Note: The following review contains spoilers for all aired episodes of Glee, including the most recent, “Funeral.”
Glee used to be my favorite show on TV. Those of you who have only started reading my site lately might be surprised to go back to my reviews of the first season–hell, even earlier in this season–to discover my original, effusive love for the show. I used to think it was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and for a brief time, it was. A weekly musical series with pop and Broadway numbers was literally my dream come true. But along the way, something went wrong. The writing got sloppy, any modicum of plot or character consistency completely went out the window, and the music that used to be so crucial to the story more often than not simply began to feel shoehorned in to sell more iTunes downloads.
Now, tonight’s episode is a very interesting situation, because in one area, I feel it has managed to recapture the heart that the show has been so seriously lacking lately. Jane Lynch’s performance in “Funeral” is absolutely devastating, and if she isn’t nominated for an Emmy for it, there is simply no justice in the world. Her grief at her sister’s death is heartbreaking, and all the more so because of how subtly she plays it. Unlike other times Sue has expressed humanity, Murphy wisely stays true to Sue’s character here. To wit, she continues to act like herself, even while mourning, hiding behind her facade, continuing to spout off insults and anger up until the funeral itself, during which she quietly breaks down. Her material with Becky alone is superb and deeply affecting. And while I had worried when I first heard that New Directions would be singing “Pure Imagination,” that they might turn this light, whimsical song into a melodramatic, overproduced weep fest, it is actually an extremely touching, pure moment. I haven’t felt such genuine emotion in a Glee episode in a long time. There is no calculation here. No message or sermon, as happened last week with Kurt. Just people coming together to celebrate the life of a wonderful woman.
But there is a problem here, and that is that it is hard to believe that the reformation Sue seems to have achieved by the end of the episode will actually stick this time. After all, Sue has softened in the past and acted more kindly towards the Glee club, only to bounce back as if nothing had happened. I would hope that this time would be different, as the writers actually chose to kill off her beloved sister to force this plot point, but I have lost my faith and my trust in Glee when it comes to that. While I’m not expecting Sue to go all evil again next week, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she came back in the third season as if nothing had changed. I’m also not thrilled that the writers felt the need to sacrifice the lovely Jean in order to give Sue Sylvester a heart again. Although as it is presented, I found the death refreshingly not presented in an overly manipulative manner, the death itself as a plot point is manipulative. For this episode, I would have loved to have forgotten what a mess the writers have made of Sue’s emotional arc, among others. Jane Lynch is just so amazing, it is easy to be mesmerized by her performance. But from a writing standpoint, it doesn’t excuse the fact that her character has swung from completely, irredeemably evil to secretly soft and kind, from a bully to a defender-of-those-who-are-bullied so many times, it’s amazing Sue doesn’t simply collapse due to a lack of structural integrity.
But if that were the case, a stiff wind could scatter characters like Quinn and Jesse St. James into a swirling mass of dust particles. All I could think of during Quinn and Finn’s big break-up scene was, “Who the hell is this girl? What are these words that Ryan Murphy is putting into her mouth? How can he even decide what to have her say when she makes so little sense as a character? Do Brad, Ian, and he just draw random attributes out of a hat and assign them to her each week?” And don’t even get me started on Jesse, the totally sweet, no I mean totally sort of evil and shallow tool. What was his purpose in this episode? I mean, seriously, what use did his plot contribute to the story? Why would Will ever consider taking his advice, especially when he instantly goes about undermining everything that New Directions is about? Was it really a surprise at the end, when Will announced that there would be no solos, and that they would focus on the whole group? Was this ever in doubt? Has he not had this “epiphany” at least five times over the course of the series?
The episode’s very structure betrays how little time and effort was put into the crafting of it. I have complained since the show returned from its winter break this season that there have been too many songs that don’t seem to serve a purpose in the plot, but this has to be the most egregious example of that, for not only do the songs add very little–besides most of them being excellent performances, though I must admit that Chris Colfer’s “Some People” failed to impress me, which might be a first–but they are almost all presented in a row. Any forward motion the episode might have had just stops dead in its tracks for four back-to-back production numbers that drag because of how inexpertly they are just dropped there, again for no reason, as the outcome of the “contest” is a foregone conclusion. It’s not that the numbers themselves aren’t mostly excellent. I particularly love Naya Rivera’s “Back to Black” and Amber Riley’s “Try a Little Tenderness,” but I would have been equally happy just hearing them on iTunes. The only purpose these songs serve is as filler, to pad out an episode that was clearly not conceived as strongly as it should have been. Also, Lea Michele, I love you, but you can express emotion without over-emoting to the point that you look like you’re in physical pain while singing. I know we are supposed to think her performance is the best, because the characters tell us it is, but to me, it seems to be all desperation and strain, whereas Naya and Amber’s seem more comfortable and effortless.
