Glee Review: Born This Way

So mega-sized Glee episode last night! It was a very good episode, especially compared with last weeks. So the storylines. Prom is coming up and that means prom king and queen battles are everywhere. You had the favorites Finn and Quinn, but Lauren Zizes and Santana both want to wrestle the crown from Quinn's grasp. Santana wanted to team with Karofsky (as each other's beards) and bring Kurt back to McKinley. Because nothing says prom king and queen than bringing back Kurt. Lauren, and her pageant past, wants to win also, and seems to have the vote of the average Joe/Joette. But then you have true evil and deceivery. Apparently the beautiful Quinn was once Lucy Caboosey, and Lauren let everybody know. Then you have Kurt's return to McKinley, which was inevitable. Finally a sighting of Burt Hummel, pumping up the anger vibes. We all know that Karofsky is not a changed man, but sure acted that way didn't he? After Finn hits Rachel in the nose while dancing (which in my opinion was also an inevitablity), Rachel realizes that she wants a nose job, which prompts the acceptance theme for the week. But Rachel asks Quinn to be her nose model, which is surprising considering Quinn's nose job. She is eventually persuaded by flash mob not to get a nose job. P.S. to Glee: No more flash mobs. It was great with Artie, but now it was just weird. Speaking about acceptance, Emma is still dealing with her cleanybug neat freak OCD, but Will somehow gets her to seek help with uncleaned fruit. Yay strawberries blueberries! Then she proceeds to spend 48 minutes to clean a chair. And Kathleen Quinlan killed as the therapist. Best song is "Somewhere Only We Know". It seems that the Warblers are the best group on Glee. Do you see a spinoff? Best line goes to Santana. She turned up the "bitch" factor this episode. "Legend has it after I was born, I called the nurse fat." Points for Mr. Schuester for using the board for actual intellectually correct words. No more math fiascoes for Glee. Also Glee, next time you steal a joke from Mean Girls, make it a more popular one. Loved the Lebanese reference because it totally sounds and looks like lesbian.

Glee Review: A Night Of Neglect

So Glee is back! But I'll be honest. It seemed to have underachieved. I was very excited for this episode because it was the return of many new faces (Sunshine! Dustin Goolsby!) and a couple of older ones (Sandy! Terri!), and Holly Holliday was back for yet another episode. But today was just a bad episode. First off, the Academic Team side-story was interesting as a fellow nerd, and their handshake was simply hilarious. But the story was another non sequitur in the season, which did not make sense. I never took Artie as smart, and the fact that Brittany was on the team, shows some real luck to even be considering nationals. Then you have the storyline of Mercedes as a diva, which was played out so badly, it essentially turned into a caricature of divas like J-Lo, Mariah Carey, and others. Though the concept was horrible, the emotional pull between the two Glee divas (Rachel and Mercedes) was amazing, and it actually gave Mercedes a real storyline. There was also the Legion/League of Evil that consists of Dustin Goolsby, Terri, Sandy, and Sue. Though the nicknames were nice (my personal favorite was the Pink Dagger, and the gusto to which Sandy accepted his nickname), Sue used to be a great character. Now she is just annoying. Then you have the entire idea of a Night of Neglect. How do you determine a neglected artist? It gave some great numbers like Mike Chang's dance-only number, but the episode was pretty devoid of superb performances. The best performance was Mercedes' rendition of "Ain't No Way", which further helps the concept that Mercedes is one of the best vocal performers in Glee. The best line goes to Will Schuester, who can't multiply. "5000 x .25 = 20000." For an episode that revolved around an academic competition, this horrible miscalculation has to be the most ironic quote in Glee. Ever. And no Beiste sightings. And Will and Emma are back on. And Will and Holly are done. I just don't understand what Glee is doing right now.

