Vocal Expression

Just in case you forgot, Glee decided to remind you why it's one of the best shows on TV!  Seriously, could they have packed any more awesome moments into a single episode?  Just when I thought they had max-ed out on awesome, they go and give us that moving story involving Rachel and the former football player who is now paralyzed from the chest down.  I feel pretty confident declaring that scene at the end between them one of the most moving scenes ever.  In the span of a single episode, this show managed to make me laugh so hard I had to pause my DVR and blink away tears so I could see the characters without the blurry glow that tear-filled eyes provide.  And while I missed Jesse (or rather, his perfect voice), the bonus Brittany this week seemed to make up for his absence.  But the episode's best lines were once again relegated to one Sue Sylvester.


"Yeah, you know what? I checked out of this conversation about a minute back, so good luck with your troubles and I'm gonna make it a habit not to stop and talk to students because this has been a colossal waste of my time" might just be my favorite Sue-ism to date!  It's not just the line, but the way she said it that caused me to pause my DVR for a little laugh break.  Here she was pretending to care about Kurt's struggles with his father accepting his sexual orientation and hanging out with Finn more than him, and in true Sue style, she didn't give a lick about him or his "troubles."  And later when Mercedes quit the Cheerios (yay!), a very shocked Sue declared that no one quits the Cheerios -- "They either die or I kick them out."  Imagine her confusion over a student wanting to leave the popular group because she no longer wanted to be a part of a crowd that didn't match her true self.  Go Mercedes!

Rachel Berry is a tough character for me.  I want to like her and I want to hate her.  The show won't let me do either exclusively, so I wind up fluctuating between "like a lot" and "annoyed a lot."  Maybe I just like to see the good in everyone, but I've always felt that underneath all that selfishness, arrogance, perfection, obsession and high- and- mighty- holier- than- thou attitude was a good person.  A bit misguided, but still good... somewhere... buried deep... very deep.  This week, I feel a tad vindicated.  At first, things were going along in typical Rachel fashion.  For her project, she chose Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" (a personal fave of mine as well -- don't judge, the song is incredibly inspirational!) and declared that the song described her current self because the rest of glee club was the big obstacle in her way.  Then, she lost her singing voice and became obsessed with what would happen if she never got it back ("I'm like Tinkerbell.  I need the applause!").  But then, something magical happened.  Something out of character and wonderful.  Rachel Berry's heart grew.  She began to feel something... for SOMEONE ELSE!!  I know!  I can barely believe it either, but it happened and it was so moving.  She met someone who had lost a lot more than his voice.  He lost his body and in the process, found his voice.  Their duet at the end to U2's "One" was brilliant, sob-inducing and poignant.  See, Rachel is a good person!

Props to the show for using "Jesse's Girl" as one of the songs this week (could Finn have chosen a more perfect song?) and for giving Brittany more scenes ("There's so many lyrics").  I'm still loving the relationship between Quinn and Mercedes.  Kurt's solo (the second one) was incredible!  And, I'm still trying to get over Puck's jazz number!  That was awesome!!

Glee airs Tuesday nights on Fox.  If you missed this week's episode, check it out at Fox.com.  The music of Glee is available on iTunes.