"Glee" Episode Three Review

"Glee" Episode Three Review

By our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

While it’s only the third episode of the season, Tuesday night’s episode of "Glee" already took a sharp turn from the lighthearted episodes we’ve come to love. To put it simply, this was one of the most powerful hour of television I’ve seen in a long time, and in all honesty, I’m surprised to be as moved by an episode of "Glee" as I was on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s tearjerker episode focused on spirituality, and in turn, religious tolerance. This episode kicked off an entire thematic arc of the current "Glee" season of tolerance in all forms, and given recent tragic events, it couldn’t have come at a better time. Yes, there will be more over-the-top, ridiculously fun episodes of "Glee" coming this season, but the show’s heart will take center stage in a series of plot themes pertaining to tolerance.

In the episode, Kurt’s father, wonderfully played by Mike O’Malley, fell into a coma. Immediately, the Glee club rallied to Kurt’s side, supporting him through music, prayer and in any other way they could. The whole experience left the kids exploring their own views on spirituality, whether it was through different faiths, or Kurt's case, doubting the existence of God altogether.  It was nice to see these kids rally together to face something that's truly serious and scary.

Of course, the entire hour wasn’t completely heavy.  In fact, it started just as funny as any "Glee" episode. Finn was making a grilled cheese sandwich, and its burn mark looked suspiciously like Jesus. Instead of calling the National Enquirer, Finn aptly named the sandwich “Grilled Cheesus” and began praying to it and toting it everywhere. I loved this. Everything about it was silly, fun, totally quotable (always a perk with "Glee" episodes), and most importantly, it really fit Finn’s character.

Getting to the best part of the episode, the music. I personally loved the first performance of the episode, Puck’s acoustic guitar accompanied version of Billy Joel’s “Only The Good Die Young.” Puck is one of my favorite members of the glee club--and I love Billy Joel. This song was fun, it was upbeat, and I had no complaints with it.

Other musical standouts include the episode-closing full-group cover of Joan Osbourne’s hit, “What If God Were One Of Us,” otherwise known as one of my favorite songs of the '90s. All the voices were spot on. I similarly loved the gospel cover of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which always is a moving, beautiful song, but tonight it felt especially powerful. Their gospel slant was original, and I appreciated it.

I felt Rachel’s ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ tribute was a little hackneyed and totally cheesy, but really, what did I expect? With a friend’s father in the hospital, I knew a “Father Can You Hear Me?” cover had to exist. Another week, another Lea Michele let down. Another song I was unsatisfied by was Finn’s cover of R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion.” I was so excited to hear this song covered, since I like the song and it felt so unlikely to fit in a "Glee" episode and I was interested in hearing their take on it. Finn’s performance didn’t seem to fit the song, and it felt a little too karaoke for me.

However, the best song of the night rightly belonged to Kurt. His cover of The Beatles’ “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” paired with a montage of young Kurt growing up alongside his father, was beautiful, it was poignant, and it brought tears to my non-Gleek eyes.

Next week’s episode looks as if it will be a return to fun, lighthearted "Glee," and looks as if it will involve some of the new cast members the show seems to have forgotten about since the first episode.