truck. Lauren Zises has also left Glee because it was degrading her reputation meter.

Shelby returns not because she wants to make peace with Rachel but because she has been offered a job at McKinley to start another Glee and the Trouble Tones are born (to show Sugar Motta….who is for lack of a term horrible at singing). With another Glee club we start to see a discord among the New Directions, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany leave to go to Trouble Tones because they felt over shadowed by Rachel.

Did I forget to mention Blaine now goes to McKinley? Yup you heard right Kurt beau decided he better be together with him (Kurt) than away from him in Dalton. Santana comes clean that she bats for the other team (more like word leaked out about it). McKinley is also going to do a musical this year, West Side Story. After much drama Rachel is selected to play Maria, Blaine as Tony, Santana as Anita, and such….Also through in the mix a new character Sebastian (Dalton), who wants Blaine for himself..trouble for Kurt….nah Blaine has made it clear he wants Kurt. Oh Kurt was also running for senior class president but lost to Brittany in the end.

If all this isn’t enough Puck is sleeping with Shelby now that is something I don’t want in my head. And Trouble Tones and New Directions go head to head in Sectionals but in the end New Directions win with a Jackson family medley. And we finally get another original song from the Christmas episode titled “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” by Rachel and Blaine. Also not to forget New Directions also get a new member in the form of Rory Flanagan (who is an exchange student) and what do you say Sam comes back to McKinley.

Anyways moving on thoughts for all nine episodes and where it could have been a little better – So I don’t really have a high opinion of season 3 so far, while yes the songs are great and maybe the reason why we actually watch the show but one of the major reason Glee suffers is because its highly discontinuous….yup one episode we see one thing another it’s a new scenario, the directors need to rectify this problem besides the humor is good. And the only episode I like in this season so far are the Sectionals and the Christmas episode.

I'm sure the trailer is satisfactory enough. Meet You guys on the 17th January.

Glee: Till Now: Mid-season Finale

Glee Season 3 Premiere

The second episode is about to air and I still don't feel like writing a post on the season premiere yet and after the dismal ending of last season and the rush with which it finished I was seriously having doubts if I should continue or not because well I definitely didn't like how Jesse St. James aka the elusive Jonathan Groff was treated last season, sure cracking an egg on Rachel was so not good and he definitely deserved a bit of cold shoulder but the way his character was under-appreciated last season and the oh the hypocrisy of Rachel returning to Finn again when she made it clear in the same episode that she wants to concentrate on her future was enough for me to hesitate.......well you can't expect any less from a St. Berry shipper now can you.

But I suppose I should get on with the season 3 premiere review. The episode is titled "The Purple Piano Project" - its a new year, senior year for some the gleeks and again New Directions is in need of new members. Sam Evans has moved out of town, Lauren Zizes has also left Glee and broken up with Puck and Quinn has gone the rebellious way (dying her hair, taken up smoking, gotten a tattoo of Ryan Seacrest, and pretty much joined a group of outcast girls called the Shanks) and doesn't want to return to either the cheerios or glee. So the purple piano project is aimed at encouraging the student body to audition and join the glee club(expect the students hate the glee club).

Coach Sylvester is running for congress this year and is again up to no good. Interfering with the day to day activities of  the club and in general doing everything to stop the glee club progressing. To recruit new talent, Will places several purple pianos around the school and encourages the club to sing whenever they see one. When Mike and Tina play on one in a hallway, Sue interrupts them by snapping the piano strings with wire cutters, and is praised for doing so by an arts-hating teacher, who promises to vote for her. An inspired Sue goes on television and vows that, if elected, she will cut all funding for school arts programs until all students read at or above grade level.

Kurt and Rachel see Emma about their plans to attend college in New York City. She suggests they consider a top school for the dramatic arts there, and the two of them attend an Ohio "mixer" for students interested in applying. They have rehearsed "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead", expecting to overawe the other attendees, but are instead intimidated by their performance of an "Anything Goes" and "Anything You Can Do" mash-up led by Harmony (Lindsay Pearce). Although badly shaken, they vow to persevere.

At the end of the day they only get Blaine as a new member, who was convinced by Kurt to transfer from Dalton to McKinley and the episode finishes with Rachel taking the lead in the song "You can't stop the beat" from Hairspray.

So this was the first episode and lets see what is going to happen. Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel) returns this season and she is making an appearance in the next episode which is title "I am a Unicorn". Hopefully we might see Jesse again, although there no news yet to confirm it but yes hopefully this season wouldn't disappoint and they should keep the original songs coming in too.

Glee Season 3 Premiere

"New York" - where dreams spring up alive!

