Original air date: April 24, 2012
Hey, are you tired of tribute episodes? Too bad because right after our disco episode, we are going to get a Whitney Houston episode. I don't think I touched on this much earlier but Whitney Houston died this year, right around about the time that Heart aired. It was a few days prior to that. Just by chance Mercedes performed I Will Always Love You by her and it was very coincidental but nice as a tribute on its own. They've mentioned her death in a couple of episodes since but I think everyone was expecting an episode like this to come out because why wouldn't they do a special tribute episode for someone so iconic who passed away recently? It seemed like a given. It took them a bit because I imagine a lot of the songs and dances are planned out a bit in advance to give the actors time to rehearse and a tribute episode was not in the plans originally. So they scrambled to put this one together. How well do they manage? Well, the songs are good but lets see what happens in this very special tribute episode.
We start right out the gate with a very somber and quite powerful rendition of How Will I know? performed by Mercedes, Kurt, Santana, and Rachel. Four great voices to start off with. They perform down the hallways but also in the auditorium so I think it's a blend of fantasy/reality sequence. Will oversees them and is confused as to why this death is hitting them so hard. Emma brings up her obsession with Princess Diana again which is a shocking bit of continuity from the first season. She says that she died right when she was going into her senior year. Will had no idea she had such a connection to the Princess but Emma says she didn't , she was just a physical manifestation of her pain. She was grieving the loss of her childhood. Will connects the dots and realizes that Whitney dying is the kids' Diana dying.
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| This is a great way to open an episode, much better than starting with Blaine's stupid face |
Mercedes and Rachel are arguing over who The Bodyguard was originally written for with her saying Diana Ross and Rachel saying Barbara Streisand. Will comes in and confirms the movie was originally intended to star Diana Ross and Steve McQueen in the 70s until it went to Whitney and Kevin Costner in the 90s. He then reveals their lesson for the week and Mercedes is hype for a Whitney tribute. Sam has reservations though because of her drug addiction problem and I'm just going to chalk this up to the writers wanting to comment on the drug issue and then rolling a dice on the character to say it. This would make more sense coming from RasTrent (Joe Hart) the Christian Guy because Sam is not usually this judge-y. Also, my guy, you were a stripper which there is nothing wrong with being but a little odd for him to judge someone when he knows what hardships can drive people to do. Will tells them that this week isn't about judgement but about honouring Whitney's legacy and also to explore their own feelings about saying goodbye this year. He then has to explain to them what they're actually feeling which, Will and all people out there who do this, please don't do that. You had a nice thing going but then you had to tell them that their feelings about a favourite singer dying aren't about their favourite singer dying. Just let them figure this out on their own. Some of them may genuinely be upset at her passing because they idolized her and others may be mourning the loss of their childhood but that's for them to deal with. It's really condescending and rude to tell someone what they're feeling. Santana calls Will out for this and Rachel says that regardless of Will's message being misguided, she's excited to start practicing her song. She wants to do Whitney's version of the Star Spangled Banner.
Kurt is gushing to Blaine about how excited he is about the assignment. He can't decide what song he wants to do but knows it has to be perfect because he figures he can do one for the assignment and one for his NYADA audition. He asks Blaine to go with him to Between the Sheets, a sheet music store but Blaine can't because he sucks. Kurt says it's fine and Blaine asks him to text when he's done. At the store, Kurt is immediately approached by an overenthusiastic nerd who adores his hippopotamus head brooch. His name is Chandler but no, it's not Chandler Bing. They gush about music and we learn that they both have auditions to attend school in New York. Chandler is really loud and fawns over Kurt to which Kurt is extremely flattered. He then asks for Kurt's number. Oops. Drama will inevitably ensue.
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| Missed opportunity to do some Single White Female drama, rather than the usual cheating drama |
We get an amazing performance of I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) from Brittany and Santana. She is pulling everyone up to dance with her in Glee club, including Quinn who declines and sits back sadly. Brittany says everyone was amazing at dancing, even though her favourite to dance with will always be Santana and then she says that Quinn still dances in her dreams which makes Quinn more upset. RasTrent notices this and confronts her about it. Quinn reveals that her physical therapy isn't doing much to help and it's depressing. He offers to go with her for support because he cares about her and he's a Good!Christian who isn't all talk and no action. Uh huh. Sure you are.
Will says he has a surprise for Emma. The surprise is that he's hired a very expensive wedding planner for them. Emma says they don't really need one since they're having a Christmas wedding so the church will already be decorated but Will insists that he wants the wedding moved up to May. May being next month. Emma is shocked and asks if this is about sex but Will says it's about them. That is a bold-faced lie, Will. You rest on a bed of lies. Emma doesn't look ok with this decision but Will kisses her so she awkwardly agrees. Will is not a great partner. Remember when we thought Terri was the problem? I mean, she was but hot damn, Will also sucks and has basically become the Terri to Emma's season 1 Will.
