Everybody's Linking for the Weekend

This week was a really productive one for me personally, and that's only partially because I just spent a lot of money filling some gaps in my movie and book collections (The Simpsons article I did yesterday scared the crap out of me and I wanted to make sure I owned the same editions of all of the Gore Vidal' Narratives of History books).  However, now it's time to see what I wasn't productive enough to look into this week in the world of links.  Shall we?

On Entertainment...

Madonna

-The Cannes Film Festival lineup was announced this past week, and we saw a bevy of the world's finest filmmakers on the list to compete for the Palme d'Or (essentially the Nobel Prize of Film).  Todd Haynes' Carol, Gus van Sant's The Sea of Trees, Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, and Justin Kurzel's Macbeth were amongst the biggest films on the list, though it's Cannes so that doesn't mean that they're going to win, exactly (last year it went to Winter Sleep, a film most people weren't familiar with prior to attending).  Also screening there, though not as part of the competition, are George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, Woody Allen's Irrational Man, and the latest Pixar film Inside Out.  Finally, it's worth noting that Marion Cotillard, who has famously competed for Best Actress (and lost) the past three years in a row, is back again with Macbeth, though she'll face competition from the likes of Cate Blanchett, Emily Blunt, and Italian superstar Margherita Buy.

-The Daily Beast had a marvelously articulate article about Madonna's re-emergence to promote her new album Rebel Heart.  The article is spot-on (and includes a FANTASTIC dig against Piers Morgan, so it's worth the click just for that), and really brings up some great comparisons to men like Richard Gere and Harrison Ford who "remained sexy" into their 50's but how only women like Helen Mirren, who simply wink at their sexuality, are allowed to remain sexually viable past fifty.  Madonna of course isn't going to acquiesce to critics, but it's really sad because there's likely great music by former female superstars that just lies dormant because of this sexist attitude (U2, Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones continued to put out great records well past their "sexual prime," after all).  And speaking of women that constantly are abused by the media for daring to defy beauty standards, Sarah Jessica Parker will be returning to HBO, which is a welcome sign for anyone who recognized the genius of Sex and the City and why Carrie Bradshaw deserves to stand alongside Tony Soprano, Walter White, and Don Draper in the anti-hero pantheon.

-Sofia Vergara is involved in one of the stranger celebrity stories of the week, with her ex-boyfriend Nick Loeb suing her to stop destruction of two embryos they created through in-vitro fertilization before they broke up.  The case itself is actually quite intriguing from a legal perspective (who owns the rights to the embryos in this case, and where does it stand in the abortion legal lexicon?).  Throw in Vergara's celebrity and you have what may end up being a front-page news story for a while.

On Politics...

Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ)

-I will admit to not usually enjoying Chris Cillizza, who leans a bit too hard right in his columns for my taste, but he's got a fascinating look at Gov. Chris Christie's depleted role in the 2016 race and whether or not he missed his moment to be president in 2012.  History is so much more intriguing in hindsight, but I think even at the time it felt like Christie was giving up a prime opportunity to be president.  This is true of others-Hillary Clinton/Al Gore in 2004, Al Gore/Mario Cuomo in 1992, Ted Kennedy in 1976, where the candidate may have had their best shot and missed it (and with the exception potentially of Clinton, none of them got to be president).  Christie could well end up pulling something like John McCain did in 2008 (an article for a different day), but that seems unlikely-at this point only a guy who likes long odds would bet on him resurrecting his political career.

-President Obama will visit South Dakota in May, giving the Mount Rushmore State the honor of being his fiftieth state visit.  I love this both because I think that president's should make a point of reaching out to states that aren't necessarily large or favorable to their party (like it or not, Barack Obama is the president for all Americans), and also because I love presidential trivia.  Obama will become the fourth president to visit all fifty states while in office, with Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton being the other three (President George W. Bush missed only Vermont, which was probably because there was a movement in the state to impeach him at the time).

