Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Glee Season 2: Original Song Episode Review

Original Song
Season 2, Episode 16

Wow. Surprisingly, this episode seemed a lot more cohesive than the last several weeks. I, for one, am greatly relieved. Glee, I might possibly be back in love with you - unless, you screw it up again!  

But seriously, I'm such a sucker for the whole competitions episodes. I don't know why. I mean, these sectionals/regionals shows are always one the best episodes for Glee and after the disaster that was last week, I really enjoyed this one. I also thought the episode tied up some loose ends pretty nicely

No, the episode wasn't as EPIC as last year's Journey Regionals - where I, admittedly, cried a couple of times - but this might be the best episode I've seen on Glee in a LONG TIME!

THE GOOD:

- Rachel Berry. She got me all emotional in this episode. I'm glad that she was properly given her due here. She was definitely the team leader, and she really has been this season, so it was nice - after all of the crap this girl took for a couple of episodes - that they did back her. It was nice to see her finally being and feeling fully accepted and appreciated by the other Glee club members.  I'm going to let myself enjoy it until the glee club's amnesia sets in. Haha.

- I was utterly shocked - of course, in a good way - that there was some continuity on the Brittany/Santana plot. Who knew?

- Though Quinn somewhat irked me in this episode, her scene with Rachel at the auditorium might have been the best acting performance I've seen of her since.. umm, forever! What Quinn said was harsh, but it did make sense, at least to me. Plus, I felt her in that sequence. Good job Quinn!

- Brittany's one liners are back! Finally! And yes, Brittany is the first fan of Rachel Berry's songwriting - My Headband! HAHA. 

- Holy kissing, batman!! That kiss between Kurt and Blaine came out of nowhere. THEY KISSED! Haha. To be perfectly honest though, I found that scene rather endearing - especially for Kurt.

- Kurt's character really came off well here. He stood up to Blaine when he should have - saying that Blaine got too many solos! Thank you! - and he was really supportive of New Directions. I really liked his character again in this episode.

THE BAD:

- New Directions' costume! Enough said.

- Sue Sylvester. She's lame now. I don't know what happened? The dirt in the locker? Stupid. Throwing sticks at Mercedes? Dumb. Slapping the announcer? Not funny. Sorry, writers. You just made Sue Sylvester irrelevant. I get it, Sue is supposed to be ridiculous. I get it, Glee is not concerned with reality. However, she slapped someone on stage in front of an entire audience. She’s thrown kids in hallways. Why in the world am I seeing previews of her still in the school building and not in a courtroom? It’s just not funny. Seriously. Make Sue say cryptically mean things. Make her plot against Will. Have her do Sue’s Corner and be racist or whatever on TV. But to have her in a school building being physically violent is beyond suspending reality. It’s just dumb and probably a cop-out.

- The judges' discussion was pointless. All their rants felt very forced.

THE MUSIC:

MISERY was fun to watch. I'm getting bored with the Warblers as a whole - and their predictable Top 40 song choices - but this was pretty entertaining, especially the breakdown part with the tables. I actually prefer this than the two Warblers songs. Just saying.

ONLY CHILD wasn't as entirely clueless as My Headband, but this was equally funny. It literally had me saying "WHAT IS SHE SINGING?" Heck, I couldn't stop laughing at "You've got just one egg, you're not going to make an omelet" or whatever she said. HAHA. I love you Rachel Berry!

BLACKBIRD. Sad but lovely. I liked how Kurt's voice sounded in this song. That said, I think it was Darren's stare and Chris's tears that had me.

TROUTY MOUTH. I need a studio version of this song.. stat! I'm laughing all over again just thinking about it! Haha. That was just pure writing gold right there! New. Favorite. Glee. Song. EVER! Ok, maybe not.. but still!

BIG ASS HEART was actually kind of good. Adorable and funny! I liked Puck's facial expressions and I kind of adored his voice in this song. Who knew?

HELL TO THE NO. This song is ridiculously catchy. I thought she sounded amazing and the whole performance was just fun. Plus, she was incredibly sassy in this number. Oh, Mercedes how I missed you!

