Like Mike and Mercedes, I’m back, Glitches! On the heels of a hiatus, I must say, Fox’s programming ‘strategy’ just doesn’t work, at least for non-rerun-junkies like me who don’t even watch TV during prime time. Yes, I have a life. Actually, Glee is the only show I reluctantly watch ‘live,’ but that’s because my only bigger beef with Fox is their arrangement with Hulu and I hate streaming links. That being said, has absolutely everyone forgotten about Glee after it’s been missing from what most would call the biggest night on television? About half of the original watchers I’ve talked to have confessed to dropping the show.
Source: Fox
Despite the entrance of yet another jock with dyslexia this week (which I’m guessing is undiagnosed at this point), I thought this was actually a decent episode that probably won‘t make Finn Hudson puke if he decides to relive it. However, there’s so much going on right now that they glossed over Blaine’s funk really quickly and made no mention at all of Samcedes. We also missed Tina’s decision to audition as well as the audition itself.
It’s pretty clear that the biggest story lines in this episode were Emma & Will, Finn, Wade/Unique and the Marley-Jake-Ryder-Kitty love square. Let’s dissect. I don’t have a whole lot to say about Wemma, other than I’m glad that she stood up for herself, but I predict that the distance will definitely bring them down. Oh, and I have that same squirrel shaped nutcracker that’s on their coffee table when they talk to Bieste! Similarly, Finn’s inner struggle seemed to resolve itself over night, but I liked the double meaning in the episode title, pointing out that Finn was born to lead the glee club, which was extremely predictable if you ask me.
Source: Fox
As for Wade, though his story is ‘Unique’ from anything the show has done before, they’re reusing a lot of elements from Kurt’s story, such as always wanting to be on the girls’ team for mash-ups. I understand that this is completely different because Kurt accepts his male identity and Wade identifies himself as a female, which is even more compelling because he literally doesn’t know where he belongs in terms of bathrooms and such. I also get that he knows he’ll be bullied for dressing in drag everyday, but that didn’t stop Kurt. Hopefully by the end of the season he’ll accept that no matter what anyone says, he’ll need to walk the walk if he wants his identity to be taken seriously. There’s a lot of room for growth here though, so I shouldn’t complain that it’s not all happening at once.
I desperately could have gone without Sue’s restroom rant, though I think instead of using Marley‘s makeup she should have stolen her hat and thrown it in the garbage. Between all the body parts she mentioned and Finn talking about going #2, I was thoroughly grossed out. Maybe this is ignorant of me, but I did laugh when Figgins thought Unique was actually a girl, because that is just so true to his character. However, her uber-conservative use of the ‘slippery slope’ (the idea that Wade could threaten the Cheerios) was really annoying, and when Finn called Sue’s baby the r-word, I was like, OH NO HE DID NOT!
Moving on, there’s also the odd tug-of-war going on with the rest of our newbies. Obviously everyone is Team Marley, except for maybe Barney Stinson, but I think fans will definitely be split between Jake and Ryder. I’m rooting for Team Ryder, which may have something to do with watching The Glee Project this summer. Even as an admitted bad-boy-lover, I don’t see Jake’s appeal at all. Ryder is not only cuter than Jake (I know, my personal opinion), but he stepped up and acknowledged how awesome Marley’s mom is without his back against a wall. I just want to shake her for not instantly getting over Jake after that! What I can’t really tell is whether Kitty actually wants Jake back or if she’s just being her typical, vindictive self. Either way, she clearly hasn’t heard of One Direction if she thinks a third nipple will make Jake less attractive to teenage girls. In addition, if Marley develops an eating disorder after being tormented by Kitty, I will absolutely vomit scream because they will undoubtedly butcher yet another hot topic that’s very personal to me.
Source: Fox
Speaking of hot topics, as much as I love Blake Jenner, I can’t decide if I really hate what they’re doing to his character. Even though only the true-blue Samites remember him mentioning having dyslexia, I think this time they might actually portray a teenager with a learning disability half-decently. Take that with a grain of salt though, as I have next to no expertise on the subject. From what I’ve seen so far, Ryder is anything but stupid. He works his tail off to make good grades but until he realizes what’s wrong, he’s not going to get the specialized help he needs. I’ll also congratulate the writers for not reusing the tragically tired and creepy locker-room-recruitment tactic.
After examining the music this week, the episode is starting to feel like the ‘Duets’ of the season, which doesn’t leave much room for their annual contest. Blaine’s ‘Hopefully Devoted to You’ was okay, though I think it would have been better left for an episode in which every song is from Grease, because he pretty much got lost in the shuffle after that. I loved ‘Blow Me One Last Kiss,’ because I’ve been jamming on that song for weeks now and like Mercedes said, it was packed with energy.
Source: Fox
When Finn and Ryder started singing ‘Jukebox Hero,’ I thought the song choice was a little too obvious since they were singing in front of jukeboxes, but it actually fit well because like the hero in the song, Ryder didn’t believe in himself until he started singing. Very cute. I was blown away by Jake and Kitty’s dancing in ‘Everybody Talks,’ but I thought they should have picked a different style after watching the San-Danny-Off. Furthermore, if I were Jake, I would have cut off Kitty’s ponytail after dancing with her, though their chemistry is phenomenal. ‘Hand Jive’ was so-so and also could have been reserved for an all-Grease episode, though they recreated the back-and-forth that we see during the dance contest in the movie. In my opinion though, it’s not as re-watchable as the other numbers in this episode. Yes, as much as I bash this show, I’ve been known to go on Netflix and just binge on Glee, often fast forwarding through songs I didn’t enjoy very much.
What did you think of this week’s episode? Are you glad to see the return of Glee or are you totally over it?
My husband got sick of seeing all my tweets about TV end up on Facebook, so I decided to start a blog. Then I decided I didn’t have enough on my plate and I went looking for sites to publish my reviews. No White Noise seemed like the perfect home for me, especially because I literally hate silence. That means the TV is almost always on at my house, whether I’m sitting around watching it or actually doing something productive. This season I’ll be covering Glee here at NWN. My favorite shows of all time(or my lifetime) are Arrested Development, Lost, and Friday Night Lights, to name a few. I also dabble in writing screenplays and the occasional teleplay. Check out my other reviews at Watch It, Rae!