The episode entitled 'Choke' deals with domestic abuse, personal failure and dreams being crushed. Glee has done more than one 'afternoon special' before, but this one deals with a topic darker and scarier then they've ever done. If there had been actors any less as driven and focused as Lea Michele and Dot Marie Jones then this episode would've fallen flat on its face, and been ridiculed as over reaching and unhelpful.
Both Dot and unarguably Lea, are two actors that have always driven their story lines by their deep emotions for pretty much everything.
With the help of Roz Washington and Sue, they try and explain to Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, Tina and Sugar the importance of domestic abuse after they are overheard making a joke about Bieste's black eye. At first Bieste denies that her husband hit her, but she eventually caves. Dot Marie powers through these scenes with so much emotion and heart, and with one of the most heartbreaking lines ever about worrying about never being loved again if she leaves Cotter, you understand her pain but wish she would use her strength to get away. Unfortunately and realistically, just because people sing you a beautiful song and support your choices it doesn't make it easy to walk away. And one of the last scenes shows Shannon sitting at her dinner table with her husband ready to give him a second chance.
Puck is dealing with his own issues when he realizes that he won't pass one of his classes and will end up flunking and not graduating. But a surprise visit by his dead beat dad has him re evaluating his life and his choices. An all night study jam has him prepared to take on his exam, unfortunately its not enough and he still fails. This was an interesting step for the writers with Puck, but I'm not sure it was a good one.
As for Kurt and Rachel the NYADA scout is here and ready for them to perform. With a hilarious opening monologue by Rachel, we see that she determined and more driven than ever to achieve absolute greatness, also nobody does a better inner voice monologue than Lea Michele. While Rachel is confident in her song selection, Kurt feels he is playing it too safe and worries by not taking a risk he is risking his future. A semi helpful pep talk by Rachel has Kurt prepared and ready.
But at the 11th hour he changes his mind and switches his song, which he performs flawlessly, in a way that only Chris Colfer could pull off. Unfortunately Rachel plays it safe with one of the most difficult songs ever, but for her its safe, but not enough to secure her a place at NYADA, its Rachel who chokes and chokes bad. "Don't Rain on My Parade' should've been a cake walk for her, she has been performing it since she was two, and if her season 1 Sectionals performance is any indication, Rachel should've had this audition in the bag, but instead she forgot the words, twice.
It was so devastating and heartbreaking to see Rachel completely crumble when Carmen, Whoppi Goldberg, refuses to allow her to start over for the third time. The advantage of it being Rachel failing is that out of anyone else on the cast she knows what its like to audition and not succeed, look up her audition story for Spring Awakening and you'll know what I mean. Lea Michele steps up in a big way in this scene, viewers have seen Rachel vulnerable and broken before, but never like this.
Overall this episode is probably one of the best of the season it showed us why we root for these characters and just how far these actors are willing to go. 4/5 for me.
School's Out for The Summer- Puck: This song is as cliche as it is to have Mark/Puck the one singing it, but at this point when it comes to the songs Puck sings I'm no longer surprised, but I am disappointed. We get it Puck is a bad-ass, but he's also a lost kid whose in need of some direction. Typical rock cover 2/5 because its not original.
Cell Block Tango- Mercedes, Tina, Santana: I've never been a fan of Chicago but I really enjoyed this cover vocally. When Bieste's storyline was revealed I suddenly understood the song and its place. 3/5, vocally it was great and it fit its purpose, a defiant download.
Not The Boy Next Door-Kurt: Leave it to Kurt to have a whole new plan on the fly. He obviously pulled it off effortlessly and proved why he deserves a chance to be at NYADA. The dancing was a bit much, but I know it was all Chris Colfer's idea, but sometimes he is much more effective when he's not moving. 3.5/5 Defiantly download but it will quickly become one of those song you'll get sick of in a couple weeks, but its worth the copious listens.
The Rain in Spain-The Guys of New Directions: I am not even sure if this is a real song and who would ever record something so odd, but non the less it fell into Glee's lap. 2/5 I gets its purpose but the song is terrible and its just a filler song to fill time. Pass
Shake It Out- Mercedes, Santana and Tina: This was perfection, THIS was a cover. I am at this point now with Glee where we all know the show is just about doing covers, but I want something different and original and this was all of that. The stripped down acoustics of this song were so hauntingly beautiful it gives the song a whole new meaning. All three voices were flawless. 5/5 without a doubt download it, it really is amazing. Perfectly fit the scene and the vocals of those singing it.
Cry- Rachel: I've said it before and I'll say it again Kelly Clarkson is one of the hardest artists to do covers of. I don't know why but there is something about her voice that cannot be emulated and those that try usually fail. However Lea has come the closest to almost being right on the money. My one issue was that it was a straight cover of Kelly's, and we all know nobody kills a ballad like Lea but this was not very original. However Lea's vocal athleticism puts her bounds over others. Her performance however was fantastic, all her anger and hurt is completely conveyed to the point where you can almost feel her giving up. 4/5 A defiant download.
What did you guys think? Did the episode live up to your expectations? And what about the music?
