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Thursday, October 7, 2010
12:00 pm
24 Comments
Tagged: birschtalk, funny, Glee, grilled cheesus, jane lynch, matthew morrison, recap, recaps, television recap, TV
I’m STARVING, my gleeloveds, and it’s a rainy cold day here in Los Angeles. Naturally, what do all humans crave on rainy cold days? A hot grilled cheese sandwich, and tomato soup, of course! Best place to get that in LA? Doughboys. It’s called an “After School Special,” and it’s perfection. Their grilled cheese sandwiches though, unlike Finn’s, don’t have the grill marks of Jesus Christ. Which brings us to the cold opener-
Miraculously conceived on a George Forman grill, the Grilled Cheesus answers Finns prayers and McKinley wins it’s first football game. Even with Artie on the team. How? It truly must have been a miracle. They didn’t even show Artie running over anybody with his wheel chair.
Kurt stops by his dad’s work to drop off a healthy version of his lunch. They have a little bit of a tiff over their Friday night family dinner. Kurt would rather go to a sing along and his dad tells him he’s disappointed with tears welling in his eyes… At this point I think I need about 10 MORE hints that something is going on with Burt Hummel and his health.
In the band room, Finn tells the glang he’s found Jesus in his grilled cheesus and he’d like everyone’s homework assignment to something based on the Lord. Kurt (I’m not going to say “of course” because there are a lot of gay Christians out there) has the biggest aversion to the idea, and based on the diversity of the club, they seem to end up settling on “spirituality.” With that, Puck keeps with his Jew streak and sings a shallow version of Billie Joel’s “Only the Good Die Young.” Don’t get me wrong, I like Mark Salling and his character but I can’t get behind his voice. Not enough depth, and I hate to say it, feeling. At least in THIS song. Although I will say the song choice is brilliant. Convincing a Catholic girl to have sex with him? Perfect for Puck. Puckfect.
Kurt is bragging in French about his up-and-coming Friday night when Shue and Emma pull him outta class to take him to the hospital where his father in a coma as a result of a complicated type heart attack.
Finn preys to Grilled Cheesus that he will, at some point soon, get to touch Rachel’s boobs. Why doesn’t he just rub his own? Hey-Oh! That was mean. And not even really that true. I just want you guys to like me, okay?
In glee, everyone is supportive of Kurt, but Finn is hurt that Kurt didn’t tell him before he found out from other people. Mercedes sings Whitney Houston’s “I Look To You,” in hopes of making Kurt feel better but he tells the glang he doesn’t believe in god. Oy Vey, my gleeloveds, like the sandwich that started it all, this ep is getting HEAVY.
Shue is having to defend this weeks “spirituality” lesson in Figgins’ office, but this time Figgins seems to be on Shue’s side instead of Sue’s side… Still not getting any lighter here, y’all.
In Finn’s room, Rachel let’s Finn feel her right boob. Grilled Cheesus has answered his prayers, and why shouldn’t he, Finn only had the breast of intentions. I’ll be here all night, people.
“Ssside boob.”
Brittany and “Jugs, the Clown,” Sue’s term of endearment for Santana, give Sue the scoop on Kurt. Next thing you know, Kurt is in Sue’s office and she’s encouraging him to go with her to the school board to call Shue out for singing religious songs. And we also find out that Mary Lou Retton is Sue’s worst enemy. Which sort of makes sense, and is sort of awesome.
Emma catches wind of the Kurt sitch and is outraged at Sue. Sue tells Emma about her sister and her lack of ulterior motive reasoning for helping Kurt. The fine acting and watery eyes of Jane Lynch have me siding with HER. Which isn’t suppose to happen, usually! Which makes this SERIOUS. Not sure I can hold on much longer, guys, this is getting really frickeen heavy.
In the band room, everyone is upset that Kurt is siding with Sue Sylvester cause now they can’t sing spiritual songs.
Can’t. Hold. On. Too. Heavy.