Glee wrapped up its second season tonight with a trip to New York to compete at Nationals. New Directions has been working toward this moment for two years—despite frequently getting sidetracked by bullying, jealousy, and the sabotage of Sue Sylvester. It was darn near perfect, and the setting of New York City definitely only enhanced the episodes glamorizing features. Well, NYC was pretty much “the” glamour in the episode…Along with the cheese. Extreme cheesiness is found pulsating in this episode! And some unrealistic moments, even for Glee standards! But it’s all good…mostly. (emphasis on 'mostly')

Gleeks everywhere were rooting for the underdogs from Lima, Ohio to beat out 49 other show choirs, including Vocal Adrenaline.

Well, we knew it was kind of a long shot, right? Especially since they were still writing the songs hours before the competition(that definitely shows that New Directions was not prepared for that level of competition) but they are practicing procrastination like champs. We saw the level of competition they were up against when that Chelsea Handler look-alike belted out Usher.

But before we talk about Nationals, let’s talk about New Directions hitting New York. It was so much fun to see Rachel and Kurt have breakfast at Tiffany’s and sing “For Good” on theWicked stage. I would totally watch a Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine spin-off in New York. Anyway, Mr. Schue got in on the Broadway action too with “Still Got Tonight” (from Matthew Morrison’s new album).

Then there was Rachel and Finn’s classic romantic comedy date: flowers in Central Park, dinner at Sardi’s (complete with a Patti LuPone sighting), and then a romantic walk while being serenaded with “Bella Notte.” It was perfect until Rachel, who has spent this season pining after Finn, suddenly reverted to the Season 1 version of herself and decided the stage was her first love. It took the “Superman of kisses” to make her realize she can spend senior year with Finn before she leaves for New York.

Despite a few unrealistic moments, even by Glee standards, I thought it was a good finale. It didn't leave me with chills, or tears in my eyes, but it definitely had me chomping at the bit for next season. The original songs didn't live up to the high standards set by "Get It Right" and "Loser Like Me," but that was strategic. The songs were mediocre and that was why they weren't in the top 10 (note to self - the Directions: don't wait until the day before to prepare your Nationals routine, okay?)

Finchel drama is, has been, and will most likely always be the main point of “the drama” in this series. After all, these two are the obvious mainstream couple for the show. Although, in a time of trying their darndest to win Nationals, one would have thought that the two could have left the relationship drama behind in Ohio for the time being. The relationship drama literally ruined Nationals for them. I mean when you're up against a group of white dress wearing ladies belting an Usher classic club song and Vocal Adrenaline, headlining with Charice...well you are kind of screwed. I didn't know a kiss would be so vulgar on stage. That just seems really...stupid.

Quinn, baby, you need some help. She was all over the place in this episode just being a witch with a capital B. Your flimsy high school romance is not going to sustain beyond the four walls of McKinley High, mostly because she is too insecure with herself and her fears of failure and not achieving her dreams. She’s been rather shallow and selfish for a better half of this season. And can you believe that a damn haircut suggested by the absolute genius Santana and Brittany, made this chick “feel better”. She just seemed to be totally over it after that. That was a huge WTF moment. And just kinda poorly written. Or maybe that is all there is to Quinn. She’s just a spoiled brat that is likely to zimmer-down when approached with a slight change in appearance. REALLY (*incredulous*).

Quinn BIG PLAN was a total letdown - why say last week she has 'something big' planned and then it turns out she was simply waiting for Rachel and Kurt to go off on their own to get them suspended (how would she have known they'd do that)? Mr Schue is a dreadful teacher leaving the kids alone as often as he did, surely they would have needed another chaperone anyway (for the girls)?

Remember the epicness of last year’s season finale? Jonathan Groff and Vocal Adrenalin’s mind blowing performance of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was interspersed with scenes of Quinn giving birth. New Directions was facing off against their nemesis—Vocal Adrenalin, who was coached by Rachel’s bio mom. The kids came full circle and sang a medley of Journey songs, including the one that started it all, “Don’t Stop Believin.” Compared to that, I think “New York” fell flat. Obviously they set the bar so high last year that it was going to be nearly impossible to beat. Perhaps if Glee had shown more of Vocal Adrenalin (or other competing show choirs) during the course of the season, tonight’s competition would have had more tension.

Brittany was preaching the truth to Santana and her words made for a great summation. Church was in service as she nailed this season's theme of acceptance. Like Rachel and Kurt sang to one another, everyone in the glee club is who they are today because they met each other. They have been changed for the better for having met one another, just like I have been after watching this season unfold. 

Things that did not go to my liking in the finale - Rachel should not have kissed Finn like that...her and Jesse kiss in the previous "Funeral"...then at the beginning of the episode she tells Finn that she doesn't want any boy drama until the competitions finish.....and she goes and kisses Finn right on stage infront of the crowd....there by eating her own words....(i know i'm ranting but please Finchel has run its course a long time back, besides there is no chemistry between Finchel at all as opposed to St.Berry which oozes heavy-duty chemistry.....COME ON JESSE ST.JAMES IS HOT AND CLEARLY WANTED RACHEL BACK). Then the Vocal Adrenaline original "As Long As You're There" sung by Charice....they could have used the full song and made use of the background dancers a bit more instead of using just half of them. (I have no criticism for that all girl acapella group that belted out the Usher classic "Yeah!"....out of the three performances we saw in the episode they were the best.) 

