Glee is back y’all! And this episode was a pretty good one to start off with. The song choices were all great and the characters weren’t that annoying. Let’s see if Glee can keep it up!
Glee
The Purple Piano Project
Things are a changing in Glee Club. Half of the club is seniors, Sam moved out of State, Puck and Zisies broke up, Will and Emma are together, Mr Schue is no longer writing words on the white board. Yet despite all this other things still seem to be the same, Jacob is still running around with his video camera, Becky is back on the Cheerios, Glee Club are still losers, and people are still getting slushed by guys wearing mullets who look WAY TOO OLD to be in high school.
Schue decides to re-focus the glee club on Nationals by adopting the Purple Piano Project. Where-in, he adopted 3 “cast-away” pianos and will strategically place them around the school to attract new members of Glee. Each time the Glee Club sees a purple piano, they must sing a song in front of everyone.
Meanwhile, seniors Rachel and Kurt are looking toward the future. They approach Emma with an idea. And while not a couple, despite Emma offering them a “Me and My Hag” pamphlet, they declare to her that they want to go to school in New York. She tells them about a great school called New York Academy Of Dramatic Arts and advises them about a mixer of students who plan to audition to enroll in the school. Thus doing probably her first real “counseling” in the past 3 years.
Becky, as promised, is back on the Cheerios team and Sue is still trying to take down Glee. Only on a bigger scale. She’s running for Congress. But in order to raise her popularity in the polls she adopts a plan to get rid of the arts program.
First laugh out moment of the show for me? Tina and Mike are playing the song “Chopsticks” on a purple piano in the middle of the hall. Sue overhears it and comes out and rips the insides out of the very piano they are playing on, then she proceeds to say: “Oh I’m sorry I just realized that song might be the national anthem of whatever country you’re from.” Uh, HILARIOUS! Well played Glee.
Meanwhile, Kurt has been trying to convince Blaine to transfer to McKinley. Now I want to see more of Blaine as much as the next guy, but I like Blaine at Dalton. Let the boy go to whatever school he wants to.
While Sam and Lauren aren’t the only two out of the Glee Club, it seems since breaking up with Finn, Quinn has gone off the deep end. She dyed her hair pink, got a nose ring, and a tattoo of Ryan Seacrest. While I’m digging the new look, I’m not digging the low Dianna Argon voice. Brittany and Santana want her back, “You can’t break up the unholy trinity.” But Quinn has found new friends and a new life and she’s “happy.” Rachel tries fighting for Quinn convincing her that this isn’t her life and that she should come back to Glee. I don’t know if I buy this seeing as how last year they were enemies and trying to steal each other’s boyfriend.
The 2nd Piano sighting happens in the Cafeteria. None of the Gleesters want to perform because it’s too much pressure. But Rachel convinces everyone they must do it. Thus we get the first song of the episode: “We Got The Beat” by the Go Go’s. None of the other students seem into it (which is highly unlikely because it’s so fun), thus a food fight ensues. The ultimate slushie. Thinking their performance was a disappointment, they return to the rehearsal room depressed. However, Sugar Motta, who has Asbergers and can “say whatever she wants,” decides to audition. And as expected, it’s awful. But I LOVE Vanessa Lengies (Hawthorne, Stick It) and I hope she sticks around. Plus I don’t believe she can’t really sang. She hit these certain notes in “Hey Big Spender” that makes me think she can really sing. “Holy S…ugar,” indeed, Mr. Schue. No one wants her to join, but Schue brings up the point that they agreed anyone who auditioned would get in.
To lift their spirits, Kurt and Rachel sing, “Ding Dong The Witch is Dead,” full on with props and the backing of the Glee Band. And to say it is awesome is doing it a great dis-service. It was full of personality, and a lot of fun. Lea Michele kills it.
Elsewhere, Blaine strolls up to Kurt, looking adorable as ever, sans Warbler Outfit, wearing a cute little bowtie. I always love it when Blaine gets to wear normal clothes. He has good style. Turns out, he IS transferring to McKinley. But then Kurt backtracks hoping Blaine didn’t do it just for him because it could lead to resentment. Um, then what was that guilt trip that happened earlier, Kurt? But no, Blaine insists it was the right decision. He loves Kurt too much to stay away.