-Proving that he is definitely running a long game election, Gov. Jeb Bush came out in favor of a confirmation on Loretta Lynch.  I know that Sen. Mitch McConell is trying to play hard ball here, but it's not really working-Lynch is about as non-controversial as a federal appointment can get, and it feels like they are denying a position, rather than a person (they should have gone for a federal judge with some skeletons in the closet instead to make this point).  I also loved the joke Jeb made about trying to prove that his candidacy isn't just breaking a tie with the Adams' family (the only other father-son presidential pair), even if it might hint at the insularity of the White House.  In fact, my only qualm with Jeb this week was his jab at Hillary Clinton for going to Chipotle.  Republicans-stop talking about Hillary at Chipotle.  It's idiotic, makes you look idiotic, and, also, everyone loves Chipotle.  It's not a winnable fight.

-Sen. Heidi Heitkamp owns the internet...and is decidedly Team Stark.

Shameless Self-Promotion of the Week...

-Can someone go back in time and greenlight this movie?

YouTube Video of the Week...

-Human perfection Christina Bianco recreates the classic "Get Happy/Happy Days" performance made immortal by Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand (Christina of course does both voices splendidly).

Just One More...

-If any of my readers live in Los Feliz, can you please go to this restaurant so that this trend starts to hit the rest of the country, because churro ice cream sandwiches are something I need in my person immediately.

John's Favorite Shows #9: Sex and the City

During the month of April...and now part of May, I'll be doing a rundown of my favorite television shows of all time.  If you've missed any of them, check out the links at the bottom of this post for all of the past roundups.

There are shows on this list that probably would have mattered to me at any age.  John at thirteen shouldn't have been watching Game of Thrones, but I think the epic battles and grandeur of the series would have always appealed to me.  And then there are shows that are here because I came across them at a very specific time of my life.

I have always had a number of passions in my life, but surely one of the most heartfelt and romanticized is my vision of the city of New York.  I didn't actually go to New York for the first time until I was 26.  I, had, however, loved the city for almost my entire life.  I used to memorize the neighborhoods of Manhattan in a map I had found and randomly imagine what I would be doing on a Saturday night, looking at my small town bedroom and picturing myself on Broadway or the streetlight-soaked fountains at Lincoln Center.  It had everything, and yet, when I was in college, and adulthood came upon me, I needed something a little more tangible.  Not actually having the funds to visit New York, Sex and the City became the next best thing.

Sex and the City has been criticized for being unrealistic both in the ways that it depicted the city (I'm well aware that Carrie couldn't have actually afforded that lifestyle) and the way that it depicted romantic relationships, but for those who don't take things quite so literally, there was an overwhelming amount of truth in the show.  You can see the struggles with career, friendship, dreams, and love all on display there, particularly for someone who wasn't married (or "married") like all of my friends.  There was something very magical about everything in that series.  I did indeed get to experience some of the highs and lows of what that show presented my life to be, and I did indeed get to have my dream of living in New York City, and because it came along so fully to me in late teens and early twenties, Sex and the City will always be a nostalgic joy for me.  Here's a look at my ten favorite episodes:

10. "Four Women and a Funeral" (#2.5)

For me, part of what the appeal of Sex and the City is now, ten years after I started watching the series, is both seeing where my life went after the series (and what characters in that moment I ended up connecting with-for the most part I turned into a Miranda/Charlotte hybrid), as well as enjoying the episode itself.  Here there's a combination-I love the looks that Miranda gets in this episode as she has to keep explaining while apartment shopping that it's "just her:" how often in your single life do you have to explain that you're out doing something by yourself, and you get a look of pity and confusion?  This show is oddly spot-on in dissecting single life in a way that few other shows could ever hope to do (I love Friends to death, but it's hardly what you would consider realistic in how people address hardship).  And then there's the deliciously funny way that Samantha goes through this episode, a social pariah after accidentally sleeping with a married man, only to be saved by Leonardo DiCaprio.

