- 1
- 2
- next
- | single page
If you were a little disgruntled by the unreality of last week's episode of Glee like we were, prepare for the polar opposite. Well, at least as polar as Glee can get, which still involves singing. This week's episode rocketed back to earth so fast it gave off a sonic boom. But you know what? It kind of worked.
Idolatry's a sin, isn't it?
We love grilled cheese as much as the next American, but we're not quite to the point of kneeling down and praying to it. Granted, we've never had an image of Jesus burned into any of our sandwiches. Maybe if it were Jon Hamm we'd be in business.
Basically, Finn found faith this week through a sandwich. Without the proper noun that statement seems absurd, but when Finn is involved it makes a lot more sense. He's a simple guy and needs a simple faith. Through either complete coincidence or the providence of the real Cheesus, Finn's prayers start getting answered. The football team wins, he gets to second base with Rachel (okay, first and a half) and he's quarterback again. But it isn't until this third
Cue "Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. It was an excellent choice lyrically, but perhaps a bit below Finn's vocal standards. Monteith injected as much emotion as he could into the piece, but there's only so much you can do with a repetitive melody.
Are you calling Mr. Billy Joel stupid?
Shockingly enough, Puck seems to have the best handle on his middle-of-the-road spirituality. He doesn't approve of Christians' using Jesus for their own causes, but he does have a respect for his teachings. Spirituality, Puck says, is about enjoying life, and to prove it he busts out the old acoustic for "Only The Good Die Young." We're generally on board for any kind of acoustic Puck, and this was a great, lighthearted foray into a heavy subject.
No, but seriously, spirituality and all that
The Cheesus was a bit absurd, but it set up for the meatier discussion of the episode: the nature, existence or non-existence of God and where that factors into our lives. Being a rather touchy subject, it took a crisis to lodge this issue as the crux of the episode, and Glee willingly sacrificed Burt Hummel, a god amongst John Mellencamps.
After a slight argument about what's valuable in their little family, Burt suffers a heart attack and ends up comatose in the hospital. Kurt plays the brave little soldier for the rest of the episode, stunning even us with his patient sense of calm. We were expecting a complete and not at all unwarranted freak-out that never came. Instead, it was Finn who lost it on Kurt, yelling that he didn't want to have to find about his pseudo-stepfather from whispers in the hall. It was an outburst out of love, and it was completely touching.
Throughout the rest of episode, the gleeks express their own spirituality, through song of course, under the disapproving eyes of Sue. From the get-go Sue makes it clear that singing about God is taboo in public schools, and she intends to keep it that way. Kurt is clearly fed up with Mercedes and the rest of the club's attempts to bring God into his problems, and Sue convinces him to file a complaint. God doesn't exist, says Sue, and the proof is her older sister. Kurt agrees; why would God make him gay only to tell his followers that being gay is wrong?
But the kids won't be subdued by Sue's crusade for secularism. Mercedes tries to draw Kurt out with an abbreviated and slightly underwhelming "I Look To You," while Rachel goes full Streisand with "Papa Can You Hear Me." Personally, we have really terrible memories of watching "Yentl" in theology class, so we almost spit out our Malbec at the first note. While this is categorically the perfect spiritual song for Rachel, who yearns to be Barbra with every iota of her being, but it was just a hair short of being entirely too much. The nighttime vigil with Finn was a sweet, thoughtful gesture, but we were a little creeped out that she was calling a man she's never met "Papa" and touching his face. We know Rachel thinks highly of herself and her voice, but it almost looked like she was trying to call forth healing powers, which is just wrong.
When in doubt, pray at the altar of Paul McCartney
Kurt's tribute to his father, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" was fantastic. Though a less emotional character in general, Kurt's just-brimming-over expressions of pain through song always top Rachel's. His rendition of the song was unabashedly honest; he's still a kid that just wants his father back. (Obligatory Man In The Room: Jaaaaaysus, Are you CRYING?? Us: NO! Maybe. Just go get us more wine.)
In the end, Mercedes does give Kurt a kind of spiritual boost when she takes him to church on Sunday. Her "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was beautiful and struck just the right note. Then again, we worship anything that was once sung by Simon and Garfunkel, so we may be a bit biased. In any case, we got an awesome Kurt-style Sunday hat out of it. Or two, if you count the woman across the aisle who was also sporting Kurt's headgear.
