Glee Watch: A Big Gay Team of Dancing Gays

Last night's episode established, for me, that this show will feature more than just stereotypes and caricatures. Kudos to Murphy for pushing the ball forward and creating consequences for his characters who, while they live in this fantasy town, are forced to deal with the dire realities of their situations.

This show definitely has promise, but while the last 2 episodes seemed too slow, this one seemed too fast and jumpy - a girl is pregnant (which we weren't shown teh backstory of until about 10 minutes after we learned about it) teacher's wife wants to take her baby (uh, isn't there about 3 months difference there), the lead singer quits (twice) even though we've already addressed her issues about not being able to sing every lead in a previous episode (the pilot, even, maybe?--can't remember). Just jumped around a lot, and I found it disjointed. With the pregnancy, why not show the "affair" and the irony of her having sex w/ another guy while being president of celibacy club, or at least show the affair, or at least milk the "mystery of how it happened" a little longer. Seems like she spun Finn on the hot tub story, we all scratched our heads for 10 minutes, and then they exposed the truth.

I don't know - i'm not a critic but it just seemed a little jumpy to me. And using the same song over and over again got a little boring.

Ok I'm done complaining - at least it isn't about autopsies on dead bodies. So it's got that going for it.

I really liked last night's episode a lot - much more than last week, which I thought was kinda uneven. I like that the show shifts in tone so often that I never know what to expect. I loved the scene with Will and Finn, discussing guy-dad stuff while both had females manipulating them into thinking they had fathered children. The coming out scene was very well handled, and the integration of Glee and the football team was pretty hilarious.

I also thought that the episode did a great job of humanizing Will's wretched, wretched wife - showing the toll that the lying was taking on her, showing how she was actually pretty perceptive about the state of their marriage ("he's already got one foot out the door") and how her desperation to save her marriage is the real reason she lied (rather than just for materialistic benefits or something). This was the first episode where I stopped hating her guts and started appreciating her character a bit more She's still nuts, though...

I thought this was the best episode so far this season. Looking forward to next week!

call me contrary, but I think that earnestness is bad for Glee, and that the broader the show is, the more entertaining it will be.
_
I was also disappointed that Kurt wasn't given a singing number, an especially bad decision given that "Single Ladies" is about more than choreography --- the show missed a major opportunity in not using the song to address gender/sexuality/commitment issues. They lyrics to Single Ladies are a perfect counterpoint to the other themes of the show (both the 'teen pregnancy' and 'troubled marriage' themes), but the impact of those lyrics was lost because the story-line focussed exclusively on the implications of booty-shaking.

I was perfectly content to watch a show about kids singing Les Mis and Journey, but if they want to make an actual STORY fine, I guess go ahead...

This weeks was better than last weeks, but I don't think it approached the first two. That said I liked this one, and agree that it was nice to see some of the characters (especially mohawk) fleshed out.

However: I demand more ocd girl!

I don't ever want them to rehabilitate Sue. She is totally hilarious. However, I thought it was cool that her last 'As Sue Cs It' commentary that ended the show was actually spot-on and inspirational. It adds a little depth to her.

[...] Glee Watch: A Big Gay Team of Dancing Gays SPOILER ALERT: Before you read this post, take a moment to consider the social benefits of caning, and watch last [...] [...]

I think this show is pretty evenly divided between an interesting story about kids and a stupid story about adults (Curt's dad excepted, but that was about a kid anyway).

The kids all seem to have some depth and a lacky of Mary Sue-ism that I like. Rachel is the kid most music theatre fans would most easily identify with-- very talented, an outsider, plans for the future. But she's also really selfish and rude and hurtful to everyone lower on the social totem pole than she is.

Similarly Curt could be a gay, closeted stereotype, but it seems like the only person he wasn't out to is his dad. Last week he easily came out to a friend, and he doesn't seem to be desperately trying to not be gay.

Quinn was likeable and sympathetic in this last episode, she had her own plans for future involving getting out of the town which pregnancy ruined. Her choice to pin it on Finn seemed to be about what's best for her baby, not just what's best for her.

The adults on the other hand... not so great. It's patently obvious that Glee teacher and guidance counselor need to get together, and it's only the craaaazy manipulative wife who's keeping them apart. Which is completely boring and unnuanced.

My only real concern going forward (I LOVE this show, btw) is that there's a real element of "women are the WORST." Must we really have both male leads be manipulated by their partners with pregnancies that are, in some way faked? Is that all women do when you're in a relationship: lie to you and try to take your money? I hope for better.

I love how you highlighted the epsiode's emphasis on the small town. I hadn't thought about it before but it was something that took GLEE (momentarily) out of its high camp mode.

But I do disagree with your assessment " And it's true of Kurt, who grew beyond the queeny stereotype he first embodied in this episode about coming out to his dad." I still find Kurt to be awfully "queeny" (not that that is entirely bad) and I am waiting for the show to move beyond 70s ear stereotypes of what it is to be a gay man.

I've elaborated on this in more detail in a recent blog post, if anyone is interested:
http://judgmentalobserver.wordpress.com/2009/09/26/update-on-is-glee-racistheterosexistableist/

[...] like West Side Story also make an appearance. The biggest thing that brings me out of the show (for others it’s the football inaccuracies or having musical numbers at all, which, btw, I think is ridiculous. If you’ve already [...]