JESUS IS A FRIEND OF MINE by Aural Intensity was hilarious! I hate to say this, but I actually liked this one better than..

CANDLES. Sorry, but this was just awful - even worse than Quinn and Sam's Time Of Our Life. I don't know. Kurt's voice didn't fit the song and the their harmonies were off. I liked how adorable they were in Baby, It's Cold Outside, but this was just pitiful. Again, sorry. 

RAISE YOUR GLASS was better than Candles, but then again, I didn't care for it that much. I admit that the cover sounded neat, but that's just about it for me. Warblers doing Raise Your Glass = Vocal Adrenaline doing funk. Just can't do it.

GET IT RIGHT. And I sincerely teared up during this number. How dare you Rachel Berry? Haha. This performance was just both beautiful and emotional. It was perfectly acted and the whole sequence wasn't as overdone or beaten with a stick as I expected. Absolutely gorgeous.

LOSER LIKE ME. Yes, context can really change things! I honestly didn’t care for this original song in isolation, but watching it all come together in this episode, this kind of grown on me a bit. It still sounded too High School Musical for my taste, but the visual and the Sue-esque undertones really had me enjoying the whole performance. This song made more sense now.

Download music HERE.
Download episode HERE.

SEE YOU APRIL!

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Their harmonies made sense musically in Candles. The problem is Kurt's voice simply does not mesh with The Warblers.

DAM THE NATION said...

Well, if Kurt's voice doesn't mesh well with the rest of the group, there goes your harmonies as well. Yes, it made sense but it didn't sound good, that's why I said it was off.

Will said...

I missed the past 3 Glee episodes but still decided to watch this one. Sad, no?

- Candles was boring! Good thing they redeemed themselves in Raise Your Glass. A Warblers performance isn't complete without them moving on the stage.

- The original song was catchy. And I love how they're now using mics! Joyful, joyful!

- You're right. Judges deliberation was highly unnecessary. Just because they're huge celebrities doesn't mean they deserve their own scene. They should've just gotten unknowns to portray the judges.

Marion said...

Will Glee be on hiatus again? If yes, when will it resume?

DAM THE NATION said...

Will: I guess, you should watch those 3 episodes for you to enjoy FULLY this episode. :) Just saying.

DAM THE NATION said...

Marion: Yes. No word yet. But I think second/third week of April. :)

Danni said...

The only reason I liked Candles is because the song is by a band that I LOVE but idk kurt's voice definitely didn't mesh well with it. It's much better with female singers. That's how it is originally with Cassadee Pope. But yeah. Hell To The No was super catchy too. The rest... meh.

Lee said...

Sue didn't slap the announcer, she full on decked her (aka, punched her). The idea behind it was that with all the other stuff she's done, she found a loophole or a way to wiggle out of it and still come off as a reputable character to the world. With this, punching someone in front of everybody, she's shown her true colors to the world. She can't deny her intense bitterness anymore, and I think that this is a pivotal moment for her character in the series.

We'll have to wait and see what happens, I guess.

DAM THE NATION said...

Danni: I like Kurt's voice. I really do. But just like what you've said, it didn't mesh well with the song.

DAM THE NATION said...

Lee: Haha. Well, I guess she really punched her. But yeah, let's see how this whole "Sue getting physically violent" pans out.

jayviedistor said...

ang cute ng Loser Like Me! :D

Aaron Vincent said...

Loser Like Me is addicting! It perfectly embodies the entire show.

I beg to differ on Aural Intensity's song and Warbler's. Warbler's performance was lightyears better than AIs(oops, that could stand for another mediocre tv show). And why why why after AI's awesome Bohemian Rhapsody(thanks to JGroff) last season, we get this religious crapfest of a song? It doesn't make any sense! It's freaking unbelievable! It simply doesn't compute at all!

Can I just, though, is that blond dude on warblers also American Idol's "That Guy"(forgot the real name)? The guy that shares the same song with Medina on the last solo round on hollywood week?

