Did You Know That Dolphins Are Just Gay Sharks?

Ok, I’ll admit it – I just downloaded Glee’s version of Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” to listen to while writing this.  For any of my friends reading this post who have had to sit through a dinner party where my husband insists on playing Lionel Ritchie on repeat, you know how much we love the guy!  But this was a great cover!!  In fact, I wasn’t really enjoying the return of Glee all that much before Jesse St. James showed up…but he is definitely the boost the show needs.  He’s talented.  He’s got charisma.  He’s got heart – performing impromptu concerts for the homeless.  And he out Rachels Rachel with all the power of a spotlight that requires sunblock.  Sure, he can’t pull of a v-neck black t-shirt with red belt to save his life…and he looks about 30 years old.  But he’s my new favourite for sure. It seems that he’s playing Rachel – but it’s not like Vocal Adrenaline really needs the edge, so my hunch (and my hope) is that he’s going to fall for our high maintenance diva in a way that will give us some of the great love ballad duets that Finn could never quite manage (seriously – listening to the song now on repeat and am *loving* Rachel’s low harmony…lovely!).  Perhaps it’s just because I’m a dork and I find few rooms as sexy as libraries, but it was nice to see a couple that actually had some chemistry for once on this show…and I think Rachel and Jesse have it.

Um, Sue Sylvester’s Vogue?  Yeah, that was pretty freaking awesome too!  I’m not sure I’ve ever realized how gorgeous Jane Lynch is – I mean, really stunning.  She’s a bit of a stiff dancer, but she was amazing in that video, simultaneously reminding us how amazing Madonna once was and, in my opinion, still is and always will be, while bringing her own brilliant flare to the scene.

Because let’s face it – the story last night wasn’t all that great.  We have a bunch of hook ups and break ups, culminating in the interesting possibility of Finn now wooing Rachel, and the immediate demise of Emma and Shu’s love (um, was it just me or was Shu a bit of a dick when she told him she was a virgin – way to make a girl feel bad about herself!).  We only got Terri for a minute, but the promise that she’ll be back to mess with Shu more.  I know everyone hates Terri, but I think she’s one of the best characters on the roster.  And we had very little character development on any other kid.  We had a brief allusion to the complexity of Kurt’s character when he said he answers the phone with, “no she’s dead, this is her son” – dead mother and a high pitched voice.  But that was about it.  In fact, it was Britney who really stole the show last night with her natural ditziness, which is why I had to quote her shark line for the title of this post.  Line after line, she delivered whimsical, quirky, nonsensical jokes that kept me laughing harder than any other character managed.

And of course, we were reminded that Mr. Shu’s advice is almost always bad.  He tells Finn to find his inner rock star while seeking his own leads him to cheat on his new girlfriend, while not yet divorced, with the Glee Club’s new enemy.  Sure, I agree Mr. Shu needs to find himself.  But screwing over the people he cares about is not the way to do that.

Finally, after all the complaining Kathryn and I did in the first half of the season about Glee being unable to decide what it wanted to be, I think it showed us last night.  As the camera panned out to the string section backing up Rachel and Jesse in the library, I realized – definitively – that she show was coming down on being ludicrous.  Hopefully it will feel the freedom of playing with that now, and not continually flirting with realism.  That type of crazy works when it has scenes like Sue’s Vogue…hopefully the Glee of the first 6 episodes really is back!

Posted by Natalie