So here’s what you missed on Glee…

Tonight we found ourselves back at one of my favourite parts of Glee - show choir competitions! It is time for Sectionals where we see New Directions battle with the Troubletones (along with the Unitards) to move on to the next stage of the competition to no doubt compete against the Warblers.

The episode began with a heated discussion between Quinn and Rachel, with Rachel trying to convince the irritating blonde that she shouldn’t reveal the truth about Shelby’s tryst with Puck for the sake of Beth. For the rest of the episode we see Quinn battle with herself trying to determine what is the best thing to do. Later on in the episode, Quinn confronts Shelby, informing her that she will be going to the Principal with the information. It leads to one of the most touching scenes of all three seasons of Glee, in which Ms Corcoran reminds her wisely that she only gets to be 17 once and only gets one senior year, something she should cherish. I feel that this is something all of the characters might want to remember now and again; these kids lead far too dramatic lives for high school students.

In this episode we also see the fallout of Mike’s decision to take part in the school musical despite knowing his father’s feelings towards it. Learning that Mike has applied to Stanford for pre-med, not dance school which is his dream, Tina goes to see his father, letting him know that he should support Mike as dancing is what he was born to do. There is a little truth in his father’s response when he reminds her of the rejection and heartache that it takes to become a success in the entertainment industry, yet still you see him as being unsupportive and horrible. In the end he changes his mind, of course, after seeing the New Directions compete at sectionals… but I cant help but feel that the storyline might have been a little more believable if his father hadn’t been so quick to change his attitude.

Anyways, back to Sectionals. The Unitards’ performance was mediocre so it came down to the Troubletones and New Directions. Before this, however, Santana and the Troubletones went to their competition and informed them that they would happily accept any new members from the other choir if they were to win, which was met with a lot of anger. All the performances were average in my opinion. Whereas before I have always found myself rooting for the New Directions, I wasn’t sure they deserved to win. The fact they did has been met with a great deal of backlash from the fans; however, as many of them have rightly pointed out, Glee is about the members of New Directions and it would have made little creative sense for them to fall at the final hurdle. With it being many of the characters’ final year, they have to get to nationals.

Other Memorable Moments
• Sebastian (the guy competing for Blaine’s attention) was back with a vengeance, informing us that the Warblers won their sectionals, as well as making it clear he isn’t ready to give up on Blaine quite yet.
• Sam’s back! The return of Chord Overstreet has made me very happy and despite Quinn’s attempts to resurrect their relationship he makes it clear that there is only one girl he has eyes for, and that is Mercedes. He lets her know that he doesn’t care how built her new boyfriend is, he is ready to fight for her (which was adorable).

Favourite Musical Number
This would have to be New Direction’s version of ‘Man in the Mirror’. I had to admit that I was concerned that, with the absence of Lea Michele’s voice, the weakness of her costar’s vocal abilities might have shown. But they really pulled it off. The leads were taken by Finn and Blaine, with backing vocals from Artie, Puck and Sam, and all five of them sounded probably the best they have in a long time.

Favourite Line
“I started the Dalton branch of Fight Club, which I obviously can’t talk about.” – Blaine to Finn in a bizarre scene in which the two try to work out their differences.

Airdate: Thursday 17th November 2011

So here’s what you missed on Glee:

If the title of the episode ‘Mash-Off’ wasn’t enough of a hint, Glee returned to what it does best this evening as we saw Schuester’s New Directions and Corcoran’s Troubletones participate in a mash-off, involving both choirs performing different mash ups as a rouse by the teachers to put some of the fight back into both teams, as it is revealed that they will battle each other in Sectionals. This episode we saw closeted lesbian Santana taking her usually funny digs at her fellow singers a step too far.

This episode also saw us being reminded that former best friends Kurt and Rachel were still not speaking to each other, following her choice to run against him in the student presidential election. We see Rachel begging Kurt to forgive her and taking a bold move in stepping down from the race. We see each candidate give a speech in front of the school, with Brittany promising to ban hurricanes.

Speaking of campaigns, we get to see the lengths that Sue is willing to go in her bid for congress, defaming Burt Hummel’s character with suggestions that he in fact has a baboon heart and is married to a donkey. But it is the campaign video of the man running against both Sue and Burt that causes the biggest drama this episode, as he ousts Santana from the closet as a way to pass judgement on Sue’s commitment to family values by appointing a lesbian as co-head of the Cheerios.

Whilst Santana was particularly harsh in this week’s episode she didn’t deserve to have her personal life used in such a way. The episode leads to next week’s titled ‘I Kissed A Girl’ in which she comes out to her family, and some have suggested that this was deserved considering Santana played a large part in Kurt coming out of the closet. Whilst I am a firm believer in the age old sentiment ‘what goes around, comes around’ sexuality is not tool that should be used to hurt anyone.