Maybe I’m just tired of the show telling us, as viewers, how to feel. Even in the funeral scene, which is mostly excellent (the eulogy is even surprisingly restrained, naturalistic, and genuinely moving), Murphy had to give Kurt that line in which he explains exactly what their intentions are with the Willy Wonka set, as if that wouldn’t have been completely obvious to the audience without it. Last week, I complained about the preachiness of Kurt’s lines in “Prom Queen,” and later on, I was reminded by others of the fact that Ugly Betty had done the same plot–the gay boy is named prom queen–or homecoming, rather–by bullies. But, on Ugly Betty, the gay character, Justin, doesn’t run off crying before giving a long speech describing his emotions and the precise reasons behind them. Instead, we simply see a shot of him looking terribly hurt–which speaks volumes more than a speech would have–before he instantly brushes himself off, marches right to the stage, and accepts the award, to show the bullies they haven’t gotten to him, even though we know that he is laughing through his pain.
It’s not only about being a bit more subtle. It’s also about respecting your audience and their intelligence, and about taking pride in your writing, and that is something that Glee has lost lately.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
you're not wrong. that last hug, the one in the picture, still made me cry though.
I found this episode to be rather good. However, I agree with mostly everything you said. Sue will go back to being her psychotic self next week. The songs didn't really fit, and the writing has been a step down from last season, partly because the focal point is so all over the place. Last season, at least for the first wonderful thirteen episodes, the plot revolved around the theme of pregnancy secret. I think this year, it's supposed to be about being okay with who you are, especially if you're gay, but the writing has been horribly inconsistent, and the songs don't reflect the plot, they're forced in. Despite that though, this was a good episode, very melancholy and touching….
Only thing I disagreed with was about your view regarding Mercedes and Rachel's auditions…. I actually felt Mercedes was the one forcing out her notes and emotions, which is ironic considering she picked try a little tenderness as her song. She could have used a bit more instead of screeching out some of those notes. There's a difference between belting (like Otis Redding) and screaming (Mercedes). Rachel, on the other hand, stayed true to character and took the emotions she felt about Finn and put it in the song. I thought hers was the best because of the emotion she put into it. I love Back to Black and anything from Gypsy is great, but I didn't really feel anything from Santana or Kurt, which is why it fell flat for me….
Thanks for the review. I enjoyed reading it. Here's to hoping the finale ends with a bang and bring a spark of hope that Glee will improve in the third season.
I think underestimating, consistently, the intelligence of the audience is the cardinal sin of any form of entertainment. Look at kids' movies and shows: the lasting, enduring classics like Gargoyles and Phineas and Ferb respect their audience, and expect them to figure stuff out on their own, in their own time. I've stopped watching tons of shows and abandoned several books because I am not a stupid woman and I don't need to be told something over and over, especially how I should feel.
We're told that Will is this great teacher, but if he acted that way in a real high school he'd be known as the creepy teacher who gets too close to students. That's why I stopped watching Glee really. Because of the lazy, and condescending writing. We're not stupid people and we know when something is inconsistent, and shoddy story-telling. Sounds like this episode just proved the point.
I can agree that at times I feel that Glee is missing the mark. But then I remember that this show has people that have never watched this type of show(featuring gays coming out, showtunes, bullies to the extreme) and realize that comparing it to shows like Ugly Betty(which I myself never watched) and others that consistently deal with uncomfortable(to some) issues. We that are used to or even excepting of fail to realize that to some this is new territory. We want more, but some people need to be given reality in small doses. Would I like every episode to be ground breaking, why of course, it just doesn't happen that way.
Wholeheartedly agree!
I thought the episode was all but devoid of any emotional resonance. I think that if the writers had removed Jesse's plot this episode (*cough*andthisseason*cough*) they would have had the time to flesh out some of the emotions they were telling us to feel. The four audition numbers could have been much ( MUCH!) better used. If ever Sue was going to sing for a non-ridiculous reason (see: Physical,) it should have been this one, perhaps something reminiscent of RENT's I'll Cover You reprise, of not a tweaked version of the song itself. Not even going to mention the world of good a well-placed ballad would have done for fleshing out Finn and Quinn's feelings (whatever they hell they are.)
No, all in all, the only plot in this episode that I actually enjoyed was Terri's, and that was because we FINALLY got closure with the weird-as-hell arc of hers that the writers were dangling over us. I liked the resolution to her story, and if nothing else, it's one less character for the writers to trip over.
Unfortunately – unless they get back to their roots I think this series has one more season left in it. Which works since they just had the Junior prom. Let them have their senior year, graduate and put the show out of it's misery. Or even better, graduate mid-year.
