Glee 5.04 "A Katy or A Gaga" Review: Out With a Roar

    This week’s episode of Glee, “A Katy or a Gaga,” was written by Russel Friend and directed by Ian Brennan. It featured guest star Adam Lambert’s first appearance as Elliot “Starchild” Gilbert in addition to Demi Lovato’s continuing storyline as Dani. The final number to Katy Perry’s mega-hit “Roar” was fantastic, but the rest of the episode still had me wondering where the music has gone with the show.

    Lambert is fantastic as “Starchild” and delivers the flamboyant number we’d expect with “Marry the Night.” He poses an interesting dilemma for Kurt (Chris Colfer) who is obviously both jealous of and attracted to him. It’s unlikely that Lambert will become a regular, however, so I’m finding it hard to really worry about what this will mean for Kurt and Blaine (Darren Criss). I’m more worried about what it means for Pamela Landsbury – which is about the best name for a band ever! That said the scene between Kurt and Elliot in the diner was excellent and I hope we get to see a lot more of Lambert before he goes the way of Kate Hudson and Sara Jessica Parker and simply disappears into the ether of New York.

    I’m increasingly less and less interested in the Lima storyline, and I think Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk share my lack of interest. Certainly, how many times can we see horny male teenager (in this case Jacob Artist as Jake) pressure his girlfriend (Melissa Benoist as Marley) to have sex and then cheat on her with a Cheerio (Erin Westbrook as Bree) when she doesn’t cave in to his demands. Once again, the message that’s coming through here is if you don’t sleep with your boyfriend when he’s ready, you will lose him and that every teenage boy simply wants sex.

    The storyline is actually underscored by Marley not wanting to embrace her inner Gaga – that part of her that is wild and outrageous. Is that the part of her that should be ready for sex? I doubt Lady Gaga would embrace this storyline as she herself is about remaining true to your inner self. She would laud anyone willing to stand out and be outrageous and different but I doubt she would ever condemn someone who didn’t embrace that philosophy. Will (Matthew Morrison) suspending Marley for not embracing her wild side and Jake punishing her for not sleeping with him both condemn Marley simply being true to her own inner self.

    In general, I found that the big Gaga number, “Applause,” pretty much completely missed the point of Lady Gaga. Yes, it was outrageous – what was Darren Criss wearing!!! – but only for the shock value. I would love to see Lady Gaga herself turn up and explain to them the symbolism behind what she actually does. And before you simply assume that I am a Gaga not a Katy, I love both singers. I think they both have valuable messages to send about being true to yourself and therefore make a really good pairing for this episode. I just wish that they’d seen how similar these two performers really are. As annoying as the Penny/Sam (Phoebe Strole/Chord Overstreet) storyline is, I thought in this episode it came closer to providing a valuable message that both singers could get behind. Don’t change yourself to be someone that you’re not. Penny and Sam both try to be something they aren’t to impress the other when in reality what they really are (Katys) is the same.

     I hope we get to see a lot more of Adam Lambert in the coming weeks. He and Lovato are both proving to be great additions to the show who can act and sing. I really miss the episodes that have me singing along all the way through. I realize that the song catalogue for this episode would have been very expensive, but four numbers in an hour just aren’t enough. I was so happy to see the return of Brad Ellis (Brad the Piano Player) in this episode. My favorite comment and costume? Jake saying he looked like a gay Thundercat and then licking his hand to clean his mane. Now let’s get back to what Glee does best – more songs and better choreography please! What did you think of the episode? Are Kurt and Blaine in jeopardy? Did you like Lambert? Are you a Katy or a Gaga? Let me know in the comments below!