9. "Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda" (#4.11)

I don't know if this became part of the national lexicon after this episode or if it had already been there, but for me, this phrase would forever be linked with a slight head turn and Samantha's condolence/disapproving look.  This is one of those rare episodes where there are actual fights between the girls over a serious topic (whether or not Miranda should have an abortion), and a legitimate look at the pro-choice argument and what Miranda/Carrie think when addressed with it face on (we learn that both Carrie and Samantha have had abortions in the past, in a topic rarely discussed on television even today, despite the monumental Maude episode being decades old now).  A touching look into Miranda's inner checklist and Charlotte's dread that hers won't be fulfilled.

8. "Are We Sluts?" (#3.6)

Carrie's storyline is probably what gets this here-I love the spot-on self-doubt that she gets when Aidan doesn't rush to sleep with her, and the shock that he genuinely wants to get to know her before having sex.  As I got older, I moved slowly into the Team Aidan camp, though I realized that's more projecting (Big was better for Carrie, Aidan was better for almost every single viewer watching in their own lives, including myself), and this was probably one of the tipping points: Aidan was a truly great guy.  The three side stories when Carrie is the focus were occasionally hit-or-miss, but I genuinely loved all three in this particular episode: Charlotte having to confront her more-promiscuous-than-she'd-admit sex life, Samantha getting chastised by her neighbors over her sex life, and Miranda having to call her ex-boyfriends because she has chlamydia.  All three stories were both eek! and hilarious.

7. "Shortcomings" (#2.15)

Of Carrie's one-off boyfriends, none were sexier than Justin Theroux, who was so cute that he played two different characters in the series (I have NEVER understood this and it happens constantly on television shows; aside from the creators being lazy and wanting an actor that they know can hit marks, are there suddenly a shortage of actors in New York?).  He was much more memorable in this episode as Vaughn, the short story author that has a bit of a..."longevity" issue in the bedroom.  I love that the show has Carrie realizing this is probably a good guy, but that she's really staying in the relationship because of his mother.  Valerie Harper is terrific as the mother-in-law we all hope to have.

6. "Anchors Away" (#5.1)

I never know how to quite feel about this episode, which is not nearly as good as some of the other episodes on this list, but perhaps the best ode to New York City of the bunch.  We see the girls each encountering "Fleet Week" in this episode, the week where you can see naval men all around the city enjoying the sites and doing military demonstrations (P.S...totally worth being in the city for).  Carrie also has an utter love affair with New York, stating, "you're never really alone when you're here."  So much did this affect me that as one of the last things I did before I moved out of New York was recreate the beginning of this episode, watching a film at the Paris theater, by myself, on a date with Manhattan.

5. "Hop, Skip, and a Week" (#6.6)

Here's the weird thing about Sex and the City that I haven't run into with some of the other series that we've profiled: occasionally I'm torn between a plot that I really hate and a plot that I really loved.  While I always loved this show, there were times that the characters on it truly frustrated me.  Carrie's relationship with Berger and the way that she treats him toward the end made me really mad-this was a guy that might actually work for her that wasn't Big, and the writers just pushed him out and made him a jackass (the infamous post-it note) in order to tie things up for the Mikhail Baryshnikov episodes.  That said, there is no single moment that makes me A) cry and B) swoon quite like the time when Charlotte, so lost without Harry in her life, confesses that she doesn't care if he'll ever marry her (a happy marriage being Charlotte's goal since the series began), all she wants is for him to call her, maybe.  He gets down and proposes, and Kristen Davis gets easily the best scene of her time on the series.  Every unlucky in love viewer watched that episode and got a little bit of hope.

4. "One" (#6.12)

Another oddity for me and Sex and the City-I never cared for how it ended.  I love that some of those last few episodes exist (particularly the extremely bitter-tasting "Splat!"), but this felt more like a series finale than anything else-Miranda, celebrating Brady's birthday, finally confesses her love for Steve in a closet (don't you just adore Magda's knowing glance when she catches them?), Charlotte moving on into a new chapter in her life, and Carrie starting a strange love affair with a reclusive Russian artist.  All-in-all, this episode with some loose ends and some ends closed (Miranda and Steve were the couple that we needed to be together the most) would have made a fitting end to the series.

