Kurt, Sam and Blaine "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"

Those of the faint of heart, be warned. The New Direction boys are bustin' some pretty intense moves here. Can you handle the heat?
PS- May I just say that my very own roommate created this herself. Makes me proud.

To Get You Excited for "Michael" (Airing Tomorrow!)

Not that you need help getting excited, but I had to share these.
If this photo and this video don't make you either a) painstakingly happy or b) get the chills then you should probably see the doctor. Just kidding. Anyway, feast your eyes on these:

Episode 10 "Yes/No"

Excuse me for my hiatus- it’s time to put an end to that. Starting right… now.

“Yes/No” was an exceptional, romance filled kick-start to the beginning of the 2012 season. Here’s the glee-cap. It’s all very exciting.

 1) First and foremost, if you haven’t seen the episode yet, huge spoiler alert coming your way. Will proposes to Emma after an extravagant synchronized swimming performance by the New Directions- she says yes (duh). If that whole production wasn’t eye-opening enough, the curve ball is later thrown at us when Finn drops the question to Rachel. Of course, we must be tortured for two whole weeks, as the response won’t come until the next episode.

2) We get a charming look into Becky’s head as we hear her speaking to herself with a British accent. She reveals to us that she has her eyes on Artie, and after Sue encourages her to ask him out, she does. Artie is a bit hesitant at first, but after their dinner date at Breadstix, Artie realizes that he enjoys getting to know her and spending time with her- but apparently nothing more than that. Becky wants more, but Artie has to reject her out of fear for leading her on. Poor Becky holds her head high in the moment, but breaks down in Sue’s office and they commiserate together while eating ice cream. “You and I are gonna get through this together,” Sue says.

3) The above mentioned were the main focuses of the episode, but there are three smaller, but still significant, tidbits that I think are worthy of mentioning.

            a. Coach Beiste and Cooter eloped! And that’s about all I can tell you. We don’t get to hear much more about the festivities. But Sue certainly seems heartbroken- that’s why she ends up eating her feelings with Becky towards the end of the episode.

            b. Finn reveals to Mr. Schue that he has been in contact wtih a recruiter. No, not from a collegiate football team, but the Army. This stems from wanting to be more like his father, who fought in Iraq. Mr. Schue goes to Finn’s parents, after which they decide to share part of his father’s past with him. Finn’s mom tells him that his father actually died of a drug addiction in Cincinnati, not on the battlefield in Iraq. Of course this comes as a huge shock to Finn, but hopefully he changed his mind about wanting to be more like his father.

            c. Sam still has his eye on Mercedes and isn’t willing to give up on her so easily. He concludes that to win her love, he must be the owner of a letterman jacket. The only team he finds that he can join is the synchronized swimming team. Not his first choice, but he takes it in stride and wants to get his hands on a jacket ASAP.

Musical Interlude

1) Sam, Mercedes and the New Directions give a tribute to Grease with “Summer Nights” (did you know that they filmed the scene on the same bleachers?).

2) Emma, after worrying whether Mr. Schue will ever propose, puts a clever spin on “Wedding Bell Blues” by Laura Nyro, changing the lyrics to “marry me, Will.” I’m hoping that you all noticed that Sue was sporting Princess Beatrice’s ridiculous hat.

3) Artie produces another memorable Glee mash-up between Maroon 5 and Rolling Stones with “Moves Like Jagger/Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” while Mike and Mr. Schue do the back-up dancing.

4) The New Direction girls sing Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” after which Mercedes realizes she still has feelings for Sam (thank you Captain Obvious).

5) Rachel puts her spin on “Without You,” originally by David Guetta featuring Usher.

6) Rachel and the New Directions splash around in the pool for the proposal while singing Rihanna’s “We Found Love.” Let’s also note that a) Artie takes part in the synchronized diving sequence by essentially face-planting into the pool, chair and all, and b) Mr. Schue walks on water (and who wouldn’t want to marry a guy who can do that?).

Overall, loved, loved, loved “Yes/No”- one of my favorites of the season thus far. What do you think Rachel’s response will be? Do you see a future for “Samcedes”?

Jane Lynch Starring As Jane Lynch

What a way to cap off the 2011 portion of season 3! She is much nicer than Sue Sylvester.

