If I had to sum up my feelings on last night’s episode of Glee, it would only take two simple words–too much. “Grilled Cheesus” brought us way too many songs, an overabundance of scattered thoughts on religion and more emotional manipulation than we’ve ever seen on the series. Oh, and do you even need to ask? There was way too much of Cory Monteith.
Some have considered this a “return to form” for the show, dismissing last week’s “Britney/Brittany” episode as nothing but pure fluff. That’s complete and utter bullshit, as far as I’m concerned. There were a few touching and poignant moments (see Sue Sylvester and her sister), but they were immediately shattered by predictable dialogue like, “I don’t believe in God, but I believe in you.” Is this a Lifetime original movie or something?
But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s start with a brief synopsis. The mayhem and foolishness kicks off when Finn sees the face of Jesus on a grilled cheese sandwich. As a result, he encourages the rest of the glee club to perform religiously-themed music, and this leads to some controversy when Kurt‘s dad experiences a heart attack.
We don’t want to give too much away, so you can click through and watch if you haven’t seen the episode yet. Also, be sure to check out the trailer for next week! It looks like the incredibly hunky Chord Overstreet will become the latest member of New Directions…
– Dewitt
To watch the episode, hear the songs and read more, follow the JUMP:
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FULL EPISODE:
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NEXT WEEK:
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Only The Good Die Young (Mark Salling): Did you know that Puck’s exclusively performed songs by Jewish artists? Because he’d like to remind you. In fact, there doesn’t seem like any other reason for this performance, aside from providing some response to Finn’s request for religious jams.
Seriously, this musical moment seemed entirely superfluous within the context of the episode. Why would they bother paying the royalties to ruin a classic Billy Joel tune? As much as I’m a fan of the Puckster–or at the very least, his body–this didn’t really work for me. (2.5 Points)
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I Look To You (Amber Riley): After the news about Kurt’s father begins circulating through McKinley High, his best bud Mercedes attempts to cheer him up with a “spiritual song” by Whitney Houston. He’s not particularly impressed, considering the whole “I don’t believe in God because I’m gay” thing. Begin dialogue about “a magic teapot floating around the dark side of the moon with a dwarf inside of it that reads romance novels and shoots lightning out of its boobs.”
The television edit didn’t do this any justice. Of course, things are bound to get choppy when you try to shove seven musical numbers into a forty-five minute program. Despite the handicaps, Amber Riley did a decent job performing this. Was it better than Whitney’s original version? Begin the debate… now. (3 Points)
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Papa, Can You Hear Me? (Lea Michele): Sue Sylvester and Kurt squash the club’s “religion” assignment, so Rachel decides to drag Finn outdoors and indulge in a little Yentl. The scene moves on to the hospital, where she joins Mercedes and Quinn to sing at Burt Hummel’s side. Kurt is not pleased with this.
This is a perfect example of Glee choosing the right song for a given moment, laying it in the hands of a well-suited vocalist. Lea Michele is a trained vocalist with a musical theater background, so she doesn’t sound right singing Britney Spears or Lily Allen. Give her a little Barbra Streisand, and then the magic begins! Let’s just disregard that this was a little obvious and predictable. (4 Points)
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I Want To Hold Your Hand (Chris Colfer): Kurt recalls the day of his mother’s funeral, remembering how his father squeezed his hand to show he’s still there. His brief monologue leads into a dramatic performance of The Beatles’ 1963 hit “I Want To Hold You Hand”.
Although Glee should generally avoid The Beatles, my feelings are extremely conflicted on this one. The slowed-down arrangement shouldn’t have worked. I keep telling myself that, but Chris Colfer’s vocals were downright beautiful. This scene didn’t need childhood flashbacks or a pan to the emotional faces within the classroom. In fact, it would have been better without them. If they had just focused on Kurt and his pain for the entire number, I would have busted out in tears. (4 Points)
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Losing My Religion (Cory Monteith): Due to an illuminating discussion with guidance counselor Emma Pilsbury, Finn begins to question his newfound faith. By now, you know the drill! He sings about it…
I’ve tried time and time again to enjoy Cory Monteith. As someone who was thrown into this show with no previous vocal training, you have to understand why he’s always so fucking terrible. It’s becoming clear that he’s working behind-the-scenes on his voice, but it’s only making the situation worse! The annunciation enunciation on this song drove me absolutely crazy. (1 Point)
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Bridge Over Troubled Water (Amber Riley): With promises of fabulous hats, Mercedes convinces Kurt to join her at Sunday services. Obviously, this leads to a performance by the congregation’s choir. What else would you expect?
I’m a sucker for gospel choirs, but didn’t Clay Aiken already do this on American Idol back in 2003? Either way, I’ve got to give props to Amber Riley! She sounded like a lost member of the Jackson family. When are they going to give this girl a damn plotline? I’m tired of seeing her play the sassy black sidekick. (3.5 Points)
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One Of Us (Full Cast): It’s a miracle! Though it’s still unclear whether Kurt’s dad will fully recover, he squeezes his son’s hand in the hospital. Commence the obligatory cheesy group number, a crucial conclusion to any episode of this show.