Rachel complains to Kurt that she spent all night practicing Whitney Houston's version of Star Spangled Banner but couldn't get it right. Kurt isn't surprised because she nailed it to the wall and no one's been able to top it since. Kurt gets a text message and Rachel teases him about getting a sweet text from Blaine only it's not from Blaine, it's from Chandler. Rachel is not down with this and can't believe he's been texting another guy for two days. Kurt says that it's just innocent fun and it makes him feel good when Blaine has not been doing that for him. Rachel points out that Blaine should be making him feel good and if he isn't, that's a problem that texting another dude definitely will not fix. Kurt says that it's just flirting and that it should be fine to do it if it's innocent and makes him feel good. Rachel delivers the point home by asking Kurt if he'd show the texts to Blaine. Obviously Kurt wouldn't so he's busted.
Back in Glee club, Will is happy with how their Whitney performances are going and is still harping on them dealing with saying goodbye. RasJoe pipes up that he has been going to physical therapy with Quinn and they worked on a song they both like and want to share it. They get up and perform Whitney's song Saving All My Lovin' For You. Quinn sounds so pretty on this song but this is an odd pairing and one that isn't going to last. Maybe they should have introduced the Glee Project winner sooner and developed him better? No, I will not let this go. Anyway, during this performance, we also get a shot of them at physio but like, I don't think this show understands how physio works? Because they have Joe stretching her out and that's not what should be happening. Physio is between the person getting it done and a licensed physiotherapist who usually does a bit of massage and muscle releasing moves and then works on strengthening exercises with you. They don't just...leave you in a room to be stretched out by some kid that goes to school with you. What the hell? Now, they could have saved this by having him help her at home with her stretches but this is glee and they care not for accuracy. The point of the scene is to show them getting close and in compromising positions together, he leans in like he's thinking of kissing her and then pulls back, to Quinn's disappointment.
When we get back from a quick break, it's right into another performance. This one is Whitney's song So Emotional and it's performed by Rachel and Santana which is an amazing combination. They both sound fantastic together. It's not the type of music I listen to but I can't deny how awesome they sound. During the performance we see Kurt reacting to his phone while Blaine notices and gets upset but I don't really care about these two so much as I enjoy listening to Santana and Rachel sing together. Enjoy.
It's the next day and Mercedes points out that when Quinn sang Saving All My Loving with Joe, it looked like she really meant it. Quinn shoots it all down because she's said good bye to that part of her life. She tells them about the moment where they were about to kiss and he pulled away because he was obviously grossed out by her and her chair and she doesn't blame him. The girls all look sad for her, Rachel apologizes but Quinn doesn't want to hear it because it is what it is. She wheels away, leaving the glee girls upset.
Will gets home to find Emma and Mr. Lavender going over wedding plans. Mr. Lavender, I was excited to discover is played by Scully from Brooklyn 99. I like fun surprises, what comes next is less fun though. So, Will busts into the wedding planning to fuck everything up, first by saying that he requires a stage because he will be rapping at the wedding and so the glee club can perform. Mr. Lavender tells him that the venues that are open on the dates he wants will not accommodate a stage. Will insists he look elsewhere where they will accommodate his bizarre request. Emma gently suggests that they pick a later date, like in September or October but Will refuses to move the date. He straight up fires Mr. Lavender because they are getting married in May whether anyone else likes it or not. Honestly, I don't understand why Emma still wants to marry him. Did Terri have a point that Will makes everything about the glee kids? Because yes, this is about the glee kids.
Joe goes to Sam to talk about Quinn and Sam already knows they both like each other. Can I just say that while dreadlock hairstyles are beautiful, I hate Joe's hair. It doesn't suit him at all and it's honestly overtaking his head. Whatever he's done with his dreads here, he's giving me Count Dracula from the Coppola film right now and it's insanely distracting.
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| I can't take this guy seriously |
Anyway, he's super Christian, if you didn't already know, and because he's super Christian and his Christian-ness means so much to him, he's scared that he has feelings for Quinn and wants to be intimate with her. I'd say it's just a kiss but like, I think he prescribes to the Girl, Defined Christianity where apparently even kissing before marriage is a sin. Sam reveals that he had sex already because of that time he was a stripper. Joe is aghast because it's a sin and Sam points out that they're probably not supposed to get tattoos either. Sam is apparently is a good Christian which isn't at all what I got out of him, but ok. Anyway, he's a good Christian but he recognizes that some of the rules are really outdated and they should just try to be good people. Sam thinks the sex rule makes sense because it's about respecting your body so you can be closer to God. Sam says that he's going to have to decide whether he wants to be closer to Quinn or closer to God then. Sam is wise.
