(S01E09) If you're a Glee fan already -- a Gleek -- this episode is going to hit you in the sweet spot. If you're not a Glee fan, do yourself a favor and go online and watch this one (when it's available). It's just that good.
It may be coincidental, but the focus was on the school and the music. And plenty of character development with Puck, Kurt, and especially Sue. There was no football, no Slushees, no Emma and definitely no Teri. It's looking like Glee is best when Mr. Schu's personal life is off camera. I haven't missed the Mrs. one bit. More after the jump.
With the sectionals coming, Will had a few ideas about what the judges were looking for ... a little less hip-hop, a little more Broadway. With that in mind, he pulled out "Defying Gravity," the big ballad from Wicked. Rachel was perfect for it, but Kurt stepped up and asked for a chance to compete. From that kernel came an entire show dealing with diversity.
Actually, it was more than that. There was also Artie. Mr. Schu's lesson for the kids, making them spend three hours a day in a wheelchair, was a bit obvious. But they got the message. The solo featuring Kevin McHale singing "Dancing With Myself" was inspired. He really pulled it off. He has a very good voice, and the wheelchair choreography was excellent. (How interesting that Ugly Betty used the same song in last week's episode. It worked well in both shows.)
Kurt's father doesn't get his son's homosexuality, but he loves him and wants to help him. He stood up for Kurt, and in turn, Kurt gave back to his Dad. Their relationship has become one of the most healthy parent-child connections on TV. Neither character has it all together, but together they represent familial love at its best.
The "Defying Gravity" diva-off was done in an interesting way, intercutting Rachael and Kurt. Kurt claimed that he blew the high F on purpose, but I thought Rachel was better at the number. She just has the big Broadway belt in her voice, like a Barbra Streisand or a Patti Lupone or Idina Menzel (who won the Tony for singing it in Wicked on Broadway).
The diversity theme bled into open auditions for the Cheerios. Will suspected that Sue's selection of Becky, a young girl with Down's Syndrome, was part of some scheme. Sue responded to Will's suspicions with the line, "You don't know me at all," setting up the most poignant scene in the show. Sue visited her older sister, Jean, at a nursing home. When Sue read Little Red Riding Hood to her, I welled up with tears and had a lump in my throat. There is much more to Sue Sylvester than the hyper-competitive coach with delusions of grandeur.
It's hard to feel sympathetic about Quinn because she's so hard and deceitful. But she's not wrong to expect the father of her baby to take responsibility for the medical expenses; she's just wrong to continue to lie to Finn about him being the dad. Clearly, Noah wants to step up and be the "man."
In the end, Becky became a Cheerio -- and was glad to be treated like any other cheerleader being pushed by Coach Sylvester -- Rachel got the solo, Kurt got a little closer to his Dad, and New Directions pulled off a great rendition of "Proud Mary" with the entire group dancing in wheelchairs. And they even got the bus to go to sectionals as a team. Woo-hoo!
Superb episode; the kind that wins awards.
Other points of interest
-- Artie wound up in the wheelchair after a car accident. His penis, unlike his legs, works just fine.
-- Tina has been faking her stutter. The truth may set you free, but Artie lost all interest in dating her. He couldn't accept that she lied about a handicap so glibly. He thought they had a connection because they were both impaired.
-- On the other hand, it was pretty twisted that Finn had to pretend to be in a wheelchair to get a job.
-- You think anyone will figure out what Noah's secret ingredient was for the baked goods? Probably not.
-- So many great lines; I challenge you readers to share some of your favorites in the comments! Here's mine from tonight:
Sue explaining to Jacob why Quinn had to be removed from the Cheerios: "If I have a pregnant girl doing a handspring into a double layout, the judges aren't going to be admiring her impeccable form, they're going to be wondering if the centrifugal force is going to make the baby's head start crowning ... Oh, and by the way, all this is off the record. Probably should have told you that earlier."
[Check out clips and episodes of Glee at SlashControl.]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-12-2009 @ 2:17AM
Dylan said...
Fantastic episode.
I'm really loving Brittany, for a background character she's pretty darn charming.
Poor Tina, I hope Artie can get over the whole lying thing.
I'm also getting really tired of Rachel, I want to like her, I do, but she's super self centered.
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11-12-2009 @ 5:14AM
KenMo said...
I kinda like how all of the characters have a part of their personality that I don't like. It makes it all a little more believable.
I want to get past the Quinn/Finn relationship so he can concentrate on Rachel. She is much more tolerable when they are together.
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11-12-2009 @ 6:13AM
SImpression said...
What I found slightly unnerving is that Puck put pot in the cupcakes... and then let Quinn eat them. Damage the baby, much?
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11-12-2009 @ 11:27AM
RTMS said...
Thank you I'm glad someone also noticed that. I was like you put drugs in the stuff and let your baby momma eat them?
11-12-2009 @ 7:16AM
Lisa said...
This was the best yet and it has already been great so that is saying something. I liked there being no personal life on Mr. Schu and loved that there is something to like about Sue, she has been too one-dimensional. Love, love, love Kurt and his dad - beautifully played by both. The music even seemed a bit less over-produced which was great.
