Tag Archives: Brian Stokes Mitchell

glee recapping: on my way

(Editor’s Note: I know that Glee gets a bad wrap from some closed-minded groups of society. I’ve heard a range of negative comments from people when I talk about the show that ranges from “I’m not going to watch a show about singing teenagers” to “Glee is gay”. I know Glee is just another show about teenage angst to some but there are lessons to be learned and voices to be heard. I don’t want to go on a diatribe about how we should walk around hugging each other and having round table discussions about our every thought but don’t be so quick to dismiss or berate another human being because they are strong enough to admit they are an individual. We all know Karofsky is a fictional character on a television show but if you think that children AND adults don’t go through the same thing in the real world everyday then you are greatly mistaken. I know I’m not the most influential person to hear it from. I don’t have 1 million followers on Twitter. I don’t have a star with my name on it on the streets in Hollywood. But I do have a medium to communicate to whomever chooses to listen/read. Don’t quit on yourself and those that love you because some people aren’t satisfied with themselves. It gets better. – Will)

Previously on Glee: Heart

Story

  • Sebastian threatens Rachel in an effort to gain an advantage at Regionals.
  • Karofsky attempts suicide after being “outed” at school.
  • Rachel and Finn decide to get married immediately after Regionals.
  • Quinn lobbies to get her spot on the Cheerios back.
  • Sue makes her pregnancy(?) public.
  • Sebastian has a change of heart in light of what happened to Karofsky.
  • Quinn gets into a car accident on the way to Rachel and Finn’s wedding.

Message Sent: Glee sure knows how to be subtle. Quinn was handing out mea culpas left and right. Got her gig back with the Cheerios, apologized for being so harsh about Rachel and Finn’s wedding, listening to Kurt’s point of view in regards to being persecuted, even getting a genuine APOLOGY from Sue. Then she goes an gets destroyed in a car accident. I can honestly say I didn’t see killing one of the originals off as an option but I guess since she is going to be leaving the show anyway…why not? Of course we don’t know Quinn’s fate just yet but my vote is in. Bye Quinn, thanks for “those ooh’s and background ah’s”.

With Child? Seriously Sue? …that’s it.

Karofsky Meets Karma: It knew it was destined to happen as soon as I saw Karofsky at Scandals. Then when he was caught with Kurt at Breadsticks I knew it would play out soon. It is terrible that it drove him to attempt suicide, but now he knows what he put Kurt through and he can understand how wrong he was in doing it.

Wedding Woes: I thought the Rachel/Finn wedding was going to come to fruition sooner than later but this was just abrupt. I have openly said that I think it will crash then burn and explode in HD but I didn’t want to see it this soon. Whether it’s due to hearing about Quinn’s accident or at the hands of their parents I hope the marriage doesn’t go through right now.

Music

This episode was full of somberness and yet somehow, there were also bits of positivity sprinkled in, both with story and the musical performances. Sometimes when Glee is being super-cheesy and fun, I forget how well they convey the deeper emotions of life. The ones that don’t make you want to burst out into joyous song. Regionals seemed almost like an afterthought, which would explain why musically, this wasn’t the shows strongest episode. Then again, with so much going on, it really didn’t have to be.

Cough Syrup – Blaine (A+)

I take back what I said last week. Now, Blaine is back. He sang every word like he penned it himself. I love him as a performer. This was one of the show’s most intense scenes and this song provided the perfect background. I’m not sure if I was just distracted by Blaine (completely unrelated, but I would REALLY like to see him perform The Smiths) but it felt like everything in this scene happened so fast. Also, kudos to having another appearance by Aaron Hill, albeit a really negative one. “Life’s too short to even care at all.” Indeed.

Stand/Glad You Came –  Dalton Academy Warblers (B)

The performance started off a little weak and their claps were completely off-beat (I’m going to blame production and not them for this snafu). All I could think during “Stand” was how much better they were with Blaine…then they started “Glad You Came” and it was like a little teenage dream all over again. Way more energy and much better choreography. Pairing these two songs was an interesting choice, but they probably needed to make the performance a little off to justify giving them second place. I know it’s unlikely Sebastian will ever transfer to McKinley, so I’d appreciate it if they could find another way to have him and Santana face-off again, musically of course.

She Walks in Beauty – The Golden Goblets (A?)

They sounded good for the 2-3 seconds we actually heard them perform. Also, I’ve never seen Principle Figgins get into any New Directions performance like that, so they must have been special.

Fly/I Believe I Can Fly, What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger), Here’s To Us – The New Directions (A)

Rachel came through, per usual. The first part of the performance was a really interesting mash-up that I only enjoyed during the chorus. Artie kills anything R&B-ish, while Santana and Blaine did just fine with the Nicki Minaj parts…but it still felt weird to me. Moving along, the Troubletones made a return (is that allowed?!). This was my favorite part of the performance and I’m glad we got to see Brittany do a little bit more than dance this time around. To close out the performance, Rachel led the way and when she wasn’t smiling at her fiance, she was singing to her dads. Was this the first performance they’ve ever been to or just the first performance we’ve ever seen them at? Overall, the New Directions gave the most well-rounded performance, even if it wasn’t their best.

Quotes

“It’s all fun and games, until it’s not.” – Sebastian

“Yeah, there are 15 of us here and I’m only comfortable sharing a spoon with about half of you.” – Sugar

“I know you must be exhausted from singing all those ‘oohs’ and background ‘aahs’.” – Sue

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glee recapping: heart

Previously on Glee: The Spanish Teacher

Story

After everyone’s favorite Mob Princess (didn’t hear that from me), Sugar Motta, gives the New Directions a hefty donation to cover the cost for Regionals the fun begins! Artie and Rory compete over who gets to take Sugar to her Valentine’s Day party. Rachel and Finn tell everyone about their marriage plans, including Rachel’s dads! The “God Squad” welcomes a new member and student.