Until next season aka september 2011, enjoy the reruns and look forward to the 3D movie. Next year, The New Directions are going to bring home the hardware!

"New York" - where dreams spring up alive!

Funeral

Glee sometimes makes you laugh, and sometimes it makes you cry. Tonight’s episode—appropriately titled “Funeral”—was a full on tearjerker. With the death of a sweet character, a break up, and a heartless show choir consultant (although i'm pretty much biased towards him), there weren’t too many laughs to be found tonight.

It couldn't have been a more touching and emotional episode than we got tonight with the "Funeral". Go ahead and try. Hold your breath, make a wish and count to three, I'll still be drying my eyes over here.

So in a particularly emotional episode of Glee, Sue has a loss in her already small family. Jesse is even more of a douchebag. Will may actually be leaving New Directions. And tensions are flaring. Rachel is still longing for Finn when clearly Jesse stands in front of her in all his glory (for some reason when he was kind of a jerk to her).

It is revealed that Sue’s adorable and amazing older sister, Jane. And there is something rather disturbing about it all, especially seeing as how Sue doesn’t have any idea of how to deal with it. In steps Finn and Kurt (Furt). It is a story one can be sure others can relate to, not knowing how to deal. With some Glee-filled help fromNew Directions, Sue shows some much needed emotion. The entire funeral scene had a few friends and I weeping like morbid children. The performance of Willy Wonka’s “Pure Imagination” along side old videos of Sue and Jane had us all pretty much bawling. 

Apparently the touching words Sue wrote about her sister made Finn realize that Quinn isn’t the one for him. I can’t believe Quinn’s response was to bring up up the Prom Queen and King thing yet again. The real question is what are these “big plans” she has for New York? We now know what Mr. Schue has planned for his time in New York—Broadway! I’m glad the man with all the vests is taking the opportunity to follow his dreams. He promised Emma that “this isn’t forever,” and I’m taking him at his word that he’ll be back next year.

Kurt, Santana, Mercedes, and Rachel all audition to be the team’s lead star performers for Nationals, and Jesse along with his reality show judging, literally chewed out all of their amazing performances that ranged from Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black” and Otis Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness”. All expect Rachel’s performance. Which one must admit, was quite a damn amazing performance of Barbra Streisand’s “My Man”(again I say....although the song was amazing but Rachel is kinda becoming annoying with this insistent pawning over a dumb and clueless Finn who wouldn't even know what Funny Girl actually is.....come on you should have seen Jesse's face when Rachel came onto the stage and he wanted to know if she wanted to sing it for somebody). Jesse looks to still be sticking around for the time being, doing what but sticking with Rachel (thank God!! Glee actually becomes a lot more interesting when Jonathan Groff comes on..... hallelujah.....), I have no idea. Does he have some sort of evil plan? Or is he really there for Rachel?

With the possibility of Will actually leaving the Glee club next year, Emma is preparing herself, emotionally. But I like many others doubt he’ll actually be leaving. And if he does, he’ll realize his mistake early next season and come racing back. I would actually love to see how that storyline goes. Becky will be Cheerio's captain next year! How awesome is that? And I am so glad she wasn't the one to perish in this episode. She's too fun and adorable to watch as Sue's most trusted minion!

As much as I enjoyed Jane Lynch’s performance in “Funeral,” this episode was such a downer and I think it slowed the momentum the show had picked up in last week’s prom episode. I’m really looking forward to next week’s finale at Nationals in New York. Hopefully we’ll get a few great performances and some resolution on all this couple drama.

Funeral

"Prom Queen"......or King...o.O

Before I say anything......THE GROFF IS BACK .... Halleujah......I know what you guys are thinking that I have gone mad but I (and i'm sure a lot of you out there) practically have been waiting for Jonathan Groff's return to Glee. And it has finally happened.

Now before I go overboard let's return to the matter at hand....So this week in Glee was the episode titled Prom Queen, naturally prom is a right to passage in high school so naturally it was expected of the big guys on Glee to do a Prom themed episode. GLEE seems to have gotten off the preachy wagon and somewhat more on track with this week’s episode “Prom Queen”. Of course since there are lots of gay themes this week, conservative America led by the sow of the decade Victoria Jackson will consider this episode part of the dreaded “Gay Agenda”. Incidentally, if I could figure out what the “Gay Agenda” is I would figure out how I can make money from it! Actually this is an episode with a really nice message of acceptance at its core.