Puck walks in on Finn praying to Grilled Cheesus in the locker room. Finn’s asking Cheesus to make him QB again. Puck acts like a human and says he’s been preying for Kurt’s dad at temple.
Finn and Rachel are outside as she sings “Papa, Can You You Hear Me” from the film Yentl.
And the candle burned for eight days.
Ahhhh. Now THIS is how I like my Rachel Berry. Singin’ Steisand. The song moves them into Burt Hummel’s hospital room and to Kurt’s disapproval it turns out Rachel, Mercedes and Quinn are taking turns praying. Kurt kicks them out and brings in someone for acupuncture.
Once again, Grilled Cheesus answered Finn’s prayers. The new hottie big lipped QB was injured in a rogue play suggested by Finn. The Beiste gave Finn his old position back. Immediately, Finn feels guilty.
In glee, Kurt dedicates The Beatles’ “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” to his dad. Once I got passed the fact that this was originally meant to be a lover’s song, I actually found it beautiful. It sounded absolutely beautiful. A lovely cover, to say the least. And I don’t think there should be anything wrong with a son who wants to hold his dad’s hand. Gay or straight.
Aww, little Kurt does the same thing with his hair as not much bigger Kurt.
Mercedes approaches Kurt at the locker room and finally gets Kurt to open up a bit to his friend’s support. She even talks him into coming to her church that’s going to dedicate a service to Kurt’s dad.
In Emma’s office, Finn confesses to Emma that it’s his fault that Sam was hurt because he’s been praying to Grilled Cheesus. Emma presents more likely scenarios and Finn feels so let down that he sings an angry version of REM’s “Losing My Religion.” I understand Finn’s character is mad but the song actually should be sung with a sense of lost hope. More sad than mad, ya know…? Birschy no likey this one.
At Mercedes’ church, you could pick out Kurt immediately, not only because he is the only white guy in the church but because his hat looked like a dismembered crow.
Kurt’s hat seen an elephant fly.
Along with her church choir, Mercedes sings a gospel version of Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” for Kurt and his dad. I loved it. In my opinion, gospel music seems to be one of the most spiritual experiences one can have in a modern day church. (What do I know. I’m technically a Jew, baptized Catholic, raised, if anything, as a Christian, now mostly drawn to Eastern thought.) But here’s where I lost it- when someone held Kurt’s hand…
Oh great, I’ll keep the water works going cause here comes some really sweet moments with Sue and her sister. Sue asks Jeanie if she believes in God and even though I winced at the triteness the question, Jane Lynch played the quick little scene beautifully. She deserves that frickeen Emmy.
At the hospital, Kurt delivers a sort of believable bedside monologue where he tells his dad he may not believe in God, but he believes in his dad. Kurt for Burt, 2010! He gets an encouraging squeeze from his dad and that takes us into Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” sung by the whole glang in the auditorium. Sue walks and and Ol’ Goody Two Shues asks if she’s gonna get him fired. She says, “no.” Finn eats the rest of his old, cold, gross sandwich, and now he shalt have the power of Grilled Cheesus within…
Well, that’s what happened on Glee this week, darlings. Although, moving at times, the whole ep felt heavy handed, and lacked the light heartedness that the show seems to usually keep a good balance of, even when tackling big issues. I wasn’t particularly crazy about any of the sing and dance numbers, either but it did make me cry. But I’m a sap so it doesn’t really count.
It’s still raining. I’m gonna eat my grilled cheese now. The WHOLE thing. Unless there’s a burn mark that looks like Stevie Wonder.
Thanks for sticking with me, my gleeloveds.
Talk at you next week.
yours and everyone else’s,
BirschTalk
Glines O’ the Week (Big surprise! Not that many!)
