What’s Working:
“The Quarterback” and the handling of Cory Monteith’s Passing: Glee has handled the passing of Cory amazingly well thus far. “The Quarterback” was a very touching tribute to both the actor and Finn. You could tell just how much love, time, and consideration the writing staff put into that episode and, at many times, I felt like I was watching the actor’s grieve just as much as the characters. And don’t even get me started on Lea’s performance. Even after that episode, the writers have continued to show some of the characters struggle to get back to a sense of normalcy and honor his memory, things that you would expect from his family, friends, and love.
New York: On the whole, I haven’t hated the storylines in New York. I think we all knew that Rachel would get the Funny Girl part, and I’m excited to see what it brings. I’ve also liked what I’ve seen of Dani and Elliot up to this point. At the end of the day, it just boils down to the fact that I’m still much more invested in the New York storylines and characters.
Sue as principal: I loved Sue in season 1. She was a perfect foil to Will. I even enjoyed seeing that she had some depth and extra layers. But, starting in season 2 (and especially last season), it seemed like Glee had a much harder time balancing the different aspects of her character and making her still seem like a believable (and not ridiculous) foil for the glee club. I liked that we’ve seen her segue into principal (I’m going to ignore the plot of HOW she became principal though). Being principal gives her a new avenue to work through and a freshness as the “villain” that she desperately needed. Has it all been perfect? Not at all, but it was something the show needed to do to not completely waste Jane Lynch’s talents. And it hasn’t been a disaster.
What’s Not Working:
The Split Storylines: This has pretty much been my chief complaint since the start of season 4. Splitting the time between Lima and New York just isn’t working. Storylines cannot be properly developed when you are giving yourself half the time in order to do so and developing plotlines has never been Glee’s strongest point.
Almost every episode since “The Quarterback”: The puppets, making me have to hear “The Fox”, that joke of a thing they deemed to call a Christmas episode…. The episodes since “The Quarterback” have left A LOT to be desired. While I understand that a lot of plotlines needed to be scraped or adjusted and the writers only had so much time to address these things at the point these episodes filmed, this last string of episodes has been some of the worst in the show’s history.
The complete abandonment and/or forgetting of storylines: This has always been something that Glee has done that’s bugged me, but this season has been the absolute worst for it. They seemed to completely forget that last season ended with Ryder quitting the Glee club because of Unique’s catfishing. This season, he’s there, happy, and willing to beat people up to defend her honor. I would have been completely okay if there had been any mention of it or resolution to the storyline, but there has been nothing. Becky’s storyline stemming from last season’s “Shooting Star” was basically dropped as well. They had an opportunity to really do a meaningful storyline but it seemed like they had no intention of touching the storyline again until there was a lot of outrage over it so they put a band-aid over it to try and appease the viewers. I don’t expect perfection, but a little continuity never hurt anyone.
Focus on one Location: With the rest of the originals graduating very shortly, I think it’s high time that Glee reevaluates things and focuses on one location and group of characters. And as I’ve been typing this out, this has become a reality, so I will move on to my next point. :-)
Don’t Try and Bring Everyone to NY: The number of McKinley alums in NYC is already a little on the unrealistic side. We know Artie (unless they forgot about this plot point) got accepted to a film school in NYC so he’ll at least be in the city, and Blaine plans to head there as of now. Do we really need to see even MORE McKinley alums travel there as well? It would be absolutely ridiculous for the entire glee club to end up in NY. Why not expand the social circles of some of the characters?
Have a clear end game in mind: Glee is now in possession of something that most shows don’t get the luxury of having: a clear end date. We know the show will end next season. There is no bubble status to worry about. Ryan has stated that, prior to Cory’s death, he knew how he wanted the show to end. That ending is obviously not in the cards anymore, but there is still ample time to craft an appropriate ending to the show. I don’t want to see the show go out on some rushed plotline, so why not take the opportunity you’ve been given and properly plant all the seeds now?
Keep up the Realistic Portrayal of Cory/Finn’s passing: Everyone grieves in different ways and the timeframe for the grieving period is different for everyone as well. I don’t expect the show to have everyone in a funk for the remainder of the season/series, but, I don’t want everyone to be completely peachy-keen overnight either. Let them have some hard days here and there, let them remember him at appropriate times, and maybe check in on Carol and Burt every once in a while.
So with that, I turn this discussion over to you guys. What have you thought about the first part of the season? What parts have you enjoyed? What parts have left a lot to be desired? Am I being too harsh or will I need a bigger boat to fit all of you that feel the same about this season as me? Hit the comments and let me know.