The episode as a whole was fine for what it was, touching on most of the hallmarks of a decent prom episode. We had our dateless drama, the spiked punch, the jealousy, the crushed dreams. You know, everything prom. Artie had an interesting journey in "Prom Queen," going from his "Isn't She Lovely" prom proposal to bad boy to prisoner of war. Lovelorn Artie was entertaining, but using him for Sue Sylvester's unfunny torture bits didn't work for me. It felt as though that entire portion was just squeezed into the episode to give Sue a few more punchlines, but the concept was too over-the-top to actually work.

Sue was back and wearing Spanx. Who knew? Loved how she told "Butt Chin" that the club should apologize to America for their rendition of "Run Joey Run." Great way for the writers to poke fun at themselves and address their critics at the same time.

As I already said before Jesse St. James returns this episode....Now he totally out shined Rachel on "Rolling in the Deep," which is OK, but really suffers without the amazing vocals of the original artist but it was a great scene.....he definitely knows how to make an entrance. Although he's nothing but trouble as we saw in the scenes for next week's episode but its going to be a relief from all the pinning Rachel does for Finn...ugh seriously they have no chemistry between them what so ever, besides I ship St.berry too much.

Rachel covers “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri and actually sounds amazing, but then again power ballads are kind of her trademark. The only thing about that song in this episode is it was used as the slow dance song at prom, and the song is actually about betrayal – so it was a bit of an odd choice, even though it really fit the story well.

Artie (Kevin McHale) does a really sweet cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” in an attempt to get Brittany (Heather Morris) back, but she’s still stinging from him calling her stupid so the attempt falls flat. Then poor Artie ends up in the clutches of Sue Sylvester for attempting to spike the punch at prom. Now let’s take a step back for a moment. There are a LOT of far-fetched scenes they have put Sue in, but a scene with her prepared to physically torture a student, much less a student in a wheelchair – what the hell are the writers thinking?

The other two prom songs in the episode are covers of Rebecca Black’s “Friday” which actually comes off as a fun danceable song (strangely, it’s better than the original), and Black Kids’ “I’m not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You.” “Dance with You” was fun and as always Blaine (Darren Criss) has a fantastic voice, but the song seemed a wee bit thin for his voice, and it wasn’t the usual swoon that he creates in practically every other number.

Aside from all the superficial relationships the series has done a fine job building a connection between the audience and Kurt Hummel. Some would say too much of a fine job since the attention Kurt gets is much of the reason why we're less connected to the other characters. That said, "Prom Queen" was most effective with Kurt's storyline. Since Kurt's return to McKinley, he's been mostly under-the-radar. In the two episodes since his comeback, he hasn't had much to do. This lulled us into thinking his problems at the school might be over, especially with Kurofsky owning up to his mistakes and backing off his bullying ways. Kurt made a point of this early in the episode, which in retrospect was foreshadowing what was to come.  

With so much attention put on the other contenders, I wasn't at all expecting Kurt to be named Prom Queen. Figgins' reading of the card, Kurt's reaction and the few audible, mocking cheers made this a powerful moment. It was the kind, without having it spoiled, that drops your jaw and forces you to lean forward in anticipation of what will be happening next. I liked seeing the three different aftermaths from Kurt, Quinn and Santana. This segment was done really well and helped remind viewers that while Kurt may get a lot of the screen time, this was a moment that affected a lot of people.

Kurt accepting his crowning with little more than a royal wedding quip didn't seem strong enough to elicit a "We're with you now!" slow-building ovation from the very students that jokingly crowned him in the first place. But it is television why spoil a sweet moment with reality?

So, after an enjoyable episode now only two more episodes are still left this season.......and Jesse stays in those two as well.......also from the trailers for the next episode it looks like Jesse and Rachel are going to get some action(if you can catch the drift)........................................ok I should definitely stop now...

"Prom Queen"......or King...o.O

"Rumours" have it that........

This week's episode of Glee was Rumours and just as the title suggests the rumour mill was running wild......but it wasn't just rumours that made a big part of the episode Fleetwood Mac also did. Yup the episode pays special tribute to them, specially on their 1977 album Rumours of which we get the title of the episode from.


Now that Glee has completed almost two seasons, I'm wondering which kind of episode is better: one that centers around one artist or album or one that centers around a theme but uses songs from different artists. Both have their merits, but I'll tell you what: episodes revolving around a single artist or album are a heck of a lot easier to review.

Of course. For one, you're not busy searching for song titles and artists. Second, you can see pretty easily if the episode adheres well to the theme set forth by the choice of that artist or album. And, in a pleasant turn of events, we not only got some well-done musical numbers, ones that seemed to have some emotion behind them, but we also got stories that seemed to be as coherent as any we've seen in this checkered season.

While the only cheese in this week's episode "Rumours" was in Brittany's fondue pot. Brittany and Lord Tubbington were a great kick off to the episode. Did anyone notice the photos on the wall behind her though? They didn't look like they were shots of her or were they? Maybe I was the stupid one Artie, either way Brittany was completely dope all episode long. Sue did seem a bit unhinged but she did paranoid well and made for a hilarious Ann Coulter. Sue even admitted that she hasn't quite been herself lately, that she's losing her grip. But instead of the cheese falling farther off her cracker, she actually hatched a relatively down-to-earth plan: resurrect the school paper, make it a rumor rag, and let the glee club tear itself apart from the inside.

