Glee Season 2: The Substitute Episode Review

The Substitute

Season 2, Episode 7

Far from being the best episode of the season - more so, the series - but I actually enjoyed the episode. I don't know. This, to me, felt a lot cooler than the last few episodes. Yes, some of the jokes were a bit offensive but this is like a provocative High School Musical. So, whatever. Haha.

Needless to say, I was just glad to see Glee once again be the "biting musical comedy" it professes to be and have some of its snark back instead of trying to be politically correct in every way.

THE GOOD:

- I liked that there was some semblance of continuity in the story. Thank God!

- Gwyneth Paltrow, I have no words. Seriously. I was really expecting not to like her character, but I now kind of wish she could have a recurring role. Now, although her scenes were highly offensive - except for the Lindsay Lohan bit - I thought her character of Holly Holiday was hilarious. I for one, NEVER thought I'd see her on a TV show. Nice.

- I thought the musical numbers were fantastic and actually pretty epic! I was a little iffy when I heard the songs a couple of days prior to the actual telecast, but the performances somehow made the songs quite entertaining. Who knew?

- The scene with Kurt and Blaine was possibly the most hilariously gay conversation ever. Yes, that may have been the gayest scene I've ever witnessed. Haha. Hysterical.

- The hilarious Brittany is back! Her line where Mr. Schue taught her the rest of the alphabet was funny. Ha!

- I just need to mention that the Beiste - Sylvester scene was incredibly funny. The look on Sue's face was priceless. Haha.

THE BAD:

- Mercedes finally got her storyline, and while the premise was interesting it was just freakin' ridiculous that it was all about food. Seriously? I hate that they're making Mercedes out to be some stereotypical girl that eats away her troubles with food. Mercedes is sassy and strong, and it's like they threw a Mercedes storyline in there haphazardly just because they felt they had to.

- Was it just me, or did Karofsky's threat at the end sounds more pathetic than actually believable? I heard it and was like "umm, no you won't you idiot, you're attracted to him and can't even handle that."

- OMG! I hate it when Will and Terri are together. True, the concept of Will being lonely is fine, and while I can tolerate the evil Terri, them actually seeing them together was kind of creepy. I don't know.

THE MUSIC:

CONJUNCTION JUNCTION. Ok. This is just my make-up title for what may be Glee's first original - correct me if I'm wrong. Haha. So, this isn't a Glee original but, this was still clearly unexpected and totally genius. Amusing, to say the least.

FORGET YOU was fun. It had that Season 1 feel to the musical performance. Now, a lot of people I know - including me - didn't like the idea of Gwyneth on the show because she "can't sing", but I have to say her rendition was amazing. If I'm being honest, I've been listening to it non-stop. Ha!

MAKE 'EM LAUGH. Frankly, they could've done the whole episode without this performance. Yes, the entire dynamics of the number was perfect, but I just didn't get the point of it aside from showcasing Will Schuester's performance skills? Plus, I'm not a very big fan of slapstick comedy.

NOWADAYS/HOT HONEY RAG. I enjoyed this performance. I never thought I would, but this was really good. Well, I'm not entirely a huge Chicago fan, though it was just refreshing to see both Rachel and Gwyneth dance and loosen up.

SINGING IN THE RAIN/UMBRELLA. I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of the mash-up. Sure, it was good on paper, but the horribly messed up execution and the key change on the song made the mash-up a bit weird. That said, I think the choreography and the set design made this performance quite memorable.

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