We’re back in Lima once again. After a loss at Nationals in New York, it seems New Directions hasn’t lost their direction yet – but in “The Purple Piano Project,” Glee as a whole may have.
Five minutes into Glee’s season three premiere, we’re already thrown into one crazy situation after another. One minute in and all the members are planning their departures from New Directions once this, their senior year, ends. A few minutes later, Will and Emma are inexplicably together in bed. Up until this point, the story is not totally unusual. Suddenly, Sue runs for congressional office, Quinn participates in some sort of Gothic cult, and Kurt tries to force Blaine into leaving the Warblers.
Which begs the question – Glee, what were you thinking?
It’s hard to decide whether the jumble of story lines in “The Purple Piano Project” really had any central meaning at all. While themes in past episodes of Glee had shaped the music, the story and the character developments, the purple pianos that served as the title of the episode did little to bring any focus to what was really a mess of reintroductions.
The writers made the case for the pianos representing the strength of the Glee club to overcome adversity, since – as Will Schuester mentioned – the pianos had been repossessed from foreclosed houses and were thus outcasts much like the club. But during the episode, many of the members leave or, in Santana’s case, are dropped from New Directions. So is his message really coming across at all?
It all appears to be a poorly executed set up for the rest of the season. As Ryan Murphy announced during Comic-Con 2011, many of the main characters will depart from the show, making way for a new cast. Though he made a concession for Finn, Rachel, and Kurt in a later statement, saying they would return despite leaving McKinley High, it still seemed characters were being expended and others having their plot lines written out for the integration of new Glee kids.
While the plot may have been written and executed hastily, the music was, as usual, the best part of watching the show. Even when the only tolerable dialogue comes from the mouth of Sue Sylvester, the music will always put Glee back in the right direction.
The Songs of “The Purple Piano Project”:
“We Got the Beat” – What is generally an uninspired song perfect for throwback ’80s parties was a pretty great performance on the part of New Directions. But this led to the necessary question – if they’re really this good, then why would their school still think they’re ridiculous?
“Ding-Dong! The Witch is Dead” – Not an obvious choice for Kurt and Rachel, especially when they are trying to impress other theater students, yet this was one of the more interesting numbers of the night.
“It’s Not Unusual” – If you believed Darren Criss couldn’t get any cooler than he was as Harry Potter in A Very Potter Musical, then his performance as Blaine doing the “Carlton” proved it’s possible.
“Anything Goes / Anything You Can Do” – Way better than the odd mash-ups of show tunes with modern pop songs, this was exactly what the Glee fan who loves Broadway would love.
“You Can’t Stop the Beat” – When the song began I worried the entire number would be turned down to a slow tempo. As it picked up, the Hairspray song took on its expected charm. Though a few verses were cut, it was nice to be reintroduced to a newer Broadway classic.