Glee, “We Built This Glee Club,” was written by Aristotle Kousakis and was directed by Joaquin Sedillo. This is Kousakis’ only writing credit, but he has 25 credits as Script Coordinator with the show. Likewise Sedillo has one other directing credit for Single Ladies but has been Cinematographer on Glee for 57 episodes. This was the Sectionals episode, so there were more songs than an average episode. It was no surprise when the New Directions won, saving the club for another day.
I always enjoy the competition episodes because of the extra songs and generally better choreography – even if that choreography doesn’t necessarily come from the New Directions! What was even better, however, was the return of Jonathan Groff as Jesse St James. I’d forgotten just how much chemistry he has with Lea Michele (Rachel) and how good their voices sound together. Sorry Sam (Chord Overstreet), but I’m pulling for Rachel and Jesse to make it work in New York! It’s always a pleasant surprise to see Brad Ellis on the piano too!
It was a great surprise for Jesse to be the male lead in the play that Rachel was offered a part in. Of course, Rachel ultimately turns down the part to go back to NYADA. Frankly, I don’t see any reason for her to go back to school when school is supposed to prepare her to work on the stage, in movies, or television, and she’s already done two of those things. But then, it does send a good message to kids to get an education.
Everyone wants to give Rachel advice with Sam and Kurt (Chris Colfer) pulling for the NYADA choice. While I wasn’t surprised, once again we see Rachel abandoning New Directions – or at least walking away after Sectionals. So much for her being in it with them to the end. Rachel gives the pep talk before they go on, but once more, it really felt like she was only interested in herself. Has she really learned anything? I’m just not convinced.
The Warblers and the New Directions end up having problems blending their two show choirs because the Warblers can dance and many of the New Directions are challenged. I like that the New Directions is actually more inclusive and realistic that not all members would be equally talented, and I really liked that they singled out Spencer (Marshall Williams) and Roderick (Noah Guthrie) because they realistically are weak. Spencer isn’t especially talented either singing or dancing, but Roderick at least can sing! We get to see a continuum of how seriously the different teams take the competition – the Warblers want to keep drilling when Will (Matthew Morrison) feels it’s time to take a break, but they still aren’t as bad as Vocal Adrenaline who Sue (Jane Lynch) has walking over hot coals.
I liked the idea of Kitty (Becca Tobin) putting Spencer and Roderick through their paces, but we never get to see that. We see Will and Kitty helping them, but it’s really Will doing all the work. After Spencer badly sprains his ankle, he’s determined to get a cortisone shot to literally take one for the team. Of course, with no extra practicing, his dancing is likely to be more of a negative than positive contribution. It was a nice way to semi-sneak a PSA into the episode about the consequences of such risks with both Will and Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) being vehemently opposed. In the end, Roderick is the true friend and works out a way for Spencer to play a big part in the production without dancing.
Sue, meanwhile, is out for blood – or so she’d like everyone to think. Lynch is fantastic as always. She sends exploding packages to the New Directions – who didn’t know exploding confetti was from Sue? She also disrespects Bieste’s locker room – and Bieste himself. She poisons the water at McKinley and sets Will’s car on fire. I loved Will getting revenge by dressing up as her female hairdresser and shaving her head! Lex Luther Sylvester was awesome!
Yet, in the end Sue claims it was all designed to help them win. Even the Vocal Adrenaline Cheerio-Special routing, complete with canons was meant to freak the judge out. There’s a great reaction shot on Lynch when New Directions wins – just the faintest hint of a smile. She tells Will she did it because he and Beiste were the only ones to stand up for her in the Rivera interview. Least we think Sue has completely lost her edge, she still admits to setting Will’s car on fire for fun. This felt like vintage Sue.
The Sectional performances were a mixture of fun and some great numbers. The Falconers as the token third place team were yet another in the series of silly show choirs. I did love that they all had birds of some kinds and the wings on their costumes were actually quite pretty. Vocal Adrenaline did terrific dance routines as always and it was fun to see the throwback to some of the more contentious Cheerio elements – remember what a hard time Sue had getting someone who was willing to be shot out of the canon?
Naturally we have three crazy judges again. I loved Fortune Feimster as Butch Melman with the poodle, and that Trixie – the poodle is actually the one invited to vote! Noah Guthrie’s version of “Take Me to Church” was terrific. Who needs to be able to dance with a voice like that!? I do have to ask what the heck Myron (JJ Totah) was doing – Lady Gaga? Simply distracting the judges? There’s a really nice moment between Madison (Laura Dreyfuss) and Mason (Billy Lewis Jr) during “Come Sail Away.”
The episode ends with Kitty suggesting they put all the trophies in the case in the choir room, effectively merging the old and new. There’s one more night of Glee to go – two back-to-back episodes. It seems like this episode closes the door on the McKinley New Directions – they’re back in winning form, Will is leading them, and they’ve come together as a team. Did you enjoy the episode? Are you sad to see the series winding down? Don’t forget to vote for your favorite song from the episode! Let me know your thoughts about the end of the show and this episode in the comments below!
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.
