Glee Season 2: The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle Episode Review

The Sue Sylvester Bowl Shuffle

Season 2, Episode 11

The hiatus is over! Glee is finally back! Yay!

Well, I don't really like themed episodes in general - they're bit gimmicky for my taste - but this one was surprisingly good. And although the story has really veered far off from reality, I was enormously entertained. I'm still hoping though that there will be enough story and character development in the next coming episodes.

But for what it was, I liked this episode.

THE GOOD:

- Rachel Berry - in this episode - was an absolutely adorable bad ass. Seriously. Who knew? I liked that she was on the front lines against the jocks and she managed to establish that this was her Glee club and she's not having any of that negativity from them. Plus, her in a football gear is just too cute.

- I loved the character progression of Noah Puckerman. I'm not entirely a fan but his transition from a bully to a certified gleek is nice. I thought he was awesome in this episode. I hope the progression continues

- BIESTE! She's possibly the best coach ever! Haha. I love her. She's not afraid to tell those kids when they're being jerks. She stands by her word and doesn't negotiate. The execution of the plot - joining football team and glee - was close to going over-the-top, but I think the fact that she played her part so well, so believably, I was able to really embrace the episode.

- Frankly, I've been frustrated with Finn's characterization lately, but I liked that he finally stepped up as a leader.

- I enjoyed the scene between Rachel, Mercedes, Kurt and Blaine. It was was a short and sweet scene but it served its purpose.

- Shockingly, I didn't want to punch Will Schuester in the face in this episode! Yay!

THE BAD:

- The cannon stunt with Brittany was ridiculous, in my opinion, and I just didn't care for the story line. I liked Brittany's one liners though.

- Karofsky's character development was quite interesting and he had great moments in this episode. I'm just a little annoyed that he's getting so much development while Tina, Mike and, yeah, Mercedes continue to languish in the background.

- That whole "confrontation" between hockey players and football players was obnoxious. I get that the jocks needed to get scared into quitting, but I found that to be ridiculous. Besides, Karofsky plays hockey.

- Quinn cheating.. again! Seriously writers, why do you have to make sure that Quinn is completely unlikable? I don't get it. If you want to hook Quinn and Finn up again, why did you start it off like that? It just left a bad taste in my mouth.Sorry.

THE MUSIC:

CALIFORNIA GURLS was a lame performance by the Cheerios. I think that was the point though, so they were successful with that. Haha. Like Sue, I was bored! Good job!

NEED YOU NOW. Ok. I admit, I didn't like their recorded version of the song as I thought Puck's voice sounded a little weak. But after watching the actual performance, I take it back. This was a good duet and I'm not even a fan of Puckerman. It was a current song that caught some of the jocks' attention, and I enjoyed it. Oh, and Rachel's face when they started fighting was hysterical.

SHE'S NOT THERE. Finn sounded wonderful in this song. I'm not so sure about the costume but I enjoyed watching the football team dance on stage. Haha.

BILLS, BILLS, BILLS was a fun number by the Warblers. Yes, it was random and out of place, but it was nice to know that they are actually preparing for the competition in advance.

THRILLER/HEADS WILL ROLL was epic. Sure, I got kind of dizzy with the camera work during this number, but everything else was excellent. The make up, the set design and the choreography. Great performance.

Download music HERE.
Download episode HERE.