Glee

Glee's back and so are my unnecessarily extensive reviews! From the title of the episode, I thought this was going to be a "very special" episode where one of the Glee clubbers got in a car wreck or something else equally devastating but thankfully no one was injured (at least physically) and we all got an hour with more moments of levity than we did somberness.



Now that the Glee Club has earned a spot at Nationals the group's next obstacle is to raise money in order to go. How will they do this? By selling saltwater taffy of course! But before Puckerman has a chance to lace the candy with pot, the brainy members of the club (and Brittany) pipe up and ask that they also raise money for an Academic Decathlon trip as well. "Why Not?" asks an optimistic Schuester and the group is instructed to sell a mere 21,000 pieces of taffy. Luckily, this absurd idea is put to rest after Holly Holiday suggests that the club hold a benefit concert instead.

Hugely disappointing return of Glee after a long hiatus. Premise was okay but execution sorely lacking. Have they run out of ideas for Sue's character? It's like the writers never quite know what to do with her and this episode was worse than grasping at straws as far as her ongoing vendetta against the Glee Club and Will. League of doom? Seriously? Ridiculously contrived and poorly conceived adding the annoyance of ludicrous comic book-type characters to a storyline that had absolutely nowhere to go. What on earth were they thinking? Salt water taffy sales? Mercedes is a great character but she was reduced to a spoiled diva-wannabe by Lauren (who is really getting old as far as characters go) and that subplot had nowhere to go either. I was just starting to get into the relationships of the Glee club members. In one fell swoop the writers managed to undo a lot of the solid foundations upon which some of the relationships had been built. Gwyneth Paltrow's character had nowhere to go and we all knew it but they kept her in one episode too many. Same thing with Sunshine Corazon. Her reappearance had no purpose whatsoever, leaving us to wonder why bother at all.



They took the easy way out and got stupid. That's the best I can say for the script. It lacked any intelligence or substance and made a mockery of the relationships that previous episodes had worked very hard at establishing. If they don't get back to that foundation, I am afraid it will be more of the same nonsense and they will have lost perspective completely. Which means they may lose some of us as viewers inevitably. At least those of us who value intelligent, witty writing and loathe unimaginative, wasteful drivel. We have better things to do with our time.

Glee's back and so are my unnecessarily extensive reviews! From the title of the episode, I thought this was going to be a "very special" episode where one of the Glee clubbers got in a car wreck or something else equally devastating but thankfully no one was injured (at least physically) and we all got an hour with more moments of levity than we did somberness.



Now that the Glee Club has earned a spot at Nationals the group's next obstacle is to raise money in order to go. How will they do this? By selling saltwater taffy of course! But before Puckerman has a chance to lace the candy with pot, the brainy members of the club (and Brittany) pipe up and ask that they also raise money for an Academic Decathlon trip as well. "Why Not?" asks an optimistic Schuester and the group is instructed to sell a mere 21,000 pieces of taffy. Luckily, this absurd idea is put to rest after Holly Holiday suggests that the club hold a benefit concert instead.



The League of Doom (or Legion of Evil, I'm not quite sure what it's called myself), Sue's latest attempt to destroy the Glee Club, felt a little cartoonish – Sandy's outfits certainly reinforced this opinion, as he looked like a pink version of Zorro later on. The coach of Vocal Adrenaline served very little purpose and Terri was all but sidelined to make room for Sandy and the Hecklers – Becky, Azimio, and the walking disaster that is Jacob.



Sunshine's second appearance on the show actually gave her some minor development. Her "superior-to-all" complex feels a little too similar to Rachel's but this may be intentional (both of them over-emote during song, that's for sure). Having said that, her stay lasted only long enough for her to belt "All by Myself" and then it was back to Vocal Adrenaline where she'll probably remain in obscurity until Nationals.



The Mercedes diva-in-overdrive plot was all kinds of ridiculous but it had its moments. She and her manager Lauren make a solid duo but I prefer the Mercedes/Quinn dynamic better - sadly the writers have all but abadoned it. I sort of wish we were shown a cutaway of Puck rounding up the puppies for Ms. Jones but I guess he's already been sent to juvie once this season.



I'm glad the Kurt and Blaine story arc has scaled back a bit so that other characters are given some screen time. Santana coming to the defense of Kurt was a little unusual – apparently she's been Slusheed one too many times – but seeing as the former cheerleader is struggling with her own identity, it actually felt genuine by the time she gave Blaine that subtle smirk.



Gweyneth Paltrow's involvement in this episode felt a lot more casual and even though her character's scenes are now expected (we know there'll be a scene where she's channeling a heightened version of a historical figure) she's still a welcome presence on the show. Her talk with the Hecklers felt more like a STFU to sometimes cynical reviewers like myself but at least it ended realistically – the thought of Azimio cheering on the Glee Club is sappy enough to make my stomach turn.



