Glee: Season 3 Discussion/Premiere preview clip

[tomalak301]

[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kZO6smypHw&feature=player_embedded[/yt]

It's so creepy how much a scene can change from when the episode was shot to now. I watch this scene and it's supposed to be about Mercades choosing to be single over having to chose between Shane and Sam, but it ended up being so much more than that and the emotions and genuine sadness really did resonate all over. I watched this scene and I choked up, and I watched the scene on youtube and I think I choked up even more. Amber Riley did a beautiful job with this song and I really wonder what she must be going through knowing that she performed Houston's hit song and then finding out that she had passed away a few days ago. Whatever it was, much praise and and admiration to her for taking on this song in the setting and context it was in, and just rocking it.

I've been reading various comments on Youtube saying how Amber should have performed this song on the Grammys and my thought to that is that is not fair. Jennifer Hudson had to do this song live, probably less than 24 hours after Houston had passed away. What incredible pressure she must of been under and to perform that song that well with all the tense emotion, well that takes courage and bravery.

As for the episode, last week was one of the worst episodes of the season, this week might have been one of the best. We got to meet Rachael's dads finally, and everything about this episode just kind of worked, even though it was overshadowed by Riley's performance. Also loved the Sugar Shack scene, even though dang, that is one rich girl. I wonder if she ever improved her singing.

 

[OmahaStar]

So much going on in this episode ... LOVED the dads hitting on Finn, and Finn being completely clueless about it. It's interesting, finally seeing another side of Dave ... and then that being wiped away completely by seeing a friend of his. I wonder, though .. is that friend gay too? (cuz dang near everybody seems to be on this show)

About the gorilla costume ... Was anyone else expecting it to be Alex under that costume? Alex was one of the final four winners of the Glee Project. He's so flaming he makes Liberace and Elton John look positively butch. With this being Damian's seventh episode (his role has been extended), and Samuel's first, this would have been a good opportunity to bring him in as someone who falls for Kurt. Damian and Samuel both won seven episodes. Alex and .. I forget the other one's name ... each won two episodes. Anyway ...

Speaking of Samuel ... I loved how instantly he and Sam connected, in the same way Finn and the leprechaun did. I hope it continues. It's about time Sam had an actual friend there, and not someone he was competing with.

Mercedes finally came clean to Shane (or Sean? whichever) about kissing Sam. Okey dokey then.

As mentioned above, Mercedes singing Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" with those emotions, then it airing only days after Whitney's passing, was a fitting tribute. Out of the context of the episode, it was a brilliant tribute to Whitney. In the episode, it's saying "Sam Evans, I want you, you bad boy, take me here and now" so it works both ways.

I am still not sure how I feel about Santana. On those rare occasions where she smiles, she lights up the room, and is the most beautiful being on the set. But she spends more time being the 1-note villain, and that's a shame. She's out, she and Ms. Pierce are finally an official couple. Let her be happy, and drop the attitude for awhile. Let's see the softer side of Sears. I mean Santana.

No clue what Quinn's angle is these days. Is she trying to stop Finnchel because she wants Finn again? Or because she doesn't want someone happy if she's unhappy? Or because she actually cares about Rachel? Or is there yet another motive?

About flippin time Blaine came back. I know he was only gone for one episode (thanks, Broadway, grrrr), but these days, his absence is felt like a disturbance in the Force. And how awesome was Love Shack?

 

[C_Miller]

I honestly think that Quinn is doing this because she actually cares about Rachel. The big answer for me though is why? They've never handled her story well, event hough I think that they idea of the story was good. Having her be queen of the school and her parents' little princess be taken away from when she gets pregnant then she loses her boyfriend and gives away her baby. She gets back with her boyfriend who leaves her for the girl she lost him to again the very next year. That can make someone really lose it. The problem is that they never handled it well and they haven't handled building her back up well either. But yeah, I can't see them going back to crazy Quinn before the end of the season.

As for Santana, I hope they don't soften her too much. One of the things I've really dug about this season is how she's losing the bitch side of her without losing the snark. Her snarkiness (along with Brittany's one liners, which apparently is 75% improv) is some of the best writing on the show. I would be very sad if they got rid of that.

 

[the G-man]

So much going on in this episode ... LOVED the dads hitting on Finn, and Finn being completely clueless about it.

Are you taking about Rachael's dads? Hitting their daughter's crush/wannabe-/ex-boyfriend would be pretty sleazy actually.

 

[OmahaStar]

So much going on in this episode ... LOVED the dads hitting on Finn, and Finn being completely clueless about it.

Are you taking about Rachael's dads? Hitting their daughter's crush/wannabe-/ex-boyfriend would be pretty sleazy actually.

It was hilarious, and all part of their act. It worked.

 

[Mike Farley]

Loved Rachel's fear at the thought of Finn using her toilet.