“Whenever I prey, I fall asleep.” Brittany
“I made him a card that said heart attacks are just from loving too much.” Brittany
24 Comments
Ryan Murphy is a genius. He got the whole glee world to listen to different takes on religion. Prime time TV had a boy touching a girls boob and he made me howl with laughter over the grilled cheesus. I use to think only the Southpark guys were smoking pot whilst writing their magic but perhaps Mr. Murphy has the same connection.
Awesome recap but not long enough for me!
Great Recap birsch! I didn’t like the way that the Glee kids were trying to get Kurt to see things their way. They should’ve just let him know they’re there for him without pushing their beliefs. And I’m sorry, but if my friend told me he didn’t believe in God and didn’t want my prayers, you wouldn’t find me in his dad’s hospital room praying over him simply out of respect for my friend. I would just do my praying for his recovery in private. Loved the boy playing little Kurt though! He had the look and mannerisms of slightly bigger Kurt down perfectly. Two thumbs up to the casting people. And Birsch, I cried from the time of the heart attack straight to the end. Sometimes out of saddness, sometimes out of his friends insensitivity, and alot because of the interactions between Sue and her sister.
This felt really heavy-handed and unneccesary.
My favorite line of the night was Brittany when she told Kurt “I did a book report on heart attacks. You can give it to the doctor. I got a whole letter grade off because I wrote it in crayon.”
And Sue and Jeannie’s scene was spot on. Especially when Jeannie asked Sue if she wanted her to pray for Sue, and Sue said yes.
Boyfriend (who claims not to like this show) cried. I didn’t!
Enjoyed the recap! Thanks for the welcome last week BT!
I thought this was the best episode of the new season. This is the Glee I fell in love with!
I also liked the card Brittany made, about how you get a heart attack because you love too much!
Oops, I commented before after reading the first page, just saw the line about the card now!
Maybe it’s just me, but I thought this show was beautifully executed. The songs fit the plot, and I think Sue’s zingers & Finn’s Grilled Cheesus offset the heavy stuff pretty well. And I agree Rachel is so much better singing Babs than Britney.
I agree with all. I was surprisingly dry, esp considering how much I adore Burt Hummel!!! The hand squeeze was what got me. I was distracted tho, I’m just not glued to screens anymore, and listen a lot, like to Papa, which is my least fave Bab’s song of all time, I just see her big lips smacking, “Papa” over and over. Rachel sounded good, natch, and I guess it was an obvious choice, just not my fave. However, I did love “One of Us” and tho I didn’t 100% like the context, Kurt doing “I wanna hold your hand” was beee-uu-ti-ful!!! Honestly, I was surprised I wasn’t gushing out salties by the dozens . . .
Some of Brittany’s asides were hard to catch–they should work on that, as she’s comic gold!!!
If they kill Kurt’s Dad, I’m gonna be sooooooo F’in MAD!!!!! And then I’ll cry for Mike O’malley, who can’t seem to get a steady gig outside of Time Warner.
Confession: I actually back up commercial breaks to watch his Time Warner’s in real time . . .
And, small critique, I got the impression last season that Burt was still getting used to Kurt’s “gayness” so showing them having a tea party didn’t seem historically accurate. My father would have cringed, and maybe even upended my tea table . . .
Birsch, thanks for the rainy day cap. I’m here in LA, enjoying these extremes too–I had a clap of thunder and lighting in my front yard that made me scream–storm was right over head, sooooo loud!!!
Having a tea party with your little boy may indicate that he’s different from other boys, but since the child was clearly pre-sexual it wouldn’t have immediately made Burt say “My son’s gay.” Especially since I think the whole flashback was meant to be around the time Kurt’s mother passed.
BirschTalk,
Thanks for another great recap. Burt is one of my favorite characters on this show, so I got a little salty over him being in a coma. I loved Kurt’s “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”; it sounded to me like they used the arrangement from Across the Universe. I could have done without a number of the songs, “Papa” being HIGH on that list.
Loved Jane Lynch in this, even if some of it was a little heavy handed. I also thought the song choice was perfect for Puck even if the delivery fell short. As a former Catholic school girl I love that song and thought the performance was a little too flaccid.