So all the rumor mongering really got the various couples -- and wannabe couples -- in a bunch of snits. Finn and Rachel spy on Sam because Finn thinks Quinn is cheating on him. Then we see Sam come out of a hotel with Kurt and that rumor flies around. Brittany lets fly on her 'Fondue for Two' vidcast that Santana plays for the other team, and Artie is so hurt that he actually calls her "stupid" for the first time ever, mainly because he thinks (rightly) that Santana is manipulating her.

April was good in her return even if she looked a little like Magda from There's Something About Mary as she sipped her drink in Sue's office. Loved her line about drinking her dinner these days while having the straw in the wine glass to boot. The woman can sing that is for certain. It was fun to see Kristin Chenoweth back, though beyond the two numbers she did -- 'Dreams' and a funny duet with Will from April's comeback show -- she had a minimal presence. But, at least that was explained a bit: she was invited back by Terri to lure Will away from the glee club, and Lima all together, all so Terri can get their apartment back (she lives in an efficiency with a raccoon in the wall). So instead of a story about April, she was more a plot contrivance to tempt Will to ditch New Directions and move to New York.

But the emotions coming from the kids was palpable. I felt bad for Artie, but after he called Britt "stupid" I knew it was time for "Brintana" to emerge. Artie really belted out that "been down one time, been down two times" line from "Never Going Back Again." I bet people would pay a lot of money to have Puck just follow them around with his guitar. In the end, Artie will be ok. There are new levels for Angry Birds Rio due out this month. Santana really does love Brit, and she belts out 'Songbird' to let her know. Rachel is hurt and confused by Finn's insistence on staying with Quinn, so she gives her own rendition of 'Go Your Own Way.' And you can feel the tension between Finn and Quinn in every note of 'I Don't Want To Know.' There have been very few episodes where song and story were married together so well.

Then we find out about why Sam was hanging around that hotel room. For the first time in a long time, real life came to McKinley, didn't it? Sam's whole family was staying in a hotel because Sam's dad lost the job they moved to Ohio for. I'd want to hide this predicament if I were Sam, too; it was enough to be the trouty-mouthed new kid, much less one that's flat broke. It's likely the reason why he turned Rachel down for the prom. Knowing that, despite all the crappy rumors, the gleesters got together to buy back Sam's guitar, it really made the camaraderie we saw on the whole choir's rendition of 'Don't Stop' possible.

And now moving onto next week is absolutely going to ma favourite.......JONATHAN GROFF IS FINALLY BaCK ON GLEE......yup next week is the episode 'Prom Queen' where we see Jesse St.James....hope finally Rachel realises that Finn is not upto the mark for her....come on Rachel let Quinn play the relationship game with Finn you are one day going to leave Lima and make it big in the big apple....please try to get over that crazy unhealthy obsession for Finn and make way for some St. Berry love and dream big.

"Rumours" have it that........

Baby I'm "Born This Way"

After a highly criticized episode last week Glee returns with the another lesson....not in a bad way but balanced. This week's episode titled "Born This Way" did just that. Although I'm not entirely convinced we needed "Born This Way" stretched out to 90 minutes. Though an entertaining episode, there were a few moments that weren't entirely necessary. Still, for a series that often feels like it's spinning its wheels, telling similar stories in slightly different ways, there was enough forward momentum in Tuesday's episode to not be bothered by the fact that, once again, we're being reminded that it's absolutely okay to be different.

Spontaneous songs were back! I don't care if you are a Jackie or Marilyn, Peggy or Joan, Rachel and Quinn's I Feel Pretty/Unpretty mash-up was amazing. The choice of songs was made even more spectacular when we later learned about Quinn's past life as Lucy Caboosey. 

The crux of the hour and a half was centered around Rachel's debating on whether or not to get a nose job. It was one of those pointless debates that you already knew the answer to (of course she wouldn't), but the episode built enough around it with almost every character in glee club to make things interesting. Schue's idea to use Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" was a little too… um… on the nose, as it were, to the point where his "aha moment" about the song was a bit cringe-inducing. But moving on from there, the episode gave us many entertaining viewpoints of self-love and self-loathing. 

What I liked most was the fact that the episode wasn't trying to give us one easy answer. It wasn't saying that the right thing to do is love yourself no matter how you were born, and that doing so is as easy as deciding to do it. Sure, it was easy for Finn, but Tina,Santana, Emma and others had their dilemmas. Though I'm still undecided about the revelation that Quinn has changed her appearance (and name), I do like that she decided to do itbecause she liked herself, not because she didn't. It was a needed counterpoint to Rachel's nose issue. The closing performance of "Born This Way" could have easily been a triumphant celebration with everyone accepting the thing about them that was different (and for many, it was), but the episode was smart to have Santana sit the song out. It's not easy to accept your perceived faults, and I'm happy the episode didn't pretend it would be.

