Glee-cap: You’ll Be Free If You Truly Wish To Be.

By Zara

This week’s episode of Glee is tragic for several reasons: the first (and most important) tragedy?  Sue’s sister, Jean (the Downs Syndrome patient who we’ve visited in a nursing home every time we need to be reassured of the existence of Sue’s heart) passed away.  The death is sudden (though quite predictable), and it set the stage for many of the issues that were tackled in “Funeral.”

Another tragic event?  The return of Jesse St. James, who regularly ruins Rachel’s life, Adele’s songs, The New Directions’ easy harmony (no pun intended!), and my personal love for Jonathan Groff.   Mr. St. James is hired as the show choir consultant for the New Directions.

It’s interesting; so many of the characters in Glee stand for different ideals, and the struggle between two characters is often just a microcosm for the war between the two larger ideas.  For example: there’s Sue vs. Will (let’s just call that one “good vs. evil,” even though we all know it’s more complex than all that.)  There’s also Sue vs….another side of Sue, Rachel vs Quinn, The New Directions vs The Warblers – you get the picture.  This week, we’re introduced to another character war: Finn vs. Jesse.  If you think that the only beef these two have has to do with their affections for Rachel, you’re wrong.  After hearing about Sue’s loss, Finn insists that the Glee Club take some time away from practicing for Nationals to help organize the funeral.  Jesse disagrees and says that the idea is counterproductive, but Finn, who finally grows some balls starts displaying some of that leadership that we’ve been missing for so long, is adamant.

One of the major themes of Glee is the idea that there is no straight line that connects the beginning to the end.  Winning isn’t everything, and Glee continually stresses the importance of stopping from time to time to help others, explore passions, and generally live the unexamined life.  Essentially, the show is all about following your heart.  Jesse’s character clearly is the antithesis of all this: his entire essence is wrapped up in the kind of ruthless ambition that goes against everything that the New Directions are meant to embody, the things that Finn brings to this particular episode.   And though Finn is meant to serve as the show’s resident “good guy,” I commend the crew of Glee for having him mess up every now and then – it makes the character so much more relatable.  So even though Finn Hudson obviously has a heart of gold, we’ve seen a side of him that is weak and impressionable and undeniably real.  This week, however, we saw the return of “good Finn.”

Finn’s decision to help Sue with the funeral preparations, combined with his newfound ability to stand up for what he believes in, shows us that he’s finally made a choice to be “that guy” again.  This road can only lead to one place: his break up with Quinn.  During Jean’s funeral, Sue speaks about feeling as though you’re tethered to the people you love.  Finn realizes that his feelings for Quinn just don’t fit that description, and he ends the relationship.  Quinn tries to reel him back in with promises of popularity and the title of Prom King – but Finn refuses, finally realizing that he doesn’t “want that life.”  WELL, IT’S ABOUT FRIGGIN’ TIME, FINNOCENCE.

The funeral also brings about another change, and before I get into this, I just have to say….Jane Lynch is one hell of an actress.  Her performance in this episode is subdued, touching, and truly emotive – and somehow, in the face of all that heavy stuff, she was still Sue Sylvester in all her hilarious glory.  That little moment where she subtly whispers “thank you” to the glee club after they perform at the funeral?  Amazing.  Sue initially deals with her sister’s death in the most predictable way: by kicking Becky, who reminds her of Jean, off the Cheerios.  Through the episode, though, we see her transform: she says in her eulogy (which she’s too emotional to deliver; Will takes over) that Jean inspires her by having no enemies, no resentments, no regrets.  Eventually, Sue takes this example to heart: she decides to stop trying to bring down the Glee Club.  She tells Will that he has “what Jean had – a pure heart” and decides to take her power-hungry self to a government job.   She also welcomes Becky back to the Cheerios as captain.  Like I said: that whole good vs. evil thing?  Not so simple.

Throughout the episode we also see the kids fighting for the chance at the spotlight for nationals, and even though Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes all tried out, Rachel was chosen as the winner – of both the competition and Jesse’s commitment (the other option? Fame.)  There’s a heartbreaking little moment at the end where Finn comes to find Rachel with rose in his hand, only to find her kissing Jesse .  The thing is, even though Finn and Rachel are clearly right for one another, I can understand her attraction to Jesse.  Like her, he’s ambitious and relentless, and he makes her feel like it’s okay to want things too badly.  Jesse is the one person who admires the things that most people hate about Rachel.  For every time we’ve seen Finn pass over Rachel in favor of the wrong choice (and for all the wrong reasons), Rachel has earned the right to go down that path, too.  Besides, we all know it’s only temporary.

This episode wrapped up in the worst possible way: with very few loose ends.  Thanks to Terri, the New Directions have first class tickets to Nationals.  Thanks to Sue, the team has no enemies (unless you count the other teams), and thanks to Will, they’ll be competing as a team.  Luckily Quinn is bringing the drama – she says that she won’t be quitting Glee because she has to go through with “her plan.”  Thank God the bitch is back – it’s so much easier to hate her when she’s evil.

Tune in next week for Nationals in NYC!

Best lines:
Jesse: “You kind of sing and dance like a zombie that has to poop.”

Sue: “Your nickname is Panda Express.”
Howard: “But I’m not Chinese.”
Sue: “Niether is the food at Panda Express.”

Kurt: “He said I couldn’t sing girls’ songs.  I make my LIVING singing girls’ songs.”

Sue: “Jean always stood up for you when I told her how evil your hair was.”

Best performance:
Like Jesse, I choose Rachel’s rendition of “My Man.”  Lea Michele is one of the most incredible singers of our generation, and this song (which is INSANELY difficult to sing and perform) was more or less flawless.  Her connectivity, passion, and vocal ability are just impressive on this number, which is basically a musical shrine to Finn.  The tears, the unbridled (and decidedly unglamorous – hats off to Lea for caring more about her performance than her appearance) facial expressions, the single shot of Kurt crying – it certainly did this classic justice.  Like Kurt says: “she may be difficult, but MAN, can she sing.”

OK, now it’s your turn. Which performance did you love most? What did you think of the episode as a whole? Was I the only one on the verge of tears during the Sue/Jean montage video?