I agree for the most part EXCEPT about what you say about the episodes post-The Quarterback. It's true some things haven't been that great but for example, I thought this was the best Christmas episode they've done since the beginning of the show ! I couldn't stop laughing the whole time, it was so great ! Same for The Fox, this song is actually a success in the world because it's catchy, even if it's ridiculous but it's the point. And I really loved that ! I loved "Movin' Out" too, it was an episode I would call "classy"... The rest I agree :)
ReplyDeleteOther than that I agree with everything and I think they're not stupid. i'm hoping they're already realizing their mistakes and making plans for the rest of the season ! But with Glee we never know..
Wait and see then :)
Thanks, it was great reading a review like that !
I stopped watching after the Quarterback.
ReplyDeleteI must say, you are the first person that I've heard of that liked the Christmas episode. I honestly had to force myself to finish it.
ReplyDeleteI hate the idea of using a song just because it went viral. I had the same feelings when they used "Gangham Style" last year, especially since that was used for competition. Now if I regularly heard it on the radio, I'd be a little more understanding of it.
Billy Joel saved "Movin' Out." I did not like the hints at a Rachel/Sam thing. Just no. As a whole, not the worst episode though.
I know people who disliked it and I know people like me who couldn't stop laughing x) Everyone can like or not an episode it just depends on people ! I didn't force myself to laugh ahah. I know a lot of gleeks (I'm making Glee flashmobs in France) and I'd say 50% liked it :)
ReplyDeleteI think criticizing Glee has become "the thing to do to seem cool", everyone is joking about it like a private joke and I think it doesn't help the writers because they don't know what to do anymore.. But I know that they're doing a lot of mistakes !
I don't like the idea neither but I'm good public and I LOVE The Fox so I didn't complain.. I like Gangnam Style but it was so bad to do it on a competition... That I agree !
Samchel was weird but it was 5 seconds out of 45min, it didn't disturb me :)
Don't forget we're on the same page on almost everything, we're just friendly debating on a few details ! (I'm just saying, I don't want to seem rude I just love debates Ahah)
You don't seem rude at all. I welcome varying opinions.
ReplyDeleteI think that overwhelmingly Stateside, the Christmas episode was not well received. You are also the first that I've talked about it with that is overseas.
Glee is suffering from what I call Ryan Murphy syndrome. He dives in with this great idea for a show and the first couple seasons are wonderful. Then he gets bored, finds a new pet, and the remaining writers kind of flounder about the quality really suffers. The only show of his (that's lasted more than one season) is AHS, and it's only safe because they made it an anthology series. You can even tell during the last couple seasons when he's done playing with his other shows because the last couple episodes are a little tighter.
As far as criticizing Glee being the "cool" thing to do, I don't know if it's exactly that. As least in the US, it's always been here. But the voice of support was always louder. But, as the quality has gone down and the plots have become more ridiculous, it's become harder and harder to defend the show so those voices of criticism are now the louder ones.
Thanks sometimes I'm not sure because my English isn't my natural language so.. ahah
ReplyDeleteI believe you I just sincerely don't understand why because it reminded me of "Blame it on the alcohol", Santana was so funny with Rachel & Kurt. In Lima it was weird but fun for me.. Maybe in the US you laughed less than us because there are a lot more people with faith in God and the Bible ..? Because in France, of all Gleeks I know maybe 1% believes in God. It's not the same in France, believers are a minority..
So maybe it has to do with that ?
I totally agree with the Ryan Murphy syndrome ! But it's so sad.. Why doing this. Even if he left, there are really good writers in the world, why can't they come up with good storylines ? I often think that Awkward writers should be on Glee, it would fit perfectly !
I just think that even if the show we love is getting less good, it's not a reason to become unsupportive. I never stopped defending shows I love even when they got criticized more and more. For example I was a BIG Lost fan and I loved it until the end :)
I just hope that the end of season 5 and season 6 will be really great. But even if they are I think it's too late, people rarely change their minds about a show that disappointed them.. :/
There were two things I enjoyed in the Christmas show - the first number with Kurt, Rachel and Santana, and then the brief look at Rachel bending over to recognize her clone. I thought that was very powerful and fit her frustration of not seeing people who looked like her in the entertainment industry.
ReplyDeleteI agreed with the rest of the article. The writing and concept has really seemed sloppy and in some ways disrespectful of the character development in seasons one and two. Finn ended his last year as a Lima Loser and that really upset me. A lot of students don't know what they are going to do - it sometimes takes going to college to get that figured out. I strongly agree with bringing too many people to NYC, but the show has a tendency to overcast. It's almost like the writers ran out of ideas for the current cast so they add someone else or bring in a guest star for a couple of shows.
I love the show and will continue to watch even if it's just to hear Lea Michele sing. I might decide differently if they try to do a romance between Rachel and any of the current cast (ahem, Sam). I think Rachel needs to be boyfriend free for awhile - she is still so young.