WRITER: Ian Brennan[SPOILERS] There are 22 episodes this year, and Fox have recently made noises that season 2 could be extended to 25. Trouble is, we're only at episode 11 and the show's beginning to splutter already, so I question the logic in extending Glee's run. The main problem right now is that the pregnancy storyline's being batted back and forth with increasingly tiresome results, there's a tendency for characters to suddenly betray themselves in an implausible way, and just recently the show's started to tap into an uncomfortably sanctimonious tone. It's heart's in the right place, but it can't help but feel very cloying whenever it tackles issues of disability.
DIRECTOR: Bill D'Elia
GUEST CAST: Eve, Jennifer Aspen, Michael Hitchcock, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr., Dijon Talton, Michael Loeffelholz, Dawn Noel Pignuola & Telisha Shaw
This week, Will (Matthew Morrison) is convinced that Sue (Jane Lynch) is attempting to sabotage the glee club's chances at sectionals by leaking their set list to local competitors: the Jane Adams Academy for young offenders (run by special guest star Eve), and the Haverbrook school for the deaf, run by a man who's hard of hearing. To try and build some bridges, Will invites their rivals to perform at McKinley's High, where Eve's club perform a slick rendition of Destiny's Child's "Bootylicious" that involves plenty of hair-flailing "hairography" that Rachel (Lea Michele) assures Will is just covering their limited dance moves and so-so vocals. Naturally, Will goes out and buys some wigs for his group, for unconvincing reasons.If "Wheels" made your teeth itch watching Glee deal with disability in the most syrupy way possible, then "Hairography" may cause full-blown gingivitis. The school for the deaf performed John Lennon's "Imagine" in a minimalist fashion while signing the words, and the glee club are so moved by the routine that they can't help but get involved, in a show of harmony. Look, it can feel like you're treading on eggshells whenever you grumble about something involving the handicapped, and I accept that intentions are honourable on Glee, but I'd rather the show gives us an interesting disabled character to tackle some "issues" with (how 'bout it, Artie?), instead of putting a bunch of deaf strangers in the limelight and using them to elicit base emotions that feel patronizing. Why not let the deaf choir sing their song right through to the end, instead of forcing a joint performance to cover their iffy vocals?
Elsewhere, Quinn (Dianna Agron) decided to keep her unborn baby, much to Terri's (Jessalyn Gilsig) dismay. However, Terri's sister Kendra (Jennifer Aspen) hatched a plan to let Quinn baby-sit her three ginger horrors, so she'll be put off motherhood and reverse her decision. Quinn uses the babysitting to "test run" Puck (Mark Salling) as a father behind Finn's (Corey Monteith) back, and while the evening gets off to a terrible start with Kendra's brood running riot, Quinn singing Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" calmed them down and seemed to prove that Quinn's parenting skills already beats Kendra's. However, the likelihood of a Quinn/Puck romance was dealt a blow when Quinn discovered he'd been "sexting" Santana at school throughout their evening together, which immediately undoes a lot of Puck's rehabilitation this year. I guess the writers just got bored of his direction, or someone remembered he was supposed to be the "bad boy" character in the "Pilot".
A more apt title for this episode would have been "Distraction", as that's the approach most characters took to solving their problems this week. Quinn had Kurt (Chris Colfer) distract Finn by giving Rachel an overblown makeover intended to be a turnoff (wearing Olivia Newton John's cat-suit from Grease), which had the opposite effect; and Terri bought Will a decrepit car from his youth to repair in his leisure time, to prevent him getting too intimate in bed and realizing she's not pregnant.Overall, "Hairography" had a few decent moments, but it felt ephemeral and pointless in many ways. I get the feeling the writers are beginning to regret the pregnancy storyline, which is beginning to drain the show's sense of vitality it once had, the jokes just weren't all that great, and I'm not a fan of Glee's self-righteous tone it can sometimes strike. For me, the show's hit a real rough spot recently, which I hope it recovers from soon.
Asides
-- Good to see Tina take lead vocal for Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors"; shame it was a vomit-inducing interpretation.
-- Another week with Jane Lynch pushed into the background, which is a very worrying situation. Sue's undoubtedly the best character and her marginalization over the past four episodes has been a terrible pity.
-- Sorry, but if you're a brat, you don't sit still while your blonde babysitter and her guitar-playing "boyfriend" perform for you, or ask for an encore.
-- Okay, deaf jokes aren't sophisticated, but they're reliably amusing. Will's scene with the deaf choirmaster Dalton Rumba (Michael Hitchcock) was the funniest moment of the hour.
15 MARCH 2010: E4 (HD), 9PM
