There was a time when Glee was huge. The show’s hit rendition of “Don’t Stop Believin’” was unavoidable a few years back, and my floormates freshman year would congregate every Tuesday to tune in to the new episodes. All of a sudden, it seemed Glee became less and less of a must-see, its songs falling into obscurity on Billboard charts they once dominated. Don’t get me wrong; Glee’s 2 million plus Facebook fans prove that there are still plenty of faithful Gleeks out there. For many of its viewers, however, by the third season it seemed to lose a lot of its pizzazz, for lack of a better term. As a recently converted Gleek, I’ve been on both sides of the spectrum and can agree with both the critics and supporters. I was especially apprehensive about the 4th season when creator Ryan Murphy kept hinting at how it would be a complete 180 from what Glee has been in the past, marketing its return as a “brave new Glee”.
“Brave” is right; with declining ratings and a third season concluding with the graduation and departure of over half of the show’s main characters, Gleeks held their breath to see what Murphy would conjure up. Amid rumors about breakups, makeups, and new characters, Glee’s fourth season premiered with the aptly titled episode “The New Rachel” on Thursday, September 13th in its new post X-Factor time slot (another sly way to get more viewers, Fox?).
Here are some of the pros and cons that stood out to me from the episode that could make or break my attitude towards the rest of the season:
(Let me just say that regardless, I WILL be watching. As a lover of both good and bad TV, I can deal with my fair share of poor writing.)
Pro: Loose Ends Actually Being Tied. Every critical Gleek knows that continuity isn’t really a strong point for the writers of this show. But after leaving so many questions in the season three finale, I hoped we’d get some answers to match in the season four premiere. And surprisingly, it wasn’t entirely disappointing. Sure, we still don’t know the status of some couples like Sam & Mercedes or Finn & Rachel, the latter of which ironically dominated the final moments of season three with the big question of did they actually break up? Well we still don’t know. And apparently neither does Rachel. But thanks to the always informative interviews via Jacob Ben Israel, we learn that Tina & Mike are kaput, while Brittany and Santana are doing the long distance thing, and the New Directions’ victory at Nationals last year has boosted them into popularity (no more slushies?). Kurt and Blaine don’t have to worry about distance yet because Kurt is still looming around Lima after being rejected from NYADA.
Con: Loose Ends Being Completely Ignored. Mercedes is in LA working as a backup singer, Quinn is at Yale, Mike in Chicago, Santana is cheering for University of Lousiville, and Puck is…in LA too? It’s never really confirmed exactly what he’s going to be up to post-graduation, probably because the writers spent so much of Puck’s last episodes focusing on him just qualifying to graduate in the first place.
Con: “The New Rachel”? Yeah, Right. As true to its title, the central plot of “The New Rachel” was about the remaining members of the New Directions bickering over who will be the star of the post-Rachel glee club. The contenders? Blaine (valid), Tina (valid), Unique (more on her/him later), and Brittany (um, what?). Some unnecessary banter and a lackluster “Thunderdome-style” singing battle set to “Call Me Maybe” ensue, and Artie dubs Blaine the title of The New Rachel. But Rachel’s vocal performance in “New York State of Mind,” one of the best numbers in the show, proves that there can be no New Rachel; she’s irreplaceable. Sorry, Blaine.
Pro: Two Stories, Less Boredom. Glee’s new format has episodes alternating between the world of the New Directions in Lima and Rachel’s adventures in NYC, which was a risk that I think really paid off. The separate storylines meshed well together, and even though Rachel seriously got on my nerves by the end of season 3, her scenes are a nice refresher to fill what now feels like an empty space back in Lima, where the biggest drama at McKinley this episode involved the popular kids bullying a lunchlady.
Pro/Con: The New-ish Characters. I add the “ish” for the exception of Wade, aka Unique, portrayed by Glee Project co-winner Alex Newell, who already made his guaranteed two-episode run last season. I guess that was enough to impress Ryan Murphy and his team, because Unique is back and now a member of New Directions. This just felt like a cheap plot addition to me, and I think that the writers were just trying to fill the sassy diva void. Another new and equally boring character is Kitty, who despite having some of the best-delivered lines of the episode, just seems like an attempt at a Quinn-Santana hybrid. I enjoyed the rest of the new characters, though. Brody, Rachel’s new pal and possible love interest at NYADA, is a nice addition and despite everyone’s admonitions, doesn’t seem like a homewrecker. Kate Hudson’s debut as Rachel’s catty dance teacher Cassandra July was just brilliant. Marley and Jake, two ND hopefuls, are both talented and have potential (not to mention I’m already starting to ship them as a couple). Of course, Marley makes the cut and bad-boy Jake, aka Puck’s little half brother, doesn’t. Though I have a feeling that will change…
Pro: Burt Hummel, Dad of the Century. Thanks to some solid acting from Chris Colfer and Mike O’Malley, Kurt’s farewell to his father at the airport when Kurt decides to finally leave Lima for New York literally had me in tears. I’m starting to cry just thinking about it.
Con: The Music (This is a Show About A Glee Club, After All). None of the covers in this episode were really awful per se…okay, “Call Me Maybe” was, but I didn’t even like the original to begin with. I just expected Glee’s music to come back with more of a bang. I was impressed by Kate Hudson’s chops in her mash-up of “Dance Again” and “Americano”, but her pants-less choreography was kind of dull. Blaine’s cover of “It’s Time” may have upset some die-hard Imagine Dragons fans, but I think his vocals were on point. “Chasing Pavements”, well…let’s just say covering Adele songs in general is a tall order; and attempting any Adele song on Glee after the amazing “Rumour Has It/Someone Like You” mash-up is just unthinkable. The true silver linings were the audition songs, which in past season premieres were less than memorable. Though Mr. Schue cut him off, Jake’s rendition of “Never Say Never” was as smooth and charming as his character is. My favorite number was definitely “New York State of Mind”, which was a duet between Rachel (who sang it at NYADA) and Marley (who sang it for her ND audition).
I didn’t want to give away all the intricacies of what happens in the episode, so if you didn’t tune in and are dying to know, make sure you catch up before the next airs. Catch Glee on Fox every Thursday at 9 pm.