 

[FPAlpha]

Loved Rachel's fear at the thought of Finn using her toilet.

Yeah.. welcome to a relationship and the realities of it!

That scene was so hilarious and made even better when it was revealed that the dads planned it that way because they knew something like that would happen.

Side note: I was shocked to see Jeff Goldblum like this.. he looked very sick to me or aging really doesn't suit him. He looked so gaunt.

Music wise it was Glee as usual.. some really good numbers and some that didn't click for me. It's pure coincidence that Amber sings one of Whitney's most famous songs (well.. her cover that is) so soon after her death and i like that Glee reacted fast enough to put a dedication at the end of the episode.. that song worked well within the episode and is a nice and most welcome tribute to Whitney (and i must say i didn't like Jennifer Houston's version that much at the Grammys).

Best part was the party at the Shack though with one of my favorite good mood songs, i.e. "Love Shack" and i liked that new dreadlock dude and the song (i find it always so hilarious how Glee can perform on school grounds, make a big show and almost no students really do care or join in.. it's awesome )

 

[mswood]

Glee

Boy you can be all over the place, from awful to brilliant (some times one episode to the next), but I loved, Loved this episode.

On occasion Glee really handles more serious issues well. Most not, but here I thought it worked.

 

[AliciaD496]

^Yeah, kinda like Smallville you can count on Glee's competition/finale episodes to be pretty awesome.

Loved Stronger and all the Warbler songs, not so much a fan of the mash up or Rachel's solo.

What I find a little hard to believe still is the Sue storyline. I suppose with her sister gone Sue does have a need to nurture that's gone unfulfilled, but couldn't she just get a cat or be nicer to the Cheerios? I'm almost afraid to imagine what any child of hers is going to end up like. Maybe what with the whole Karoffsky situation, her relatively kind treatment of Becky (warning Artie about hurting Becky by pretending to date her) she's turned a new leaf. It's hard to say with Glee though, it can seem that way for a few episodes and then it's all erased.

 

[mswood]

I think SUe proved that for Family as long as you don't abandon her she is going to be great with you.

Interesting that I disliked both Warbler numbers (most of the time I like them), and I generally liked, though the New Direction/ Trouble tones numbers.

At least they weren't written the night before a performance.

And damn, was it really nice to finally see a family members in the stupid audience, Quinn's mother in one episode 1st season, and Mike's parents (one for west Side Story, one for Sectionals) are the only other parents to ever go a to an actual Stand performance....It's weird.

 

[AliciaD496]

^True, Sue is very loyal to those she considers family, and unfortunately for most of the Glee Cheerios they've shown themselves to be willing to abandon her at a time of need (performing at half time rather than going to regionals). Maybe that's why it she seems so vindictive when she's not really, she just doesn't waste her time being nice to those who 'abandoned' her. Huh, never thought of it that way before. I hope her offer to help Will and New Directions win Nationals was an honest offer, that would be a nice way to send off the 'seniors' of New Directions/Trouble Tones.

As for the music I wouldn't say I disliked New Direction's music tonight, it was very good, I just thought the Warblers were a little better. Different strokes and all that. You make a very good point about the family in the audience part too. You'd think with how involved her dads are with her performance career aspirations that Rachel's dads would have been seen long before season three, and we've seen Burt and Carole since season one but this was the first time they were shown at a performance. Maybe they were there but 'off screen'? Maybe they were afraid Finn and Rachel would run off and elope if they weren't there to intercept?

I hadn't seen the last few minutes when I posted last...the Dave and Kurt hospital seen was a tearjerker and the Quinn situation will have me on the edge of my seat until April. It almost seems like there has to be a karmic balance, one person's saved another might not be (the writers haven't told the cast what happens if you go by the behind the scenes video on YouTube).

 

[C_Miller]

Yeah that last scene had me reeling. Quinn is probably my favorite character on the show, but mostly for how well her storyline was conceived and Dianna Agron's acting. The execution generally sucks (although it's gotten better now). Glee has never done cliffhangers like this, so even though I was expecting one, it still was shocking.

 

[OmahaStar]

I pretty much loved this episode, but man, what an emotional punch in the gut. I have to wonder, did Fox and Paramount work together to schedule Tuesday night's programming? We've got Glee doing an episode about gay teen suicide, followed immediately by MTV and Logo, both Paramount-owned, running the "It Gets Better" special covering the same topic. I also noticed The Trevor Project's commercial with Dan Radcliffe airing during Glee.

The music took a back seat here to the message.

Not sure how I feel about Sue and Sebastian here. They're the villains, and they weren't very villainous here. Both felt de-fanged.

Big cliff-hanger here. Would they really kill off one of the series regulars, and not do it during sweeps? That would be shocking.

 

[trekkiebaggio]

Oh my goodness, that was...wow. I'd say that was the best episode in a long while. Earlier this season I was thinking that Glee was kinda losing steam and maybe it was a repeat of Heroes, but the last few weeks have been consistently good.

