In episodes past, there was definitely a feel for when issues were being forced in. (When they all wore self-esteem-boosting T-shirts while singing "Born This Way"? Yuck.) The impositions were false and a little After-School-Special-y. But when the issues come from within the story and the characters, and if the writers and director and the choreographers are onboard, the result is a pretty shocking bump in quality.
The themes -- ambition, expectations and shame -- were all organic, and all integrated naturally with the characters and the music.
Let's start with Mike Chang, who, do date, has had little to do but dance. This week, we learn that he has a brain and a heart, and parents who, in their own way, want what's best for him. His father wants him to go to Harvard (requiring flawless grades, which Glee Club is impacting on). But after some credible and moving soul-searching, Mike has decided to dedicate himself to performance, which his mother (who knows what it is to let a dream die) backs him up on. (It's an old story, yes, but a worthwhile one.) In the past, the consequences for being in the show choir were mostly limited to getting slushee'd, but this story starts a new dimension: How far are these characters willing to go, what might they give up,for what they love, especially given the small, fleeting payoff?
The eponymous conflict was Mike's story (it's great to see new depth and hear him sing), but this episode and its themes found themselves centered on Mercedes. It's a treat when they give Mercedes a song, and here we get not just a solo song, we also get an ensemble-lead AND a de-facto duet. Amber Riley nailed all of them. And she also got to let out some frustration that's been building since the first day: playing second banana to Rachel grates on Mercedes' pride. She is growing angry with her treatment (to the point of not taking the shame of sharing the lead with her rival); clearly, her ambition is already costing her.
Rachel herself is having her ambitions thwarted. Having set her sites on the super-competitive NYADA program, she comes to depend on getting the lead in West Side Story. Finding herself outshone by Mercedes, she sets her sites on the Class Presidency. Wherever she sets her ambitions, she follows through with a naked greed, which, while not endearing, is credible, and well-played by Lea Michele. She actually gets called on her behavior by Kurt: What is ambition going to get Rachel in the long run?
The grand ambition, though, is Will Schuester's. There is a slightly scary edge to the character since losing Nationals; he is changing from Buddy Teacher to Demanding Coach. This change is also credible: he resembles many a coach in any competitive field. It's a welcome change, even as he starts to strain the club with high expectations. He is also expecting more out of his personal life, getting a so-wrong-it's-funny intro to Emma's parents. The episode ends with Will (falteringly) singing "Fix You," a well-chosen song for a man who's turning into something of a control freak ... what will he get for his ambition?
All the songs this week were well-chosen -- each was part of the story, rather than some random soundtrack (cf: Darren Criss singing "It's Not Unusual" for no-damn-reason) -- and each (except the last) was given a spectacular performance. There was Amber Riley's triple-threat, and Mike astonishing "Cool". But the real "oomph" came from Brittany wearing kicker boots topped by crotch-high gym socks topped by a PVC micro-mini, and dancing like a demon in a deliciously-wrong display of youthful vigor. The song had negligible value, but he delivery was a pure "yum!" And that was before the first commercial break. With those numbers from Amber Riley and Heather Morris, that's how you get the hour off on the right foot.
The little touches in the show mostly worked: Mike dancing with his mom, Coach Bieste uber-coaching the football team ("I kicked a fire hydrant when I heard that they cancelled Ace of Cakes!") and Chris Colfer's stunning vocal stab in Mercedes' song. Misfires include the frustrated-lead-joining-the-rival-club plot (essentially done with Rachel in Season 1; c'mon, we all know where this is going) and Santana perfunctorily back in Glee with no decent explanation (expedited story; yawn).
It's been a while since we've had any Glee that did much more than pass an hour. More like this, please.