But beginning with a Van Halen cover and ending with a face-slap, this weeks episode was far from boring. As a whole it didn’t have the heart of last week, but Glee is first and foremost a musical show and in this sense it was back on form. All the songs were of high quality and showcased a lot of the talent within the cast, especially the ‘You and I/You and I’ duet between Idina Menzel (Shelby) and Matthew Morrison (Will).

Other Memorable Moments
• Santana slapping Finn clean across the face for revealing in the hallways of McKinley High that she likes girls
• The dodgeball scene was hilarious. With an 80’s mash-up we saw bodies flying across the room, and there were some hilarious shots of balls smashing into the faces of the players
• Burt Hummel offering to help talk to Santana’s parents having been through the situation himself was particularly touching.

Favourite Musical Number 
As for the musical numbers this week, they were all very good, the musical producers of Glee have a knack for creating catchy mash-ups including old favourites like ‘Heads Will Roll/Thriller’ and ‘I Feel Pretty/Unpretty’ but this week marked the 300th song on Glee, an accolade that was saved for an Adele mash-up of ‘Rumour Has It’ and ‘Someone Like You’. The leads were taken by Naya Rivera (Santana) and Amber Riley (Mercedes) with both girls nailing their vocals.

Favourite Quote
“She sounds like what banana cream pie sounds like when it sings.” – I’ve missed Brittany’s inane comments!

Airdate: Thursday 10th November 2011

Tonight we found ourselves watching two of Glee’s fan favourite couples finally doing the ‘deed’. It wasn’t easy and took until the end of the episode before both couples took that big step but it was worth the wait.

The subject of virginity was raised by Artie during a rehearsal for the school musical in which he questioned how Rachel and Blaine, the leads, could convey the emotions of a ‘sexual awakening’ if they hadn’t experienced it themselves. Making a fair point, the rest of the episode saw the two characters struggle with the issues that all teenagers face when deciding to take such a step.

The episode also marked the return of McKinley High bully Karofosky, who is found in a gay drinking establishment visited by Kurt and Blaine upon the suggestion of Sebastian. Sebastian, played by newcomer Grant Gustin, takes a shine to Blaine and looks set to cause problems for the much loved Klaine in future episodes. We first meet him when Blaine returns to Dalton Academy where the Warblers return for the first time this season, which was nice, and they performed an endearing version of Billy Joel’s ‘Uptown Girl’. Sebastian reminds me of Santana in a way, he seems to be someone who is not afraid to say what he thinks nor be concerned by what others might think or feel.

Back to Karofosky, and the scene between him and Kurt sat at the bar proved to be perhaps the most poignant of the evening. We learned that Karofosky has in fact transferred to a new school (hence his absence from previous episodes) and his presence at a gay club illustrated that he may just have come to terms with who he is. I have to hand it to Max Adler, who plays Karofosky – he has turned that character from a loathed bully to someone who not only is relatable but someone the viewer can feel sympathy for.

For Finchel, they attempted to do the deed the first time when Rachel headed over to Finn’s house when his parents were out canvassing for Burt’s congressional campaign. The first attempt stumbled at the first hurdle when Finn learned that Rachel had changed her mind so that she could become a better actress. However the deal was sealed between the two once Finn was told that he won’t be playing football after high school. Seeing Finn at his most vulnerable, Rachel offered him her virginity as a sort of ‘I’m sorry’ gift after telling him that he will need to think of different dreams.

When it came to Klaine, the idea of losing their virginity was a subject broached by Blaine, after the night at the gay bar in which he tried to convince Kurt that it isn’t about when or where but about the people (although I struggle to believe that the back of your parents car is a place even worth considering). Kurt was angry, and rightly so, by being propositioned in such a way. But when they made up after the opening night of the musical, Kurt turned down Blaine’s suggestion of attending the after party and instead suggested they go back to Blaine’s place.

The subject of teenage sex is difficult and I think Glee approached it in a good way. Not all the characters have had perfect experiences, which makes it more realistic and relatable. But for these two couples in particular, the different aspects of each character was considered at every point. This episode had all the heart that last week’s episode lacked, and the final scene was beautiful edited as the couples became more intimate based around Rachel and Blaine singing ‘One Hand, One Heart’. Considering the fact that the show is commissioned by, and aired on, the conservative station that is FOX I was surprised that gay sex was even included. Nothing was overdone though; it was understated, dignified, and the lack of nudity made it accessible for viewers of all ages. Bravo to all involved!

