GLEE #29: The Substitute

[GrayLinnorm]

This thread is earlier than usual because I'm going to be out for a few days. In this episode Mr. Shu gets sick and Gwynneth Paltrow plays a substitute teacher named Holly Holliday and sings all the songs. Yay. What I'm really looking forward to is seeing the Gleeks as kindergarteners.

The playlist:

Gwynneth Paltrow sings "Conjunction Junction", from Schoolhouse Rock

Gwynneth Paltrow, Artie, Mercedes, and Santana sing "Forget You", originally performed by Cee-Lo

Gwynneth, Mr. Shu, and the glee club do a mash up of "Singin' in the Rain" (most notably performed by Gene Kelly) and "Umbrella", originally performed by Rhianna (does anyone else think this is a bad idea?)

Mr. Shu sings Make 'Em Laugh", originally performed by Donald O'Connor

Gwynneth and Rachel sing "Nowadays" and "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago.

The Christmas album also comes out Tuesday.

 

[GrayLinnorm]

Pick of the week: Would have to "Forget You". And yes, the mashup was bad. Hopefully next week will be mash-up free.

 

[Fast Learner]

Damn Gwynneth Paltrow was great! She holds a strange place in my brain/heart -- when I haven't seen her for a while I forget all about her, but the minute I see her again I fall head over heels for her.

Forget You was definitely the highlight, despite the necessary rewording.

 

[Umbran]

I dunno. "Make 'em Laugh" was one of the best homages they've done - right down to the choreography.

Anyone else notice how many of the characters are getting kinda short shrift these days?

 

[Fast Learner]

I agree about the Make 'Em Laugh choreography, very similar to the film and quite good.

 

[Felon]

I dunno. "Make 'em Laugh" was one of the best homages they've done - right down to the choreography.

The Asian guy is very talented.

I've come to the conclusion that Will sucks. I have only watched this season, but Will seems to be quite a weak, spineless excuse for a human being. He can barely even manage passive aggression.

Many shows have these sort of protagonists, but they do learn to fight back at some point.

Oh, and he treats his ex-wife pretty horribly. Did she do something to deserve it? My understanding is that he divorced her so he could pursue the bird-looking teacher.

 

[Fast Learner]

Well, she faked a pregnancy to keep them together when they were on the verge of splitting. She used the pregnancy as an excuse to guilt him into quitting his dream job -- leading the glee club -- and go get a "real" job. She continued with the ruse months into the pregnancy, leading him along emotionally about their coming baby. She faked ultrasound photos for him to get attached to. Ultimately her plan was to adopt Quinn's baby at birth and pretend like it was hers and Will's. He was of course devastated to find out that he didn't have child coming and that she'd been mercilessly manipulating him with the lie for many months.

I don't advocate anyone ever treating anyone horribly, but I can at least understand why he's so angry with her. The sexual manipulation she attempted in this episode was exactly like the kind of manipulation she'd done earlier, and was likely particularly painful because he thought they were actually building a legitimate friendship together.

(Cripes, I sound like a reader of Soap Opera Digest. What's become of me?)

 

[Umbran]

The Asian guy is very talented.

He is an excellent dancer. Not so much of a singer. But that's okay. There is song and dance on popular television, and that's good enough for me.

I've come to the conclusion that Will sucks. I have only watched this season, but Will seems to be quite a weak, spineless excuse for a human being. He can barely even manage passive aggression.

The show's writing in general has seemed to suffer this season. Last season Will was... a well intentioned human being. He had some flaws, but also had some wisdom and personal strength.

Oh, and he treats his ex-wife pretty horribly. Did she do something to deserve it? My understanding is that he divorced her so he could pursue the bird-looking teacher.

No. Ultimately, they divorced because she was a manipulative, self-centered person who didn't care all that much about his happiness - it is reasonable to guessit would have happened had Emma not existed to pursue. She lied to him when she found out she was not pregnant, and planned to present someone else's baby to him as his own.

There is one "no-prize" for Will's current behavior. Will had been with Terri since high school. As they said in the first season, he's so used to someone else being there, he doesn't really know who he is alone. Until he rebuilds himself, he will be notably weak.

Me, I think it more likely that they simply didn't have as solid a storyline prepared for the second season, so the writing suffers.

 

[Felon]

Well, that's good info to know about Will's ex. I didn't see them share it in the show. She's hot enough that I could forgive a lot, but that whole fake pregnancy sounds a little clingy.

Of course, that it took Will sixteen to figure out he was living with a high-functioning sociopath doesn't do much to improve his image.

 

[Umbran]

Of course, that it took Will sixteen to figure out he was living with a high-functioning sociopath doesn't do much to improve his image.

Now, be fair. People do change over time, and we don't know what they were like when they started.