Kurt walks into his room with a cheese plate where Blaine is angrily waiting for him because he's seen Kurt's phone. He asks him who Chandler is. Kurt gets upset that Blaine was looking at his phone but Blaine points out that it's hard to ignore when Chandler is apparently blowing his phone up with texts. Blaine says that there are dozens of texts between them and says that Kurt has only texted him like four times in the past few days, one of which was to ask where his peach shoe-polish was. Kurt insists it's just texting but Blaine says it's cheating. Kurt points out that Blaine texted Sebastian all the time but I have to say, Blaine didn't seem to ever like Sebastian in that way, especially not after the rock salt incident. Still, he shouldn't have been communicating with Sebastian in secret either, they both kind of suck at this. Kurt whines that Blaine doesn't compliment him or make him feel special but like, Blaine points out that he switched schools to be with him and I can't believe this argument is making me side with Blaine. Kurt says it's hard being his boyfriend because Blaine is an "Alpha Gay" and even Rachel wanted to make out with him. Kurt says he used to get solos every week and is now sitting on a stool and watching Blaine perform. Blaine says that Kurt should just tell him he's unhappy but don't cheat on him. Kurt says that he's not cheating and I feel like...the way this is written with Kurt saying he's taking crazy pills and is incredulous at the accusation, that we're supposed to side with him? Like it felt like we were supposed to be side-eyeing him at first but this scene, with the confrontation? It's swapped and now feels like Kurt is supposed to be right in that it wasn't cheating but like...it is. It absolutely is, even if he never intended it to be, he did it. Anyway, Kurt says he's sorry that he made Blaine upset but it's ok which is awkward phrasing to give Blaine an opener to say "It's not right but it's ok" which leads us into him performing the song, It's Not Right, But It's Ok for the glee class. Blaine calls him out in front of everyone too and it's pretty funny.
After that awkwardness, we get Rachel confronting Santana by her locker and saying that they blew it this year. Santana is confused but Rachel explains that they spent three years at each other's throats when they could have been killing it in glee club. Santana agrees that they sounded awesome but that they have plenty of time left in the year. Rachel points out that they have 42 days left and most of that will be prepping for Nationals. They each give each other props about their talent and Rachel gives her a picture. She tells Santana that they can at least be friends for the rest of the year and Santana agrees, and even accepts a hug from her. Aww, I like this even if it came kind of out of nowhere. God, if this show actually gave a crap about developing their characters, this show would be a lot more memorable, I think.
Burt comes into Kurt's room where he is covering everything with stickers. Kurt explains that he's prepping everything for his move to New York. Burt doesn't want him to throw some of it away but Kurt is blissfully unaware that his dad would have feelings about him leaving and says that they can't get emotional over things. Burt then says that he doesn't want him to go. In that, he knows he has to and is proud of his son but he's sad that their family as they used to know it is done. Now Kurt's going to go off and start a whole new life and make a new family in whatever way that is. Sure, they love each other and they will still see each other and visit but that feeling of being a family unit under one roof is over. Burt reveals that he's been skipping Friday night dinners because he's sad about there being no more dinners. I agree with Kurt that it doesn't make much sense but I do get the sentiment expressed here where a father is having a hard time saying goodbye to his son. Burt says the writers' favourite line, that they made each other men but says that sometimes he wishes he could have his little boy back. Kurt says he'll miss his dad too. The writing for this was a bit awkward, making Burt say that he avoids coming home but damnit if they don't always win me over with how well they play father and son.
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| I'm always here for Burt and Kurt scenes. |
We then lead into Kurt singing Whitney Houston's song I Have Nothing. He's singing the song to Blaine, who still looks pretty pissed. Everyone else in the class seems very moved by the performance and eventually Blaine comes around too.
In the locker room, Puck hands out goody bags to all the glee guys who play sports because he's a child or an idiot. He makes some cracks about how he sleeps with cougars which is not that funny of a joke since he was a minor up to recently and I still side eye older folks who chase after kids like this. Puck says that he wants them to remember all the good times they had and that he's going to miss them all. I guess it's nice but I get sick just looking at Puck knowing all the stuff that came out about the actor. Sorry not sorry.