For all my problems with this episode, there were some pretty fantastic arrangements thrown into the mix. Clearly, this was one of them. On a more important note, it was great to see Tina take over the opening solo duties. Why can’t they let Jenna Ushkowitz be great? (4 Points)
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BREAKDOWN OF POINTS SYSTEM:
- 5 Points = Excellent or exceeding expectations in regards to vocal performance, choreography and arrangement. Fits well within the context of the episode, and potentially better than the original version.
- 4 Points = Not too shabby! May not be entirely on par with the original, but a fantastic effort by the actors and vocalists.
- 3 Points = Tolerable. Did not induce eye rolls or kept them to a minimum.
- 2 Points = Could be a variety of factors, including poor song choice or lackluster performance. Boring or uninspired. May be an insult to the original artist.
- 1 Point = Absolutely painful. Couldn’t wait for it to be over.
“Is this a Lifetime original movie or something?”
no, its cable tv. get over yourself.
Glad to see Mercedes get more solos…even if they did have to cram them into the religious episode and put one of them in a church.
@atlas: Last time I checked Glee is on Fox. That’s not cable TV.
LOVED LOVED LOVED this episode. The moments with Kurts dad were so moving.
hehe…apparently there was a lot more religion going on than I realised in this episode…
« The annunciation on this song drove me absolutely crazy. »
annunciation |əˌnənsēˈā sh ən|
noun (usu. the Annunciation)
the announcement of the Incarnation by the angel Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:26–38).
• the church festival commemorating this, held on March 25 (Lady Day).
• a painting or sculpture depicting this.
• formal or archaic the announcement of something
=====
enunciate |iˈnənsēˌāt|
verb [ trans. ]
say or pronounce clearly : she enunciated each word slowly.
• express (a proposition or theory) in clear or definite terms : a written document enunciating this policy.
• proclaim
Well I used to watch this show a few times, then just to see puck ( Mark Salling). Now I dont bother. Ive grown tired of predictable outcomes of tv shows these days. Did all the great writers die?
Guys – this show is supposed to be campy, that’s its charm. I’ll admit the “Grilled Cheesus” thing made me squirm initially, but this show and its popularity are helping normalize a lot of subjects for a younger generation – same-sex love – and now freedom of worship or not, without hate – important life lessons in the show’s all too evolved social network, but what a thing to aspire to. I wish something like this would have been popular when I was growing up! Regardless, I tune in for the great music and talented performers – yup, I’m a Gleek!
This was by far the best episode of the season. Not that there have been many, but I wasn’t getting worried the show was starting to change for good. I just hopes it keeps up the momentum. I thought “I Want To Hold Your Hand” was done perfectly, even the flashbacks fit in.
This arrangement of I Want To Hold Your Hand was in the movie “Across The Universe”. Actress T.V. Carpio sang a slow version of the song that also worked well.
How did this show go from good to just okay in one season? Maybe because there are no storylines this year. Nobody in the school has anything going on.
How did this show go from good to just okay in one season? Maybe because there are no storylines this year. Nobody in the school has anything going on.
GOOD POINT ROB. I was never a showtunes/music guy unlike what most straight people think of all gay guys but I watched because there was a storyline. Now Robot Chicken has more of a plot.
Getting worked up over G-rated TV? It’s television, silly. And who REALLY cares?
if you’re not a 13yo girl, you shouldn’t be watching this lame show anyway. that’s the target audience.
Of course this episode sparks debate, religion, in any aspect, does that. The show’s basically a musical, in musicals, people feel things a good 5-10 times more than a normal person would, hence the cheesy lines and over-dramatization of some things. The religious aspect is important right now, in case we forgot. Now I agree that the first song was a “WTF”, but I really enjoyed this episode, I thought it was touching.
Chill the GL-UCK out, Dimwitt or whoever wrote this!! (and No, I’m not bothering to scroll back up to double check.)
You don’t wanna give too much away?? What, did you leave out ANY links to ALL seven songs (God/Allah/Buddha/Krishna FORBID they sing 7 songs-Oh The Horror!!! What about the Children!!!); a link to the FULL episode, and the FUKKIN’ trailer for next week?? Not to mention, ALL of yer ManCunt bitchin’ and systematic point breakdown.
Oy vey!
Loved Losing My Religion from Finn, it was great, but thats why we each have our own tastes, ie, some like twinks while others like bears, and still others like leather men to each his own
Seriously, you should stick to talking porn b/c you clearly have no firm realistic taste when it comes to TV. Glee is an amazing show and God forbid they want to stop being fun for fun’s sake for one episode and take on a more moving and serious topic. They did what they did in a wonderful fashion, each character is interesting and important so saying there was too much of any one character is really stupid and shows a lack of understanding of what the show’s goals are. And to vindicate the Brit episode and bash this one shows a serious skew in your priority system when it comes to this show. As another commenter said, you seriously need to get over yourself.
