Tonight's new Glee episode had some good story pieces working in it, but as is often the case with a "tribute episode" centered around an artist or theme, there were a few too many songs in the hour to give sufficient space to those stories.I'll start with the one plot line that did actually feel most "cooked" and fully presented, that involving the new guest character of Wade. He was played by the last of the four finalists from The Glee Project, and though his arrival in the mix was rather abrupt, his short journey and resounding triumph of unleashing the true woman inside him was a positive and uplifting tale.
The ongoing saga of Finn and Rachel has been running all season, so it may not seem right to characterize its treatment tonight as congested... and yet it was abrupt for Finn to decide that what he really wants is to be an actor. He's had a few tastes of it over the course of the series, after all (most significantly in The Rocky Horror episode last year), but never showed any hint that he cared about it as much as football or the glee club. Shrug.
Mercedes and Sam had what could have been a really nice story in a less stuffed episode. It was certainly sweet to see Sam doing all he could for Mercedes -- and also nice that "all he could do" was, realistically, put a video on YouTube. (As opposed to, say, magically conjuring up an L.A. record exec ready to produce her album.) These two have a more interesting relationship to me than Finn and Rachel, and so I feel it's a shame we didn't get to see more of it.
Lastly, there was Santana's desire for fame. This storyline was good for seeing another likeable couple get screen time, and for the return of more wonderfully dopey Brittany lines. (But don't knock stupid. Apparently, stupid can train a cat to do household chores. Wouldn't that be nice?) But the problems with this story were playing moments for comedy that really should have serious implications if you actually think about them. (Brittany posting a sex video?!) Plus, it was all eventually revealed that all that middle material was for nothing; there was apparently a full ride scholarship for Santana already set up by Brittany waiting in Sue's desk drawer anyway.
So... the music. This was a rare case of an episode where the performances that were supposed to be so amazing really were the best ones in the hour. I'm talking about Mercedes' "Disco Inferno" (which was supposed to be on its way to becoming a minor YouTube sensation), and Wade/Unique's "Boogie Shoes" with Vocal Adrenaline (which was supposed to be so good that it would bring a whole auditorium of people to their feet). In both cases, I found it believable that yes, the performances were that good. "Disco Inferno" felt even more high-octane to me than the original recording, and Unique sold not only the energy of the song, but I thought also the fact that, "yup, this person was meant to be a woman."
Next to those two numbers, not many of the rest could stack up. The episode opener, "You Should Be Dancing" had some nice choreography, as did the closing "Stayin' Alive." Those were also songs where guys weren't forced to mimic the only-a-Gibb-can-or-should-do-this falsetto stylings of the Bee Gees; guys were allowed to sing in a more reasonable register, and women were also used to complete the harmonies. The Bee Gees imitations on "Night Fever" and "More Than a Woman", on the other hand, really didn't do it for me. And "If I Can't Have You" and "How Deep Is Your Love" are two songs I find too trite and/or boring in general to enjoy them much here on the show.
Overall, I'd say the hour came together pretty well for a theme episode, but still was probably just "alright" in the bigger scheme. I'd rate it a B.
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