Total Number of Ratings: 7
RECAP: 'Glee' Season 1, Episode 2
First Published: Thursday, September 10, 2009 4:05 AM
Last Saved: Thursday, September 10, 2009 5:40 PM
Following the emotional triumph at the end of the pilot episode, life is good for the members of the William McKinley High School glee club. Jaunty music plays as everyone arrives at school (the next day?) and new found confidence abounds for everyone. Well, except for Kurt! It's back to being thrown in the dumpster every morning by the football team for him. He's gay, you see. Confident singing can only do so much.
Red headed guidance counsellor Emma is feeling brave after convincing teacher Will to stay at the school and stay with the glee club. Being (not so) secretly in love with Will she lays in wait until she can accidentally on purpose bump into Will. She does. They have some cute, breathless and smiley banter that is broken up because Will has been summoned to Jane Lynch's office.
(Jane Lynch's character probably has a name but I don't care what it is; she's Jane Lynch. And she's awesome.)
At the end of the pilot, Jane Lynch witnessed the triumphant performance of "Don't Stop Believin'" by the glee club and she will to stand for any possible rivals for her nationally ranked cheerleading squad, the Cheerios. She informs Will that the rules say that a glee club needs 12 members to qualify for regional competition and seeing as how the glee club currently only has 6 members, you could see how that might be a problem. Jane Lynch and her Cheerios are threatened by Will and the glee club and she will crush them with dry and deadly line readings.
Virginal Cheerio Quinn tells her boyfriend and new glee club member Finn (Hey, their names rhyme! Isn't that so cute!) that he can touch her bra-clad boobie if he quits that nerd singing club! Everyone who's anyone thinks he's gay because he likes to sing! Does this really happen? Is this 1950 or 2009? After catching Rachel eavesdropping on their booby bartering, Quinn calls Rachel "Man Hands" (she must be a Seinfeld fan, and thus not 100% evil). After the confrontation with Quinn, Rachel gets more slurpee thrown in the her face by random dudes in the hallway. The good vibes from the first scene have no dissipated. Also, her dry cleaning bills must be ridiculous.
The glee club rehearses "Le Freak" in an extremely lackadaisical manner. More energy people! What's the problem? They hate the song, old man! Get some modern music in here! Will says they have to stick with the lame disco tune because they are going to be performing it in front of the whole school in just a few days in order to try to recruit more members. They simply don't have time to learn anything newfangled and modern. It should noted that Will's wearing a cardigan sweater. I don't think this is a coincidence.
Title slate!
Will and his wet blanket wife Terri are in the market for a house because Terri is pregnant. This is all Terri's sister and her broken husband and many screaming kids' doing. You see, Will and Terri can't be raising a kid in their current house! It's small! And Terri would have to give up her craft room! No, it's new house time. And Terri won't do with a cheaper foreclosure house, no, she wants to live in a super pricey new construction in her sister's development. Run, Will. Run far, far away. Terri seals et deal by showing Will a pink bedroom and saying, "This is where our daughter or gay son will sleep." Will is defeated; he is going to do whatever it takes to get his wife the pricey house of her dreams.
While Rachel gazes unrequitedly at Finn, Will surprises the club with a little Kanye West at their next rehearsal. Apparently he investigated the loud noises and thumping beats that the kids these ads calls music and found it wasn't all that bad. He even ends up singing the lead himself when Finn, very rightly, refuses. Smart move, Finn. No one needs to see the nice boy from Canada singing "Gold Digger". While the glee club sings "Gold Digger" we see shots of Terri taking measuring tape to the new house. What could this mean??? Is there a hidden message in the lyrics??? When I first heard about this performance I was weary but it was actually a really fun arrangement. Will's got pipes and moves, but I think wheelchair-bound Artie is my favorite male vocalist in the group.
Emma stumbles upon Rachel trying desperately to make herself throw up in the girl's bathroom. But she can't, she's got no gag reflex. Emma tells Rachel that when she's older she'll find that that's a good thing. Emma is right. They have a little girl chat in Emma's office and we find out that Rachel just wants to be thin and pretty like Quinn so Finn will like her. Emma does not suggest that Rachel change her name to something that rhymes with Finn, but I just know she's thinking it. Rachel (Finn) and Emma (Will) bond over unrequited super mega crushes. Lea Michele, who plays Rachel, does great sad face.
We time shift ahead as Rachel and Finn have been dragged into the principal's office by Jane Lynch, with Will in tow acting as their defense lawyer. Apparently they were caught using the Cheerios-only copy machine to create fliers for the glee club. More withering line readings for everyone! Hobble the students! They made 17 copies! This will not stand! They pay her back the $0.76. It stands.