Glee Review: Original Song

So there was a lot of stuff that went on last episode. Will has the glee kids writing original songs, Rachel and Quinn are frenemies, and Pavarotti died (leading to a beautiful solo by Kurt). Am I missing something? Oh yes I am. Meet the brand new couple of Blaine and Kurt. Or Blurt, as they shall now be known. The passion and love in that kiss between that new couple was amazing. But they had bigger fish to fry at Regionals. Sue, and her dastardly-ness, forces the kids to write original songs after they could no longer do "Sing" from My Chemical Romance. She also, once again, knows the judges for Regionals. So back at McKinley High, Quinn is set upon the Prom Queen, but she needs Finn in order to win. The problem is that Finn may still love Rachel because he just won't commit to Quinn. So Quinn "teams" up with Rachel, but she lets her know that Finn's her man. But Rachel won't have it, and then she is compelled to write the song that would later be performed in Regionals. So to recap what happened, Sue's Aural Intensity did some serious pandering, Blaine and Kurt showed unbelievable chemistry in "Candles", and Rachel took home the MVP with a (duh!) winning performance in both original songs "Get It Right" and "Loser Like Me" (inspired by Sue's dastardly-nessocity). The judges were not so great. Given the comedienne portraying her, Kathy Griffin's Palin-esque politician should have been a lot funnier. Rod Remington fortunately saved the day by adding a dash of Rod to this lady soup. Long story short, New Directions wins Regionals and is headed for Nationals. But with the hiatus coming up, a lot of storylines are beginning to develop. Who will Finn choose: Rachel or Quinn? I know that sounds so last season, but that storyline is back! What will become of Santana and Sam/Santana and Brittany/Brittany and Artie? Where is the Sunshine? What will be of Sue and her knockout performance at Regionals? Props to Glee for once again having someone meekly holding a sign, except instead of saying "Too much?" it said "Hell no" to another one of Santana's verses for "Trouty Mouth" inspired by her heterosexual life partner Sam and his huge lips. Best song of the night: "Get It Right". It was catchy, but it put over the top by Rachel's unbelievable performance. Best line of the night goes to Sue: "Actually, I did not sleep with the drummer from My Chemical Romance, but the drummer from Jimmy Eat World." I found it very funny. Bonus note: way to work in Holly into the plot. Typically, a character like that would disappear, but Will gives us a little glimpse into that relationship. So the hiatus is coming up, which sucks, but hopefully Glee will be back with some power.

Glee Review: Sexy

In this week's Glee episode, Holly Holliday returns! Actually, I'm not too hot on the idea of Gwyneth Paltrow being a good singer, but she was very entertaining. Her return is far from the biggest news. There is of course Emma and Carl with their (ahem) intimacy problems, Kurt's "gas pain", and Santana's new realization. Well, the New Directions kids apparently have no knowledge of sex, there are only two people in the celibacy club (until Puck, Artie, Zizes, and Santana joins), and Zizes and Puck want to make a sex tape (which turns out to be illegal). So Holly decides to teach the glee kids about sex through song! I mean, how else is anything learned on this show? It works out well until Will had to join in the fun. He likes Holly, but Holly is damaged goods and doesn't think that Will would do well with her. Santana and Brittany are having problems (not like breakfast problems), so they act like adults and talk to Holly. This was a beautiful performance by Santana, showing a vulnerability only Kurt has shown so far. It was very impressive, especially learning that Santana loves Brittany. Sadly, Brittany has her eyes set on Artie, whom she loves. This is going to be an important relationship (not like that Sam, you gullible blonde) because it will definitely change the dynamic between the two. They have two directions. One is that Brittany breaks up with Artie and chases Santana. The other is that they bring in another character (like a female Blaine) who can act as the new girl for Santana. I hope that this doesn't change their relationship too much in the following episodes because I really like their chemistry. Kurt has no idea how to act sexy, so Blaine tries to talk with him. Unfortunately, Kurt is into romance and believes that the touch of the fingertips is the sexiest thing ever. So Blaine convinces Burt to talk to Kurt about sex, leading to another great sequence between these two great actors. To think that Mike O'Malley used to be on Yes, Dear. Emma is still a virgin even after 4 months of marriage (that darn hose monster!!). So in rebuttal of Holly's sex education, she sings "Afternoon Delight" (just watch Arrested Development to get a full appreciation of the incorrect/incestuous usage of that song). Carl sets up an appointment where it is revealed that (gasp!) Emma is still in love with Will, leading to Carl divorcing Emma (bye John Stamos). This opens the door again for the Will-Emma relationship, but I'm liking Will and Holly as a potential couple. Then of course, the return of Finn and Quinn! I like them together, but I don't know how this is gonna work out. Best song will go to the Warblers for their rendition of "Animal", which was the best vocal performance of the night. The best line will go to Finn, over Brittany (who seems to be well educated in the workings of Woody Woodpecker): "Cucumbers can give you AIDS?". Sometimes I forget how naive Finn really is (hot tub baby FTW!). Beiste sighting: her laugh at the potential "That's what she said" joke made for perfect comedy. Also check out (oh you know what I mean) Will in "Do You Wanna Touch Me". Very funny.