Blaine and Kurt are now in Emma's office because Kurt thought they could use some couple's counselling. Blaine asks, rather validly, if she has any experience at all with that and she says she doesn't and isn't qualified at all but that she helped out Sam and Mercedes before. Blaine again points out that they broke up right after so her track record is not great. Still Emma presses on. She says this is a safe space where they can express their true feelings so Blaine lets it rip. He says that Kurt's been texting a guy behind his back but acknowledges that he also did that. He then brings up Kurt's annoying tendency to snap at wait staff. Honestly, treating servers poorly is a red flag in a relationship. How a person behaves in public is a tell for how they'll be in private and it's usually worse. Then Blaine brings up how Kurt slips tanning solution in to his moisturizer which sucks because he only uses it on his hands. Then the real issue comes up, that all their conversations lead to NYADA. He feels like Kurt can't wait to get out of Ohio which makes him feel like he can't wait to get away from him as he's going to be stuck here next year. Raise your hand if you assumed Blaine was older when they introduced him last year. I certainly did so it's news to me that he's staying. When I found this out I dreaded that next year would be the Blaine show. I almost quit watching the show until I learned that they would be doing a split between New York and Ohio. New York was actually the more interesting location with all the characters I cared about. Ohio just had recycled everyone but we'll get to that when we get there. Anyway, Kurt realizes that he's been so obsessed with New York that he's been pushing Blaine away and that Blaine has been pulling away because he feels hurt. They make up so all the Klaine stans are happy...for now.
Will offers Emma champagne because he found the best new venue for their wedding. A campground. Does he know his fiancé at all? She tells him this and he brushes it aside because they'll make it work. Emma says they can move their wedding to November but Will snaps that he refuses to do that. Emma knows what's up and says that the glee kids will come to his wedding if it's in November but he thinks they won't. Will, they probably won't because it's a little weird for a high school teacher to invite his students to his wedding. He explains why they mean so much to him and Emma is super understanding for some reason and tells him that they gave each other a gift and that's why the kids would even show up ten years from now if they had their wedding on the moon. It's a nice thought but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say, no they won't. I mean, this is a show so they will but in real life? Sometimes actual friends don't last that long. It's just a sad fact of life, people move on, get lives, get busy. It's not personal it just is.
Joe is giving Quinn physiotherapy again because fuck seeing specialists, this high school kid will do. It's implied he gets a boner and he backs off but Quinn is cool with it and says it happens. He gushes over how much he likes her and she jokes that he hasn't met many girls because he used to be home schooled. He tells her not to put herself down and they talk a bit about their feelings. Honestly, I'd be insulted by the way Joe talks about Quinn. How he believes in his faith but when he's with her, he doesn't care about what God says about the sins of the flesh. Like...is she not also Christian? Why does he think this would be so out of his wheelhouse? Because she had sex and got pregnant? It's the fact that she's been "sullied", huh? My God, religion can make you think some really fucked up things about women. This should not be a conflict, they are both Christians, there is no choosing her over his faith here. They have the same faith. Now I feel like I'm taking crazy pills. Anyway, they decide they're gonna date or something new or whatever. I'm so beyond uninterested in this development.
Blaine shows up and compliments Kurt's hat. Kurt gets a text and he swears it's not from Chandler because he told him not to text anymore. Blaine knows though because he sent the text. Blaine says that everyone is blowing off glee practice since Will said it wasn't mandatory. Blaine pulls Kurt away to go somewhere undetermined as Kurt says that it's glee and they only have so many practices left.
We cut to Mercedes and Artie in the auditorium singing My Love is Your Love by Whitney Houston, obviously. I can't help but laugh that for everyone else, everyone had to be there but on the day that Artie and Mercedes are performing, he tells everyone else to blow it off. Damn, I knew he had favourites but this is harsh. Anyway, they're performing and one by one, everyone from glee comes in and joins them, Blaine and Kurt show up first as Kurt obviously convinced Blaine to go. Rachel and Finn join in next followed by Puck, Santana, and Brittany. Will is watching by the side lines, clearly moved. Tina and Mike show up somewhere and Quinn and Joe are the last to come in. We finish off in a big group number and a bit of a montage of the kids packing up their lockers. We fade out when Kurt closes his locker.
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| Look at these kids having fun, it warms even my heart |
All in all, this wasn't a terrible episode. I think that a tribute episode like this and Rumours works the best, where the focus isn't about the artist and how amazing they are but using their music to explore the characters a bit. I just think a lot of the issues explored were very much only within this episode so it feels a bit like filler which it most definitely is. There's nothing really wrong with filler episodes though, some can be fun and for the most part, this one was. Minus maybe Will and his weird obsession with upending all the wedding stuff Emma had done because he can't handle not having a bunch of high school students there. Next episode we're really going to get into some meaty drama as Rachel and Kurt finally do their auditions for NYADA. We look at Choke next.
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