(Are we really to believe that Finn doesn't know who Justin Timberlake is? My mom knows who he is. Let's move on.)
Rachel and Finn really, really don't want to do the stupid disco song before the assembly, old man. But Will is determined! Sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do! What are you talking about here, Will? Everyone loves disco! No, they don't. Rachel asks Finn if he wants to practice for the assembly performance after school the next day. He can't, he's got Celibacy Club.
A romantic bath between Will and Terri leads to an argument over them not being able to afford Terri's dream house with the grand foyer. No one appreciates Terri! Not the people at work! Not Will and his stupid glee club! No one! Will tries to drown himself.
The next day Will goes to the principal (the drowning didn't take) and offers to work nights as a janitor at the school (for half salary) to earn extra money for the grand foyer purchase. i think he should have tried a bit harder with the drowning thing.
The Celibacy Club comes to order, chaired by Quinn and six of her fellow Cherrios. Really? The Cherries are celibate? Really? Rachel joins the club because, hey, she's not getting any and Emma advised her to find some common interests with Finn, who, as it turns out, only joined Celibacy Club to have sex with Quinn. Oh, and also, much of the football players are in the Celibacy Club? What kind of bizarro world is this? The girls reveal to Rachel their power motto: "It's all about the teasing and not about the pleasing." They say this as they flit about in their tiny cheerleading skirts. Those poor bastards in the Celibacy Club. The boys and the girls break gender quarantine and get together to play some stupid game with balloons between their bodies. Don't get too close or the balloon will pop and the noise will make angels cry! Rachel gets paired with the only male nerd in the group. More sad face as she watches Finn and Quinn pop their balloon (that is not a euphemism). Rachel freaks out and, before storming out in a huff, tells the club that celibacy is a joke and that girls want sex just as much as guys do (I knew it!).
Later that night Emma discovers Will working as a janitor after coming out of teaching her late night SAT prep class. Will is super embarrassed but Emma is delighted because A) She gets to be alone with Will and B) She's a germaphobe and is delighted to help him clean. While they work she opens up about her problem with germs and dirt. Her story involves a dairy farm and a run-off lagoon. Will puts chalk dust on his finger and rubs it on her nose. Emma is torn between freaking out over the dust on her skin and rapturously enjoying the intimacy. intimacy wins. intimacy always wins.
The glee club holds a secret meeting without Will. They are going to secretly jettison the disco and sex up their performance for the assembly. Scandalous!
Assembly day! Will addresses the students and tells them that glee club needs recruits. He introduces the glee club expecting the disco to do all the recruiting for him. Surprise, old man! They break out a raunchy edition of Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It", a song that is over 20 years old. Who's the old man now?! No matter, Will is pissed that they changed the song without telling him. The football players are pissed that their quarterback is dancing and singing. Quinn is aghast that her boyfriend is grinding on Man Hands. Jane Lynch is horrified because the glee club is actually pretty good. Everyone is angry! Well, not everyone -- the show is a huge hit with the students. Kids like sex.
The principal calls Will and Jane Lynch into his office. She wants Will fired and the club disbanded and the kids put into foster care! The principal says the club stays because they actually are really talented and the rest of the student body were excited like he hadn't seen in a long time (again, they like the sex). His only stipulation is that they can only perform family friendly songs from a list of approved by the local church, all of which involve Jesus or balloons (hey, "99 Luftballoons" is a good song!). Wait, what about the sex? Also the principal informs them that he's cutting back on the Cheerios' dry cleaning budget to help pay for costumes for the glee club. Jane Lynch is NOT happy.
Oafish gym teacher Ken swings by the teacher's lounge to ask Emma out. He tells her that even though he's an oaf, she could do a lot worse than him, seeing as he's not, you know, married (He witnessed he chalk dust moment). The oaf makes some valid points.
Meanwhile, after hours in the auditorium Rachel helps Finn work on hitting different notes. She has prepared a picnic on the stage for when they take a break. It's a really sweet and romantic moment that finds Rachel both confident and flustered around Finn. Rachel smartly improves her chances by wearing a super short skirt and knee high socks. As Rachel and Finn sit and talk, they share a moment similar to Will and Emma and the chalk dust. Finn never stands a chance. They kiss. And months and months of dating the virginal Quinn has Finn ready to burst. And he, uh? does. Mortified, Finn bolts from the auditorium. Despite the fact that she just kissed her super mega crush, and in the course of that kiss he? burst, Rachel should be feeling kinda happy. But she's not. Finn bolted after kissing her and told her not to tell anybody. Her insecurity runs deep. Sad faces all around.
