I don't know that I've ever been as invested in the Will and Emma relationship as I was back during the first season, when I was certainly in anybody-but-pregnancy-faking-psychopath-Teri mode. There have been other good moments here and there since then, but I think I was ready for them to stop playing "will they, won't they" with the couple and have the wedding they were talking about this time last season.
On the other hand, Glee probably served up its greatest dose of realism in a long time by having things unfold the way they did. Will has been gone for what, three months now? And he left his OCD bride during that time to suffer the mental torture of planning the wedding on her own? Yeah, that certainly seems like something is seriously wrong in the relationship. Following through on that by having Emma run out on the wedding seems like a reasonable plot development when examined through that lens. (And it led to Jayma Mays and Amber Riley absolutely killing it on the song from the musical Company.)
There were other good developments this week too. They seem to have finally put the Tina-chasing-Blaine story to bed once and for all, so hooray for that. Seeing Ali Stroker from season 2 of The Glee Project turn up was a nice treat as well; while I definitely thought Blake was the best fit for Glee of those contestants, Ali certainly made a stronger impact than either of the "co-winners" from season 1. I hope they continue her story with Artie a bit and bring her back for another episode or two.
Other stories were a bit of a mixed bag. When it came to the Jake-Marley-Ryder story, the Cyrano tale has been done to death, and hanging a bell on it by referencing it directly on screen doesn't really save it. But while it was kind of boring on paper, it helped that it had some good acting. Blake Jenner was particularly strong as Ryder, showing in my opinion why he was the right pick to win The Glee Project.
But finally bringing Schu back to the show, only to barely feature him in his return episode? Huh? Santana and Quinn having a one-night hookup? Huh? Blaine and Kurt getting back together only for Kurt to insist they aren't back together? Huh? Sue in the duplicate wedding dress, willing to let someone with a mental disorder get caught in the crossfire of her revenge plan (despite the sensitivity she should have to such matters)? Huh? Rachel possibly pregnant, and in a way that's apparently setting us up for a who's-the-father storyline? Ugh.
The vocal performances themselves seemed quite strong to me this week, though nearly all the songs were presented (in whole or in large part) as "on stage" performances, which as always isn't my favorite thing. I still prefer the songs to be a bit more integrated, which is why my favorite moments were "Getting Married Today" (as I mentioned earlier) and the tale end of "We've Got Tonite."
I think all told, I'd call this episode a B. And apparently, that will have to tide Glee fans over for a couple weeks here until the next new installment.
No comments:
Post a Comment