Man, when Glee is good, it's very, very good. I mean we all know that when it's bad, it's horrid, but "Born This Way" really was a step up, even from last week. There was a lot of negative feedback from blogland for "A Night Of Neglect" (still the worst title ever), but not in these parts. Oh, sure, it wasn't the best, had too much Gwyneth and was kind of cobbled together, but I'm grading on a curve and it was a hell of a lot better than most of the episodes this season. Additionally, 1 Steven Tobolowsky + 1 Cheyenne Jackson = 0 Gwyneth Paltrows. Anyway, tonight managed to be even better.
CAVEAT: I am still profoundly angry and irritated the way the writers decided to ignore Santana's possibly bisexuality despite her many occasions of professed sexual attraction for men (go back and watch the Britney episode and tell me she's not hot for Dr. Carl). However, since this show is THE WORST at character consistency and has a proven history of biphobia, I'm just going to suck it up and accept that Santana is now a total 'mo, a full-on Kinsey 6, and hope that maybe they can discover some non-hateful nuance when it comes to Britttany ("I think I might be bi-curious"? ARRRRGH. Bi-sexual. If you like or have liked having sex/being in love with boys AND girls you are what is called bisexual. Just. Say. It.). Moving on to the parts that don't make me want to scream epithets at my computer.
The theme (or "lesson", if you will) this week was, unsurprisingly, "Born This Way", being cool with who you are. Now, I genuinely like when Glee gets sappy in this way (not in the singing-once-with-a-quadriplegic way), and not only did I enjoy most of the episode, I loved almost all of the songs (Blaine just HAD to show up with the stupid Warblers and sing another stupid song, eh? Well, at least that's the last we'll be hearing of them for a while, I HOPE). Quinn and Rachel's "Unpretty/I Feel Pretty" duet was beautiful, and exactly what I've been asking for more of. I almost didn't recognize the song at first; they did a lovely, haunting job with it. Finn and Mike's jazzy dance number was so much fun, and "I Got To Be Me" is another of those songs that is suited really well to Finn's voice. I am pretty sure Cory Monteith is a better dancer in real life, I mean, I hope so for his sake because that shit was awkward. Kurt's song was a skotch too long, but it was really wonderful to hear him singing his old showtunes again and not just chirping along as a cog in the giant Warblers robot. The "Barbra Streisand" dance was pretty damn awesome, although it was a little weird that they chose the EXACT SAME location as their last flash mob scene, the amazing/tragic "Safety Dance". And "Born This Way", though it is so obviously an "Express Yourself" ripoff, was a fun little ending number and I always love Kurt doing Gaga.
Ok, do I really need to run through the bajillion storylines that Glee insists upon every week? At least there was no crazy Sue being crazy and violent this week. So, let's see: Rachel is feeling insecure, but even the dude she loves telling her she's beautiful won't keep her from getting a nose job. But duh, Lea Michelle is not getting a nose job, thus, Rachel isn't either. So, no real tension there, but the Deadmau5 was fun, right? Moving on. It is prom season! And even though they are all juniors (right?), there is prom queenage to be had. Quinn is like, this is my thing now! I am beautiful and have a warped view of the world! And Lauren Zizes, AKA THE BEST, is all, I'm gonna take my new hot boyfriend and all this hot hotness and turn it into a crown, bitches. And Quinn still thinks that all the lame and/or fat people at their high school will vote for the person they want to be, and Lauren is all NOPE, you lose, Mandy-Moore-in-Saved-style (except not really, because this is Glee, and there are unexpected consequences and apologies and whatnot). But who knows, Santana The Beard might take it all.
OH RIGHT, there is also that whole thing with Dave The Karofsky and how he used to be an great, cub-scout kind of guy before he got all gay and angry and confused and so now he is not a bully? And yeah, like, that scene where he apologizes to glee club for the bullying and slushees and whatnot has more cheese than the delicious cheese shop down the block, but still. Aww. I can't get mad about people apologizing for gay bullying because that's just a good example to be setting and we need more of that in the world. Don't ruin all my good will by putting in nine-minute Kurt solo musical ballads, though.
Apparently there are also grownups on this show. And they are all CRAZY. Maybe Will should have a t-shirt with the word "PSYCHOPATH" screened on it because what a creepy creepster! I mean, yes, anxiety disorders are bad. But fuck you and your poorly-orchestrated fake behavioral therapy! You don't have enough wrong in your own life? Yes, get the girl some help. It's called Real Therapy. It is not called Eating Unwashed Blueberries And Then Chewing Really Close To Her Face. No, that is gross, and it is something that only PSYCHOPATHS do. Seriously, does Will really think there's nothing wrong with him? This is where we could have used Sue around to make a good "Will's hair" joke. Even George Clooney has a butt chin.
After I write the plot recaps, I always have to go back and think, "So why did I think this was a good episode?" The plotlines were various, not particularly funny, but they made sense, for the most part, and I was able to follow easily. The songs were 83% good, which is incredibly high for this season of autotuned karaoke crap. And while there weren't a lot of one-line jokes, the over-all tone of the episode was happy, and celebratory, and made me happy. I like when Glee can get over itself and just be sincere, like Tina talking about how the lack of Asian role models in pop culture means she just has to be that for herself - and for other people who might look up to her. And I really like when they get back to the original structure of lesson/theme, songs sung in glee/in the hallways, intersecting plotlines. It's a method that Glee followed particularly well here, echoing some of the great past episodes. And though nostalgia wasn't enough to blur out the bad spots (that meeting with Kurt and Dave's dads went on for far longer than necessary), it did put me in a mood to receive the good with open arms.
I will be astounded if Glee manages to end this season in a way to get me looking forward to next season, but we'll see. My mind is open. There are ways it could be done, and ways it could fail. I'll root for them anyhow, just because I'm a sap.
"What does your girlfriend look like?"
"Maybe she needs it to crack hard seeds."
"People say that I smell like copper"
"I dominated in Western Wear and Runway but my real talent was baby pull-ups."
"Ok, if you're gonna be gay you simply MUST know who that is."
"LEBANESE"
Images via Daemons TV, Cool Media World, TV Guide
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