First real GLEE SMILE of the episode? Blaine’s rendition of “It’s Not Unusual” by Tom Jones. Though whenever I hear this song I always think of Carlton’s dorky dance from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, hands down it was one of Glee’s better performances, complete with the Bring-It-On Cheerios leaders dancing in the background. Come on, don’t tell me some of those Broadway moves they were doing didn’t remind you of Bring-It-On’s last cheerleading performance. My question, so does this mean Blaine is already more popular than Glee because he got the backing of the entire Cheerio squad? Would it be a happy twist to find Blaine being the popular one, while the other Glee members are outcasts? Too bad we don’t have too much time to think about that, as Quinn accidently sets the highly flammable purple piano on fire with the flick of her cigarette.
Kurt and Rachel go to the college mixer and meet a group of kids that look and act exactly like them. It’s almost – TOTALLY – creepy. And there we are introduced to the first Glee Project contestant – Lindsay Pearce – and DAMN, what a way to say hello to the girl. Glee continues to win over my heart through song with a Broadway Melody of “Anything Goes” and “Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better”. The latter being my favorite B-Way song of all time since I performed it in elementary school. And seriously that last note Lindsay held was astonishing. As much as I want to say she didn’t sparkle as much as I wished she did, I found the last minute or so of the performance really great. Lindsay really let it all out. I can’t wait to hear her sing more. This fantastic-ness of course scares the beejesus out of Kurt and Rachel and they are left doubting themselves. After a small pity party in Rachel’s car, they give each other a pep talk (and a “gay high five”) and pick themselves back up.
Back in Glee Club, after the aftermath with the Purple Piano Project with everything in ruins, Schue takes charge. First with denying Sugar Motta’s entry into Glee. Then in a shocking turn of events, Schue BANS Santana from Glee Club after discovering that she, and the rest of the Cheerios, plotted to light the thing on fire. (I guess that’s why the piano was wet – lighter fluid). Santana is shocked, but said she needs a break. With everything crumbling down, Rachel takes point and picks them up, leading them in a performance of “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray. With Quinn watching in the wings…
And thus ends, Season 3, Episode 1 of Glee.
Overall I think this was a pretty good episode. Though it started off kinda shaky (Ryan Murphy 15 minutes is way too long for Glee not to have a song), the show really picked up once the performances started. I’m looking forward to learning more about the new characters we are meeting. So far so good, Glee, keep it up. What did you think? Did you like this episode? What song was your favorite?
Random Thoughts
- Mike Chang slapping his own ass during “We got the beat” – ADORABLE
- Puck doing the push-ups during “We got the beat.” – FUNNY
- Love the look on Brittany’s face during Sugar Motta’s song.
- LOVE Beiste’s pig squeal noise.
- Emma’s camera work is really shaky.
- Darren Criss’ eyes looked REALLY green this episode.
- If I were in the lead in a show choir, popular person who had a lot of friends, I would not leave my school my senior year. Even if it was for love. It’s not like we wouldn’t see each other…I’m jus’ saying…
- There was a “No food beyond this point” line in the quad, does that really exist in schools?
- Were Brittany’s eyes cross-eyed during “You Can’t Stop The Beat.”
Kurt: “Married by 30 legally!” It was the way he said it
Puck regarding Zisies: “She’s the one that got away, really slowly.”
Brittany: “I have pepperoni in my bra.”
Santana: “Those are your nipples.”
Mr. Schue: “This is my fight. It’s my program she wants to cut. My kids. Sue wants to declare war on the arts, well General Schuester is about to launch a counter defensive.
Emma: So this is what being turned on feels like.”
Will: “You just got glitter bombed.”
Sue: “Becky, I need the two of you to escort me to my hypo-beric chamber, as I have glitter in my eyes.”
Blaine: “For someone who loves clothes so much, I can’t believe you haven’t noticed I’m not in my Warbler outfit.”
Rachel: “You make me want to be your boyfriend.”
Sugar Motta: “Obviously your ears are busted because I worked that song like a stripper pole.”
Songs:
“We Got The Beat” – It showcased practically everyone on Glee. Forced everyone to dance on tables, which is always fun, and ended in a food fight. What more could you ask for in a song? Grade: A-
“Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead” – Perfect duet for Kurt and Rachel. A lot of fun. That band is amazing! Grade: B
“It’s Not Unusual” – I love Darren Criss and this song/performance was AMAZING. Loved the concept of the cheerleaders dancing in the background and they knocked it out of the park. Plus Blaine has such dork-tastic personality. Grade: A
“Anything Goes/Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” – Started off shaky, but I love the song, and that girl can sing! Grade: A-
“You Can’t Stop The Beat” – Fun, fast paced, and Mercedes got to sing. It really looked like everyone was having fun and even their costumes were simple, reminiscent of Season 1. Grade: B
Rants Of A Crazy Person 