Glee Review: Blame It On The Alcohol

Another Tuesday has come and gone, and another Glee review is created on my blog. In "Blame It On the Alcohol", Principal Figgins asks Will to have New Directions perform at the Alcohol Awareness assembly about a song that shows the dangers of alcohol. Rachel, on the other had, is having trouble creating a song (really? "My Headband"?), so she decides to live a little and throw a glee club party. This went extremely well after Puck broke into her fathers' alcohol drawer. Was it just me or can Mike Chang drink? Finn, who has been really dickish the last couple of episodes, plays the character of reason as the designated driver and the guy who controls the drunken horde. Then it's spin-the-bottle time! Sam and Brittany make out, leading to the hysterical wrath of Santana and the saddened/angry gaze of Quinn. But the big news is that Blaine made out with Rachel. The next morning went well after a couple of Bloody Maries, and somehow Will could not realize that any of them were drunk. So looking to blow off some steam, he and the Beiste go out to a bar and get plastered/smashed/shwasted/(add your own euphemism here). Will then proceeds to grade his students' quizzes drunk (leading to all A+'s!). But then Will drunk-dials Sue. This, followers, is why you never call anyone when you are that drunk. Beiste is right though. You can't stop kids from drinking. You just have to make them aware of the consequences that drinking has. Meanwhile, Blaine and Rachel begin to date, and obviously Kurt is crushed. Kurt confronts Blaine and they have a falling apart. Then Kurt confronts Rachel and Rachel vows to kiss Blaine sober, to see if the sparks are there still. Then you had a good Burt and Kurt moment, though it treated Burt as a caricature as opposed to previous times when he acted more realistic. Then the assembly, which apparently (and truthfully) seem to always end in riots. This one ended a little bit worse with Santana and Brittany throwing up in the song. Then the kicker. That drunk dial that Will gave Sue? It was played out over the intercom for the entire school to hear. Including Emma. With Blurt/Kaine in limbo, I'm pulling for Will and Emma again. I know Will is kinda a tool, but that ending of the first half of the first season really was the epitome of Glee. Fortunately, the glee club was considered a success and everything returned to normal. They threw in a little bit of a "if you drink, drink responsibly" part, but it felt right with the episode. And last bombshell, Blaine is gay, realizing this with the help of Rachel. But Rachel doesn't have a problem with that because she can now write her song?? Okay, Glee. That'll do. The best line goes to Principal Figgins: "Michael Dukakis could not make it due to indifference." He delivered the line so well, acting like a real sad sap. I don't think Iqbal Theba gets enough credit for his role as Figgins. Also gotta love "Ke dollar sign ha" right? Best song is really difficult to tell because none were really that great. I liked "Blame It" and "Don't You Want Me", but no song in this episode really sticks out as superb. Also, am I the only one who likes the fact that Beiste always mouths the words of the song? I really like her as a character because she is really intimidating, but she is also very sweet (just remember Artie's gift from Christmas). Also one last thing. I'm gonna start looking for the different types of drunk girls at parties now (teary, hysterical drunk; angry drunk; happy drunk; acting-like-a-stripper drunk; needy, overly-loving drunk).

