Glee aired a two-hour episode this past Tuesday, "Props" and "Nationals". Both episodes were full of amazing musical numbers and great moments, and it really feels like vintage Glee. I haven't liked everything about this season (*cough*PuckandShelby*cough*), but the episodes after winter break have been pretty good, building to these two great episodes.
In "Props," Glee went meta and addressed the numerous complaints that Tina has been sidelined too much. Tina snapped and yelled at Mr. Schuester and everyone else that she has been overlooked all year. When at the mall, she fell and hit her head in a water fountain. When she woke up, everyone had swapped bodies. Tina-Rachel, Kurt-Finn, Blaine-Puck, Quinn-Sugar, Joe-Harry, Sam-Rory, Brittany-Mercedes, and Santana-Artie. The body swaps were hilarious, and they all did a great job. I read in interviews that the cast had a great time swapping characters, and it definitely showed. It was also obvious how well a lot of them knew each other. My favorites were Quinn as Sugar, Harry in dreads as Joe, and Kurt as Finn. Tina gets a taste of what it's like to be Rachel, and she finally understands that Rachel works really hard at what she does, and a lot of people depend on her. Tina realizes that by being a team player, she is helping everyone to shine, and she will get her turn next year. Her rendition of Celine Dion's "Because You Loved Me" was lovely, but she doesn't quite have the powerhouse voice to carry it convincingly. Although Tina-as-Rachel was wearing some really terrible outfits. The episode ended with Tina and Rachel singing "What A Feeling" together, and it was a great moment that took them to the bus heading for Nationals.
Thankfully the body swaps did not last too long. I think it would've been too much to do this for the entire episode. In addition, I've complained in the past that Rachel doesn't get enough credit, so it's nice to see her hard work and dedication acknowledged.
The subplot with Puck and Beiste was also done sensitively. Dot Marie Jones deserves an Emmy for her performance. It was heartbreaking and also empowering to see her strong enough to leave Cooter. Mark Salling also did a great job portraying Puck's despair. He has been saddled with terrible storylines or he just popped up for a quick one-liner here and there. He definitely made the most of this storyline.
The second hour focused on Nationals. New Directions ran into a few issues - Mercedes getting food poisoning, having to perform first (the death slot), and the team members fighting each other because they were so passionate about winning. The three numbers that they did were amazing, and I love the outfits. The red dresses were sweet and elegant at the same time, and the boys looked sharp in their black suits and red ties. The judges were Lindsay Lohan, Perez Hilton, and Rex Lee playing a politician named Marvin Fong. Lindsay Lohan looked so much older than her 25 years.
New Directions' Nationals performance started with the Troubletones, with the addition of Tina and Quinn, singing Lady Gaga's "Edge of Glory." (Side note: what's up with the extra Troubletones girls all-of-a-sudden showing up? And hi, Courtney from SYTYCD!) This number had beautiful singing and beautiful choreography, although Quinn was remarkably nimble for someone who just got out of a wheelchair. It's a miracle! Another funny thing was that Quinn and Tina were supposed to be last minute additions to this number because Mercedes was ill, but if you freeze on the set list that Sue was holding in the last episode, it showed that Tina and Quinn's names were already on them.
The second song was Rachel singing Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." I think this was one of the best performances on Glee ever. Her voice sounded amazing. No wonder Carmen Thibidoux, who came to see Rachel performed, was impressed. I think Rachel is heading to NYADA after all.
The last song was the whole group singing Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." Not sure this was the most appropriate song choice for a bunch of high school students, but the performance was great. The choreography was more complicated than usual and the voices blended well.
They also showed Vocal Adrenaline's performances of Nicki Minaj's "Starships" and Elton John's "Pinball Wizard." Both were great, but "Starships" was better than "Pinball". The choreography in "Starships," especially when the girls got thrown from top steps to the bottom, were incredible.
In the end New Directions pulled off a win, and even got respect and adoration back at McKinley. Will Schuester and Emma slept together, Will won Teacher of the Year, and New Directions serenaded him with Queen's "We Are the Champions."
I wonder if they are setting up Jesse St. James to join Rachel and Kurt at NYADA next year. Jonathan Groff is a regular on Kelsey Grammer's show Boss, but perhaps it's possible he can pop in. It was clear Jesse still had feelings for Rachel. He even told Carmen that Rachel was the most talented person he had ever met. In many ways Jesse does "get" Rachel more than Finn, because they are obsessed about the same things, and they understand each other's drive and motivation. However, Finn is more supportive and won't outshine Rachel, which is what she needs. It will be interesting if they decide to revive the love triangle again.
