The Disappointing Return of “Glee”

“Glee” returned last week after a long hiatus with a somewhat disappointing episode. The series left off with one of their biggest cliffhangers to date that had fans wondering if Quinn, a series regular since season one, would survive after her serious car accident. By putting her in a wheelchair next to the beloved, “handicapable” Artie, the writers set up interesting storylines for the rest of the season, but the rest of the episode fell a little bit flat.

Almost as (or possibly more) anticipated as the truth about Quinn’s fate was the arrival of guest star Matt Bomer. He signed on to guest star as Blaine’s older brother and once the previews began airing Gleeks went crazy. Together the duo performed a mash-up of “Rio/Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran and everyone’s new favorite song, “Somebody that I Used to Know” by Gotye. Though the Andersen brother’s storyline focused on how they barely get along, their musical numbers were easily the high points of the episode. The actors performed well together, despite the somewhat lacking and uninteresting storyline they were working with. The scenes were enjoyable to watch, but most of that credit goes to the actors, not their material. Blaine also took on a solo performance of “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera that was fun to watch, although not as dynamic as his duet numbers.

In comparison to the musical performances given by Blaine and Cooper, the other songs, which were both sung by Quinn and Artie, came up short. Although the duet sounds great because their voices complement each other nicely, the songs just did not work. Quinn’s storyline could have been fantastic, but instead she seems like she has reverted back into the stubbornly cruel Quinn from season two that no one liked. Hopefully, the writers will bring Quinn back down to earth and have her accept her fate, whatever it may be. The song, “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John was a great choice, but the delivery was boring, despite the added wheelchair dancing. Their version of “Up, Up, Up” by the Givers may just get the mostly unknown song the same type of attention that “We Are Young” by Fun received when it was featured a few months back. Both songs featured the Glee club enjoying being young, with them tackling “senior skip day” in this episode.

The episode had its high and low points, but overall it definitely did not measure up to some of the better episodes this season. There was really no character development, and the writers threw in a few random storylines about Sue’s pregnancy and Finn wanting to move to California to start a business with Puck. The episode had no consistency and was only saved by a few choice performances and the drama of Quinn’s condition. Let’s hope next week’s take on “Saturday Night Fever” brings back the best of “Glee.”