“Watch Glee,” they said. “It’s a fun show about singing,” they said. Haha, nope. At least not last night’s episode of Glee, their last before a month-long hiatus. The episode was ominously titled "The Break Up," and you can guess what that meant for the subject matter. What it meant for me was eating a dinner full of comfort food beforehand and keeping a box of tissues nearby.
As any Glee fan knows, the show has a few main couples, most of which are in long distance relationships. Rachel and Finn, Kurt and Blaine, Santana and Brittany, plus McKinley residents Will and Emma and the newbies Kitty and Jake. Or as Glee likes to refer to them using delightful portmanteaus: Finchel, Klaine, Brittana, Wemma, and well, Kitty and Jake never got a nickname.
In fact, before delving into the real plotlines of the episode, I’ll get this out of the way: Kitty, the leader of a Left Behind club at McKinley who spends her time being closed-minded and insulting people, was dating Jake the enigmatic “bad boy.” Until Marley, the sweet new girl, made Jake face the fact that Kitty is a grade A bitch. Thankfully the title of this episode included Kitty and Jake in it’s break up toll. But they weren’t the only couple on the chopping block.
The real plot of the episode followed Finn and Blaine each surprising their significant other in New York where some hard truths come out, while back in Lima both Brittana and Wemma are feeling some growing pains.
In New York, Finn is feeling down on himself since he was semi-dishonorably discharged from the army for accidently shooting himself. He sees Rachel in her new life, with her new “friend” Brody, and gets more depressed and distant. As for Blaine, he’s been feeling neglected and ignored by Kurt, who’s been busy with his new job. The foursome go to a NYADA karaoke bar where Rachel sings a duet with Brody (which upsets Finn despite it being his idea), and Blaine gives the most emotional performance I’ve ever seen on Glee. He sang an acoustic piano version of "Teenage Dream," the song he originally sang almost two years ago when he first met Kurt, the “love of [his] life.” But Blaine breaks down while singing, cluing Kurt in to something being wrong. While Finn lashes out at Rachel for getting close to Brody, Blaine admits a terrible truth: in his loneliness he hooked up with another man. Both couples awkwardly share beds without speaking to each other, and Finn and Blaine sneak off in the morning to go back to Ohio.
In Lima, Santana has come to visit Brittany, but found that her girlfriend is angry for being “left behind.” This episode had some of the sweetest moments between the girls, but despite their obvious love for each other, Santana realized it just wouldn’t be enough. Knowing that distance is tough and most couples don’t make it (either “someone cheats or things get weird,” wherein Santana summarizes Klaine and Finchel’s problems), Santana makes the “mature” decision and they also break up. Thus "The Break Up" takes another victim.
Finally, there are Will and Emma. Will got a job lobbying for arts funding in D.C., but he wants Emma to come with him. Of course, she has a job and a life in Lima and doesn’t want to follow him around like a puppy. She stands up for herself and he gets upset, proving once again that Schue is kind of an idiot.
In the end, Finn is back in Ohio and a distraught Rachel flies home to talk to him since he won’t answer his phone. She admits to loving him still but being deservedly angry with him for how he’s treated her. He’s still feeling lost and aimless, but she makes the best decision for herself and for him right now, and they break up, the final victims of the episode.
In the end, three couples met their end last night, while Wemma is still on the rocks and Klaine are not talking. And after this most dramatic (and very well-acted) episode, we have to wait until November to see what happens next. Oh, and on a lighter note, McKinley’s fall musical this year will be Grease!
Performances:
"Barely Breathing"- Blaine and Finn
Finn didn’t sound great in this song, he was a bit flat and boring, and the switching between the NYADA dance room and McKinley was awkward, though Blaine’s imagining Kurt (in the clothes he met him in) in the auditorium was perfect. C+
"Give Your Heart a Break"- Rachel and Brody
Rachel always sounds great, and though you didn’t hear a lot of Brody, he was good with her. But the constant flashes to an upset Finn were distracting and annoying. B-
"Teenage Dream (acoustic version)"- Blaine
Blaine cried and I cried. This is Darren Criss’ own arrangement that he does in concerts and it has always been powerful, but with Blaine’s emotions behind it, it was heartwrenching. A
"Don’t Speak"- Finn, Rachel, Kurt, Blaine
Everyone sounded perfect and though it was awkward when they weren’t looking at each other, the tension and heartbreak were palpable. A-
"Mine"- Santana
Perfect singing and perfect acting. It was a sweet moment full of emotion and it made it hurt even more when Brittana broke up moments later. A+
"The Scientist"- Finn, Rachel, Blaine, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Will, Emma
Again, everyone sounded amazing together. Turning this into an 8-part seemed odd, but worked so well in the context of the show. With minimal lighting, a theatrical presentation and lots of flashbacks to happier times, this number actually made me cry. A+