Thanks again for the great cappie – now I need to make me a grilled cheese – maybe mine will have Hugh Jackman’s face burned into it! What? A girl can dream, can’t she?
SWAK, PottyMouth
I may or may not actually start to tear up just from seeing “Mike O’Malley” show up in the credits.
And my problem with “Only the Good Die Young” was more with the way they edited the song. They cut out the bridge, which is the best part and builds to the end of the song. There’s no way to cut it out and not lose what makes it such a great song.
vallegirl, I have to say if my son held a tea party like the one shown, I without a doubt would know he was gay.
I loved the episode, and while I like light and airy sometimes they have such an opportunity to deal with heavier subject matter and I’m glad to see them diving right in.
While I really enjoy the Kurt/Burt dynamic, I’m kinda starting to get sick of those two. Can we please meet Rachel’s two dads now? I’m DYING to see what kind of people raised someone as obnoxious as her, and how that father/father/daughter relationship will play out!
I loved this episode and I sobbed throughout the entire thing. Agree that Kurt’s “Hold Your Hand” was brilliant. That is my favorite song in “Across the Universe” (I LOVE the arrangement) and I absolutely loved Kurt’s version. I thought Chris Colfer was excellent in this episode.
I love “Papa” so I was so excited that it was also included, even though I can’t stand Lea Michele’s voice. I much prefer the Streisand version.
All in all, I didn’t think it was too heavy. I feel like Glee is a show that strives to be real and sometimes, life gets heavy. I thought it was a fantastic episode, possibly my favorite Glee one to date.
I am new to your recaps, but I love them already!
My point wasn’t that Burt wasn’t aware that Kurt was different, and probably even gay, it was that a) it wasn’t out of keeping with the relationship established last season since Burt pretty much told Kurt that he had his suspicions that Kurt was gay long before Kurt came out to him and b) the child was pre-sexual. Gay or straight, the child wasn’t acting on his sexuality at that time.
Additionally, they were all each other had and the flashback implied it was around the time of Kurt’s mother’s death. I don’t see how a moment of affection between a father and his young son is somehow anathema to the relationship they established last season. Even if Burt’s still dealing with Kurt’s homosexuality because it’s no longer a theoretical sexuality.
I think the tea party scene was consistent with the characters too. Burt did make clear he had known for a very long time Kurt was gay before he came out. However, at the same time he also looked visibly uncomfortable playing along.
I didn’t love this episode. I liked Mercedes’s “Bridge” and the “One of Us” finale, but other than that the music did nothing for me. The little bit of comic relief was great but not nearly enough to offset the rather heavy-handed sentimentality and earnestness of the rest of the plotline. This show is at its best when it’s tongue in cheek and more in the dark humor vein. Also I have to say I got a little queasy when Finn ate that 7-10 day old grilled cheese that had been in the WMHS locker room. Ugh. Great recap Birsch!
Hmmm . . . . well, I was asking about the Kurt/Burt relationship, not insisting I know, but I certainly do know what it’s like to grow up gay. Valle, I’m not sure what the sexual, pre-sexual has to do with it. When I came out, at 19, the mother of my “childhood sweetheart” said, “I’ve known he was gay since he was 6 years old” and then sweetly added, “He’ll be dead of aids in a year.” (sorry for that, but it’s true!)
Sexuality aside, I think it’s the girly mannerism’s that get picked on, and make straight men and dad’s and obv some mom’s uncomfortable–goodness knows times have changed, but I would say my sitch was pretty similar to Kurt’s (minus the fab singing voice) and my dad felt SHAME everytime he was confronted with me playing dolls or acting queeny. I would have preferred if they dug a little deeper for a scene where, perhaps, Kurt was getting picked on, and Dad jumped in to defend him . . . but it’s just me, no one has to agree.