3. "The Good Fight" (#4.13)

The pinnacle of the Aidan/Carrie years, the good fight made Aidan a little less than perfect (his dog ate Carrie's shoes, he apparently uses Rogaine), but more to the point, gave Carrie a very realistic portrait of a relationship.  Carrie is frequently insulted by critics (mainly male critics) for being selfish and petty, but the reality is that she was part of a long line of television antiheroes to pop up in the wake of Tony Soprano. This was one of those episodes where she was forced to confront those issues, that having the relationship she kept pining for meant that she would have to compromise in the future.  It's a pity that things with Aidan couldn't last the second time around, but at least this time Carrie grew with the relationship in a way that the writers actually allowed to change her.

2. "Ex and the City" (#2.18)

All of the side stories are fine in this episode, particularly Samantha having her "Mr. Too-Big" encounter, but this episode is on this list for one thing only: Carrie and Big.  Their relationship had hit its boiling point, with Carrie trying to deal with the fact that Big didn't want to "just not get married" but instead didn't want to marry her specifically (an extremely bitter pill to encounter when you love someone).  The engagement to Natasha would be perhaps the most pivotal point in the series (it would shape much of the next few seasons), but there's perhaps no finer moment than The Way We Were doting in the restaurant, and Carrie getting to say "your girl is lovely Hubbell."  A home run in every way, and the perfect sendoff to the Big story-if he had never showed up again, fans would have still been talking about him.

1. "I Heart NY" (#4.18)

Another season finale, we get two major moments in the series.  One, of course, would be the birth of baby Brady, the only time in a show about sex where one of the characters actually had a child (Charlotte in the movie doesn't count), and Miranda welcomes a man that she cannot dismiss into her life.  And then there's Carrie, realizing that Big would be leaving New York City (unthinkable!) and that this could be the end of both her relationship with her, and in a way, her relationship with the city, since Big had so come to define what New York meant to her.  The ending, with her realizing that New York will go on for her, and that Big will live with her in her heart-perfect Sex and the City.

Those are my top ten-what are yours?  Do you find that your own life shaped your view of Sex and the City?  Which character "are you?"  Share in the comments!

For more of my favorites: Girls, Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, Game of Thrones, The Office, Ally McBeal

Glee: Lights Out (#4.20)

Let's start with the thing everyone noticed in this past week's Glee-Blaine totally was cruising that guy at the gym.  I know that the show has developed a weird subplot of completely exploiting the sexiness that is Darren Criss, but I have to acknowledge when the show takes an actual even-handed attitude to one of the gay character's sexualities, as Kurt and Blaine are usually relegated to the background when it comes to those plots (case in point-nothing came of the eye-flirting).

I will also say that, while I love the song "Everybody Hurts," I need to just say that, in an actual high school, people that look like Ryder, Jake, Marley, Kitty, Brittany, Blaine, and Sam would not be naturally picked on.  With Finn at least they provided some context, but the New Directions have hit a status at the school where they clearly would no longer be mocked.  Not even high school students change their opinions that dramatically and swiftly.

But since we're on Ryder, wow, I did not see that one coming.  Ryder (and later Kitty) confessed to being molested as children, and in Ryder's case, both Sam and Artie were inexplicably insensitive (again, I just don't see them saying that out loud, even if they were thinking it).  I thought it was a bit of a miss for a show that focuses so much on messages to not gain a bit more understanding on their parts, but it's only an hour long show, so I'm going to let that one slide.

I will not, however, let the lazily obvious indication that Kitty is the catfish slide, though.  I mean, it seemed pretty obvious after this past week that she is, right?  The question sort of becomes why.  I get that she wants to mess with people, and that's probably how they'll do it-a sort of romantic comedy trope where she started it as a joke and then fell for him, but isn't that super easy?  Wouldn't almost anyone else be a better twist for what is turning into one of the better stories of the season (and one of the few in Glee history to actually have some patience surrounding it)?  Wade, Marley, Jake-all of them would make considerably more sense.  Even Artie, who kept texting during the song to try and throw in a red herring, would be a more interesting selection.  But, I digress, and am glad that the Rachel story is still humming along.

