I for one am thrilled with this development. Without the Macguffin of prepping for competition, the show can make time for other stories. Without the need to produce "Regionals" and "Nationals" episodes stuffed full of stage performances, the show can focus on songs that have more emotional weight behind them.
Ironically enough, we got both elements tonight, with half the episode's songs being stage performances... but crammed-to-bursting with emotional context for the characters of Rachel and Kurt. Rachel finally got her moment to shine after being beaten down in her first semester of NYADA, while Kurt got his second chance to audition for entry... and nailed it.
As their fortunes rose, fortunes plummeted for the gang back in Ohio. Kicked out of its own choir room, the Glee club scattered to other activities, as Finn and Marley in particular struggled with feeling responsible. While I'm glad the episode put enough time into the Rachel/Kurt storyline to make it land effectively, that did cost time that might have been used to explore Finn and Marley's sense of loss here. Or the sense of responsibility Kitty ought to feel in all this. But perhaps that's still to come. I mean, glee club is literally not going anywhere for the rest of the school year, right? I guess I'm just saying that the immediate fallout of the moment was glossed over a bit too quickly; Schu and Santana appeared only for half a minute each, while all the other characters who were around last episode -- Quinn, Puck, Mercedes, Mike -- all just vanished without a trace.
Further crowding out that aspect of the plot was the developing romance between Sam and Brittany. I enjoyed how a lot of the dialogue seemed pitched straight at the audience, anticipating the backlash of Brittany moving into the relationship. Still, I would rather have seen this all put on hold to deal with the more immediate story.
In any case, the song performances were pretty solid. The duet between Sam and Brittany was solid, with their voices blending well in the harmonies. The very Fosse-like treatment of "All That Jazz" was entertaining. I've already mentioned how the trio of songs on the NYADA stage were well-informed by the emotions of the characters.
And then there was the finale. This episode cheated its way into my heart, perhaps, with the selection of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over." This has always been one of my very favorite songs. The lyrics and even the music itself do this perfect dance back and forth between melancholy and hopefulness. I've always felt that, depending on the circumstances, the song can bring a tear to your eye or a smile to your face. Or both. And Glee served up a nice version of it too, not radically altering the original arrangement, while not performing it as a straight cover either. For me, it was an instant Glee favorite.
Despite the episode being a bit crowded, the elements that were given space to breathe landed strongly. All told, I'd give it an A-.
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