DAM THE NATION said...

Jayvie: I agree.

DAM THE NATION said...

Aaron: It's relative. I prefer AI (and no, it's not a mediocre tv show!) over the Warblers just because I enjoyed it better than the Warblers' lame version of Candles and Raise Your Glass.

Also, you're confusing the two Glee clubs. AI performed You Raise Me Up and another song to suck up to the judges at last year's Regionals. VA (Vocal Adrenaline) on the other hand performed Bohemian Rhapsody. AI and VA are two different groups.

AI has always been awful in their song selection. But if you're paying attention and watching religiously (no pun intended), the song choice of AI did make sense because it was all about sucking up to the judges AGAIN - just like what Sue mentioned to Will just before Regionals. I guess, everything adds up perfectly well now no?

And no, that's not Carson Higgins.

katuray said...

I must say, THE star is back! This epi reminded me of the Rachel that I adored and loved (to hate) when the show started.

Quinn was my 2nd fave character this wk.. she was.. believable. as for Finn, well, he's still a big douche!

I read in an article that when asked abt FinChel, Ryan Murphy said that he has no plans of getting Rachel and Finn back together on the coming epis. I seriously hope he doesn't change his mind!

All original songs were (surprisingly) good, and Trouty Mouth was so freakin' hilarious! ;)

The beat-boxing Warbler is such a hottie! And he's the ONLY reason why I like the Warblers! LOL!

katuray said...

Oh yeah, and Sue.. 1 word.. JUVENILE!

Michael S. said...

Wow. I was not expecting this to be the episode that Blaine realizes he is really into Kurt. And I definitely did not expect a kiss out of that. But totally great for Kurt, he's a pretty lucky guy. Only thing I want to say is don't sing a duet like Candles again. I actually just got done watching it for (again) on my phone, I really loved this episode. See, that's why I love being a DISH Network customer/employee - only DISH, with the right equipment, let's customers watch live TV and DVR recordings on the go, without any extra monthly fees. No other provider can say that. Best part is it works with most phones, tablets and all laptops. Cool, huh? Definitely suggest checking it out.

DAM THE NATION said...

katuray: Yup. THE star is back! And I also love trouty mouth. Hehe

DAM THE NATION said...

katuray: i like that word. juvenile! :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Michael S: Haha. Nice.

Michael S. said...

Haha, yeah I love trouty mouth, too :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Michael S.: Same here!

Pipo said...

I really liked this episodes, almost to the point that it only had a few flaws. I liked the original songs and "Loser Like Me" will definitely be Glee's anthem for the coming months. I hope they do more original songs! Cross fingers...
I also felt like Ryan Murphy intentionally made the Warblers sound bad so that we would think that the originals were amazing. I mean, they were amazing but haing too many spectacular song numbers would distract us from the originals.

kPg said...

I'm glad too that the group finally got to appreciate Rachel in that episode. I was like "aww.." when it was mentioned that they all voted for her. I just hope that she doesn't go back to square one after that. She's my favorite character!

I also think the Quinn-Rachel confrontation part was an improvement in Diana's acting. The scene was intense! Quinn was vulnerable and at the same time fierce, like she was throwing punches at Rachel word after word. That was wonderful.

The kissing shocked me too! I made me hold on to the edge of my seat! But it felt too much already when they kissed the second time. The first one was long enough.

Lol @ the Regionals costume. =))

Yeah, Sue wasn't that funny in that episode. The dirt prank was lame, but the throwing sticks... I found it funny. Ha ha! And the punch was indeed irrelevant. I thought she was gonna destroy the trophy, but nooo. She punched the announcer! I'm now worried about the legal implications of that for Sue.

I found the judges' deliberation part exceptionally funny. That was the 3rd one, right? They were all hilarious for me. Idk, I guess I just get it. Nabitin nga ako eh, I wanted more!

Hmm, I'm not a fan of the Warblers. I liked their rendition of Teenage Dream, but that's just it. I think Blaine is irritating and OA when he performs, and everyone else is just bleh.

