"Glee" Episode 15 Review

"Glee" Episode 15

Television Review

By our guest blogger, Catherine Fuentes

‘Glee’ has been so good lately that I was expecting Tuesday’s episode to be a continuation of the great. I’m sad to report that it wasn’t.

If you wanted a tearjerker of an episode dealing with heightened emotions and super sensitive issues, this may have been the episode for you, but I’m not someone who tunes into ‘Glee’ for extra-saccharine after school specials with song and dance routines.

Even The Warblers, with their over-the-top rendition of Neon Trees’ “Animal,” just didn’t do it for me, and I love The Warblers. I can’t wait for The Warblers to release an album in June (Seriously—it’s happening)! But the reason why I view The Warblers as such a treat on ‘Glee’ is that their performances are inherently so much more different than New Direction’s. They don’t need theatrics and cheesy arrangements because they’re so talented, and they’re best when they’re singing in a traditional, laid back a cappella horseshoe formation. Instead, The Warblers were climbing on scaffolding, trying to dance sexily, and playing with a foam machine. The singing wasn’t their best, but it was still good – it just isn’t nearly as memorable as anything else they’ve done.

The highlight of this episode, however, was the return of Holly Holiday. I loved Gwyneth Paltrow’s first appearance on ‘Glee,’ but to me, this episode was even better. I love her on-screen dynamic with close friend in real life, Matthew Morrison’s Mr. Schuester.

Her first performance of the episode was leading the glee club in a high-energy, all-black leather clad performance of “Do You Wanna Touch Me.” I loved seeing her take the lead with Brittany and Santana, and any excuse for the glee club to get up, dance, and have fun is fine. Vocally, it wasn’t the strongest, which I guess is appropriate given all the dancing and carousing around.

Holly’s second performance was with Mr. Schuester in a falsetto-filled version of Prince’s “Kiss,” and it was fantastic. I loved the dancing, I loved the music, I loved that it seemed to be a little different for ‘Glee’ in my eyes. I really love the connection between Holly and Mr. Schuster.

However, Holly’s shining moment was when she played an acoustic guitar and sang a stripped down version of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide” with Santana and Brittany. I like seeing some numbers with hard choreography, but I really appreciate when ‘Glee’ can dial it back to show just how vocally talented the cast is. This is an emotional song, and the way it was presented was a real special moment for characters who have never really shown their vulnerable side before. Santana shed real, honest tears, and that makes this song one of the most special moments in ‘Glee’s’ history for me.

I think the Celibacy Club’s cheesy performance of “Afternoon Delight” was fantastic – but I can see a lot of people not liking it. Here is an instance with ‘Glee’ where I think the cheesier the better. The gaudy, 70’s style polyester costumes, the massive backdrops of cherry pie, John Stamos on drums, Puck rocking out on guitar… everything about this was hilarious.

As much as I’m glad that there was a ton of character development in this episode and a ton of vulnerability, I really hope the next episode is a return to sharp dialogue, and truly excellent music.