Glee-"Original Song"

The Warblers perform at Regionals on "Glee"
Credit: FOX

My Review of last night's episode of Glee is after the jump.

Wow, just wow.

Glee is a schizophrenic show, it has its episodes that work and its episodes that don't. This was an episode that worked. It did have its negatives, but so does every single episode of Glee. This episode of Glee worked for me on many more levels then any other episode this year. It was easily one of the best episodes of the season because it worked. When I heard that Glee was doing original songs, I admit that I was skeptical. It was gimmicky episodes like this that didn't work (and "My Headband" didn't help anything out). What I found was one of the best episodes that Glee has done in AWHILE. For once I found I wasn't watching Glee out of habit and just for the performances, I was watching because I liked it.

Performance shows generally work more then other episodes because it's these weeks where the show chooses to focus and bring out the best parts of the show. This episode had some of the best character moments that I've seen on Glee because they were able to focus on only two or three plotlines (2 main plotlines on Glee, I'm surprised). With the focus being on two plotlines that worked for me, I was able to tune the negatives. The love triangle between Rachel, Finn, and Quinn and the commencement of the Kurt and Blaine will they, won't they relationship were great plotlines (on a relative level) for Glee and they worked very well.

I admit that I wasn't happy with the way that they started the love triangle between Rachel, Finn, and Quinn. I found the plotline to be pointless pandering and very unnecessary. Although this week's episode didn't forgive all the indiscretions of the arc, the material in this episode was still very good. Glee does emotional plotlines best when they take back the writing and just let the actresses act. That's what this episode did, it let these actresses show off their (little) dramatic chops and take the screen. The scene between Rachel and Quinn on the stage of the auditorium was fantastic. It actually seemed somewhat realistic and was well performed by Dianna Agron and Lea Michele. It also brought the return of the character voiceover, which was used well this week by Agron. 

I'm going to say what everyone is thinking right now: Kurt and Blaine are together, YES! The show didn't do the whole will they, won't they thing that shows do when they know that couples will be together very well. The payoff to that mess was worth it. The scenes between the two of them this week were great, there's no way around it. The scene where they finally kissed was so well done. I admit that I have been waiting for this moment for a long time and to have it finally happen was great. The other scenes between the two of them worked very well. The scene onstage and the funeral (*) were great scenes between the two of them. The funeral was the best part of the last act of the show. Chris Colfer and Darren Criss have great chemistry and work very well together, and I'm glad to see the show use that to its full potential.

(*) For Pavarotti, the bird to whom Kurt had a great emotional attachment.

What the show did to the performances that they haven't done the past few weeks was they added emotional meaning behind them. "Blackbird" had so much added to it because it came from Kurt's pure emotion. It was a beautiful performance and that just added to it. Also, while "Got it Right" wasn't a great song, Lea Michele sang the hell out of it. She nailed exactly what Rachel was feeling when she wrote it and when she performed it. That actually made me get more out of the song than "generic", I actually enjoyed the performance. The Kurt and Blaine duet worked as a beginning to their relationship. Criss and Colfer performed "Candles" very well and the meaning behind it was prevalent in a good way.

Even though it was the emotional solos that worked best, most of the other performances worked very well. "Misery" was a fun way to open the episode and I'll never say no to Darren Criss performing because he usually nails what he performs (AVPM star for the win!). "Hell to the No" reminded me that I miss Amber Riley solos, she is fantastic and I wish the show gave her more singing to do. As for the originals, "Only Child was better them "My Headband" but that's not saying much (which is the idea). "Big Ass...Heart" had crappy lyrics but it did have a good beat behind it that was good enough for me. The only performance I had a problem with was "Troutymouth". Naya Rivera was hot while singing it, but it was too silly for its own good.

The only negatives, for me, came in the final act of the episode. The scene with the judges was godawful. It was a complete redo of the same scene from last year, which wasn't that good to begin with.   The scene wasn't funny. Even though the feel of the scene that gave Rachel a trophy was good, the premise of the scene was too silly for it to work. 

New Directions won Regionals in an episode that showed off what's good about Glee. I don't think that the show will change at all but it's still good to see that the show is capable of being good, I just wish they applied this to every single week of the show. 

What did everyone else think?