Feud

Glee returned to form this week... that classic form where the behavior of the characters stretch to fit the needs of the plot that works with the songs they've licensed. This week's theme was feuds, and they needed to manufacture enough to fill out an hour.

Suddenly, Ryder -- who has interacted with Unique for months without any problems -- is uncomfortable with her transgender identity. Suddenly, Sue needs Blaine to pick up his commitment to the Cheerios -- despite acknowledging that she's let his absence go for months. At least the episode was rounded out with two feuds that had been brewing for an episode or two: Finn and Schu, and Santana and Brody.

The feuds weren't the only story lines revolving in and out of the show. Hello, Ryder's mysterious online girlfriend. Goodbye, Rachel's brief pregnancy scare. Hello, Brody the escort. MIA: Emma and Brittany. The result of all this was a bit of a jumbled mess.

But the performances were pretty strong all around. The choreographed dance of the escorts for "How to Be a Heartbreaker" made for a strong opening. Santana's performance of "Cold Hearted" really was (as she claimed) one of the best things NYADA had seen. Jane Lynch tore it up performing Nikki Minaj in one of her rare musical performances. Even the N'Sync/Backstreet Boys mash-up was fun to watch (though the songs of two 90s boy bands made it absolutely impossible to take the emotional context of Finn and Schu's dispute seriously).

So, what to make of it? In my book, I'd say a B-. I really do hate when Glee throws character consistency to the wind, but I have to acknowledge that at least they did some fun things this week.