I Am Unicorn

It took me a few days, but I finally caught up on the episode of Glee from earlier this week. And while I wouldn't really say it was "worth the wait," there was a lot about the episode I did enjoy.

In the plus column, it was an episode really long on plot and character. In fact, they only found time for three songs. (More on those in a bit.) I liked the storyline for Kurt, as it really did take him to a different place. He's basically been the person he is since we first met him, and has been accepting of that the entire time. Tormented at times, but still never really regretful. Now he's wishing for the first time to be some other way, and it's a sad but honest development for him. And he can't exactly go to his boyfriend for consolation, either; it looks like Blaine is going to be taking the lead role in West Side Story that Kurt wanted. (Another great scene between Kurt and the best father on television, by the way.)

The return of Rachel's mother created lots of interesting turmoil for Rachel, Puck, and Quinn, and it looks as though it's going to continue for a while. Good potential there, I think. Puck has shown a more caring and nurturing side on rare occasion before, and I like this avenue into a deeper character they're exploring right now.

But I'm mixed about Quinn's storyline here. Throughout the second season, nearly all the characters on Glee would radically change behavior from week to week in service of the plot. But Quinn was always the worst offender. So I suppose it's "consistent" for her to decide out of the blue that she wants to pursue custody of her daughter. Not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, I'm happy that her character has a clearly mapped out arc that could last for a while; on the other hand, I feel like there was still more mileage they could have gotten out of "Skank Quinn." The glee club accepted her back too quickly, too easily, it seemed to me, and I think the writers could have let her twist around a bit and spiral further downward before pulling together on her new mission.

So, about those musical numbers. Musically, I think Glee is pretty much at its worst when the songs are just presented American Idol-style, just plain singing on a stage. And all three pieces were like that. On the other hand, we got a powerhouse duet for Rachel and her mother, Kurt's flashiest number yet in his audition piece, and a kick-ass take on "Something's Coming" from Blaine to cap the hour. The vocal performances where all outstanding... I just wish they'd been a little more interesting in the context of the episode. (Well, okay, Kurt's scaffolding gymnastics could hardly be called boring.)

Overall, I'd say the sentiment in this episode landed fairly well, so I think I'd grade the episode a B.