Glee - Child Star - Review

Glee, “Child Star,” was written by Ned Martel and was directed by Michael Hitchcock. This is Hitchcock’s first time behind the camera, but he should be well-known to fans of the show as a writer and producer. This was a reasonably solid episode with some good songs and a pretty standard plot. I found the dance sequences – what few there were – were filmed with a bit too many close ups and cut aways – a sure sign of some less than stellar dancing. My advice? Trust the fans and trust your performers. They aren’t supposed to all be great dancers. Flubs lend a touch of authenticity.

With Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) off on their honeymoon and the rest of the Alum’s presumably back at their real lives, this episode finally focused on McKinley and the new, New Directions – plus Sue (Jane Lynch) and Rachel (Lea Michele) and the newly restored (sort of) Will (Matthew Morrison). For some reason, I’m finding this batch of new kids much less irritating than the last batch.

Sue in her usual way is on a new rampage – this time to win the Principal of the Year Award. Lynch owns this character in every way. I find she’s funniest though when we can go back and forth feeling sorry for her and hating her and especially when she comes through on the right side of issues like bullying and gay marriage. We all know that when Sue sets her sites on something, everybody else had better watch out. In true Glee fashion, however, Sue’s attempts to curry favor with Superintendent Harris (Christopher Cousins) by agreeing to host his nephew’s bar mitzvah backfires when Myron (JJ Totah) first makes her life a living hell, and then insists on transferring to McKinley – even though he’s only 13 – and joining the Glee Club. Sue just can’t seem to make the club go away. She ends the episode back in the Hurt Locker, promising to take the club down once and for all.

We finally get to see a little more of Marshall Williams as Spencer. He may be a jock, but when it comes to romance, he has no game. He also sucks at being a “coach” for Roderick (Noah Guthrie). Williams’ best scene is when he’s being vulnerable in front of Alistair (Finneas O’Connell). Williams won’t go down as the best singer the show has ever had even though he gets his first solo in this episode. Alistair intrigues me – though there’s no indication in the episode of whether he can sing, he does appear to be able to play the ukulele. The Roderick storyline is nothing new – we’ve seen similar with Mercedes (Amber Riley) in the past. I did find having him make it up the rope to save Myron a bit too much of a stretch even for Glee.

I was happy to see them clear up the super creepy relationship between Mason (Billy Lewis Jr) and Madison (Laura Dreyfuss). Both deliver terrific performances in this episode and demonstrate that they’ve got the full package – they can dance, sing, and act. Mason sets out to win Jane (Samantha Marie Ware), and Madison admits that she’s always felt like she needed to look after him but realizes she doesn’t.

Matthew Morrison is also terrific in this episode. I loved him finally giving back to Sue as good as she’s always given him – even if she does manage to wrestle him to the ground. It was fun getting to see both Sue and Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) both take to the dance floor, but even funnier to see Will threaten to trip Sue on stage. It’s clear where they are now headed with the Glee club.

        Morrison and Michele share a terrific scene as they say how much they enjoy working with each other. Rachel still really doesn’t know the kids – Kitty (Becca Tobin) asks if they’re really going to get to sing, not the alumni. The Bar Mitzvah at least brings together the kids as a team, and Rachel is proud of them. Will points out that there will be a new set of kids for her to get to know every year. But it’s pretty clear that Rachel doesn’t intend on being around that long – is anyone not expecting her to leave them all behind to head back to Broadway? And likely before sectionals?

All in all, not a bad episode, but not the show’s best either. While we had a good excuse to use the stage for a lot of the numbers, I wasn’t blown away by any of the songs in the episode. Myron is possibly the most annoying character they’ve ever had, though Unique gives him a run for his money. I really hope we aren’t saddled with him for the remainder of the episodes. With only four more episodes to go, it feels like there is a lot more story to be told, but this episode sets up at least some of what we can expect to see. Sue seems to be headed to retirement, Will back to heading the Glee club, and Rachel to Broadway. What did you think of the episode? Who do you most want to see back before the end? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and don’t forget to vote for your favorite song in the episode!

About the Author - Lisa Macklem

I do interviews and write articles for the site in addition to reviewing a number of shows, including Supernatural, Arrow, Agents of Shield, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Forever, Defiance, Bitten, Glee, and a few others! Highlights of this past year include covering San Diego Comic Con as press and a set visit to Bitten. When I'm not writing about television shows, I'm often writing about entertainment and media law in my capacity as a legal scholar. I also work in theatre when the opportunity arises. I'm an avid runner and rider, currently training in dressage.