Glee (Fox)

While the Britney, Gaga and Madonna episodes left me in awe of the show and the immense talent of both the writers and cast, the numbers and overall plot fell short of my expectations. 

The show opens with a rehearsal for the “New Directions’” performance of the musical; Carl bursts in, angry at Will for defying the agreement they set regarding his relationship with Emma.

The rest of the episode is a flashback to all that happened before this outbreak.

The first thing that openly detracted from the episode was the development of Emma and Will’s relationship and their interactions in this hour.

At first I was a strong advocate for them; now my opinion is shifting in the complete opposite direction because of Will’s new, almost creepy approach in courting her. 

Will decides to do “Rocky Horror” in the first place because he hears about Emma and Carl going to a screening of it.

Despite its inappropriateness for a rather conservative high school in Ohio (this appropriateness is addressed at some points in the episode), Will’s desire to get closer to Emma prompts him to make a decision that goes against his better judgment. 

He always seems to be a bit too close to her; he is clingy and awkward to the point that I feel almost uncomfortable watching them interact.

I have always been a big fan of Will Schuester, but I am starting to miss the Will that started off the show.

I miss the Will of the pilot and the opening season, before he was swept away by the craziness of his divorce and his newfound jealousy towards Carl.

The old Will would have never decided to do “Rocky Horror” in the first place, not to mention get too involved in the project in order to rehearse with Emma.

Even though he apologizes for choosing the musical at the end of the show, it seems like Will has consistently been making mistakes.

In the Britney episode, he also chose to perform “Toxic” with the kids in order to impress Emma, again apologizing at the end for crossing the limits of the student teacher relationship.

It seems like he keeps on repeating the same mistakes. 

I don’t want to be too harsh about the episode, as I still enjoyed watching most of it. The cast’s talent was certainly there, as it always is.

Rachel and Finn were perfectly cast as Janet and Brad, and their performances were a definite highlight for me. Overall, however, the performances were lacking their usual sparkle. 

The final song, “Time Warp,” was missing its usual energy and did not leave me with the delighted and pleased sensation it usually does. 

The cast’s performance of  “Touch a Touch a Touch a Touch Me” left me wishing for the old Will again.

Santana and Brittany are always show highlights for me, even in this number. 

The episode, like always, had underlying social conflicts that revealed themselves at certain moments.

Issues of body image appeared with Sam and Finn; Sam brings out Finn’s self- consciousness in showing his own need for a desired body and popularity. 

Part of the plot also involved the question of who would play the transvestite in the musical. Mike’s parents wouldn’t let him and Kurt didn’t want to, so finally Mercedes was given the role.

Some jokes were tossed in about the subject but nothing was really fully addressed in order for it to not completely take over the episode. 

Another complaint I had about the show was that it would have been difficult for someone who had never seen “Rocky Horror” to fully follow along in the episode.

Similarly, the episode did not live up to other beloved Halloween episodes that are known to premiere this week.

It definitely needed to amp up its focus as a Halloween episode in order to fulfill the expectations of the week ahead. 

Reach Deputy Entertainment Editor Nicole Shoohed here.
Join Neon Tommy's mailing list.