Kurt killed it in the Flash Mob scene at the mall and looked smashing in that USA tank from Toddland that has gotten so much press. His real moment of course came as he belted out Barbara's "As If We Never Said Goodbye." Seriously, the first word that came to mind was Emmy! If that performance didn't scream Emmy I don't know what would. All this just days after the 50th anniversary of Judy Garland's famous performance at Carnegie Hall. Kurt returned home from over the rainbow in a sense and will never again be alone. We will continue to watch him fly and teach the world new ways to dream.

As for forward momentum, I was happy to see something happening with Kurt's situation. It was even better that the whole thing was just an elaborate scheme conceived by Santana in an attempt to become Prom Queen. Except for the running storylines about gearing up for the next singing competition, many episodes of Glee are very standalone. So "Born This Way" succeeded in continuing existing storylines and setting things up for future episodes in ways the series often ignores doing.

As for the 90-minutes, I feel Kurt's return to McKinley was overdone. His rendition of "As If We Never Said Goodbye" was great, but a bit more dramatic than his fairly expected second coming had actually earned. And hearing one less song from the Warblers this season wouldn't have bothered me at all. But "Born This Way" delivered a believable message of the difficulty of accepting one's self, and it did so with smarts and laughs. Hard to knock it for squeezing in an extra number or two in the process.

Lastly the shirts, all of them, Amazing!!!

Baby I'm "Born This Way"

"A Night of Neglect"

After their month long hiatus that felt like eternity Glee is back on air and what better way to open up than with focusing the screen time on the neglected characters of the musical comedy. 


But don't forget the guest stars  Gwyneth Paltrow, Charice, and Cheyenne Jackson. I can’t blame you if you had completely forgotten about those last two – after Sunshine Corazon and Vocal Adrenalin coach Dustin were introduced in the season premier, they pretty much disappeared. So I guess it’s appropriate that they returned in “A Night of Neglect.” 



Here we were introduced to the Brainiacs and their clever ode to Nerdom handshake. With the cost of their trip to Detroit added to the Glee Club's fundraising goal, Will postured like the Nino Brown of salt water taffy. Not since Nipsey Russell tried to sell the last of the peanut brittle to buy new uniforms for the Central High Wildcats had I seen a more pathetic idea. Luckily the notion of a benefit concert was born and with it an amazing display of the many talented members of New Directions. 



Gwyneth’s guest stint as substitute teacher Holly Holiday had to come to an end eventually, but I’m still sad to see her go. She brought a fun energy to the show and I liked how Holly helped Will get his groove back after his relationship with Terri. With Holly leaving for Cleveland and Dr. Carl getting an annulment, it looks like everything is in place for Will and Emma to finally get together (yay!). But before I get ahead of myself, Sue did tell Terri that, “your time has come.” Uh oh, I think that could mean more trouble for Will.

Before the singing started though, we learned Brittany had a quirky knack for obscure trivia. She ripped through those Cat Diseases like Rosie Perez named foods that start with the letter "Q" in White Men Can't Jump. The League of Doom was a failure, but Sandy got my spirit award for his colorful costume complete with a custom made, Pink Dagger hat. Holly finished a close second for her portrayal of Madam Man Hands, Wallace Simpson. Almost had to declare her the winner after she referenced the scandalous death of Catherine the Great.


Sergeant Handsome deserved a bump in rank after his bevy of amazing one liners. While Dustin failed to woo Holly, Will's chances with Emma got a little brighter as he learned she no longer had a full house after Carl (John Stamos) cried uncle and had their marriage annulled. 
Sunshine returned and despite showing off her freakishly amazing voice yet again, I sort of wished she had waited until she was actually, all by herself, to sing that song. Mad respect for Shawty though, for having over 600 twitter followers. Preach! Last time I checked, I had 43....which is a pretty good one for me.

Sunshine's eventual no show did nothing but leave more stage time for the host of amazing performances by the regular cast. Tina absolutely killed it as she performed Lykke Li's, "I Follow Rivers." Despite getting cut short by the Heckling Club, I think she delivered my favorite performance of the night. Mike Chang was sexy plexi as he danced to Jack Johnson and executed a routine that would have landed him right on Mary Murphy's, Hot Tamale Train. I didn't much care for Mercedes' diva antics, but I did appreciate Lauren's suggestion to ask for a bucket full of green M&M's. It was a nice nod to one of the most classic and notorious musician rider requests which has been chronicled back to Aerosmith's earliest days. Mercedes more than made up for her behavior with her performance of Aretha's "Ain't No Way." Rachel although doesn't feature singing this episode which I might add doesn't go well in my books but it showed us a mature side of the diva and i definitely like it,.....maybe Rachel will finally get over Finn(come on he's just pathetic). 