Glee Review: Comeback

So, today's episode was at times good, at times funny, and at times just plain awkward. First thing, why is this week's assignment to choose an anthem? That just seems like a really random and difficult to interpret sort of thing to do. In other news, Sam decided to become Justin Bieber and I was truly worried that, though he is a phenomenon, Justin Bieber would get his own tribute episode. I'm not disrespecting his mass appeal, but I thought that tribute episodes should be for people who have had a major impact on music, like Madonna. Then all of the other guys, except Finn (who is starting to turn out to be the bad seed now that Puck has gone completely good guy on us), join the Justin Bieber Experience and it drives the girls mad. Quinn and Finn have their flirtatious moment (artists apparently turn Quinn on), but it was in private. It doesn't have to be anymore now that Santana broke up Quinn and Sam because Quinn couldn't look Sam in the eyes and tell him that she doesn't have anything to do with Finn. Sue tried to commit Sue-icide, and with that she joined the glee club. She at first tried to sabotage the glee club, but Will tried to appeal to her nice side by bringing her to the pediatric cancer center. This may be some of the most beautiful and touching moments in this series as Sue starts to look like a real human being. But she has to turn around and lead Aural Intensity now that she has the musical spirit. Last but (not necessarily) least was Rachel using Brittany to spark her own comeback. It was weird watching everyone start to turn into Rachel, but Brittany was right. Everyone thinks very poorly of Rachel. So the best line goes to Sue: "I wonder if I could get that girl to join the Cheerios" after watching Sam (not a girl) perform "Baby". Best song goes to the diva-off between Mercedes and Rachel: "Take Me or Leave Me." Some of the best vocals and most powerful music after the hiatus. Probably will go down as one of the best songs of this season. Well comments, concerns, insults, advice, etc? Divulge below.

Glee Review: Silly Love Songs

In an episode (which actually may have crammed in more content than Sunday's massive episode) where there was scandal galore, we almost forgot about the Valentine's love all around. Finn seemed surprisingly smooth with his lines and his swagger, nearly winning over Quinn. Blaine tries to impress (the overage) Jeremiah, but is later shut down, even after a flash mob/serenade in "The Gap". Fortunately, he has one shoulder to fall on named Kurt, who likens their relationship to a When Harry Met Sally... sort of deal. Blaine quickly points out that Harry and Sally end up together in the end, but we have no idea (yes we do) of what is going on in Kurt's mind. Then Puck is in love with Lauren, which is great and all, but that story was overshadowed by Lauren's complete and total thrashing of Santana in the hallway. Speaking of Santana, she's a witch with a capital B. She tried to show Sam that Finn and Quinn are hooking up and when that failed, I believe she started putting the moves on Sam. Rachel is finally over Finn, but Finn isn't over anybody. So onto the music. The best song had to be Artie's and Mike's take on Michael Jackson's "Pretty Young Thang". I still don't think Kevin McHale can really rap that well, but when you have Harry Shum Jr. dancing like that, it really doesn't matter. I like that Mike Chang is getting a lot more play because he really is one of the most talented dancers in the world. Best line goes to Santana who has had "mono so many times, it's become stereo." It was just perfect. So what do you think? Will Santana sweep Sam off his feet? Will Quinn get back together with Finn? How will Blurt/Kaine be as a couple? Comments below!

Glee Review: Sue Sylvester's Shuffle

So Glee is back! I am a self-identified Gleek, and I think I will review every single episode. Now this won't be anything too intense, just some thoughts on the songs and the story as a whole. So the song choices were pretty solid. I think that "Bills, Bills, Bills" was the most fun song to listen to, but you have to give mad props to the theatrics involved in "Thriller/Heads Will Roll" (BTW, why didn't the Glee cast do the half-time show? They would have done so much better than the Black Eyed Peas). I loved the signs at the football game. My personal favorite was "#22 is a Ninja" referring to Mike Chang (who did the coolest zombie impression ever). I thought that the plot was very well done considering how weird it may have been. I really liked Will Schuester's comment towards Karofsky. I'm liking that these typically one-dimensional background characters are starting to develop. Sure they retracted back to their old selves, but it was nice. Best line of the night goes to Sue Sylvester (or is it Syvlester?). I may be a little childish, but I really like the fact that she still calls Santana "sandbags". So here's the quote (paraphrased of course): "Just for safe measure, slap yourself with a chicken cutlet." Now I won't get much agreement out of this, but I loved this part. And how about that twist? Now I knew (from reading Entertainment Weekly) that Sam and Quinn were done, and I knew that Sam would end up with Santana and Quinn with Finn. But I didn't realize that it would start so soon. And we need more Blaine and Kurt. Undoubtedly the best couple ever. Also loved the Katie Couric/Barbara Walters/Diane Sawyer bit. Apparently Sue Sylvester beat out Tiger Woods, the economy, Dina Lohan, Mel Gibson, and others for Loser of the Year. Fantastic!