Friday, March 20, 2015

Glee Recap with Commentary: We Built This Glee Club - Episode Recap Before Final Episode

Glee – “We Built This Glee Club”  By Di's Dish

Since Dalton Academy burned to the ground, the New Directions Glee club is a mixture of McKinley High students and Warblers, with the Superintendent’s precocious nephew Myron thrown in for good measure.    Sue was fired from her post as MHS principal and has become Vocal Adrenaline’s coach.  Tension abounds at Glee club practice when the Warblers point out the weaker members of New Directions (Roderick and Spencer for their lack of dance skills) and criticize the choreography as outdated.


Roderick is unsettled and has a talk with his new BFF Spencer at the lockers.  They agree to enlist Kitty’s help to improve their dance moves.  Rachel is choosing to take a Broadway role in place of returning to NYADA to finish her studies.  Sam disagrees with her choice and urges her to think long term.  He leaves the auditorium and Rachel breaks into “Listen to Your Heart.”  In a wonderful Glee surprise, she’s joined mid-song by Jesse St. James!  This final season has seen the return of (too) many past characters - it’s about time Jesse is one of them!  After Rachel and Jesse perform their musical magic, they discuss the college vs. Broadway dilemma.  Jesse clearly sees Rachel on Broadway, especially since he (in an art-imitating-life plot detail) would be her onstage co-star.   

Spencer sprains his ankle during dance practice.  Will doesn’t want him to perform at sectionals and risk further damage by having a cortisone injection.  Despite the consequences, Spencer wants the show to go on with him in it.  Rachel endures her third NYADA vs. Broadway talk, this time from Kurt.  Kurt’s words are wise and speak to the big picture of life.

Glitter bombs in the form of special delivery packages scare the pants off the New Directions in the choir room.  Will instantly realizes this is the work of Sue Sylvester, and storms into the hallway (is he looking for her at McKinley??).  Everyone is vomiting and we find Sue in the teacher’s lounge, readily admitting that she poisoned the water.  Then Will’s car explodes.really, did they need to go there?  There’s nothing funny about car bombs.  This is Glee, not a revival of 24.  Anyhow…Sue is going to keep it up until Will quits.  Will gets a bit of revenge by posing as Sue’s hairdresser and shaving her head.  Then in a perplexing scene, Sue brings Vocal Adrenaline to Sheldon’s locker room to watch Nazi footage.  Sheldon orders them out, but not before Sue has a chance to insult him. 

It’s Sectionals time!  First The Falconers do their thing on stage.  Next, much to the chagrin of New Directions, Vocal Adrenaline delivers two amazing performances that pull out all the stops.  Rachel gives a heartfelt and motivating show circle pep talk to the gang.   Spencer is about to get the cortisone shot but Roderick intervenes with an idea! Roderick has his “before the curtain goes up take a deep breath” moment, reminiscent of Rachel and Finn.  New Directions takes the stage.  They open with “Take Me To Church” featuring Roderick’s soulful voice in the lead.  Glee perfection.  The next song is “Chandelier,” and they pull it off with elements of humor.  Spencer swings from the chandelier over the stage while Myron flits amongst the audience as if he is inside a Sia video.  The third tune is an enjoyable rendition of “Come Sail Away.”  The audience, except for Sue and one of the judges, is on their feet. 

After the judges’ usual banter about who should win the competition, it’s time for the trophies.  And the winner is………NEW DIRECTIONS!!!  But wait a minute – Sue doesn’t look furious.

It seems as if there will be another Will/Sue showdown in the McKinley hallway.  But no, it is not to be.  Instead of battling each other, Sue comes clean about her recent actions.  They were all for the sole purpose of ensuring a New Directions win, thereby securing Will’s job indefinitely as well as the Glee club’s future long after Sue and Will are gone from the hallowed McKinley halls.  When the expected thank you does not come out of Will’s mouth, Sue quickly vows to come up with new ways to destroy Will.

It’s decision time for Rachel.  In a sweet scene with Jesse in the auditorium, she reveals her decision to turn down the Broadway show and start anew at NYADA.  Jesse is disappointed but very understanding and proud of her choice.  They talk about Rachel being at his opening night and running into each other in New York.  It seems like two friends reconnecting, but wait a minute, whoa, they share a kiss and what about Sam??

Everyone is gathered in the choir room for the trophy placement and Will’s inspiring congratulatory speech.  Kitty notices Rachel eyeing up the “old” New Directions trophies, which have been cast aside to unceremonious spots in the room.  Kitty suggests that old and new trophies reside side by side.  In a beautiful and fitting montage, the New Directions members move each old trophy to the shelves followed by the scene when the trophy was originally awarded.  At the end, Sue peeks in and smiles. 

Next week is the two hour series finale of a show that broke new ground in many ways, created iconic characters, and became a cultural phenomenon.   A long time ago, I read that the creator, Ryan Murphy, has always known what the last scene would be.  Is that really true?  Is it going to have one character, or a pair, or a group??  I’m going to make a small and humble prediction that it will be Will saying “From the top!” 

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