Pot O' Gold

It's been three long weeks since the last new episode of Glee. At least the episode we got tonight was a pretty good one, continuing this third season's trend of character-focused stories. But there were several rough spots.

The story of the rival Glee club continued, with Santana and Brittany switching over before the end of the episode. Santana had such a full head of steam going that I did sort of question that she'd accept going from "singing backup for Rachel" to "singing backup for Mercedes," but I'm willing to just roll with it and say that she's just being rebellious and maybe doesn't quite know what she wants.

The Sue-for-Congress storyline continued. Sue remained a step or two on the wrong side of the cartoonish line for my tastes. But the storyline as a whole took a big step up when Burt stepped in to run against her. Once again, Burt Hummel -- best father on television. Sure, seeing him stand up to Sue was fun, and his speech to the family near the end was sweet too. But the most winning moment was when he thanked Schu (and his glee club) for saving his son's life. Maybe literally; Burt clearly believed that in his heart. Mike O'Malley, once again knocking it out of the park with his acting.

Then there was the plot introducing the new exchange student Rory, played by Glee Project winner Damian McGinty. This is the second Glee Project contestant to appear on the show, and the writers continue to do a good job with them. I didn't watch more than a few minutes of The Glee Project, and I didn't actually know until after the first episode that one of those guest stars had been culled from that group. Here, the promotion was so heavy that I knew well in advance, but I feel like it was still very natural -- like the writers were naturally just looking for a replacement for Sam. He seems like he could be a good addition to the mix.

But I have the most to say about the Quinn-Puck-Shelby storyline. I'm really torn about it. On the one hand, I'm happy that the writers have decided to plant their flag on a hill -- any hill -- and continue consistent character behavior over the course of several episodes (something they really struggled with in season two). On the other hand, I'm really hating all the characters involved right at the moment.

Quinn's attempt to jam up Shelby with Child Services was so far over the line that I'm not sure what her character can do to be redeemed in my eyes now. It's not that I don't believe she would do it. Indeed, there have been a few people in my life (and that's a few too many) that got screwed over in a custody battle because the person fighting on the other side made up complete falsehoods and got a court to believe them. So yes, people that behave as Quinn has behaved do exist. And they are villains. Period.

So then there's Shelby, who at the close of the episode is kissing a high school boy literally young enough to be her son -- Puck is in the same grade as her daughter. Ick. Unless the next episode shows Shelby instantly realizing what a horrible impulse that was and trying to set things right, she's pretty far gone as a character too.

As for Puck, the him-bo caught between the two of them? How is it that "stupid" can be so lovable on Brittany and so not on him? His character isn't looking great either in all this.

How about the music tonight?

Well, I've always had a soft spot for "Bein' Green," and it was a great song to introduce the new character. Solid vocal performance too. I liked it worlds more than the song they gave him for the end of the episode, "Take Care of Yourself."

They sent Blaine back to the Katy Perry well for "Last Friday Night," and it was hardly the sensation that last season's "Teenage Dream" was. It felt like what it was -- an overly mechanical way for the writers to drive Santana out of the glee club, though the vocal performance was strong enough (as it usually is for Darren Criss).

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" was a good choice for Puck, though the simple presentation (while appropriate) didn't really give him a chance to shine.

As for the newly minted "Troubletones?" Well, they did indeed rock their version of "Candyman." Oftentimes on Glee, when one or more characters are having an "oh my God, they're so good" reaction to another character's vocal performance, I don't usually buy it. (See Rory's finale in this very episode.) But here, when Finn and Schu looked on in shock at their new rivals, I bought it. The girls brought it.

It's really hard to overlook the damage done to Quinn and Shelby's characters here and put the whole episode into a fair context, but I figure I'll call this episode around a B. I guess that's how much goodwill you can buy from me with a good scene with Kurt's dad. (Is there any other kind?)