Although the scene with her(Mercedes) and Rachel in the car was one of the more poignant ones of the season as she expressed her frustrations over her club mate's stardom. Santana's claws were never sharper than they were tonight as she threatened Karofsky. He'll probably now join the masses of other cowards who hide behind screen names and Internet handles while spewing their hate filled slander. 



Glee has always done an amazing job of addressing their critics while tackling relevant issues at the same time. Tonight's episode did well to address the continued problem of bullying while also shining the spot light on some characters who have not gotten their fair share of the fame.  I applauded the writers for not neglecting some of the more supportive roles and allowing them to have a moment to shine on their own.

While I enjoyed the performances, I don’t think the episode was perfect. Mercedes’ diva act was just silly (though she had a good point about Rachel always getting the solos). Sue’s League of Doom—including Pink Dagger, the Honey Badger, and Sergeant Handsome—started out pretty funny and then fizzled. On the plus side, Brittany and Artie on the “Brainiacs” Academic Decathlon team was brilliant (they were all over “Cat Diseases,” “White Rappers,” and “Hermaphrodite Nazi Sympathizers”). And the preview for next week’s 90-minute “Born This Way” episode looked fantastic!

"A Night of Neglect"

Original Song: New Directions goes in a New Direction!

Phew! finally Glee is back from Holiday. Yup folks that week's episode typically and rightfully named 'Original Song' was definitely a lot more cohesive that the preprocessor that was 'Sexy' and is definitely one of the best episodes of Glee this season. 


So gleeks regionals are here once again! This year New Directions went in a new direction by performing completely original songs. With “World War Sue” coaching Aural Intensity and Blaine and Kurt leading the Warblers, New Directions was up against some stiff competition and needed a competitive edge. Though their initial attempts at song writing were hilariously bad (“Trouty Mouth”, “Big Ass…Heart”), New Directions ended up with three terrific songs.


Let’s first summarize this entire episode in a nutshell, shall we? Due to more ill direction under Schue, the club found out that My Chemical Romance refused to grant them the rights to anthem out to SING at the competition. Sue, of course, is behind all this. Apparently her affair with the drummer led to the cease and desist order (we find out later that this is entirely fictitious) and is her opening salvo in World War Sue. New Directions won Regionals (I know right?) because they somehow managed to compose two original songs before the weekend. Amazing use of those rhyming dictionaries kids. The ironic/stereotypical judges (Kathy Griffin as a Sarah Palin/Christine O’Donnell lovechild, Loretta Devine as a caricature of my beloved Sister Mary Clarence and Rod the Anchorman) all thought that was enough to send the club predictably towards New York and Nationals.


That said and done, let's now break down the catalogue one-by-one shall we?


Starting the episode with Maroon5's MISERY by the warblers gave every sign of a powerful and riveting Glee episode and then finally addressed a long-running query of a lot of fans(me included) - Why the heck does Blaine get every single Warblers solo?

From there the episode delivered one winning performance after another, focused on actual relationship and character developments and proved one indisputable fact: Lea Michele, the power house of the show. Rachel's "Get It Right" was the highlight of the hour, as it did a lot more than merely showcase Michele's pipes. It spoke to the evolution and struggle of this girl, someone who has gone from cute to irritating to the most obvious MVP candidate.

Blaine and Kurt didn't preach to the audience in any way. They simply acted like two students falling for each other, as writers resisted the effort to just throw these two into a relationship from the outset. After Kurt’s touching rendition of “Blackbird,” Blaine seemed to see Kurt in a whole new light. And judging from the reaction on Twitter (“THEY KISSED” was a trending topic tonight), fans are ecstatic. Blaine even shared the spotlight with Kurt during “Candles.” It must be love. And then a second kiss because, come on, it's Darren Criss!

On to the 'World War Sue' front or the 'Not so stupidly named' Aural intensity front. Sue did her homework on the judges and decided to go with Sonseed’s “Jesus is My Friend” in order to impress tea partier Tammy Jean Albertson (guest star Kathy Griffin) and Sister Mary Constance (guest star Loretta Devine). I think the nun summed it up nicely: “I didn’t even like to be pandered to when I was a stripper!” Sue’s pandering ultimately backfired, and she took her anger out on the poor, drunk Lieutenant Governor’s wife.

The Quinn-Finn-Rachel love triangle took an interesting turn tonight with the revelation that Quinn thinks she and Finn have a future together in Ohio, while Rachel’s talent will take her on to bigger and better things. That explains why Quinn is obsessed with becoming Prom Queen—she thinks she’ll peak in high school and also shows us the fact that without her cheerleading outfit and the prom crown she's unsure of who she actually is. But with plenty of meaningful looks between Finn and Rachel, I think Quinn might be losing him but that better not happen cause well i'm sick and tired of Finchel, they totally suck(sorry to all the finchel shipper i'm just stating a point). Rachel needs a new boy-toy or somebody old....well it has been rumoured that Jonathan Groff returns for the final four episodes of this season...hope that happens.....GO ST.BERRY. 