Though we didn't get much more on the Funny Girl auditions, we still had more scenes of Kurt, Rachel, and Santana, our favorite New York trio, this time stomping around with Sarah Jessica Parker as they work at a New York City ballet gala.  As someone who worships New York and draws inspiration from it regularly, I kind of got where Rachel and Kurt were going with the whole "don't throw your life away" aspect of the show, but as Santana (in the series) is a mere 18-19, she doesn't need to have her life figured out just yet, so I'm glad that's where the story ended.  I do like the prospects of her taking ballet, though, and if they would trim some of the fat on the series (cutting 4-6 characters), we could see her at one of those psychotic jobs they were discussing.

I don't always discuss the music in the Glee episodes, which is odd since that's what it's best known for, but this week I was glad we saw two Broadway hits, and one of them appropriate for multiple reasons. The first, as they were at the ballet, was an invitation to A Chorus Line with "At the Ballet," a song I'm guessing no one but the most theater-loving fans of the show was aware of, but was beautifully done in an extended sequence with Kurt, Rachel, Santana, and SJP.  The second, "Little Girls," was tongue-in-cheek for two reasons-one, Jane Lynch has just taken over the role of Miss Hannigan in the Broadway production of Annie and so clearly has quite a bit of practice singing her show-stopping number (considering that she's got the daunting task of following in the footsteps of Dorothy Loudon, Carol Burnett, and Katie Finneran, I'm glad to say she knocked it out of the park).  The second, of course, is that with Sarah Jessica Parker guest-starring, Annie herself was in the episode with Miss Hannigan.

And that's pretty much all she wrote in a relatively light week.  What were your thoughts?  Did you like the Broadway-connections, or were you hoping for a bit more pop?  Do you think there's a possibility the catfish is anyone except Kitty?  And is Sugar on some sort of sabbatical, or what is the deal with her missing several months of glee practice?

Glee: Thanksgiving (#4.8)

I shall be doing another live-blogging of sorts, of, granted, an episode of television all of you watched last week, and I'm watching on a Saturday morning, but, well, better late than never right?  If it helps, I'm going to be doing this week's episode right after it.  Back-to-back Glee, here we go!

And we're off, and I'm already getting all verklempt.  Quinn is back (making all of the Glee-ers returners now!), and she, Mercedes, Mike, Puck, and Santana tackle one of the best numbers they've done all year-a mashup of "Homeward Bound" and "Home" (a song that grows on you and then wanes on you with stunning regularity, depending on your mood), and suddenly I am $1.29 poorer thanks to iTunes.

One of the best parts of Glee is when Ryan Murphy decides to wink (subtly or not) at the audience, and I love the way he turned the partners assignment into Saved by the Bell: The New Class, showing who should be partnering with each other.  Quinn/Kitty, Old Puck/New Puck, Mercedes/Unique-perfect.  Also, you have no idea how much I've missed Santana.  I almost had convinced myself that Kitty was a nice hybrid of Santana and Quinn, and then I get the real things, and I'm like, "oh right, Santana can deliver an insult with far more impeccable timing and Quinn is a snob without making me hate her."

We then role into secret boyfriends Ryder and Jake talking about their secret love at the lockers, and, I'm sorry, I told you a couple weeks ago that I'm totally not involved with this storyline, so unless something interesting happens during their scenes together (or with Marley), I'm going to just be making up a story for them.  Ooh, the Public Library-must be time for Rachel and Kurt!

The Unholy Trinity-I have missed this too.  Glee producers-I am so mad and happy at you right now.  Brit, Santana, and Quinn doing The Supremes-this is not playing fair!  Please tell me this is not the last reunion episode we're going to get this season!!!  Also, I'd say that Kitty has no idea what Quinn Fabray would do (I seriously doubt that Quinn would try to torture a girl into developing an eating disorder), but Quinn did try to steal away someone's baby and lied to Finn for many months about him knocking her up, so perhaps Kitty is a little on the nose, and my Quinn-nesia is just making me hope that Kitty realizes that Quinn had a nice streak on occasion.