At her sonogram, Terri finds out she's not actually pregnant. Whoops! Hysterical pregnancy! Luckily Will isn't at the sonogram, so if she so chooses, Terri can keep the pregnancy ruse alive so she can have her grand foyer.
Three of the Cheerios, led by Quinn, try out for glee club. Quinn wants to support her man, but really she just wants to keep an eye on her man now that Man Hands seems like a genuine threat. They perform a sexy version of "I Say a Little Prayer For You". When she firsts finds out, Jane Lynch is angry, but she seems an opportunity to infiltrate and destroy the glee club. Yes, this will work out nicely.
Some people brush their teeth, Emma brushes the water fountain before and after drinking from it. Okay. Will runs up and is all excited to meet her for late night cleaning. He's got new cleaning supplies she might find exciting! Emma decides to be the strong one and says they can't continue on like this -- he's having a baby. She's going a date with the oaf.
Will comes home from a long day of teaching/janitorial to find that Terri has prepared a romantic meal. She seems all set to tell him something important (the truth?), but he preempts her news with declarations about his dedication to her and their new family (he might as well if Emma isn't going otbe cleaning the school with him anymore). Terri's big news? They're having a boy!. Oh, Terri. And that's not all! She has decided that he can quit being a janitor at night and they can stay in their current house. She doesn't need the grand foyer, and she's suddenly willing to give up her crafts room for her (fictional) baby.
The sad face is in full effect when Will breaks the news to Rachel that new glee club member Quinn will be getting the big solo at their next assembly performance. That's it, Rachel is definitely going to develop an eating disorder. Will tells Rachel that she isn't always going to be the star of the group, but he can promise that she'll always have fun. Some comfort that is, old man.
Rachel slinks off to practice in the auditorium and drown her sorrows in Rihanna's "Take a Bow". The final scene intercuts between Rachel singing in the auditorium (with back up from Tina and Mercedes), at home in front of the mirror singing into a hair brush, and singing at Quinn and Finn as they talk and laugh in the school hallway. Sad, powerful stuff that really captures her longing and loneliness. A strong and emotional ending that is in almost direct counterpoint to the showstopping ending to the pilot.
I know it is supposed to be campy but I really really loath the wife character on this show. I can handle the head cheerleader and the cheerleading coach but she makes hate well up inside me every time she is on screen. So the actress who is playing her is doing a hell of a job, but I want her character to die as soon as possible.
I wish the songs the Glee club sings were actually sung by the actors. Their singing voices change each song, especially between the songs last week, Le-Freak, Gold-digger and Push-It. I think the only scene which was the actual actress was Rachel singing the Rhianna song at the end.
This question may just reflect a very limited frame of reference, but: on what planet does a first-time father not go to the OB-GYN appointments, especially when they're doing the first sonogram? In this case in particular, a domineering hatebag like that wife of his would have dragged that guy to that appointment by his chest hairs. It is possible to tell almost the same story without wadding up reality beyond recognition.
not buying it. any school with a football team and a cheerleading squad that elite has a marching band to go with it. and that means a music department. even a crappy one.
they have a theatre! where's the drama teacher? where are the theatre geeks?! little miss spring awakening cannot be the *only* one in the entire school, cheap principal or not.
I'd also like to add that although my school did not have a football team, I had friends whose schools did but they did not have a marching band.
What we did have was a theater and no drama teacher.
I think they said something in the pilot about cutting the music department or something. I know plenty of schools that have had to cut out programs. Plus the principal is already established as a tightwad, he doesn't spend a dime he doesn't have to. I think it's believable enough.
My favourite moment in this episode was actually a small one. I love how the kids just have fun practicing during Gold Digger. In particular, the shot of Rachel and Tina rocking out. Doesn't matter if they talk outside of practice, when they're all singing, they are all close to each other. It reminded me of my old high school improv practices really. Sure, the inter-school shows were fun and all, but we had just as much fun practicing by ourselves in the school auditorium.
All in all, I love the little touches. It makes the show feel so much more real.
I thought this was a very strong episode. After one of the best pilot episodes of a show i have ever seen, i thought i was in for a real let down with the start of the "series proper." But this really nailed it for me. it's just the right mix of black comedy and schmaltz. I love it!
Fox passes early audition with 'Glee' ratings, but real tests are to come
Given that Fox's new high school show "Glee" has already attracted a cult following, there was considerable speculation about how it would do in its official premiere Wednesday night.
