Glee Season 2: Special Education Episode Review

Special Education

Season 2, Episode 9

This, to me, was a very interesting episode, but all in all an upgrade from some of the episodes this season. The character balance was a refreshing return, and several stories started coming to a head that needed to. Of course, there were other parts that still need tweaking.

But overall, this was a decent episode full of drama, good music and some comedy, which was, yes, a good mix for the show but something was definitely missing and I can't put my finger on it. But, whatever. Ha!

THE GOOD: 

- I honestly liked that the episode started with the Finn-Santana-Rachel drama. Somehow, it fed in to the issues within New Directions.

- There was such joy in this episode - despite some of the not-so-happy plot twists, if you will - that I think some of the other episodes have been missing. I personally like when it really focuses back on the kids, and while I do like the occasional guest star every now and then, the best episodes are always the ones that focus primarily on the Glee club itself.

- Santana killed every scene she was in tonight. While the way Finn's lie came out to Rachel was unexpected, it was entirely in character in my opinion. Her later trolling of Rachel, again, was cruel but we've learned by now that Santana's a cruel character, and I love it. Haha.

- Now, as far as the actual Sectionals performance went, New Directions owned it! Seriously. I already addressed Valerie's pure, sheer, unadulterated awesomeness in some of my previous posts, but Time Of My Life was surprisingly good as well after all.

- The angst in this episode was good. I mean, it was a nice change from all the tired 'Kurt's gay' storylines of the past several episodes. Don't get me wrong, I like Kurt's character but it's becoming more of an overkill to me. Kurt wasn't overused this week, and the scenes he was in were actually pretty good. Don't Cry for Me Argentina was fantastic, from both characters - but I'll get into that later.

- Brittany’s adultery thing cracked me up! Haha. She had her moments in this episode.

- The Rachel/Kurt friendship was adorable. I loved it, more so than when they were bitching at each other over solos. This was really refreshing to see. Actually, I love Rachel in this episode. I'm glad they brought back the true Rachel we all know and love.

- The Hipsters were hilarious! I loved how they had trouble moving across the stage. I know, I'm petty.

THE BAD: 

- A tie? Seriously? New Directions most definitely deserved to win that because Dalton's performance was mediocre at best, vocally and routine wise. Beyond that, has anyone heard of two winners being chosen in a one-winner competition? The ball was dropped there. For me, it was clear that the writers felt that they can't continue Kurt's character without him moving on - which, again, baffles me - hence that kind of result. But really, I felt the tie was completely unnecessary. After the Warblers' somewhat lackluster performance, I'm scratching my head.

- Lauren can go now. Like, now. Haha. I just do not like her. The fact that she was singing and dancing in Dog Days Are Over made me ill. You're not a part of this group! Sorry.

- I'm not sure I understand what happened at the end of the episode. I mean, Rachel did tell Finn the truth and that she didn't go through with it. So, while Finn should be pissed because of the history with Puck and Quinn, I don't know if it's really that bad - bad enough to break up. Finn's a wuss. Sure, he didn’t cheat on her, but lying about being a virgin and leaving her in the dark when everyone else knew about it is a pretty big lie.

- I have to admit, Rachel being on the back burner all season long has made, for me, the light dim on this once beloved show. At first, I got tired of her but I actually miss her now. I think the writers didn't handled her character quite well and it's terribly sad. Rachel has no friends. Santana saying that no one likes her was true and cruel but the girl has made strides. Before, she left the club completely. This time, she stuck it out and was in the background. That's progress. But no one reaches out to her. If the writers don't shed light on that anytime soon, I'm going to flip out.

- I'm sorry but I really didn't care much for the Emma-Will drama. But that's just me.

THE MUSIC:

DON'T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA was beautiful. It wasn't the division I expected lyrically, but it was absolutely exquisite. I liked that Rachel had her true Evita moment on that balcony. Haha. To me, this scene did a great job of showing just how different these two are. They're talented, they think highly of their talents, and they don't apologize for it. They see each other as the only real competition, and I actually think that's a fair assessment.

THE LIVING YEARS was unintentionally funny. Ok. I apologize now but the performance was ridiculous. I don't believe that any senior citizens were singing, and the whole thing was plain absurd. As I've said, I loved how they had trouble moving across the stage though. Haha.

HEY, SOUL SISTER. Cute performance. They sounded great but it wasn't as mind-blowing or charming as Teenage Dream. How I wish they used that instead of this during Sectionals. I think the best part of this sequence was the support New Directions gave Kurt, especially from Rachel. The "smile" moment warmed my heart.

(I'VE HAD) THE TIME OF MY LIFE. Besides the fact that they now seriously need to come up with a different way for everyone to enter, I liked the performance. Quinn and Sam have great chemistry together, and they did a great job. The dancing was fantastic as well, which was a nice change of pace. I knew the actual performance would be better than the audio alone.

VALERIE. Fan-freakin-tastic! I think Santana, Brittany and Mike killed it. Oh, and the background dancing was excellent too. Again, it was a pure, sheer, unadulterated awesomeness from New Directions. Great energy and this performance alone made them more than deserving to win Sectionals outright. Enough said.

DOG DAYS ARE OVER was also great. The song totally works for these guys. The little montage with this number was great because I got to see happy Kurt, I felt  sad for Rachel at her locker, and it was a great ending to the episode. I loved the group hug as well. Everything was genuine. Plus, Tina and Mercedes in a duet was refreshing.


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Download episode HERE.
Watch the preview for next episode HERE.