Glee – Sectionals
This week was the last episode of Glee for a very long time, and it did all those things you want a pseudo-finale to do. The first official show choir competition gave the glee club an opportunity to experience betrayals, shocking revelations, and disappointment while also overcoming seemingly impossible obstacles through song and dance. I enjoyed the episode – there was a lot of song and dance, which, when it comes down to it, is really why I watch the show. I liked cutting to Mr. Shuester listening to the kids over the phone and making adorable proud scrunchy faces. It was a relief to finally break down the Finn/Puck fatherhood secret, and I was pleased that Finn managed to reconcile himself with the glee club without also accepting Puck’s betrayal. It’s pretty silly but kind of fun that this whole episode was basically a reverse Bring It On, where the ghetto black school steals the numbers from the nerdy white kids. And my favorite bit of “Sectionals” was the judging, where Rod Remington, Marla Daniels, and the creepy evangelist wife from True Blood appeared as hysterically incompetent adjudicators.
Because we now have months and months to think about what will happen next, though, I’m still stumbling over some of the problems I’ve had with Glee from the beginning. There are some bothersome plot inconsistencies. It’s not a realistic world, and so I’m all right with stories that require the glee club to come up with two brand competition-winning new numbers in an hour, even though it’s patently absurd. The problem is when plot inconsistencies are the result of sloppy character development. For instance, Rachel ruins Puck’s paternity secret by telling Quinn about the possibility of inheriting Tay-Sachs from a Jewish parent, and while this hearkens back nicely to Puck’s hilarious homage to his Jewish heritage, Quinn freaks out because she worries Terry Shuester won’t take a baby with health issues. Although I suppose it’s possible, it’s just so odd that Terry’s pregnancy could be revealed as fake and Mr. Shuester could sleep in the music room (inciting the whole absurd mattress fiasco) without Quinn realizing that perhaps Terry would no longer be in need of a cover baby. Even worse, what about that whole “Papa Don’t Preach” musical number where Quinn announced (repeatedly, and in song) that she was going to keep her baby? Quinn has been conflicted over whether to keep her baby for a while, but her decisions seem to swing wherever the plot needs them to, and that’s exactly the wrong way to build a story on a show like this. Character development should drive plot, not vice versa.
My other concern at this point of the show, as I mentioned from the very beginning, is that it’s difficult to see where this could possibly be going that wasn’t completely predetermined from the very first episode. Far from introducing new twists or unexpected storylines “Sectionals” simply put the plot even closer to where we’ve wanted it to go – Mr. Shuester left his wife, and Miss Pillsbury broke up with poor Ken Tanaka, so it’s easier for them to be together now. Finn discovered that the baby is Puck’s, which will drive him farther from Quinn and closer to Rachel. The glee club has overcome their initial shortcomings and won their first competition, putting them on the road to the state finals. Color me shocked. I know they’re supposed to be conquering adversity, but it’s hard to listen to them sing “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” when it’s so clear they eventually will.
It’s easy to say that surprise and character development just aren’t what this show is about, and I should just abandon my unfair requirements. Glee is a show about satisfaction and snark, and it does those things very well. Despite all my picky, whiny blogging, I like watching it. Maybe what I’m waiting for is a second season, which I have no doubt this show will get. After the inevitable state finals finale, Glee will be forced to work outside its initial conceit, and maybe then it will be forced to shake up its all-too-predictable story. I really hope so. In the mean time, au revoir until April, Glee. Whatever else I might have said here, please don’t get me wrong. I’ll miss you.
Part of the potential that Glee has is that it is set in a high school, which has a constantly changing stream of characters. Since this show isn’t so entirely focused on the kids (but rather on the music–because we’re all watching for the singing/dancing), they can leave and be replaced with new talents and problems and no one will stop watching if it is executed well.
Huh, I really hadn’t thought about Glee as a show that’s more able to chuck out its current cast, but you may be right. I just wonder whether that’s actually going to happen, or the laziness/fan attachment to specific characters is going to make it harder to write out the current crop and introduce new people. Theoretically, I think you’re correct – the show is clearly capable of existing without the specific students who are on now. But how many high school shows can you think of where they’ve actually done that successfully? Without jumping the shark?
But other high school shows (at least that I can think of) are more based on the teenage characters than another part of their life (here, Glee Club). The only show I can think of where this might be similar is Degrassi, because I am pretty sure that show focuses on the high school they all go to and they cycle through there and go to college and while they occasionally come back for parties or holidays, they principle characters shift. I don’t watch it enough to back that up, however.
I’m not saying this is how they will deal with the inevitable problem of the kids aging, but it allows them an opportunity if they want it. Because Mr. Shu is young enough to teach/do Glee Club for a LONG time. But even he wouldn’t have to stay, if they just want to keep the focus on the true essence of the show, which is the club and not any one part of it.