Notice too – no Blaine in last night's episode. Why would he not be there to help Kurt thru this even if he didn't sing.
In regards to Sue's conversion, as my other half said, the show needs an antagonist for the Glee club, so unless they introduce another foil for the club Sue has to go back to her roots. As they have done before, I predict Sue will propose something to Will that he will not get behind, Sue will be mad and have a reason to be the ever present foil. We can count on that since the writers seem to recycle plot devices as much as they just pull stuff out of the air that makes no sense for other characters.
But – on the positive note – I agree with you on Jane Lycnh's performance – it was perfectly crafted and in character for Sue. Having been in a position to do things that are very hard to do and you don't want to do after a family member dies I could empathize with her every step of the way.
I've been feeling the mixed bag of creativity on this show for most of the season and agree it's main purpose is to push sales of songs on iTunes.
One other thing really hit me on this episode: the women's makeup. When have we ever seen Sue Sylvester wearing that much makeup? Or Emma? I'm quickly getting over this show because the brilliance that used to shine is far and few between.
Yeah… I was a little torn on this episode. Everything related to the funeral was fine (hey, if they don't ever leave town, Finn & Kurt can have an event planning business now – they have a wedding & funeral under their belts now). Jane Lynch was excellent…
But the auditions. I couldn't believe that Will wouldn't have just thrown Jesse out the second he mentioned that he learned how to judge from a class on reality TV. Or after he tore down Santana. I felt like all the auditions were good/great, minus Kurt's. For me it was all to easy to compare "Some People" to his take on "Rose's Turn" – and it just felt like he was simply singing, and lacked an emotional connection. As far as Rachel's concerned, I definitely felt the emotion there. I could do without her making faces, but at least it tells me she's really singing it when they're recording.
I'm curious if Jean's death was more practical than anything else- the problem with having an older character with Down's was sort of addressed by Sue in the episode. Maybe they wanted to write her out before having to throw together an episode if she became unavailable to be in the show through illness or death. Which I hope is the case- I do like how open they've been about people with disabilities… but Jean has mostly served as a device for Sue's stories, which has bothered me. (Though at least Becky does exist outside of Sue's storylines)
Jim – I didn't notice Emma's makeup but I did notice Sues… I felt like it was supposed to be bad on purpose – that she didn't normally wear makeup but felt she needed to for her sister's funeral and didn't know how… or was so grief stricken she couldn't put on her makeup properly
I enjoyed Jesse's return, and I'm glad to see him back. I think Jonathan Groff and Lea Michelle have great chemistry, but like you, I'm still kind of puzzled as to what his motives are, but then, his motives were screwy last season, too, so…expecting that character to have a motivation for his actions might be a bit much to ask. *Sigh* But his delivery with lines such as "Finn, you dance like a zombie who has trouble pooping," is just superb, and I loved that he seemed to think he was doing everyone a favor channeling his inner Simon.
I have no doubt that Sue will be back to her Glee-Hating ways for some reason or another by the beginning of next season, and personally, I don't have a problem with that as long as her renewed hatred is justified (in terms of Sue-logic, anyway).
I think the reason that "Some People" fell flat is because that it is so very contextual to the story of "Gypsy." "Rose's Turn" was successful because they made that number very relevant to what was going on with Kurt's situation in that ep. There was no problem with the performance on Chris' part, but the song itself doesn't work well as a stand-alone number because it's confusing if you don't know what's going on in Gypsy. I didn't have a problem with the audition scene, because there's really no other way an audition's supposed to go. It would be one thing if every New Directions member auditioned, but they didn't. Santana was an unexpected prospective soloist, but the other three were pretty much par for the course. I also like that each song was very appropriate for each character who auditioned, even though Some People, as already discussed, might've been a little…inappropriate as a stand-alone.
As for the "Pure Imagination" scene, the way I see it, Kurt's line before the performance of the song wasn't for the viewers at home at all, but for the audience in attendance at the funeral, and also for Sue as well. Otherwise, I think it's fitting that someone in New Directions was worried that the church wasn't more somber.
I have to wonder how they're going to inject humanity into Sue now. I really loved the Jean/Sue moments, and it'll be interesting to see her character development from here on out.
The Quinn/Finn break-up was just so…out-of-nowhere, but only in the context of the episode. RIB has been building up the Quinn/Finn break-up since they've come back from hiatus. So while the timing of the break-up in the context of the episode was a bit…off, the break-up itself wasn't unexpected.
On the whole, the odd thing was that when Glee is at it's best, I'm on a high for hours after it's over. I call it my Gleegasm. After Rumours and Comeback, there was no Gleegasm because they were obviously hot messes of episodes. Although after a couple of rewatches of Funeral, I still can't pinpoint exactly what I didn't like about the ep, but I didn't have my Gleegasm that time, either.