Okay, September is here and that means that shows are coming back. Let's start with something a little different than what I've done before, Glee. The episode overall was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It still has many of the good features that we love Glee for, while throwing in some new characters and plots. But there were also a lot of things that bugged me. I'm not going to be covering the whole episode, since they're so long, but just go over the main things.
First off, characters. Of course, one of the main issues I, and a lot of other people, had with the last few seasons was that screentime was dominated by Rachel, Finn, and Kurt. But all of the major camera hogs have graduated and it's time to give other people a chance. Fitting with the theme of "The New Rachel" it seems like Tina, Brittany, Blaine, and newcomer Wade/Unique will be stepping forward and trying to claim this role. Brittany and Blaine both got their fair share of screentime last season, Tina has been about average, and Wade/Unique of course is new. I have no problem with these four, and from the looks of it, Artie as well, becoming stars, as long as they give focus to the other characters as well. Sugar is one of the most amusing characters on the show, and the fact that she can't sing should really make some interesting stories. She had pretty much no relevance last season, so hopefully they can change that. And then there's Joe, who I've been hooked on since his performance of "Stereo Hearts." He's got a nice voice and he's an interesting character; again, I hope for more of him. I was disappointed to see that the little cutie, Rory, is gone without ever getting a chance to stand out. He'd better come back later on, like how they did with Sam last season, since he definitely could offer more. Now onto the new characters.
Kitty: Um...I absolutely hate her! It's not simply because she's a mean girl, though. Sue introduces her as her new head cheerleader, and she is clearly filling the role that Quinn and Santana had in their time as head cheerleaders. We've never seen her before, but somehow, here she is, top of the food chain already. And she's not bringing anything new at all. She's playing the same game that we've seen so many times by now in the last three seasons. But while Quinn and Santana had stories that clearly showed that they were more than some jerk, so far, that's all Kitty is. Now, it is only the first episode, so I'll give her a bit more time, but it didn't long for Quinn to establish herself as deeper than she looked, so Kitty had better get some depth soon or else she could very well end up as the worst character on the show.
Marlie: While the old glee kids are fighting for who shall be the new Rachel, in walks Marlie who clear embodies just that. Unlike Rachel, though, Marlie seems like a much nicer character. Then there's the plotline with her mother, the lunch lady. While this would typically play out with the daughter trying to keep it a secret, Glee takes it in just the opposite direction and has the mother try to keep it a secret in fear that Marlie won't make any friends otherwise. Marlie, however, won't have any of this and tells everyone that the person they're making fun of is in fact her mother. She's nice and brave; truly an admirable character. She could be considered sickeningly sweet, and maybe she will end up like that, but right now I'd say that it's a nice refresh to have a character as positive as she is.
Jake: While Marlie is bringing the positive, Jake is clearly going to be bringing some negative drama onto the show. He's the half-brother to our old friend, Puck. Like Puck, he's clearly got some issues, perhaps even more than his brother. He's a good singer, but he has to have things go his way or else he gets mad. This leads to a confrontation with Shue, and leads to him rejecting the glee club. Obviously he's going to be playing a deep role, and while he still is negative, unlike Kitty (yes, I'm still on her) he has already shown to have more sides than that.
Brody: The new love interest to Rachel. He seems nice, but a little bland. That's all I've got on him for now.
Cassandra July: Rachel's dance instructor. Meh, she bores me. I mean, we've all seen the typical, nasty coach who just wants to see her students succeed. Even if that isn't exactly how Cassandra's going to play out, it's clear that that's the idea they're going for. She reminds me of Sue, except that instead it seems like her quips are meant to be taken more seriously. And since she's not as over the top as Sue is, she's really just a boring version of her.
Dottie: She has no relevance to the plot, and if she had any lines, they weren't memorable. Yet I still find myself greatly enjoying Tina's new assistant. She was just, simply cute. I hope they actually do something with her and don't just have her as a throwaway gag.
Now, let's move onto the new format. Instead of focusing all our attention on McKinley High and its glee club, they've now dedicated half of the show to Rachel in New York. This has its own pros and cons. I definitely liked seeing how Rachel is doing and how different her world has become. However, on the other side, this means that we're losing time to focus on the main plot and as such the episode's storylines can't quite develop as much as before. I guess that's the price to pay, though. I'm hoping that it's not going to be pure Rachel, though, I'm curious to see how Santana or Puck are doing.
Alright, now I have to mention something that really, really bothered me. For the past three seasons it has been repeated time after time that Shue wants glee club to become more popular. They've been desperate for members just so they can meet the minimum requirements, and just to get the club off of the bottom of the food chain. And now Will's dream has come true and glee club is idolized, people are eager to audition. So, maybe he'll have to turn away some kids, like we saw with Sugar last season, right? But a big theme has always been that glee club is open to everyone who auditions, and it's not like they're running out of space. And yet when the list goes up, are you ready for this, there is one person who made past the audition? One person?! So, they're still under the requirement and it's become the kind of clique where only the best can enter? Why, just why?
I mentioned that the glee club has become super popular, well that leads me to another thing that bugged me. For three years these kids have been bullied and no matter what they do, nothing seems to change. They win Nationals, though, and everybody loves them. Okay, I'll accept that. But by the end of the episode, things are right back to how things started. All because Kitty decided that she doesn't like Marlie and Wade, and remember this is a girl who we've seen nothing of since now (I'm not letting this go), where is she getting this kind of influence from? And to just emphasize my previous point, maybe this could have been avoided if Shue let more people join and they actually became a strong fraction of the school population.
But enough about what I didn't like. As usual, the music was amazing. Two songs in particular stood out to me: Blaine's "It's Time" and the competitive attempt on "Call Me Maybe." Of course they had to put that song in there, it's huge. And they did it justice, in a fun sort of way with the four "New Rachel"s trading lines between each other.
I really am looking forward to what more plotlines we'll be seeing. Like I said, we've got plenty of potential in some of the older characters, and we've got a lot to explore with Jake and Marlie...and I'm hoping for Dottie too. Rachel and Kurt's storylines are both different from what we've seen and could definitely be something interesting. Who knows, maybe I'll even come to like Kitty...maybe.
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