BTW, Rachel’s two dad’s do exist, and they have a face book page and a petition to get on the show, so anyone who wants to support them in this, I believe it’s under Rachel’s dads, if not, I’ll look for the link.
Have a great weekend all!!!!
But the point of the whole flashback was that Kurt was remembering his mother’s death and funeral and how Kurt was there for him. Kurt wasn’t “gay” in that moment, he was a little boy who’d lost his mom and his dad, a man who’d just lost his wife, wanted to comfort his son.
From a story pov, the tea party scene was in keeping with the relationship we’ve seen from Burt and Kurt all along in that they are very different but they love each other above all else. Burt, in his grief and as we’ve seen him all along, would totally have that tea party with Kurt, even if he thought it was weird, and even if he thought it might mean his son was gay.
Darn typo, should read “Burt was there for him.”
@juddfan, thank you for sharing from your personal experience. As a teacher, I have never yet been shocked when a I cross paths with a former student (male or female) and they tell me they are gay – but I do refrain from saying “duh”. And I can’t even say that all of them acted “gay”, it was something more than seeming feminine or butch. I like the character of Kurt and glad they don’t shy away from his sexuality and other students and his father’s reaction to it, particularly in light of the recent suicide at Rutgers. I am also looking forward to the new football player becoming Kurt’s boyfriend. I think having a less stereotypical gay teenager on the program will be good.
Notes:
Puck’s voice was completely autotuned. Listen to it with headphones, it’s like they he’s got a duck caught in his throat.
Kurt was bragging in fake-French. Or maybe he was speaking Quebecois.
I appreciate the equal-opportunity for atheism on this episode. Of course, you all know whose side I’m on. I definitely have a newfound respect for the Sue Sylvester character.
Although that stupid “god doesn’t make mistakes’ line was just plain stupid. Putting it into the mouth of a Down’s syndrome person was kind of a cute slap though. And no true atheist will accept the idea of someone praying for anything, other than as an awkward, tactless attempt at kindness. Unless it comes from someone with Down’s Syndrome.
Also, they should not allow Lea Michele to sing Streisand.
Oh yeah, and one of the greatest parts about being a dad is holding your kid’s hand.
Lastly, the biggest complaint I have with this show is that it does all these long, lingering takes on the guy characters, but rarely if any on the girls. As soon as one of the actresses is in the frame, the editing gets all choppy.
I’ll believe you on the editing, itchy -I don’t look too much – and I do think the show has a gay feel too, so it would make sense. OMG the auto-tuning!!! It was verging on painful for Puck’s solo-tho good choice, and brief-I got a new insight into that song.
I think Lea does well with Bab’s, but they hit her quite a bit with the auto-tune too. I do think Quinn and Santana are gorgeous!!!
Thanks for the thanks chemgal! And Valle, I love how deep you go!!! You’re awesome!!!
Well, everyone sees things differently. I thought the entire episode was ham-handed. They threw every song about or mentioning God into the mix and even wrote storylines and dialogue based on song lyrics in some cases. I was rolling my eyes at the autotune, the yet-more Streisand, the trying-too-hard darkness out of some of the characters. For me, every week the show gets worse and worse. The magic of season 1/first half has evaporated somehow.
I even thought Britney was weak. There’s just too much ..IDK. They all seem to be too self-aware now.
Memememe: if you look up “ham-handed” in any dictionary, Glee will be one of the definitions, or at least an example.
The thing about this show is how up-and-down it gets. One episode will be great, the next will be a complete dud. I suppose it all depends on what drugs they’re doing for each episode.
Great recap…but please note, it is “pray”, not “prey.”
Lea singing “Papa Can You Hear Me” was beautiful, but I lost it when she ended up at the hospital, touching Burt Hummel on his head. I had a flashback to my father-in-law being in the hospital. I did the exact same thing.
I don’t think you can do a show about religion and faith/no faith without it being heavy-handed. I liked this episode and thought it was a nice change.