Was in production necessity or narrative necessity to have Schu sick off-camera this week? Was Matthew Morrison only contracted for half the episodes this year, and his long absence at the middle of the year wasn't quite long enough? Or was it that Schu would never have come up with the "guilty pleasures" theme week, having essentially already done the same lesson, songs with a "bad reputation," back in season one? (I suspect the latter, hence why two characters who weren't around in season one were the ones to come up with it.)
If Schu was going to be out for the week, why not bring in one of the established guest star teachers who have taught a glee club? Sure, on any given week, you might not be able to get Gwyneth Paltrow, Idina Menzel, or Ricky Martin to guest star. But were none of them free this week?
Then there was the song selection. Is it even possible to have a guilty pleasure song from before you were born? Or even from before you were, say, five years old or so? Isn't the whole premise of a guilty pleasure song, "I used to like this (at a time when everybody used to like this), but I'm ashamed to admit it now"? For a bunch of teenage students, I could maybe see the premise being "I'm ashamed to admit I like this song my parents like," except wouldn't the reaction of a fellow student probably be "I've never even heard of that song?" (I know, I know, why am I questioning the encyclopedic musical knowledge of the kids now, after all this time?)
How is Sam mocking Tina for her impossible crush on Blaine at the top of the hour, but sweetly comforting Blaine for his impossible crush on himself at the end of the hour?
Who the hell thought the lonely stalker vibe of "Creep" would make a good duet? (Not to mention that, transposed into a higher key as it was, it actually sounded downright cheerful!)
Some of the songs this week had a nice toe-tapping quality to them. And there was that brilliant quick cutaway to the glee band's drummer, who seemed bored to tears playing "Wannabe" in the choir room. There was even a particularly interesting plot thread, but it was given disappointingly short treatment: I think it's a very compelling question, whether it's okay to support the work of an artist when the artist himself is reprehensible. (I was just having the very discussion in the last week or two, in regards to writer Orson Scott Card.)
Like I said, a bit of a mess this week, Glee. I give it a D+.
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