There’s a way that Glee presents itself – with its yellow advertisement interstitials and its hand in the shape of an “L” gimmick – always seems happy-go-lucky and almost sickeningly peppy. Sometimes, this is an accurate portrayal of a frilly story presentation in a show that tries to be about real teens but ends up being about teens who sing and dance and make a cappella arrangements at the drop of a hat.
That’s why “Choke” was a standout episode. Instead of pulling out the favorite Glee manipulations like the “oh, let’s mix-up the rules for competition so that two groups win, including the New Directions and the Warblers,” it took on real emotions and real characterizations that, although they weren’t all as successful, were an honest attempt at bringing real world messages to the table.
A lot of characters are facing their own important life developments, and for many we’re left with open-ended answers. In Puck’s case, this comes in the form of an enhanced effort to pass a geography test in the hopes of graduating with the rest of his class. For Coach Beiste, this is an insight into her relationship with her husband; a relationship that is very unhealthy and has her escaping the marriage. And finally, there’s Rachel who must confront the loss of her opportunity to study at NYADA.
The first two storylines, however significant and well-developed they were, were not particularly relevant to me. Nevertheless, they brought new dimensions to characters that we hadn’t seen in previous episodes. We learned that Puck actually can have the ambition and the drive to do well in school. We learned that Coach Beiste’s relationship with Cooter was not what it seemed. That was perhaps the most disappointing revelation of the episode.
Glee tries desperately to confront our expectations, and in the case of Beiste’s story, this was a way of reflecting back at the show itself, saying that first appearances are not always what they’re cracked up to be. We thought the relationship between the coach and her now-husband would be nothing but sunshine and daisies.
But just like Puck thwarted our notion that he was an unfixable bonehead and just like Rachel proved that she is not infallible, even in the theater, the relationship between the two adult characters degenerated into something unexpected.
More than any other plot line, though, Rachel’s “choke” in front of Carmen Tibideaux (Whoopi Goldberg) at her NYADA audition hit me incredibly hard. Having experienced a similar trauma, the experience of screwing up lyrics in an audition is one of the most terrifying and painful experiences that there is. While it’s certainly incomparable to physical abuse from a spouse or failing high school and being unable to graduate, it carries an emotional weight that is palpable.
Despite Rachel’s story being the least depressing, it came out the most touching. Maybe it’s also a function of our following her for the first two seasons of the show and into the third as she went on this journey toward becoming an actress. Seeing her stumble is like watching our dreams for her character crumble before our eyes.
It’s when Glee inspires this kind of emotion and reflection in its viewers that it does something exceedingly right. If melodramatics play in favor of advancing the story, then this show can put on whatever happy façade it wants, it will end the day making an interesting statement as well. Even if it is just about failing an audition.
The Songs of “Choke”:
“The Music of the Night” – The best moment in relation to this song was when Rachel reassured Kurt prior to his NYADA audition that no one could sing this song better than he could. “Even Michael Crawford?” he responded. Kurt may not sing as well as the man who originated the Phantom on Broadway, but he certainly does a beautiful job anyway. Too bad it was abridged for the show’s sake.
“School’s Out” – This performance was quite a spectacle, but as for vocals or performance it wasn’t much of a stand out number. How many times can the Cheerios come out and shake their slightly-too-short skirts before we tire of them? Once, in my opinion, and it happened a long time ago.
“Cell Block Tango” – Having already loved this song, it was hard not to appreciate the rendition. It was cut short, and the dialogue portions were a little strange with muted ambient noise, but it was still a great Broadway number to share with Glee audiences.
“Not the Boy Next Door” – This turned out to be one of the best performances in the show overall. It was a simple, but interesting song and dance number that made me anxious to go find The Boy From Oz soundtrack. No wonder Kurt seems to have impressed Carmen Tibideaux with it at his NYADA audition.
“Don’t Rain On My Parade” – While this doesn’t necessarily count as a song in the show since it was only done in a couple of short snippets, it did carry the story forward a lot with its accompanying plot. Rachel’s stumble over the lyrics was especially hard to deal with since we’ve all heard her perform this song so beautifully in past episodes.
“The Rain in Spain” – I don’t understand the desire to convert fine and simple Broadway numbers into rock anthems. This was strange and it was not that interesting.
“Shake it Out” – Like “Don’t Rain on My Parade,” this was a good accompaniment to a heart-wrenching storyline for the poor Coach Beiste dealing with the breakup of what seemed like a wonderful relationship between her and her husband. One of the better, more emotional parts of the shows and a great song to go along with it.
“Cry” – To top off all the pain of Rachel’s mess-up at NYADA, this song really cemented the significance of the loss for her character. Great rendition as always by Rachel, but still hard to stomach.