Rachel, Brody, and Brody's biceps all have spectacular chemistry, and I'm totally onboard with this pairing, and I suspect it might happen tonight (during my proofread of this episode, I will note that it did not, thought it got closer).  I'm already looking forward to the Kurt comments to come during that dinner, which will inevitably involve at least one more person, but who?

Oh, well, apparently it's SJP that's coming to dinner, and the only sign that she wasn't playing Carrie Bradshaw in that scene is that I cannot imagine Carrie going to Brooklyn for pizza.

Oh snap, again, I swear I won't make this a "the old is better than the new" post (okay, I cannot swear that, and for those people reading this and realizing that it makes little to no sense if you don't watch the episode at the same time, I apologize, and will go back to the traditional recaps next week again, but I will admit this free form is really fun).  Anyway, Santana and Quinn had more chemistry and bitchy sniping in one scene than Marley and Kitty have pulled off in the past seven episodes.

Ryder and Jake are now dancing together with Ryder showing off his spectacular arms and talking about losing their virginities.  Seriously, I haven't even had to make up a story line yet.

Okay, I have to share one of the most LOL moments of the season of Glee.  In preparing for the Thanksgiving dinner, Kurt compares the meal to The Big Chill, and Brody states, "but no one is going to break out into song."  The look of angst on Kurt's face and the "WHAT?!?" that comes from Rachel as she waves a string bean was priceless.

It took 36 minutes into the episode, but we get our first Blaine sighting, and he's holding hands with Sam.

Holy crap, the Dalton Warblers were amazing.  Honestly, I could see the New Directions losing Sectionals this year-that could happen.  Some of that dancing was Mike Chang level awesome.

I believe that is the first time that Burt Bacharach and the Scissor Sisters have ever been seen together.  I actually had never heard "Let's Have a Kiki" before, and had to look up who sang it (and was glad for the explanation of what a kiki was).  The later heart-to-heart between Kurt and Blaine was heartbreaking, and while I am also eager for them to be back together, I am still a firm believer that they should at least go on another date with the someone else before that happens.

Look, Ryder is jealous of Jake's interactions with Marley, and pulls him aside in their cute, matching outfits.  And wants him to be the lead dancer, and you can just tell that Marley is going to collapse on-stage.  I've been feeling it all episode, and it's clearly about to happen.

And it happened.  One of the best things about cliffhangers is when they aren't actually cliffhangers because you have the next episode in your TiVo queue.  To be continued...now.

Glee: Makeover #4.3

I realize that I haven't finished our 2011 project yet, but don't worry-I'll be returning right after this short break.  However, I have to make sure that in advance of tomorrow night's episode, I get out the (very, very belated) Glee recap.

I haven't read any of the reviews, so I don't have a clue how the critics are reacting, but I have to say-this is the sort of episode of Glee that I love-filled with impending drama, the occasional number, plot lines moving forward but not at a psychotic pace.  Yes, implausibility turns it's ugly head, but that's just life at McKinley.

First off, can I just say that the second Blaine started to do narration, my heart leapt.  While Chris Colfer and Jane Lynch and Mike O'Malley may have had more "actorly" moments throughout the course of the show's run, my love of Darren Criss has gotten me through every insane plot twist since he first warbled his way into our hearts.  Seriously-the bowties (sorry Sam and Artie, I think they need to stay), the affinity to hair gel, the fact that he dressed as Robin in Superhero Club (confession time-I have been Robin for one Halloween, despite me being a Marvel comic fan through and through)-he's perfection.  And him wanting to get involved in every club while singing an 80's power ballad-intoxicated, party of me (I don't know why I'm talking like a 16-year-old girl...okay, I do-the Darren Criss crush makes me want to put up posters in my locker and draw hearts around his name).

