This week Mr. Schuester (ugh, I miss the episodes when Matthew Morrison was in Washington DC) had the group do a Beatles Week, which considering the moptop hairstyles being sported by Ryder and Sam (seriously-Chord Overstreet's bangs need to given National Landmark status they are so rocking) seemed wildly appropriate. The Beatles have such a diverse discography that you could probably do an entire season of just them (they've been done before, of course, with "Blackbird" by Kurt), but we got primarily the big hits and everything framed up nicely, even if none of these songs particularly "popped" for me in a way that would make me want to go out on iTunes and buy them.
The writers of the show did way too much foreshadowing in the opening scene, with Rachel trying out in a chemistry run for Funny Girl. Sure, she didn't get the part, but the fact that they cast actors who were too famous for two scenes and nothing more (Ioan Gruffudd and Twilight's Peter Facinelli) means that they will be back, and she's likely going to get the part. The entire New York section of this episode was really terrific, in my opinion, and far surpassed Ohio (this was my refrain for most of last year, and I'm sticking with it)-Lea Michele and Naya Rivera have terrific chemistry, and it was nice to see them working in a diner as "struggling actresses," even though shouldn't Rachel still be finishing her school year? There was no mention of college this week on her part.
We did get confirmation that at least one more Glee club member was headed to join the New York clique-Artie is destined for the Brooklyn Film Academy and apparently over the summer (I mean, past two weeks) has officially become romantically involved. Kitty was on fire this episode-I honestly dug everything about her: the popularity issues (you know a slushy is coming...), the snappy one-liners that are more biting than vicious, and the way that she, unlike Quinn, gets over her biggest issues when it comes to love fairly quickly. I mean, Ryan Murphy will almost certainly change everything about her come next week, but she'll still always be more interesting than Marley. Also worth noting, and I didn't realize until Kitty had pointed it out: Artie gets around. Tina, Brittany, and Sugar (where was Sugar-the mysteriously missing until there's a large dance scene member of the New Directions) all have dated him in the past-Artie may have dated more members of the Glee Club than anyone else except Puck.
I'd discuss Tina, but I'm so over this character. The persistent mood swings, hyper-bossiness, and constant revelations that she has changed, even when the next week she hasn't. Even in Glee world she's too much. And could the writers have been any more obvious about what is going to happen next week? We now have Blaine/Kurt, Artie/Kitty, Marley/Jake, and Tina/Sam set up for the Prom. Only Ryder and his catfisher Unique are left to be matched up as dates.
Speaking of Blaine/Kurt, I thought I would be more emotionally involved in their engagement, but I have to admit I wasn't, which is odd because their relationship has been one of my favorite parts of Glee. I mean, the engagement was cute, and the Kurt/Burt conversation was wonderful and anyone who gets proposed to in any fashion by Darren Criss is required by the laws of sense to say yes, but I just didn't buy it. They JUST got back together, they're only 18/19, and now they're suddenly engaged. I get that the writers are in the fifth season rut now-this isn't How I Met Your Mother, the show doesn't have another five seasons to resolve everything. But your early twenties shouldn't be about getting married. They're about finding yourself-a show can function without having everyone being happily ever after in the end. And I think that the show squandered a real opportunity to have the two of them date other people and then realize they're meant for each other. It's particularly vexing because Kurt/Blaine have been the most iconic gay relationship that Gen Y has had in their entertainment lives, and I just wish they had taken the time to fill it out a bit before they had them ride into the sunset.
That's where the show ended, but I can't end it there, because there's something that the writers are waiting to say that I'm not going to do. Even though his name was never spoken, yes, you could feel his presence. It was in the way that Lea Michele beautifully sang "Yesterday" (why he had to go, I don't know, he wouldn't say). It was in the speech Burt gave to Kurt about how we don't know how much time we have left and how life comes down to a few days. It was in how you knew that he would have been the final person Kurt hugged before he said yes to Blaine. Cory Monteith's missing presence was felt throughout the entire episode, and my gut says it'll be felt through the entire remainder of the series. A bittersweet note to end on, but sometimes life (and this show) does that.
What were your thoughts on the episode? Do you feel that they are appropriately handling Monteith's untimely death? Were you rooting for Kurt to say yes? Did you also notice Amber Riley on the stairs even though she never had any actual lines? Share in the comments!
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