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11-12-2009 @ 8:00AM
laura said...
I loved this episode so much. Loved that we saw more of Kurt and Artie, Loved that we didnt have to see Teri, but missed Emma.
I freaking cried when Sue went to see her sister, The look in her eyes, the love she has was immeasurable and I just lost it!
Best show on tv...next to modern family, and mad men of course.
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11-12-2009 @ 8:17AM
Aimee said...
Great episode. Best one in a long time. Really loved the use of Defying Gravity, it's one of my favorite songs, and also the great supporting character development.
Also didn't miss Terri, but missed Emma, albeit without wedding drama...
Best line of the night:
"I find recipies... confusing."
Oh Brittany.
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11-12-2009 @ 8:53AM
wulfn1 said...
In the "Rollin on the river" scene, it almost looked like Finn was going to roll backwards off the stage. The camera focused on how close to the edge he was, was that on purpose?
Is karma going to bite him in the arse for faking disability to get a job and let him miss his mark at the competition and roll right off the stage?
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11-12-2009 @ 9:13AM
Scott said...
We had to watch the 'So FOX' screen for a couple minutes. Was that national or local for me?
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11-12-2009 @ 9:23AM
Martin said...
Knew the minute Sue picked Becky that she had a brother or sister with Down Syndrome or the likes. Still some great scenes and love the way she just plays it off Will with a "you don't know me at all". I think it was great this episode showing Sue understands people more than Will in some aspect with how people with "disabilities" want to be treated.
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11-12-2009 @ 11:13AM
Scott said...
I'm really hoping this represents a "new direction" for the show. Ryan Murphy himself got the writing credit for the episode, and yet it was the least cartoonish of all the episodes so far. No harpy lying wife, no clean-freak love interest, no coach, and Sue actually developed a second dimension. I am getting annoyed at the whole Quinn thing--just let Finn off the hook already, it's clear that Puck is willing to stand up for the baby (even if it involves drugging students--and an expectant mother).
The songs were great. Kurt and his father have the best relationship on the show, period. Artie and Tina got some well-deserved screen time. The whole thing was funny without being over-the-top (OK, maybe the stroganoff in the face was pushing it, but it beats slushees). The previews showed that the idiot wife is back next week, but I'm really hoping that the positive response to this episode will encourage them, in writing a season 2, to push the teachers' personal stories to the background and focus on the kids and more grounded situations.
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11-12-2009 @ 11:18AM
Brian Haggerty said...
You are all missing the most important part of the episode. Jeff Lewis played the manager who hired Finn! He is absolutely great on The Guild and here's hoping we see more of him!
Also the more we see of Kurt and his father the better this show is.
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11-12-2009 @ 1:03PM
wulfn1 said...
their father son relationship has real depth that will produce some nice scenes in the future. and is developing the story line more fully, wouldn't that be a neat spinoff show? kurt and his dad and their day to day struggles .
I have to wonder about Rachael's dads though... We've seen several of the lead's parents but have only heard about hers. Is it possible she made them up to be more dramatic? (if her mother's name can be misconstrued as male gendered , she could get away with it till there was a face to face...)
11-12-2009 @ 3:25PM
djbuhhda said...
no in the first episode she showed a picture of them, one if black and one is white, they mixed the sperm and she dont know who the actual father is. lol i love this show.
11-12-2009 @ 6:47PM
Ashley Boyd said...
A joke shamelessly stolen from Arrested Development :p (in reply to what djbuhhda said).
Personally I hated this episode.
11-12-2009 @ 12:14PM
Mike Credelle said...
The actress who plays Rachel is actually performing on broadway she was/is in Spring Awakening, so it makes sense that she has a Broadway voice.
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11-12-2009 @ 1:45PM
Crystal Beth said...
Noah didn't put the pot in the cupcakes, he said that particular one gives people a really bad case of the munchies. They smoke, they buy cupcakes.
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11-12-2009 @ 1:50PM
Anon said...
Don't want to nitpick or anything but... stuttering isn't a disability, it's a disorder as it is not physical, but mental. Would you mind reflecting this in your post?
Thanks
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11-16-2009 @ 2:31PM
Gleek said...
Not to nitpick, Anon, but stuttering IS a disability because when it is severe it can significantly limit a major life function. And we don't know what causes it so you can't claim that it's mental. It may be a combination of physiological and psychological factors. And a disability doesn't have to be physical - it can be psychiatric or cognitive.
11-12-2009 @ 3:47PM
am_hollitz said...
I love the show, I love the relationships that are forming, and I like where things are headed. BUT I wish they would add a little more reality to the series.
1) I get it, it's a plot device, but Quinn should be getting guidance from the guidance counselor on where to find State/Federal Aid for her pregnancy. Granted, she might have to go to a free clinic or a state-run hospital for her doctors visits, but there are resources out there.
2) There's NO WAY a public school in the US could get away with not having every part of the school be wheel-chair accessible. That goes for busses too! The school district would be sued for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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