Asian F

So, even though Glee just got started again, it's now taking a baseball-enforced three week hiatus. Lame. But it punched out with its strongest episode in a long time. Yeah! This episode continued this season's encouraging trend of presenting character-driven stories with plot developments that seem built to run for more than just one episode. And it was the best yet of the season.

Mike Chang has had quite a journey, from not even having dialogue, through not even having a name, to finally having some big moments in this installment. Even though his "tiger parent" storyline with his father moved rather fast in this episode, it still had enough space for some powerful moments. The scene with his mother was tender and true, and could hit home with just about anyone with any secret they've kept from their parents. Plus, finally Mike sings! Well! (But we'll get to that.)

Rachel and Mercedes have had diva-off plots before in the show, but this one was far more engaging. For one thing, it wasn't all wrapped up in a nice bow by the end of the episode. For another, Mercedes' inner queen didn't just materialize from nowhere this time, but was motivated by her new boyfriend. I wasn't sure what to make of her intermittent complaints of sickness -- it seems the writers are planning on a surprise pregnancy here, or otherwise aren't quite aware of how unsympathethic this makes the character look if it's not in that context. We'll see.

Kurt and Blaine just had one scene together this episode, but it was a great one. Blaine perfectly encapsulated my thoughts -- that Kurt "zigged" when he was expected to "zag." I was so sure that Kurt was going to have a full meltdown, first losing "his part" to his boyfriend, and now at risk of losing "his class presidency" to his friend. But it didn't happen this week. Instead, he focused on celebrating Blaine's moment. And there was some wonderful acting from Chris Colfer and Darren Criss in the scene, the moment where you could tell they wanted to share a kiss, but dare not risk it in public in school.

Rachel tossing her hat into the class president race seemed like maybe one thing too many for the character and the episode both, but I do like how it puts Finn in the middle between his girlfriend and his brother. That's a no win scenario for the poor guy, and it should be interesting to watch that play out.

Then there was Will and Emma, and Emma's crazy parents. On the one hand, "ginger supremacy" seemed like too preposterous a grab for laughs to believe even for one second. On the other, I have to concede that for a person to have become as thoroughly OCD as Emma, her parents would had to have been that strange to push her there. Maybe the ginger jokes were Sue-esque unrealism, but that tossed away line about tying young Emma's thumbs together was far more sinister. In any case, it all landed real enough for me to be moved by the episode's closing number.

Which seems like a good place to segue into talking about the music. After last week's "all auditions" episode, this week switched over to present more of my favorite style of Glee number, the half-reality/half-fantasy moments. The first two numbers (Mercedes' "Spotlight" and Brittany's "Run the World") both had an interesting blend of actual performance and glimpses into the characters' heads.

There was a dip back into audition mode. Rachel and Mercedes' dueling solo of "Out Here On My Own" was, I thought, the weakest number of the show. It was pure stage performance with little added resonance. The intercutting called to mind season one's far more poignant performance of "Defying Gravity" with Rachel and Kurt. It just didn't do it for me. But seeing Mike finally rock a solo with "Cool" from West Side Story? Alright, Glee, occasionally, I have to give you one like this.

"Fix You" was a strong capper to the episode. I'm not much for the breathy falsetto of Coldplay, but Matthew Morrison belted the song out with a bit more force, and the montage conclusion helped sell it.

But the best number of the night was "It's All Over." Hell, it was the best number in half a season or more. When Mercedes turned around and the music kicked in, I had a half second where I thought "oh crap, Dreamgirls again?" But it worked beautifully. The instant transition into a false reality where everyone in the cast lived the song as a ringer for a real argument, and the way in which the show never actually depicted that argument? It was perfect.

So basically, there was one weak song, a couple of easy jokes, and the unexplained and easy reacceptance of Santana into the glee club. Otherwise, a rock solid episode that did everything else right. I grade it an A-. Good note to pause on, Glee.