Choke

On past occasions, Glee has boldly ventured into "very special episode" territory, tackling serious subjects and offering more direct social commentary. Usually, I feel like they pull it off delicately and tastefully. This time, I thought the result was not quite as successful.

This episode about domestic violence was well intentioned, but a couple of choices made it tough to swallow. The first problem was putting Coach Bieste and Cooter at the heart of the story. Certainly, I accept that even a woman who appears outwardly strong could be a victim. I also accept that to other people, there might be no outward sign of the behavioral problems.

But I think you can't also hoodwink us the viewers right along with the other characters. The last time we saw Cooter, he was still dating Sue. The wedding didn't even take place on screen. And there wasn't a hint of any darker side to his character. Why? Because, as is often the unfortunate case on Glee, the writers warp the characters to fit the story they want to tell in a given week. There's rarely consistency or continuity. Continuity, for example, that might have had Sue acknowledge somewhere in the midst of tonight's episode that she too had had a relationship with Cooter.

The second problem came in the extremely mixed message the overall story path took. It all kicked off with Santana making an inappropriate joke about domestic violence, and the teachers laying into all the girls about it: that's not a subject to joke about. But then, as it turns out, that led to the sequence of events that made Bieste actually confess her situation. Without the inappropriate joke, the truth would have never come to light! So apparently, inappropriate jokes save lives. Hmmm. I will give credit though to the more realistic ending to the story. Bieste in fact did not leave her abusive husband -- which is really what happens in most real life situations.

Speaking of unhappy endings, the two other plot lines in the episode also came to dark conclusions. (Well, except for Kurt, anyway.) Puck set his mind on not becoming a burnout like his dad... but too late to really do anything about it. So -- again, realistically -- he could not pass his required test, and it now appears he won't be graduating. We'll see if a twist happens there to change things... or if this is just part of a plan to keep him in the high school another year.

Lastly, there was the moment which gave the episode its name, Rachel choking in her NYADA audition. It's certainly a powerful moment for the character that could have some interesting fallout. But my concern is that there's really not enough season left to give appropriate space to all the dark storylines currently in play -- not just this week, but already in play before tonight. I guess we'll see.

The music this week was a mixed bag. The girls' "Cell Block Tango" was strong -- and yet the staging was completely cloned from the film version of Chicago. Kurt did indeed do a solid "Not the Boy Next Door," but my least favorite moments on Glee are usually the moments where a character really does just get up on stage and perform. Watching the monotonous "The Rain in Spain" made me never want to see My Fair Lady. The full-blown production of "School's Out" and the stripped down rendition of "Shake It Out" were pretty entertaining, though.

I suppose I should mention the cameo by Whoopi Goldberg... but I really don't know what to say other than "look, it's Whoopi Goldberg."

Overall, I'd give this one a B-. Some strong ideas in this episode, but not the strongest execution.