Gleeview: Born This Way
Spoiler Alert!
I must say that I really, really enjoyed this episode of Glee. Obviously, it was the first extended episode in the show's history, and I thought that Brad Falchuk who wrote it did an excellent job of writing an episode that was not chock full of filler, as are a lot of extended episodes of TV shows I don't know how long the show was without the commercials (which seemed to have also been longer, possibly), but it could have been boring..
Though Lady Gaga fans may have been disappointed that there wasn't more Gaga as might have been hinted, I really thought the music was excellent. It wasn't overly produced, and thus it fit around the story of the episode. Plus, a lot happened. So, here's my take, generally in the order in which each storyline began. I would go in order of importance, but that would just be based on my opinion. Clearly, almost everything that happened represented a major character or storyline advancement, and I want to give them all their due.
Rachel: Finn broke Rachel's nose--unintentionally, because he's a horrible dancer. For a second, I thought we were going to see Rachel's dads because they apparently actually did come pick her up at the doctor's office, but sadly we did not. Aside from that, this whole storyline was my personal favorite. Rachel's nose makes her vulnerable to ridicule, and that, no matter what she wants everyone to believe, is why she considered having it reduced. But, the fact is, it's also what makes her stand out in a good way. It's obvious from the attention she gets from Finn and Puck and all the boys in the school when she wore her "Britney Spears outfit" that people actually think she's attractive. Her nose is a big part of what makes her attractive and, in my opinion, more attractive than Barbra Streisand ever was.
My favorite part of this storyline though was, of course, that Quinn was going to help her to get her nose job. I'm pretty sure she was doing it because at the time she thought it had helped her to do the same thing, and she helps Rachel whenever she can. Plus, it led to her storyline, which I'll get to later.
Emma: In my view, this was the driest of the stories. What I mean is that it wasn't necessarily that boring, per se. There was simply more technical and clinical jargon surrounding it. It had more of an educational feel rather than a storytelling feel. In the end, Will helping her accept her problem was the most interesting part, but I didn't think Emma's character shone as much as she could have, with the exception of spending 48 of her 50 minutes at the psychiatrist's office disinfecting her chair. But, we only saw the tail end of that.
Kurt: I feel really funny thinking this, but I thought that this storyline was handled the best of all of them just for this episode, at least. There wasn't a lot of crying or even any sudden changes in character. Karofsky is still not out. He's not even accepting that he's gay, but he did, through Santana, find a way to stop bullying and still save face. He doesn't have to come out. Kurt got to come back to McKinley. And, as an added bonus, Santana got a beard. This storyline especially supports my belief that this episode didn't wrap everyone's character up in a little bow, even, the way I see it, the ones that seem to have made long strides. Santana and Karofsky are still both closeted.
(Lucy) Quinn: What can I say? There's not much I can say about this. Frankly, I'm still processing. This is where my last point comes in. I still don't think we know everything there is to know about one (Lucy) Quinn Fabray (or about a lot of characters, for that matter). That fact that she used to be fat, freckly, and have a big nose are just external things. Of course, these things (with the help of her upbringing) made her self-conscious, which made her repressed, but they were more the cause of her struggles than who she really is. So, I think there are more layers to Quinn that maybe we'll see next season. Also, we still need to find out if she is going to be prom queen and how much she really wants it still. That might reveal more. I don't think there's going to be a fundamental change here in the next few episodes, apart from the possibility that she won't covet the title of prom queen as much anymore.
Finally, to wrap up my thoughts on the theme of the episode, acceptance, I really do think there's more coming from these characters, even the ones who made great strides in this episode. Obviously, we're going to learn more about Sam next week, based on the preview. There's still a lot to be revealed. So, stay tuned.
Favorite Line:
Rachel: ...and I have to say, I'm really happy with the results. They are less Hebraic and more Fabraic.
Musical Rundown:
"I Feel Pretty"/"Unpretty" from West Side Story and by TLC, respectively: Many, many fans have been looking forward to a Rachel/Quinn duet for awhile now. The chemistry between these two actresses is, well, amazing. And, really, Lea Michele (Rachel and Dianna Agron (Quinn) sound really good together. I admit I'm not objective about this, but this will definitely be on my iTunes on repeat.
"I've Gotta Be Me" by Sammy Davis, Jr.: I actually thought Cory Monteith (Finn) did a really admirable job with this. The song is mostly in a lower vocal range, and that suits him. I liked it a lot.
"Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane--This is, I think, the new best for The Warblers, and it may or may not be their last performance. This was less barbershop quartet and more, well, not.
"As If We Never Said Goodbye" from Sunset Boulevard--Chris Colfer (Kurt) also did a great job with this. It was a nice dramatic number for him to make his return to New Directions. He can definitely belt it, but this showed his softer voice off well, too.
"Barbra Streisand" by Duck Sauce--Obviously, this was just fun. When I saw on the preview that they were going to do another Flash Mob scene, I was skeptical. But, Glee surprised me again, and they pulled it off. Lyrically, it wasn't as inspirational as it was supposed to be, but I suppose it did remind Rachel to think about what Barbra has done faced with a similar dilemma.
"Born this Way" by Lady Gaga--This was the one and only Lady Gaga number. Frankly, I hope fans realize based on this that Glee is much more than the previews show, mostly for good, because this wasn't all that exciting and, yet, it was the number that was hyped the most amongst the general gleek population ("Pretty/Unpretty" was also hyped for a specific set fans mostly). Did New Directions do their usual good job? Of course they did, but it was nothing special. The best part about it was Karofsky didn't actually participate, which I thought he was going to. That would have been too much, I think.