The idea of honoring neglected artists (and having underutilized characters cover them) was a good one and it allowed for some fairly interesting numbers. "I Follow Rivers" was my favorite song Tina's covered so far and, because of this, I briefly disliked Becky for booing her (Jacob, Azimio, and Sandy are intended to be detested so their jeers didn't bother me as much). I understand that Harry Shum Jr. is a very limited vocalist (actor, too) and his dance number would probably be a welcome interlude in an actual singing benefit, but because Glee is first and foremost a musical I thought his performance to "Bubbly Toes" was superfluous (maybe I'm being overly bitter because I originally read Quinn would be singing alongside Mike's dancing. I think her airy vocals would've suited the breezy song rather well.) I'm glad the music producers opted to go with Adele's haunting "Turning Tables" as Holly's solo instead of the too-well-known "Rolling In the Deep". And while it wasn't her greatest performance in the show's history, Mercedes did Aretha's "Ain't No Way" justice – enough for even Rachel to admit it was a worthy closing number.



I have to give kudos to whoever wrote the parting scene between Holly and Will. Her exit was inevitable, but Holly's last words to Schue were both funny and poignant. The rest of the episode's ending felt a little too pat, with Sandy having a change of heart and deciding to fund both clubs' trips. Now it looks like Terri A.K.A Honey Badger will be meddling with the group before long. Last time she drugged the kids up, so I have high hopes for her return to Mckinley High.



Episode Highlights:



Brittany's Brilliance – Never one to be pegged as a brain, Brittany flashed her extensive knowledge of cat diseases when it was necessary on The Smartypants Show. I've heard of canine AIDS thanks to The Office, but I had no idea felines suffered from it as well.



Santana's Super-Human Hair – Apparently Santana's locks can conceal multiple razors and a slider phone. I don't know what her shampoo and conditioning regimen consists of, but it must be working for her.



Holly's Office – Leave it to the frugal Figgins to assign Ms. Holiday a janitor's closet as a workspace. Maybe the principal overheard Sue's quip about Holly being "looser than a thrift store turtleneck and probably just as diseased" and banished the substitute to the room as a result.



Trivial Observations:



Mercedes wears a whistle to school – Why has she never used this to shut Rachel up before?



Corey Monteith is limited to two expressions - Cluelessness and that gassy infant look Santana nailed a couple episodes back.



Glee's at its best when it keeps things light and cheery (with occasionally dark undertones) and this episode did a pretty good job keeping that balance in check. It was refreshing to finally see underwritten characters like Mercedes and Tina have the limelight and with any luck the show will continue this trend in the upcoming weeks - though I'm sure the Karofsky plotline will rear its ugly head again before the season comes to a close. I hear April Rhodes may be stopping by - perhaps she'll be given a better send-off this time around and leave on just as good a note as Holly.

The best Glee episodes find a perfect balance between quirky humor, well-written drama, great songs and a nice chunk of character development, all while slowly finding a way to develop the plot.. despite my hatred of last year's plot involving Will's wife faking a pregnancy, the writing was good enough to dovetail that plot into Quinn's pregnancy, and all in all, I felt good about the direction about the season.



But this season is all about guest stars and Top 40 songs and lame plots involving bullying, characters hooking up, dumping each other and everything in between. The show even loses its humor half of the time, only reappearing here and there.. this episode was alright, but it was weighed down by Gweneth Paltrow's third appearance on the show, and while I liked her in the first episode, I've liked her less over time.



My main problem is that the show has no direction, and for a group called "New Directions," I think they need to take their name a little more seriously. For instance, let's look at Sue's plot: she gets Sandy, Will's ex-wife and the vocal coach of Vocal Adrenaline (I think that was him) to try and take down the Glee Club. For one, Sue is so intent on bringing them down, yet she was responsible for making them come back last season.. so what's the point? Second, it just felt like such a lifeless plot. The ex-wife had so little to do that it frustrated me to death.



I don't really have much to say about the episode overall.. it had a good variety of songs, but I feel like the writing staff has completely lost its way here.

Okay, I have never really been disappointed by Glee until last night. i watched this episode and it was stupid and boring.



It had few good things about it and was not enjoyable.



1)Kurt, Blaine and Karovsky:

Obviously, Born this way will be about them and I can't wait for that episode but they literally give them one entire scene together as a lovey dovey couple...Why not show how Kurt's dad is handling his son's first boyfriend. Why not elaborate more on both Karovsky and Blaine's character. The interaction was cute and even more funnier when Santana pretty much chewed Karovsky out but I hope Born this way is going to be MUCH better for these 3 boys.



2)Lauren needs to go

Point blank. She was funny at first but now she just aggravates me. I do not like her character and she really doesn't bring much to the show. Hopefully, Kurt's return means she will be leaving soon. Her "managing" Mercedes was stupid and pointless....



3)Mercedes is a diva

Ugh....This episode made me hate her character...she did redeem herself at the end but i did not like that they literally butchered her character in one entire episode



4)Sue

She was useless as well. Organizing the legion of doom yet she really didn't do much except complain and critique. Honestly, how much further can they go with Sue's character. Every season she is going to try and sabotage Glee club? She is my favorite character but give her more to work with.



5)Holly

Thank god she is gone and hopefully for awhile.