Other Memorable Moments

• When Mike Chang’s dad confronts his son about being in the school musical and pretty much disowns him as a consequence.
• We learn in the episode that Coach Bieste is a virgin as well who has a bit of a crush on the Ohio State football scout. With a little push from Artie we learn that the scout returns the feelings. There is a touching scene in which she states ‘that she doesn’t look how pretty girls look’
• There is a lovely moment between the girls in which they all discuss losing their virginity, with Quinn advising Rachel to wait after her own experiences. Brittany and Santana provide little support, but the most wise words come from Tina, who explains that she lost her virginity to Mike over the summer after the pair had discussed it and recognised just how special a moment it is in someone’s life.
• The gay bar was as stereotypical as it possibly could be, visiting on ‘drag queen Wednesday’ the bar seems to play only awful 70’s/80’s pop music and be full of questionable looking men.
• When the cast thank Artie as a director for bringing the musical together there is a lovely moment in which he returns the thanks for making him feel like a man for the first time. (the sort of character development that was missing from last weeks episode).

Favourite Line of the Week

“It was like being smothered by a sweaty, out-of-breath sack of potatoes that somebody soaked in body spray.”—Santana

Favourite Musical Number

‘Uptown Girl’ sung by the Warblers, I have missed them!

Join new contributor Vicky as she looks back over this week’s Glee.

Airdate: Thursday 3rd November 2011

So here’s what you missed on Glee:

Glee made its return to Sky1 this evening after a three week long break to match the hiatus in the US. The episode, titled ‘Pot O’ Gold’, centres around the first appearance of the Glee Project winner Damian McGinty as Irish exchange student Rory Flanagan, who loves all things American – in particular ‘Nascar, the half black president and Victoria Secret catalogues’.

The first conversation of the episode is an amusing exchange that he has with dim-witted Brittany, who seems convinced that he is in fact a leprechaun and a figment of her imagination. We later learn that Brittany has promised that he can get into her ‘pot of gold’ if he grants her three wishes… something any sane man would do.

Elsewhere Mercedes, now a member of rival glee group run by Shelby (played by the very talented Idina Menzel), attempts to recruit Santana, using the lack of solos as a reason for her to also leave. Santana eventually jumps ship and uses Rory and his leprechaun magic to persuade Brittany to join her in the aptly named ‘Troubletones’.

Quinn’s attempts to prove Shelby as an unfit mother are laughable, and you can’t help but question why two high school students think they will be better parents considering one of them was in prison and the other had pink hair…

We also return to Sue Sylvester’s campaign for congress. In this episode she gets a running mate in the shape of Kurt’s dad Burt. The ever lovable Mr Hummel gives an impassioned speech on the news which made even me want to vote for him, and cemented his status as the Best TV Dad of 2011.

Having not watched the Glee Project myself I was surprised by how easily McGinty seemed to fit into the mould of Glee, taking charge of two of only four songs that appeared in the episode. Fourteen minutes before first musical number is very disappointing for Glee and, despite it being given to the new cast member to show off his talents, I can’t help but feel like the show has lost a little of its sparkle. Yes, we all know Brittany is stupid, Rachel is demanding and Mercedes is a bit of a diva – the writers now need to provide us with a little more character depth.

The episode closes with a predictable kiss that will have repercussions for future episodes, but it failed to have the element of surprise the writers were attempting to achieve.

Other Memorable moments…
• We learn that Brittany tortures her cat named Lord Tubbington, in the hope that he will ‘poop candy bars’
• Darren Criss does an awful cover of Last Friday Night by Katy Perry but it is the first moment in quite a while where the Glee club look cheery, which is nice to see.
• Muppets on Glee! The other number sung by McGinty this week was ‘Bein’ Green’ originally sang by Kermit the Frog. Obviously an amusing reference to him being a leprechaun, the song is also heart-warming and helps make Rory Flanagan seem more likable then lecherous.
• After calling Brittany stupid, something we have all learnt doesn’t fit well, Finn apologies and gives a hint of the potential that Cory Monteith has as a male lead in the rom-coms that are undoubtably in his future

Favourite Line of the Week
‘You are such a bacon-wrapped bug-eyed hypocrite, it’s freaking hilarious how jealous of Blaine you are. Every time he opens his dreamboat acapella mouth you are just itching to kick him right in the warblers.’ – Santana proving herself to be the new Queen of one-liners

Favourite Musical number
This week it would have to be ‘Candyman’ performed by Mercedes, Brittany and Santana. It was the most tight vocally, and visually was the most impressive of the episode. Sad to say though that it was the best of a bad bunch.