All right, since I've just made a complete fool of myself, I might as well finish my Blaine train of thought-I loved the entirety of Blaine's story line.  In particular, his partnership with Sam (I know I joked last week about them dating, and while I am not standing in the way of that-hint hint, Ryan Murphy-them being friends is probably more plausible, even in the world of Glee).  Blaine never made a real connection with anyone in the club except Kurt, and I think he realized that at the end of the episode-everyone else really interacts and has story lines with multiple characters, but with Blaine, he was always there just when Kurt was there (or when Matt Bomer played his brother).  He's kind of right in the sense that he only is at McKinley for Kurt.  I'm really hoping this story line goes somewhere, because on a Ryan Murphy show, you never know (I'm telling you-love/hate with this show-runner who always pulls me in-I have both groaned and laughed hysterically at every single episode of The New Normal, and yes I am through the roof that it got a full season).  Blaine is one of the few truly unopened books at McKinley-we saw some of what he's capable of when he tried to sleep with Kurt in a parking lot and with his "not really innocent" flirting with Sebastian.  Next week's impending breakup is, just a hunch, Rachel and Finn, but part of me is hoping for Kurt and Blaine.  I love them as a couple, but I honestly think that they need to find out who they are with other people first.

I also have to say, speaking of finding out who they are with other people, I'm a big fan of the Rachel and Brody (after my comments about Marley last week, I need to admit I had to look up that name as well, and for the record searching for "hot new guy on Glee" totally got me the answer-thanks Google! Rachel and Finn (again, a couple I've always been behind) have been out of the picture for a few episodes, and for the first time this episode, I realized something.  Rachel (who looked sensational with those smoky eyes) could find a more appropriate guy.  Sure, the Finn/Rachel story line is so romantic, and I think it would be wrong if the series ended with them separated, but honestly, Brody seems like a better fit for Rachel's ambition and talent.  Finn's a sweet guy, Brody's a guy who will get her places.

There were a lot more story lines this week, but I don't have time for all of them (it is getting late, and I'd like to at least get started on our next category before bed), so I'm going to pick only two more (sorry Sam/Brit-best luck next week!).  One, the fun of Sarah Jessica Parker on Glee.  While Kurt's interview process was ludicrous (only in a TV show would getting an internship at one of the world's most prestigious magazines be this easy), the thing that matters is that we're going to see Kurt challenged and put to the test.  I don't read casting scoops and spoilers, so I don't know how many episodes SJP has signed on for, but I'm hoping it's a while, because a celebrated Kurt would be a welcome change after years of the bullied Kurt plots.  Also, I think that SJP's character (whose name I will learn by next week, I swear) set up a great precipice for Kurt-which dreams are you going to pursue, because it's impossible to have them all?  It's a real life lesson you learn throughout your twenties, and as Kurt is about to enter them, it'll be interesting to see if he abandons music for fashion, and what that choice will cost him.

Lastly, I want to focus on what I think may have been the first hint at Season 5-the Will story.  The reality is that at some point, Ryan Murphy needs to make a decision with this show-people are invested in the stories of the original Gleekers (Kurt, Rachel, Finn), and have come to love some of the new ones (Sam, Brittany, Blaine), but a show cannot sustain 10-12 continuing plots.  This isn't Days of Our Lives.  I'm starting to wonder if the way they solve that problem is, dare I say it, cutting the actual glee club?  I know that sounds a bit silly, and in a few weeks, I'll probably see how wrong I am, but with Sam/Blaine/Tina/Brittany/Artie all graduating, and Will potentially headed to Washington for his music committee (or wherever-Will stories bore me and are not really vital to the show-he's the Dawson to everyone else's Jack-and-Jen), it'd be the perfect cut-and-run.  Jayma Mays character could move with him, and the only dangling question mark would be Jane Lynch, who I have this sneaking suspicion is itching to get out of her contract and resort to the "beloved guest star" role, considering her outside-Glee success of late.  It's a wild theory, but I think it may work-a show that alternates between New York, Los Angeles, and Washington?  That can still incorporate random musical numbers?!?  Could be interesting.

And now, what are your thoughts?  Did you love the changes for Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine?  Or were you more drawn to the budding romance between Sam and Brittany?  And would you be on-board with a Glee without our Lima home base?