Foreign Exchange Policy: Initially – for like three seconds – I thought Rory was genuine about being sent back toIreland after the school year was over then I remembered I’m not the one with a four-leaf clover in my pocket. Worse things have been done in the attempt to get “the girl”. Of course we don’t know how Sugar will react when she finds out the truth but that may just get lost in the summer like Sam and Mercedes’ relationship.

Poor Artie: Artie has always been my favorite member of the New Directions and it pains me to see him so lonely. Each of his former girlfriends are in happy relationships…and he has to sit four feet away from their respective PDA everyday. Now that Sugar is smitten with Rory who knows if he’ll get another chance at teenage love. Also, how did he rig that mechanisms OVER Sugar’s locker?! But lastly, Team Artie misses you Brittany S. Pierce…

“Straight to the Teenage Lovemaking” Never have I seen a couple so excited to crash into a brick wall like Rachel and Finn. Yes, they are the beautiful high school love story. Yes, they are complete opposites – which makes it all that much more endearing. Yes, Jeff Goldblum and Mike O’Malley are your fathers. But I just feel they are destined for destruction when they leave Lima. Daddy Goldblum’s words to live by: “Honesty. Respect. Dance.”

“Jesus” Joe: Now that three of the four winners of The Glee Project have made their debuts I have to say I am impressed with the overall performances. Of course the sample size for Joe (Samuel Larsen) is still small but I can see him being a main character in seasons to come. McKinley has the most intermittent religious/celibacy groups in high school history but I’m sure his talents will be less sideshow by the time Nationals rolls around.

Morals Matter: After all the back and forth with Sam, Mercedes, and Shane it seems that we have a conclusion. I was hoping that we got a glimpse of “Samcedes” but, I figure, if it hasn’t happened by now then it never will. On another note, I didn’t watch the Grammy’s or see any tribute to Whitney Houston for that matter but I’m sure Mercedes’ rendition of “I Will Always Love You” was among the best.

Music

In the loving spirit of Valentine’s Day, all the performances automatically started off with an ‘A’. Before we jump into the musical offerings of Heart, I have to mention how great it was to see Aaron Hill (Beaver, Greek) as the guy Nick at the end of the episode and finally meeting Rachel’s dads, which was like My Two Dads except way better.

L-O-V-E – Mike and Tina (A)

The first thing that came to mind watching Mike and Tina was that these two don’t get nearly enough screen time singing and dancing together. And they may not be the strongest singers in the club, but they’ve both come a long way from last season. This was a very adorable performance, especially as a soundtrack for the love war Artie and Rory waged against each other in the hopes of wooing Sugar. Perfect opening song.

Let Me Love You – Artie (A)

When it comes to the guys, Artie has the best voice for any R&B songs. They made the beat a little more up-tempo than the original and lyrically Artie’s love song pick was a bit slanderous to the sweet Rory, but it still got him the girl. Toss in Sam, Puck, Kurt and Mike for added effect and you have a good idea of what this song would’ve sounded like if Mario was in a boy band.

Stereo Hearts – The God Squad (Joe, Sam and Mercedes) (A+)

First things first, Teen Jesus Joe is hot and as much as I love a New Directions alternative, I really can’t wait to see him perform with the glee club. When Glee covered Billionaire, Artie handled the Travie Mccoy part of the song, this time around Sam took on the duty…and I LOVED IT. The God Squad, specifically Mercedes, sounded great, but it was the choir that really made this performance particularly amazing. It was so good in fact that I won’t ask why so many students were eating outside in the middle of the winter.

Home – Rory (A)

Similar to Michael Buble, Damian McGinty has a magical voice. So when Rory sang this song under the pretense that he was being sent back to Ireland and added a few tears, it was a given that Sugar was going to change her mind. Artie’s intense side-eye meant that he figured this out almost immediately, but it didn’t change anything. When Rory let out the last note of his performance, he had the girl and her sympathy. Bonus points for being so cunning.

I Will Always Love You – Mercedes (A+)

Between Dolly Parton’s beautiful lyrics and Whitney Houston’s extraordinary voice, the bar for anyone who even touches this song was set decades ago, but we all knew that Amber Riley would do it justice. I won’t even pretend that I didn’t cry the entire time. It was a reminder of Houston’s death, but also how incredibly talented she was. When I watched it again, I focused on it as just another Glee performance and Sam’s heartbroken look was bad enough, but when he cried and left the room…I lost it again. Although this wasn’t a great moment for them as a couple, it made me want to see more of them as actors, Chord Overstreet in particular. I’m glad Mercedes got over that “everyone only pays attention to Rachel, so I’m going to huff around like a brat” phase, she’s much more enjoyable this way.

Cherish/Cherish – Quinn (and the God Squad) (A)

Madonna and The Association were both well represented in this mini mash-up. I know it’s nearing the end of her run, but I’m finally starting to appreciate Dianna Agron’s voice. This was another really sweet performance and we finally got the Brittana kiss. Kudos to the writers for not making this scene unnecessarily religious or political. “Love is love” and romantic moments are romantic.

Love Shack – Blaine (and the New Directions/God Squad) (A+)

In fairness, I have to note that I’m one of those people that will gladly spend my “jukebox money” to hear this played, which accounts for part of the high grade. The other part? Blaine is back (with a heart-shaped eye patch)!! Sure, he wasn’t gone that long, but it felt like forever. Who cares that this song isn’t even remotely romantic, it was an awesome performance! I’m sure the writers that decided to make a connection with Sugar Shack and Love Shack were quite pleased with themselves. Kurt doing Cindy Wilson’s “Tin roof, rusted” at the end was the best. Great episode closer.

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