Turns out the show passed a key audition, but it's still too soon to tell its ultimate fate. "Glee" attracted 7.3 million total viewers and won its time slot among the adults aged 18 to 49 demographic, with a 3.3 rating/9 share, according to early data from Nielsen Media Research.
That put "Glee" -- a kind of cross between "High School Musical" and "Freaks and Geeks" -- a strong No. 2 to NBC's "America's Got Talent" (9.7 million total viewers) for the night. And the Fox show easily beat "Talent" among young adults (3.3 vs. 2.1).
But Wednesday was an unusual night for prime-time TV, so there's no telling where "Glee" will ultimately settle. The other broadcasters -- but not Fox -- opened the evening with coverage of Pres. Obama's speech about health care reform, which disrupted normal viewing patterns (ratings for the speech will be available later). And since the fall season doesn't officially start for nearly two more weeks, the real competition hasn't yet weighed in. "Glee" will eventually face off against two crime shows with solid fan bases: NBC's "Law & Order: SVU" and CBS' "Criminal Minds," plus two new ABC comedies.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/09/gleeratingsfox.html
If this came out when the majority of shows started usually; 7.3 would be a very 'meh' premire. Then again TV ratings are a crazy lot, you can't judge anything by them much anymore. Unless it's an epic series like CSI or Lost.
Maybe Glee will be one of those shows that strive on a dead day like Wednesday. I kinda doubt it though..
In the scene when Will comes home to Terri, and she lights the fire starter. It occurred to me that the actress her plays Terri also played Claire's biological mum in Heroes!
Also, the actress who played Emma played Hiro's love interest in Heroes Season 1 (the one in the diner).
As someone who attended a performing arts high school as a music major, this kind of stuff definitely interests me. While it's not quite Fame meets Arrested Development, I do like most of the characters and like Paul said, the tone is different and probably quirky enough for me to enjoy. Rachel reminds me of every choir/musical girl I've ever encountered in my life, down to the inflection in her voice when she speaks. They nailed that.
I very much enjoyed this episode. As soon as Kanye started playing, I knew I would be in for a fun ride.
I love the tone of this series, from the Celibacy Club to the death of a mailman cutaways. Can't wait for next week!
GREAT! I was so scared that they were going to blink, and we'd end up with a follow-up that was a little less toothless (and when you're doing a show about show choir, you need as many teeth gnashing and gnarling as possible) and not near as interesting. But it's all still there. I was trying to sell my girlfriend on this show. And I did one of those silly little mash-up summations. If 'Election' had the stylistic gloss of a musical but, I have a feeling as this season goes on Glee is going to be Glee as Mad Men is Mad Men and no amount of mashing of two titles or concepts are going to be able to sum it up.
I had a bit of a disconnect with how they were struggling for a song to perform for the school, when they rocked Don't Stop Believin' last episode - where was that magic?
I did laugh out loud when Rachel and Finn were rehearsing and he asked to take a break and she referred to the picnic set up and he responded "i was wondering what that was for.." very funny
I was a little surprised by how much they seemed willing to shake things up already. I figured we'd see another episode or two of just the six glee clubbers doing their thing. By already adding the three Cheerios (I do so enjoy that name) girls, it caught me a little by surprise. In a good way.
By the way, do we think that the writers planned for Terri's pregnancy to be false when they wrote the pilot or was this some way for the audience not to hate Will for liking another woman?
I am very upset that Quin is in glee club now! I was so hoping something would go terribly wrong with her audition (like the CD would skip and she was lip synching or something). I want something bad to happen to Quin.
The fake pregnancy was planned from the get-go. In fact, I kind of thought she was lying about it in the pilot (I mean, she was drinking champagne because she was "pregnant"). And it's totally an excuse for the audience to not hate Will for liking (and possibly doing something) with another woman.
Something tells me that nothing bad will happen to Quinn for a while. She has to do super mean things to Rachel for a few episodes to really ratchet up the stress on our poor hero. Maybe then she'll get her comeuppance. Maybe.
@wonderali i was a bit irritated about Quin as well. *everyone* at the school can't be worthy of a record contract!
i like the idea of the cheerios joining, though. bringing the two followers along makes it easier for the group to fill up without filling up with personalities. (until one them turns on the cheerios, anyway)
I was really nervous about this episode, but it was a strong follow-up to the pilot. I think there were just the right amounts of singing and quirkiness. And they did a great job of riding out the high from the finale of the pilot. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
Although, a couple scenes with Rachel were a bit too reminiscent of high school for me.
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I'm still laughing at the idea that the parents and faculty are scandalized by a performance of "Push It," a song that came out while they were in high school. "Rehab," all the way to state. "Push It"? Ohh, you called down the thunder!