This week’s episode of Glee, “New New York,” was written by Ryan Murphy and directed by Sanaa Hamri. Hamri’s other credits include Elementary (New York credential!), Shameless (adult, unconventional drama credential), Lovestruck: The Musical, and Nashville (music credentials). This episode really did feel like a new beginning to the show, so it is fitting for Murphy to have penned it.
I’m sure I’m not alone in being ready to say goodbye to the Lima, Ohio storylines. This episode felt so much less cluttered, and it was nice to see everyone really have something meaningful to contribute to them. It was nice to have a more manageable number of cast and storyline. The storylines also felt more mature – we’ll likely never be completely out of high school with these characters, but really, it sometimes feels like high school follows us all around.
I thought the opening number felt fresh and I liked the mix of musical genres incorporated. In some ways, the show feels more like a traditional musical now or even a Broadway show. At first, I thought the new driver, Dimitri (Manos Gavras), who basically did what he was told and said nothing was going to be our substitute for Brad, but really nobody can replace Brad. Personally, I’m looking forward to him just mysteriously and without explanation showing up at the piano one day.
I loved how Kurt’s (Chris Colfer) life was mimicked by his mime class! Nicholas Kadi was great as the instructor. It was also nice to see Kurt and Blaine (Darren Criss) slow their relationship down a little and really take it to a more mature level – stalker/obsessed Blaine is not my favorite incarnation of him. It was nice to see Arte (Kevin McHale) overcome his fear of the city and bring Rachel (Lea Michele) back to reality. Also a great duet from them – I’d forgotten how well their voices harmonized.
I do hope we are done having Elliott (Adam Lambert) suspected by Blaine. I love what he adds to the show. I have to admit that I was sad to see Sam (Chord Overstreet) cut his hair! But happy to see him deal with drugs in modelling so easily – and hopefully finally. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Mercedes (Amber Riley). I hope she keeps to her guns of keeping Sam at arm’s length. I really love the maturity she brings to her character.
What did you think of the episode? Is this a step in the right direction? Did you like Sam’s new hair? It seems that some time has passed (months according to the characters), so I’m assuming that the timeframe is actually now fall 2014 on the show, which seems to debunk the theories that Sue (Jane Lynch) and Will (Mathew Morrisson) would be coming to NY for the summer. Perhaps there is a more permanent place waiting for them in the next few episodes. Don’t forget to vote in the favorite song poll and let me know what you thought of the episode in the comments!