The Britney episode was worse than this one. At least with this episode there was an actual story, instead of random Britney music video imitations surrounded by bits of dialogue. IMO, Glee is returning back to form.
Dewitt, your Cory bashing is getting tiresome. I bet someone like Cory rejected you once. Get over yourself. I am tired of your pathetic reviews. What makes you think you qualify?
All you need to be qualified to do a review is to know what you like so more power to you dewit, forget the haters. I do agree you should lay off Cory. He is adorable and his voice is fine. He adds realism as high school student working to become a better singer. I love watching him.
I loved the first season of Glee, but the first two episodes of this season were absolutely horrible. This episode was a bit better. I think I may still watch next week’s episode.
The episode was definitely over the top. The representations of all religious parties was a little shallow, in my opinion. And the musical numbers were a bit awkward in their incorporation.
HOWEVER… I’m so glad there was more variety to this episode. A classic from Yentl. A classic from the Beatles. Some gospel (though I’m not a fan). And some pop. Oh, and no more white guys rapping (lookin’ at you, Cory).
I think a required qualification is to know the difference between a PLOT SYNOPSIS and a PLOT SUMMARY and the ability to write them.
Clearly Dewitt got part the SUMMARY (that clearly wasn’t a synopsis!) of the episode somewhat fucked up. After the Grilled Cheesus moment, Finn didn’t encourage anyone to sing religiously-themed songs. He “asked” if the group could pay tribute to Jesus. Will suggests to the unenthusiastic group, that they focus on SPIRITUALITY.
Anyway, DW also seems to have left out that a major, but underlying point in the episode, which was the fact that you can’t talk about religion/spirituality in public schools (You can, however, Wait for Superman-*ding!*) Could be the reason why some songs were not “religious”. So what if Puck sings only songs by Jewish artists? Thanks for nothing for bringing that to my attention–GEEZ! Where the FUCK is his Mohawk?? Point that out!! LOL!!
And from my viewing of the episode, it wasn’t the “religiously-themed music” (as you put it) that caused controversy when Kurt’s father had the heart attack. There was no actual controversy, but when the group begins to console Kurt, the episode opens the floor for the entire group to sing/talk about their own spirituality/theology (in Glee fashion.)
Now, that was harmless, right?? Did I seem Dim-Witted?? Was that too little/too much? Does anyone think that what I wrote make the episode seem more thought-provoking and not just a bunch of songs thrown in for no reason? And when I look down, I see a cock, NOT a ManCunt.
Now time for the weather! Tiffany?
I can understand why so many people on here might be complaining about this episode compared to the Britney Spears episode…everyone knows the gay culture dictates that we should talk more about worshiping Britney rather than God, but unfortunately that just isn’t how it works. Personally, I found the episode to be very insightful. Things like religion actually do matter to a lot of people and I think a lot of people can actually relate to this episode, even if it did have some campy humor thrown in. If you are more into “worship Britney” tv shows, there is nothing wrong with that, but
there is the here! channel for that…..
amber’s rendition of ‘i look to you’ is simply stellar. i literally cried after she sings it. too bad its too short to be extremely memorable.
ohyeah… i don’t really like chris’ version of ‘losing my religion’. kinda butchered the original ones.
This episode was alright…
I am one of those people who had a long stint in the church but has since moved on from that. I found all the religious numbers hard to deal with because of this, but Papa Can You Hear Me was the stand out of the show.
I just can’t wait for the plot line between Chord and Chris to start! Bring on next week!!! 😀
“@atlas: Last time I checked Glee is on Fox. That’s not cable TV.”
umm, fox is cable tv, and as far as ive known always has been.
Really? Where do you live atlas, because Fox has always been standard over the air television. Never cable. Thinking of FX perhaps?
Is it just me or is the “Hot Asian guy” getting hotter? Please show more of him with his shirt off,and maybe in in tight boxer briefs! Oh, as for the show,2 sappy 4 words,I wanna skull-fuck Finn,and if Rachel sings 1 more Barbara song,I’m gonna shoot her,the beeyatch plucks on my 1 last good nerve.
Ever think that perhaps Atlas has always had TV delivered to his home via Cable TV and therefore doesn’t need to make a big deal out of what specific networks existed in the “Land Before the Time of Cable”?? Geez…
i am able to view FOX-5 on my tv, and i never had CABLE TV installed…it comes with other standard channels like CBS-8, NBC-39, and ABC-10, plus PBS-15, and the WB too.
as far as the Grilled Jesus Sandwich,oopes, i mean the Grilled Cheesus,,, i thought it was interesting; and reminds me of the other strange things that people seem to see, like pictures of Jesus or the Virgin Mary on Rocks, Trees, Stones, Walls, Doors, Fields, etc.
ya im canadian, im assuming this is where the confusion is coming from