6)What was the point of Sunshine?

Her betrayal of the Glee club would have been much more rewarding had she actually been in the episode more. She was there all of two scenes and gone and then she screwed them over....ugh.



Let her stay gone till nationals please



What I did like

1)Kurt and Blaine's cute moment

2)Mike's dancing

3)Britney is smart lol

I watch Glee mainly because of the songs and not really the main plot. As always the songs were sung excellently by the guest stars and the main casts. I like the dance routine also. On the other hand, regarding the plot, I sometimes wonder what Glee advocates for. I guess the writers try to balance the story, showing two sides of every issue. For example, Mercedez' feeling of neglect. She was advised to obnoxiously demand respect which I think is not so a good advise. And the other one is about the hacklers. I think the 'speech' of Gywenth Paltrow was good but sadly it was rejected. Maybe I am just conservative but I hope the main plot would gear towards letting the right values to prevail over negative values because majority of Glee watchers are the young ones.

Its like the show has become a parody of itself. There's no other way to explain why this episode even exists. All the characters have reverted back to dull caricatures who had their heads bashed by a large rock before the episode started because now they're all morons. The league of doom? Mercedes being an insufferable diva? Sunshine's baffling appearance and disappearance? Will and whatshername breaking up after one episode? Emma being useless and irrelevant as always? The brainiacs? Repeating the word "neglect" over and over again for no reason like that one episode in season 1? Is any of this real? There's really nothing else to say. This show is hopeless. Odds are the next episode will be somewhat decent and the one after that will be utter trash, because lets face it, throwing consistency out the window is becoming par for the course with Glee. The only thing still worth watching in this show is Kurt and Blaine, who thankfully somehow managed to retain their sanity in this episode. Hooray for small miracles.

NO Spoilers. Glee's FINALLY back and i really missed it. This episode was great. It was funny, kind, sweet, a little mean at times but you should definitely watch this episode. I am a SUPERGLEEK so i had to rate this a 10. If u disagree fine but if u agree give me a thumbs up. Man I cant wait to see next week's episode of born this way. 90 minutes of my favorite show will surely make up for this long hiatus. In conclusion great episode, great characters, and amazing acting from the glee kids. Hope you loved it as much as I did. :)

Where do I begin... The Bad:

League of Doom? Not funny. Why is Sandy there? Why is Terri there? Why does this exist? Speaking of pointless characters, hello Sunshine. Sunshine sang a good song with no heart or emotion behind it and the actress cannot act, what so ever. Bye Carl, that was convenient. Gwyneth Paltrow well done, really, you butchered Adele with your awful monotone voice and then you left. Are we really suppose to care that Holly has left and the relationship with Will has ended? After one episode, really?! Bye Holly, don't let the door hit you in the you know what on the way out - but I'm sure you will pop up again before the season is over. Finally, shock horror the Glee club got the money from a random person, they didn't work hard for it there was no great lesson or storyline, just another pointless episode.



The Good:

The one guest star I did like about this episode was Cheyenne Jackson - I would happily welcome more Sergeant Handsome, his character was well written and Cheyenne did a great job. Santana, fantastically fierce as always. Kurt and Blaine pointlessly used but nice to see them. Mercedes' solo was nice, shame she has about two a season.



I know this is a very harsh and "glass half empty" review of this episode but I just can't stand episodes like this anymore. I'm going to watch next weeks episode and if it's no better, I'm done. Please let it be good.

Let me start out with this: this is not just another oh-it's-tuesday-time-to-watch-glee. this is the glee after a long hiatus, more importantly, after original song. Original Song was an amazing episode of Glee and it built up how amazing the return of Glee would be. But I felt that the return fell very flat. For a few reasons: The return of Charice as Sunshine Corazon. She was hyped over the summer as having this big role in Glee and then she was in one episode. And then she came back for this episode and basically did the same thing; showed up, brought the house down with a great solo and then promptly disappeared again. She just felt useless. Mercedes acting like a diva. And not just her normal delightful-diva self, but an obnoxious, over the top cliche diva. And all thanks to Lauren Zizes. I remember a while back there was an article about not liking her and I agree. After this episode, she is just another useless character who only exists to screw up the character's lives. It was fine when she was screaming for Will during their performances but as a regular I've had enough of her. Which brings me to....



Will. Kind of in general. First he has a sweet moment with Emma and Emma tells him Carl is having their marriage annulled and they never did the deed. Will tells her he's always there for her and it makes me pissed off they ever had Emma get hitched in the first place. Then Will and Miss Holiday break up. I mean you know they couldn't have lasted but they were together for literally one episode. The whole "she's into you too" (she being emma into will) would've had more weight if will and miss holiday would've been together a weeeeeee bit longer. Don't get me wrong, this Glee still had its shining moments. Like Santana standing up to Karofsky who's trying to pick on Kurt and Blaine, and Kurt and Blaine in general. But this Glee shoulda been a lot better. Hopefully the 90 minute Glee will be better, and if not, we'll just have to petition for a spinoff centering on Kurt and Blaine's Warblers adventures.