Damian McGinty, Kevin McHale and Vanessa Lengies in GLEE - Season 3 - "Heart" | ©2012 Fox/Adam Rose
Stars: Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Darren Criss, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Heather Morris, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Naya Rivera, Mark Salling, Harry Shum Jr., Jenna Ushkowitz
Writer: Ali Adler
Director: Brad Falchuk
Network: Fox, airs Tuesday nights
Original Telecast: February 14, 2012
Ugh! For a show titled “Heart,” there was little of it in another frustratingly bad episode of GLEE.
As we await Nationals, the series has been treading water, trying to find focus after a string of exceptional episodes in the fall.
There also seems to be a disingenuous attempt to find out which supporting players, guest stars, one-offs are working or not working in anticipation for them to potentially come to the forefront next season when many of the students start graduating. That’s at the expense of focusing on the main characters who may or may not be gone next year as well.
It’s wrecking havoc on the show.
The biggest annoyance is the whole Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) engagement. You know the show is uncertain about its stories when the characters start to make comments about characters/situations etc. that feel like they’re outside of the show and coming from dissent in the actual GLEE writer’s room.
That said, yes, people make stupid mistakes like deciding to get married at 18, but with Finn and Rachel it’s just so brutally uninteresting. I just don’t care.
At least in “Heart” we finally get to see Rachel’s dads Hiram and Leroy Berry (Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell). They have a good chemistry together, but it’s not nearly as fun and playful as it could be.
The rest of the episode also deals with matters of the heart. Kurt (Chris Colfer) has been getting gifts from a secret admirer who we believe is Blaine (Darren Criss) but actually turns out to be his former closeted football nemesis Dave Karofsky (Max Adler). You saw that coming. He has a huge crush on Kurt now. I guess Karofsky needed a little redemption, but this plot revelation probably should have happened last year, not now.
In fact, as I write this review, I realize how much of this episode I was completely annoyed by, so instead of recapping, here’s a list of things that also annoyed me.
- Mercedes (Amber Riley) feels guilty for kissing Sam (Chord Overstreet) and realizes she compromised her Christian values and not only dumps her current boyfriend but tells Sam they can’t be together. Then she belts into a great rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”. The performance is the only non-annoying part.
- I really don’t like the Sugar (Vanessa Lengies). She’s Brittany (Heather Morris) with money and it’s ridiculous they keep trying to make her a Brittany proxy. The love triangle between her, Artie (Kevin McHale) and Rory (Damian McGinty) is kind of ridiculous too. What do they see in this girl other than dollar signs? Shallow.
- Finn and Rachel fight because their respective parents feel they should live together to see what a real relationship is about. Ugh!
- Santana (Naya Rivera) is upset that she can’t kiss her girlfriend Brittany in public, so that’s why Santana is pissed this episode. They have to get off this “Santana is pissed about this [fill in the blank]” subplot every week.
Lea Michele, Jeff Goldblum and Brian Stokes Mitchell in GLEE - Season 3 - "Heart" | ©2012 Fox/Adam Rose
One of THE GLEE PROJECT winners Samuel Larsen makes his first appearance as home-schooled, devoutly religious Joe Hart. His character was a breath of fresh air – though I’m unsure how he will integrate fully into the group.
Song-wise, it was another hit and miss week, with Riley giving great tribute to Houston, even though the episode was filmed weeks before Houston’s untimely death.
I guess what’s most frustrating about GLEE is the opportunity it squanders each week it loses focus or treads water. There is so much drama to be mined from these character and so many interesting tangents, that to see the show place so much emphasis on subplots that will go nowhere is a shame. The series tries to shine a light on important (and sometimes polarizing) issues, yet it doesn’t practice what it preaches. It’s a show about inclusion, yet it doesn’t include all the time.
The biggest example is Artie. He’s in a wheelchair and he’s finally found his confidence and calling this year, yet they make him attracted to Sugar who literally insults the fact he’s in a wheelchair (indirectly) during many scenes in “Heart.” Why? Give him someone worth fighting for, not this rich airhead.
Oh well. It’s unfortunately back to harsh critiques for GLEE. I thought the show had found its way out of the mire, but, unfortunately, bad habits don’t die, they just mutate and in GLEE’s case, it’s become one ugly monster the last three weeks.
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Article Source: Assignment X
Article: TV Review – GLEE – Season 3 – “Heart”
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