The Morning After: It Keeps Me Hanging On
FOX
Spoilers for last night's Glee coming up after the jump:
Though other episodes may have had more signal musical numbers (Don't Stop Believin', e.g.) or memorable single scenes (Kurt's coming out to his father), "Throwdown" may have been the best single episode of Glee, as an episode, since the pilot. Glee is an odd show to watch and follow because structurally it's simply not like much else on TV.
In particular, it seems to be embracing the fact that it is not just a show about music, but it's a full-fledged TV musical, the way Viva Laughlin attempted to be: a show in which sometimes singing is integral to the action, but other times characters go into song to reflect their emotional states. (I also liked that "Throwdown," intentionally or not, acknowledged some weaknesses or ticks of the show: not giving supporting characters like Mercedes enough to do, and Rachel's habit of storming off in a huff about something in pretty much every episode.)
Quinn's number last night was an example of the straight-ahead musical approach, and the show is lucky that it cast someone as good as Dianna Agron in what could have been a stereotypical bitch-queen role. Scratch that: Quinn is a stereotypical bitch queen, but like several other characters, she began as a type and is developing into a person.
All this makes it more frustrating that Jessalyn Gilsig's Terri continues to be the show's weak link, showing no kernel of humanity that would suggest a reason that Will might have fallen in love with her in the first place. (Terri is sometimes pitiable, but that's not the same as sympathetic.)
At msnbc.com, Andy Dehnart wrote a very good critique of the show in which he extends the comparison to creator Ryan Murphy's Popular, which had over-the-top characters, but was ultimately able to find a way to connect with even the most villainous of them. That's one direction you can go with a show like this, and Agron's Quinn is a great example of it. Terri, on the other hand, is an example of the road taken by Murphy's Nip/Tuck, which returned to FX last night, and over the seasons has let its characters become so grotesque as to be unwatchable.
Glee is mostly making the right choices; but it's a good enough show for us to expect it to make those choices more often. In the meantime, any episode with as much Sue Sylvester as "Throwdown" is a winner.
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1
Something that is important to me about the show is that the characters don't just break randomly into song. Even when they are singing to reflect emotional states it is at practice or alone at home. But last night Quinn was just walking down the hallway of the school singing and no one seemed to care. That IS what happens in musicals, but up till then I don't think it happened in Glee. It might seem like a minor thing, but I think you have to make a choice and stick with it: Is the show a musical, where everything is prechoreographed, or is it a drama where the glee club is good at working together spontaneously? I'm sure I'm the only one this matters to, but I hated Quinn in that hallway, all 2 seconds of it...
That said, Jane Lynch was good enough that I didn't even notice the lack of Emma until 45 minutes through. She needs an Emmy.
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1.1
Rachel had a very similar hallway-singing scene in, I think, "Showmance."
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1.2
Mercedes did that when she broke Kurt's windshield, too.
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1.3
Thanks. I had forgotten about Rachel's, but I remember not liking Mercedes'.
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2
I loved how they busted out O Fortuna every time a point was scored by Sue or Schue. The sheer outrage on Jane Lynch's face cracked me up every time.
I gotta say that the Quinn number fell flat for me. It's the first time I thought a musical number was out of place. It didn't bother me that they went 'musical' on us, but that it just didn't seem to fit very well. Song choice - meh. Dance number - meh. Dianna Agron is great, though, and she worked it as well as she could.
I think they've painted themselves into a corner with Terri. She's stupid, vain, mean, petty, and devious. I'm not sure how they could show her in a positive light at all. I could do with some more Kendra, though, and her creepy ginger kids. That was hilarious.
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2.1
agree completely -- the song made no sense at that place in the narrative, and the choreography was photographed all wrong (way too many long shots, and close up -- none of the "mid-range" shots where you can see the actual dancing).
_
I think that Glee is turning into a musical version of what James criticizes about 30 Rock -- a show with a lot of "high points" that really never gives its subsidiary characters real lives.
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3
I actually really enjoyed Quinn's numbers. And I thought the parallels between "Keep Me Hanging On" and "Keep Holding On" were played out pretty well in the song. The two seemed to give the show good balance.
I keep hoping that Will finds out about Terri's ridiculous plot and she just disappears because, quite frankly, the show would be much better off without her.
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4
Both Quinn's number here, and Mercedes' "Bust Your Windows" at the car wash seemed out of place to me, but I think it could work, if only they didn't present these bursts of imagination in such a flat manner.
Compare "Hate On Me" to "Bust Your Windows", or "I Say A Little Prayer" to "You Keep Me Hanging On"; with all their imagination at play the kids should be able to construct something fantastic for us to peer into, yet in both cases it's the former songs that stick more in the mind; as the kids create a platform of chairs for Mercedes or Quinn's sexy little trio minxing their way through a small audition.
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5
having the 'is the pregnancy storyline needed' conversation with a friend and i found myself arguing for it, the show is over the top, they need an overarching drama besides the wonderful Sue, and they need Terri do be 'bad enough' to make it ok for this good guy to turn to Emma, eventually... but i also agree that it turns me off in the episode enough that i think they could find a way to make Terri less one dimensional...
i also agree on the 'it's music', no 'it's a musical' numbers walk a fine line. i don't tend to like them quite as well but i think they can add a kind of musical number that they otherwise can't do...
btw loved the ep!
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6
[...] "Glee" episode since the pilot? // Top 5 [...]
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7
Regarding strange sounding vocals and musical numbers that break the illusion and take me out of the show:
Finn's number on this episode is perhaps the only time I've felt they've overused autotune. What I do feel they're misjudging all to often, is the general production and sound of their vocal tracks. Quinn's vocals on "You Keep Me Hanging On" was a prime example. Dianna Agron has a breathy, somewhat thin voice, which is not the best fit with that song. Instead of beefing up her voice, downplaying its airiness, the producers apparently decided to accent the incongruous nature of her voice on that track. Even if it was a conscious choice, it still ended up sounding bizarre.
Generally, I think a lot of the strange-sounding vocals could be avoided if they recorded them in an acoustic room instead of a dry studio room - or at least use some more real-sounding acoustic effects in the mix. A lot of people are put off by the vocals sounding too produced in musicals - adding to the strain put on the suspension of disbelief - and much of that could be avoided if the producers dared to let the vocals sound less than perfect. Like the "Must Be the Money" number. -
8
For me I don't care/need to know why Will even love Terri, or why he fell for her. My best friend is engaged to a guy that I cannot stand, bc he doesn't work, doesn't go to school, and since he lives in Morocco she's flown there 3 times to be with him for a couple times and she's paid for absolutely everything every time. Idk why she likes him so much, but I guess since he makes her happy I support the relationship. . .but only bc we're BFF.
Okay I know that rant didn't really have anything to do with Glee so anyways. . .The new ep was pretty awesome! I'm pretty much hating Quinn, because even though I feel a bit bad for her she really needs to tell Finn the truth.
Looking forward to next Wednesday!
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9
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