Glee - Episodes 5.09 "Frenemies" and 5.10 "Trio" - Review

Welcome back guys! I hope everyone survived the holiday season and all the food that comes with it and you’ve kept cozy during this crazy winter. After a really long hiatus (that was really needed this season), Glee returned to our screens last week. I apologize for not getting last week’s review up in time. The hubby and I moved last week, and I barely had time to squeak in the episode and work kept me too busy to write my review up during the day. So I’m gonna kill two birds with one stone here and cover both “Frenemies” and “Trio”.

The McKinley arcs of the first two episodes back have largely focused on the impending graduation of the seniors. It’s been filled with the expected platitudes about cherishing the memories from high school, and planning on staying friends forever. Don’t get me wrong; I did enjoy high school. I have quite a few great memories. But would I call high school the best time of my life? Not in a million years. I will admit to getting nostalgic those last few weeks (and on the occasional reminiscing session – things were so much easier), thinking about all of these “lasts” that I’d be having, and there was a sense of comradery that wasn’t there before. But, as Tina pointed out in one of her many freak outs in “Trio”, high school generally is the glue that holds high school friendships together. As you all drift to different places and different schools, making that effort to call each other gets progressively more difficult. Even with Facebook, there are only a couple of friends that I talk to on a semi-regular basis. That’s not to say that it can’t be done. I know a few groups that have remained really close, but they are definitely in the minority.

That being said, it feels like the writers are transferring their feelings of nostalgia onto the characters. These next couple episodes are the last we’ll see of McKinley for the near future, and they seem to be putting some happy little bows on some storylines. We are finding out more about where our seniors will end up, Will and Emma are about to start a family, and we’re seeing shades of the Sue we fell in love with in season 1. It’s the definite work of people who feel like an era is ending, and it definitely is, but I think it’s a much needed one.

The New York side of things has focused squarely on this new Rachel/Santana rivalry that has developed in light of Santana getting the role of Rachel’s understudy. This whole development has been a nice contrast (and much more realistic, in my opinion) to the touchy-feeling graduation antics going on at McKinley. I had always thought it was a little strange how easily Rachel and Santana moved past high school and forged a seemingly strong friendship, but I didn’t think too much about it because this is Glee after all and character development is doled out and taken away as the storyline dictates. And, admittedly, Rachel, Kurt, and Santana did actually need each other so I can definitely see at least an effort to let bygones be bygones.

But “Frenemies” brought things back to reality a little bit. Aside from Santana not fitting the role of Fanny whatsoever (but kudos for that “let’s add a cool story to this all to attract more press” angle), she is a legitimate threat to Rachel going forward. Rachel has the voice and the dedication, but Santana is the superior actor. She has a lot of power behind her voice as well, and she just has that charisma that Rachel can be lacking. Rachel has to know this, thus her major freak out that Santana auditioned and got the part. Could Santana have found something else to audition for? Probably, but sometimes when an opportunity presents itself you have to take it. She was also right, that if the roles were reversed, Rachel wouldn’t have hesitated to go for it herself. This has all led to the girls declaring their friendship over. Santana told Rachel that the only reason she is as driven as she is, is because of everything that Santana and Quinn put her through in high school (a pretty valid argument). Rachel counters that they were never friends and could never be friends because of their past (another valid argument if they hadn’t spent a lot of time countering this the last couple seasons). I’m happy that we are getting to see Lea and Naya stretch their acting muscles a bit, and I’m really glad that we are exploring the reality of their friendship (even if the circumstances behind it are less than realistic). Quinn and Rachel had a gradual path to friendship that made that made it more realistic. It didn’t happen overnight, and a lot of their issues were brought front and center. Rachel and Santana haven’t really had that yet. There were moments of them looking like they wanted to head towards reconciliation of some kind during “Trio” but they are both incredibly stubborn and I think their pride and egos will keep them at odds for a little while longer.

As a whole, “Trio” felt more like a continuation of “Frenemies” and was a much weaker episode as a whole for me. But they’re a lot better than what we had before the hiatus. I think this was what the show needed to help regroup and replan after Cory’s passing, and I think the decision to move to New York full time is the right way to go at this juncture. Next week we head to LA for Nationals (and I have a feeling Burt and Sue are gonna make me cry)!

With that, I’m gonna turn it over to you guys. What did you think about the first two episodes back? Do things seem a little more on track to you? Is McKinley reeking too much of nostalgia for your tastes? What do you make of the Rachel/Santana fight? Hit the comments and let's discuss!

About the Author - Caitlin Rice Anderson

Caitlin is an avid TV watcher. Her all time favorite shows are Buffy, Angel, and Veronica Mars. Her current TV obsessions are New Girl, Once Upon a Time, Hannibal, and Sleepy Hollow. Outside of watching and discussing TV, she can be found pursuing her doctorate and impatiently waiting for the return of college football.