Glee Episode 10

If Mr. Schue defines ballads as “stories set to music,” why is “Glee” called “Glee” ? Shouldn’t it be called “Ballad”? No matter. Ladies and gentlemen, we have plot advancement! The solution to the pregnancy puzzle of this kitschy high school dramady took shape this week, with secret spilling times three.

The episode centered on the art of the ballad, a song style that is synonymous with what this series is all about. In the never-ending preparation for glee club sectionals, Mr. Schue pairs off the students to sing ballads to one another. To up the drama, he has them pick names out of a hat. Odd pairings abound, starting with Finn and Kurt. Finn uses Kurt as a sounding board for his nervousness about Quinn’s pregnancy. Kurt, who is thrilled at the pairing because he secretly loves Finn, points the clueless football player to “I’ll Stand By You” by the Pretenders. During his performance of the soft rock song, Finn moves through time to his bedroom and sings the song to the baby’s ultrasound on his laptop. Finn’s mom walks in on him and asks the obvious (“Were you just singing to a sonogram?”) and Finn breaks down crying on her lap to confess.

Later at school, Quinn freaks out at the idea that Finn’s mom could likely tell her parents. Earlier, we met Quinn’s mom and dad, a caricature of conservative-cum-drunk parents. Quinn’s mom measures her for her gown for the Chastity Ball (she is, after all, the president of the Chastity Club) and, having discovered the dress no longer fits, accepts Quinn’s explanation that she ate “really big tacos” for lunch.

Fast forward to Sunday evening, when Finn ends up at dinner with the family. Quinn’s parents start talking about the upcoming Chastity Ball and Finn has a panic attack. He runs to the bathroom and calls Kurt for advice, who reminds him to sing his feelings in a ballad. Finn, worried he has been away from the dinner table for too long, abruptly ends the conversation. “I have to go,” he says. “They’ll think I’m pooping.” Finn returns to the table, boombox in hand, and begins singing Paul Anka’s “You’re Having My Baby.” It takes Quinn’s parents a few bars to pick up on the message but they eventually do. Her father finds multiple ways to express his disappointment and kicks her out of the house. Finn takes her to his home, where his mom invites her to stay for as long as she needs.

Meanwhile, Puck can’t take the attention and support Finn is getting over a child that is really his. In a fit of anger, Puck tells his ballad partner, Mercedes, that he is the father. Instead of running to tell the school, Mercedes scolds him for confiding in her and reminds him that he is the baby’s daddy but Quinn chose Finn to be the baby’s father.

Over in Rachel-land, there’s a separate, semi-humorous sub-plot. Rachel was the last name drawn from the hat for the ballad pairings, so Mr. Schue reluctantly steps in to fill the vacant spot. They demonstrate the power of the ballad together, with Rachel selecting “Endless Love.” In just a few minutes, Rachel develops in all-out-infatuation, which Mr. Schue picks up on and promptly freaks out about. Her crush — unlike the song — proves to be finite. But what it lacks in time, it makes up for in intensity. Rachel gives him a royal blue tie adorned with gold stars and a treble clef. “I figure every time you wear it you can think of me and the star you’re helping me become,” she says.

To fight off Rachel’s adoration, Mr. Schue uses a mashup of “Young Girl” Gary Puckett and the Union Gap and the Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me.” But it only strengthens Rachel’s resolve. “Yes,” she beams when he asks if she got the message of the mashup. “It means I’m very young and it’s hard for you to stand close to me.” A hilarious scene in Mr. Schue’s car follows. Rachel sings the beginning of the song “Crush” after dropping by Mr. Schue’s home to play house. Rachel comes to her senses, thanks to a bathroom lecture from one of Mr. Schue’s former teen stalkers, and gives Mr. Schue a plant with a note that says, “Sorry I’ve Been Acting Crazy.” All is forgiven.

The cast comes together at the end to sing a song of support — the ballad to beat all ballads, “Lean on Me” — to Quinn and Finn. It becomes sort of a jam fest, with Mercedes and Artie leading the way. Noticeably absent this week was Sue Sylvester. Emma appeared for just a few minutes. We’d appreciate more of both of them in the coming weeks. But hooray for the (albeit slow) unwinding of the pregnancy mess.



credit: http://blogs.wsj.com