Oh god, I loved Trouty Mouth too! FUNNIEST THING EVER! And yeah, Hell To The No was really great. I have to have that in my playlist, he he.

I'm with you in Candles. It bored me to death. Well, I really don't like the Warblers in general, so... lol. And I LOVE LOVE LOVE their original songs! I just think it was genius. Especially Get It Right. Whoever wrote that must have taken a peak in my diary. LOLOLOL

Btw, you're Pinoy din pala? Good to know! =)

Wait, April Rhodes is coming back next episode? Yay!

Michael S. said...

I'm just surprised that they got Blaine to kiss Kurt like that, especially since Darren Criss is suposedly straight.

Anonymous said...

To clarify something: Vocal Adrenaline was the big contender group last year that sang Bohemian Rhapsody with Jonathan Groff. This year, Sue coaches Aural Intensity -- an entirely different, way crappier, group.

Trouty Mouth just about killed me.

DAM THE NATION said...

Pipo: I thought so too. They intentionally did make the Warblers as weak as possible, for us not to question the result. HAHA

DAM THE NATION said...

kPg: Wow! That was long! I appreciate that. I agree with most of your points. :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Michael S.: Well, I guess if you're an actor. You do what you have to do. :)

DAM THE NATION said...

Anonymous: That what I said. AI is different from VA. :)

Anonymous said...

i miss the old glee. the glee with several continuous storylines that came to a head at the competition; where the characters made sense and acted like real people (and when they plot you hear the creepy background harmonizing); where they didn't cram so many songs into one hour, and had meaningful dialogue. now you have storylines that are knee jerk reactions to public clamoring and songs every minute and shifts in character so swift you get whiplash.

as a contest episode, this isn't my favorite. i liked the first sectionals because they were literally at the losing end then they got stuff together and made a tremendous hit. then at regionals, they came up against the mighty vocal adrenaline, and i loved jesse's performance there. at this year's sectionals, santana sang (wow!) and brittany danced. those two are wonderful.

now rachel's back to doing the solos again. what happened to featuring everyone? she's ok for ballads but i like santy's voice better. and with the awful duet by klaine, it's like they were throwing the competition. i knew ND would win, given that regionals came early this year, so there'd be time for nationals, so i felt rather bored with this episode. the original songs are written by folks who regularly churn out compositions for pop stars, so get it right felt like it could have been sung by miley cyrus (plug in the words it's the climb, almost same) and loser like me could have been done by any disney crew. the latter could be their anthem. i'm not against the original songs. but i like it when they do their take on other artists. it brings back the familiar, it helps sales of aging singers and bands, it showcases the talent of their music supervisor. love em.

i think they brought bitchy quinn back because she's the only girl who can put rachel down. rachel should be by herself. she's a much stronger character when she's alone. with finn, she put on airs because they're an it couple.

yes. finn is boring. i used to like him because he was decent and upright - his finest moment was episode one season one when he told everyone at the football team that they were all losers. after that, he put his spine away in his locker. and what happened to his college plans? wouldn't it be funny if he got back with rachel then we see him reading an acceptance letter from college cuz he got a scholarship after singing with rachel - and he's got an evil plotting grin?

i miss puck's zingers, and cuz he sold his pool cleaning business he hasn't been shirtless a while. sad.

for lack of male eyecandy, i look towards blaine, and can't help but hope that he gets duets with rachel. their voices match, somehow he cushions rachel's high pitch, and they can be friends and he can help her with her outfits. hey, every diva needs a gay bff.

i love santy's character, she's sexy and mean but she looked real cute last week when she was vulnerable. i am ok that she hides this side of her, it's raw and full of real emotion, and she'd rather not have that. i can imagine in the future they'll get to college (hey this is glee universe, brit would probably get a cheerleading scholarship) and they're going out with football guys but still meeting on the sly.

holly's only good in small doses.

i miss how emma anchors the competition time. she was great in their first sectionals. now she's just a gag. sad sad.

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