After spending an hour and a half in front of my television screen, I have one conclusion: Glee, you rocked tonight.
Even with the slightly melodramatic major plot points of Rachel considering having a rhinoplasty after Finn breaks her nose during glee practice, Quinn having her secret past life and real name revealed, Emma combating her OCD and Kurt returning to McKinley, “Born This Way” was a beautiful episode full of real-life sensibilities and a stellar soundtrack.
The music was scarce with only five performances and one slightly odd dance number, yet every single song was a winner.
Each piece of music was so amazing, in fact, that I feel obligated to share with you the highlight of the night:
To all those who are not already Glee fans, if this cover by Darren Criss (Blaine) of Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” does not convert you immediately, then this is a hopeless cause.
For the past few episodes of this season, I’ve been disheartened by how few songs I have subsequently rushed out to download. But tonight every song, even the Lady Gaga number that capped off the night, really sang (pardon the pun). The music producers managed to throw in mellow rock, showtunes, R&B and pop into one night of music and, somehow, it all made sense.
Maybe the real culprit for its success was the theme of the evening, accepting who you are. “Born This Way” was packed with an emotional punch that up until now has been pretty absent in the fairly trivial plots that Glee has had to offer us.
It’s almost as though when Glee doesn’t try so hard to be funny and clever, it can actually be great. Even the seemingly false parts of the story (i.e. Quinn actually being “Lucy Caboosey”), there was an element of truth to the story in symbolizing the many cases of lack of self-confidence that occur in the lives of teens that are deemed overweight by societal standards.
The moment of the night that really sealed the deal for me was when Finn, out of nowhere, blurts out “Rachel, please don’t do this, you’re beautiful.” Is it not every girl’s dream to have someone say that to her, especially when she is at her most vulnerable?
One weird moment that in any other episode would have bothered me even more was the “Barbra Streisand” dance number. If there is any explanation of that performance, I would love to be informed.
My only concern after this episode is, with Kurt leaving the Warblers to return to the New Directions, does this spell a forthcoming end to the Blurt Romance? I’m not ready to see Darren Criss leave Glee yet, so I can only hope not.
There are many times that Glee just hasn’t done “it” right. When the story drags or the music fails, when the comedy is dry or the characters are slightly inane, it’s easy to lose faith in the show. But on nights like these, it is even easier to understand why everyone loves it so much. Because it is just that good.