The regionals episodes never fell to disappoint and a hell of a lot was crammed into that episode. My only complaint really is that New Directions were so much better than their competition, I mean the Warblers are good but they're so one-note.

Glee generally does handle serious issues well, sometimes it can get a bit preachy but this episode was perfect and really moving.

As soon as they showed that text from Quinn I knew something was going to happen, and it's been a while since a show has made me shout "no, no NO!"

I'm a massive fan of Dianna Agron so I hope Quinn isn't killed off, but then part of me thinks it would be an epic storyline.

 

[tomalak301]

I didn't expect that episode, which is maybe why I didn't post much about it last night. I was shocked, and maybe slightly annoyed that Glee calls itself a comedy and then we get that. I was an emotional punch in the gut, and maybe the best episode of the season but there was also a part of me that wondered if they went a little too far. I mean you go from the topic of teen suicide to don't text and drive and it was pretty much a double whammy of gut punch. I wasn't ready for that and I'm still kind of thinking about this episode today.

The topics it covered were really well done, and unfortunately all to realistic. These two issues are very contentious in our society today and Glee handled both of them with seriousness and care. The music did take a back seat this week, despite it being the regionals episode but I still wonder if the writers made this one too dark for it's own good. I wonder if perhaps the don't text and drive did take it too far and because of that, I'm hesitant to praise this episode as much as others seem to.

 

[C_Miller]

Is Glee a comedy though? I mean, they do occasionally have fun with themselves and often, they don't take themselves seriously, but I would never classify it as a comedy. Unfortunately, the Emmys and other award shows do. But since the beginning Glee has been extremely serious, especially when dealing with social issues such as teen pregnancy, gay identity and others. Season 2 took a lighter tone, but the original run of episodes (when the show was consistently good), it wasn't afraid to get serious.

As for Sue and Sebastian being de-fanged, I completely understand given the context. Sue, on one hand, this makes tons of sense. A lot more than her latest regression into destroying the Glee Club. Half of the club as been on the Cheerios at some point (Quinn, Britt, Santana, Kurt, Mercedes) and of course they put together her sister's funeral. Her softening had been a long time coming and I actually think it happened a lot later than it needed to be. She works better as the hardass with a heart. And if you look at it, that has been a part of her character since the beginning.

As for Sebastian, and partly Sue in a way, suicide is very affecting. Like they said, it's all fun and games until something really bad like this happens and I would say that something like this has the ability to reform anyone unless they're truly evil. And I don't think that fits anyone in this show. They're in High School. High Schoolers can be really mean to each other, but rarely do they actually want to inflict harm. I never got the impression that Sebastian was actually trying to hurt anyone. So, that kind of made sense to me.

 

[tomalak301]

^In Various awards and other media areas, they are considered a comedy. I'm not sure if the writers know what kind of show they want Glee to be.

 

[Kestra]

Yeah, my neighbor came over to watch Glee with me and we just expected something lighthearted to watch while we hang out, then we get this episode. What the hell. I also don't like that they did the suicide/bullying message in the same ep as texting/driving. I think that it can be powerful to have one character survive when another one dies unexpectedly, but I don't like having multiple messages. It just starts to feel rushed and preachy.

From a selfish standpoint, I don't want them to kill her off. From a real-life standpoint, I hope that they do. People watch this show and it's the kind of thing that can stay with you. I know this sounds stupid, but I still remember catching just part of an ep of Dawson's Creek where his dad is looking for something in the car while driving, gets into an accident, and dies. I didn't even follow the show so I didn't have an emotional connection to the characters, but it's always stayed with me. It was like a realization that a stupid moment and mistake like that can lead to death. That you don't always have a near miss.

So in a way, I hope she does die. If she gets into a bad accident but gets better, I feel like it undermines the message. If Quinn is gone, her absence from the show will serve as a constant reminder to anyone who watches, but especially teens, that texting while driving can kill you.

 

[C_Miller]

^In Various awards and other media areas, they are considered a comedy. I'm not sure if the writers know what kind of show they want Glee to be.

They are by award shows, but I'm not entirely sure how that's calculated. I mean, they certainly aren't a drama. I actually think a lot of it has to do with their use of music. In terms of movies, Musicals and Comedies are put together in the same category, even darker musicals like Sweeney Todd and Chicago are put there. So by that logic, Glee would fit there too. It's really the first of its kind in a lot of senses.

I mean it doesn't really fit with either Mad Men or The Office.

 

[Guy Gardener]

The big blonde homophobe used to played a sexy simpleton called Beaver on a show called Greek where he once said "Did you see Glee last night? It was so scary! They almost lost their funding and the Glee club almost had to disband, but they got saved at the last second by singing an inspirational song, It was such a relief."