And...how 'LOSER LIKE ME' we so good wasn't it?? Yes, context can really change things! I honestly didn’t care for this original song in isolation, but watching it all come together in this episode, this kind of grown on me a bit. It still sounded too High School Musical for my taste, but the visual and the Sue-esque undertones really had me enjoying the whole performance. This song made more sense now.

Lastly i'd like to take up the point of MVP - First New Directions don’t like her. Then they do. The hot and cold treatment the glee club gives Rachel confuses and disgusts me. Awarding her the MVP was simply another way of saying “We only like you when you’re useful.” 

And i'm not wrong with a much more screen time for the Warblers this episode marks their end on the show, something about the end of the contract for using that school's premises. This also means that Kurt would also soon be returning to home-ground with Blaine in tow(rumored). Cue in for a 4 weeks skip(i know FOUR WEEK.....they r trying to kill us!!!) Glee returns on April 12th for the next episode of the season 'A night of neglect'.

Original Song: New Directions goes in a New Direction!

A glee-ful "sexy" substitute----but an equally lackluster episode

The title aptly sums up my views about this weeks Glee episode SEXY. Yup, the "Sexy" substitute a.k.a. Gwyneth Paltrow is back on Glee and this time she is not subbing for spanish class or english class or taking over glee club but subbing for sex-ed class. Ya, Glee is feeling preachy again which also involves some dirty dancing......and it seems like also taking a holiday.


Although this episode also had a lot of pros. Namely, The songs were great, the story moved along, relationships developed, and the series finally gave voice to the lesbian feelings of a certain two glee clubbers. Other than some highly inappropriate things going on that would never be allowed at a real high school,


At various times, this episode of Glee was fun, profound, humorous, romantic and simply random. Shall we go over some of the finer points of the episode.


Really wish every day were a Holly Holiday. Gwyneth Paltrow is perfect in this role, bringing an energy and snark to lines about wet hugs and sex tapes with JD Salinger, while sexing up performances such as "Do You Wanna Touch Me." Just great times all around any time she stops by.

Paltrow's first appearance last fall was a resounding triumph, so of course Glee wanted her back. Last night, Holly discovers, while teaching health class, that the students at McKinley are very ill-informed about physical pleasure and its consequences, especially members of New Directions. This is best evidenced by airhead Brittany (Heather Morris) believing she is pregnant because a stork is building a nest outside of her window, and Finn (Cory Monteith) and Mercedes (Amber Riley) worrying they can get HIV from salad after Holly shows them how to put a condom on a cucumber. Those aren't exactly realistic happenings, but I sure laughed heartily when Brittany shared why she thought she was with child after panicking her boyfriend, Artie (Kevin McHale).

Oopsie! i think i forgot to add the finer points of the element of Frustration.  It's not so much that I hate when Glee preaches, it's that it does so in an unrealistic manner. Emma and Carl have never had sex?!? Brittany thinks babies come from a stork?!? These quirks are funny when used in a one-liner, but they become irritating when used as actual plot points. 


Definitely loved Burt's speech to his son and, while I take issue with Santana's revelation of love to Brittany (more on that below), I must applaud Naya Rivera's performance during "Landslide" and also during her big speech.

In the romantic view point - Will doing the tango with Holly? Hot. Holly finally admitting that she should open herself up to a relationship that lasts more than 36 hours? Vulnerable and sweet. 


Holly is likely to return again, as she enters into a relationship with Will before the closing credits. The chemistry between the two is palpable, especially in their duet of "Kiss", though Holly's hesitation for dating the Teach is also warranted. She tends to go for less serious pairings, while his dating experience is limited to his high school girlfriend and a guidance counselor who won't even touch her husband, which we'll get to in a minute. I guess Holly just has to fall for the Schuester charm in the end, though. I don't believe it will last very long, the least of the reasons being Paltrow's continued availability (or lack thereof), but it's nice that Will will get a chance to be with someone so cool before he is roped back into the inevitable drama to come.

Santana came fully out of the closet, Carl and Emma broke up and Quinn made her intentions clear to Finn (as well as her return to total bitch-dom). But Glee often feels like a hodgepodge of events and scenes thrown together around a weekly theme.

One second, Santana can't open up, the next second she's breaking down by singing a few lyrics. We haven't seen Carl in months, and then, just as suddenly as he appears behind the drums, he's gone again. Blaine and Kurt run into Sue in the coffee shop and are instantly convinced they need to sex up their routine, complete with bubbles that resemble... let's just say... something very personal to guys? It all just felt random and under-developed.

So, after all this we have the regionals episode next week, which is coincidently title "Original Song"- yup the two original songs by glee that came out with the last glee album features on the episode. So stay tuned.

A glee-ful "sexy" substitute----but an equally lackluster episode