WRITER: Brad Falchuk[SPOILERS] A better episode than recent efforts, thanks to a strong theme (characters struggling with their dreams) and a guest-star (Neil Patrick Harris) whose presence didn't feel like a cheap stunt. There's still an air of staleness floating around Glee right now, possibly because it feels we've seen all of its tricks and there's been a lack of direction regarding the upcoming Regionals, but "Dream On" was brief respite.
DIRECTOR: Joss Whedon
GUEST CAST: Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Jenna Ushkowitz, Mark Salling, Brian McGovern, Heather Morris, Naya Rivera, Molly Shannon, Harry Shum Jr. & Dijon Talton
The glee club's threatened with closure again, when ex-glee clubber Bryan Ryan (Harris) arrives to audit the school finances with an agenda to shutdown glee because he believes raising teenager's expectations about a career in musical theatre isn't fair or practical. He speaks from experience because his own musicality never led anywhere, and he's now part of a support group for jaded show choir members who believe they had their expectations recklessly raised. To try and save the club, Mr Schue (Matthew Morrison) decides to rekindle Bryan's passion for music by reminding him about the uplifting power of singing and getting him to audition for a prized role in a local production of Les Mis.I'm not part of Neil Patrick Harris' fan club, mainly because all of the shows he's become famous for during his '00s revival either don't appeal or have passed me by (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long), but he was definitely a worthwhile guest-star here. He can sing well, has a resemblance to Schue (both actors have faces sculpted from mashed potato) which made him feel like an "evil twin" type, and more importantly his character had a proper story deserving of his time.
Elsewhere, Rachel (Lea Michele) grew interested in learning about the mother she never knew and her father never talks about, encouraged by boyfriend Jesse (Jonathan Groff) to search through old family materials for clues to her mother's identity -- unaware that Jesse's been tasked by Rachel's mother, Vocal Adrenaline's coach Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel), to plant an audio-tape of her singing "I Dreamed A Dream" so that Rachel will be inspired to track her down. Shelby's legally unable to contact her daughter until she reaches maturity.
There was nothing very surprising here, as it was obvious Menzel had joined Glee to be revealed as Rachel's long lost mother -- both because of their obvious facial resemblance and the fact her appointment came off the back of a fan campaign to get Menzel involved as Rachel's mother. The fact Jesse's been planted in New Directions to help Shelby get closer to her daughter was also quite obvious, and you have to wonder what Shelby's thinking in giving her daughter a "fake" boyfriend under orders to facilitate their reunion. That's such a bad idea it's unfathomable a real human being would make such a mistake; but I guess this is Glee we're talking about, which takes place in a cartoon universe.
Finally, Artie (Kevin McHale) joined Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) for a dance assignment that only reminded him how much he misses being able to walk and dance. His dream of being ambulant again led to Artie finding hope in cutting-edge surgeries that are in the research stages, until Emma (Jayma Mays) made him realize that some dreams have to put into perspective and it's pointless to expect overnight miracles. This wasn't too bad for a subplot, although I still find Glee has a very bathetic tone whenever it tackles "issues" such as this. Still, a dream sequence that gave McHale the chance to ditch his wheelchair and lead a shopping mall in a group dance was the episode's highlight -- in terms of choreography, direction (the action sometimes caught on camera-phones), and McHale's unexpectedly slick dance skills. It seems a shame Glee didn't cast a genuine wheelchair-user as Artie, if McHale clearly has a lot of physical talent that's going to waste.
Overall, "Dream On" was a good episode -- if one that benefitted from the fact post-hiatus episodes have been more underwhelming than expected. I enjoy how Glee always tries to get a move on with the storylines, too -- exemplified here by how quickly Schue transformed Bryan's outlook on music changed for the better, then flipped back-and-forth when the plot demanded it. And I haven't even mentioned that "Dream On" was directed by geek-hero Joss Whedon (the hyphenate behind Buffy, Angel, Firefly and Dollhouse), but that's primarily because there was no obvious improvement to how this episode was filmed, beyond a more creative way to show Artie's dance routine at the mall.Asides
- Rachel was born in 1994? God, I feel old. That makes her sweet 16. Of course, Lea Michele (like most of Glee's cast) is a lot older at 23, but that still means she was born in 1986. God, I feel old.
- Is there a reason Stephen Tobolowsky's rarely on the show? Seems a waste. Similarly, Molly Shannon joined the show a few episodes ago but has only been given a few brief scenes. Glee really needs to do more with its adult characters, particularly the semi-regular ones.
- Sue had "angry sex" with Bryan off-screen, mercifully. I bet she kept her tracksuit on, too.