Ep 9 Extraordinary Merry Christmas

And for my final blog post of the year: the glee-cap of "Extraordinary Merry Christmas!" Glee ended 2011 with a bang... let's get going, shall we?
1) A large chunk of the episode was dedicated to the New Directions' Christmas Special that was to be produced for PBS. Artie directs and wants to do an unusual combination of Star Wars and a Judy Garland Christmas show, all shot in black and white. With a budget of only $800, Artie puts it to good use and creates a charming show (and a bit hokey too, but in a good way) titled "Glee Holiday Spectacular." I don't want to ruin it too much for you, so you'll just have to watch it yourself to see it's true charisma. Most of the songs from the episode are thrown in here too, and if you're a sucker for Christmas music, then this is where it's at.
2) Rachel goes "Kim Kardashian" on Finn and gives him a list of presents that she'd like, of which Finn must buy five. We never see the list, but the items must be fairly pricey and Finn first offers a pig that will feed a family after it is fattened and slaughtered. Unsurprisingly, she is not accepting of the gift and insists that Finn stick to the list so that he isn't embarrassed again. In the end, Rachel loses her snobby attitude and apologizes for her previous behavior. Finn still goes the nice-guy route and gives her a star (yes, one in the sky). He names it after himself because "there already is a star named Rachel Berry," (is this cute or corny?). Finn also takes it one step further and gets her a glitzy pair of earrings, but Rachel decides to return them and gives that money to the Salvation Army.
3) Sue asks the New Directions to volunteer at a homeless shelter and sing some songs. This seems like too nice of a deed for Sue to be doing, but she apparently does have a soft side. She explains that it helps her deal with getting through this holiday season, which is the first Christmas without her sister. Unfortunately, the New Directions have to back out of the deal as they are to film the PBS special on the same night. By the end of the episode, we only see Sam and Quinn at the shelter, but the rest of the gang joins in later after being cut early so PBS could have some more yule log air time.

Holiday Tunes
Mercedes starts off the episode with a rendition of Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You."
Rory sings a sad tune to the New Directions with "Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley.
Rachel offers up "River" by Joni Mitchell for the Christmas Special, to which Artie responds with "this makes me want to kill myself," (aka a bit too depressing for the show, Rachel).
Rachel redeems herself with a duet with Blaine by singing a Glee original titled "Extraordinary Merry Christmas," which receives Artie's approval.
The songs included in the "Glee Holiday Spectacular" were as follows:
     "Let It Snow," (Vaughn Monroe) sung by Kurt and Blaine
     "My Favorite Things," (The Sound of Music) sung by Kurt, Blaine, Rachel and Mercedes
     "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," (Bruce Springsteen) sung by Finn and Puck
     "Christmas Wrapping," (The Waitresses) sung by Brittany
The New Directions volunteer at the homeless shelter and sing "Do They Know It's Christmas? (Feed the World)," originally done by Band Aid.

I can't wait to see what Glee has in store in 2012. Do you have any predictions for what's to come? And for all that have taken time to look at my blog, thank you for reading and wishing you a happy, healthy New Year!

Ep 8 Hold on to Sixteen

Delayed, I know. Where are my priorities? I clearly let final exams take away from my blogging time... this week many season-long conflicts were resolved- just in time for the holidays! Here's the "glee-cap":
1) Sam, aka Trouty Mouth, re-joins the McKinley crew after Rachel and Finn bring him back from Kentucky, where he was making money as the male stripper, "White Chocolate". While he starts on his pursuit to win Mercedes back, Quinn tries to convince him to be with her.
2) New Directions and The Troubletones are off to Sectionals in a battle of the McKinley glee clubs. Before the competition starts, The Troubletones offer to let any members of New Directions join them (if they are to win) at Regionals, which doesn't sit well with the troop or Mr. Schue. After they duel it out, New Directions finally come out on top (queue the slow motion celebration). But order is restored between the McKinley students, as The Troubletone girls end up joining back with their old glee club mates after Quinn persuades them to do so.
3) Quinn finally seems to have her priorities straight, mostly thanks to Rachel. The episode starts out with her revealing that she is going to tell Figgins about Shelby's romance with Puck. This would insure that she is fired and that Beth would be hers. Rachel makes her aware that this might be doing more harm than good- no job for Shelby means no income. By the end of the episode, Quinn is still on her destructive path, but Rachel intercepts her leaving the competition and asks that she at least wait until after Sectionals and that she talk to Shelby about it first. When the two do talk, Shelby gives a sincere apology. This seals the deal for Quinn, who eventually ends up not carrying out her plan.
4) Mike has put his dancing on the back-burner and applied to Stanford, pre-med. He didn't believe that dancing was worth ripping his family apart. Tina tries her best to get him to stand up to his parents, to which Mike responds, "maybe we shouldn't be together anymore." Tina remains defiant and goes to Mike's father on her own. She brings him a copy of the West Side Story performance, which makes him furious. He sends her away, preaching that the path she has chosen will only bring heartache and few opportunities. Nevertheless, Papa Chang makes an appearance at Sectionals, after which he express his support of Mike's dancing career and encourages him to apply to the best dance schools (which Tina has conveniently already done for him).

Song Overview
Sam makes a memorable return to the New Directions with Toby Keith's "Red Solo Cup."
The Unitards (a Sectionals competitor) sing "Buenos Aires" from Evita.
The Troubletones do a mash-up of Destiny's Child and Gloria Gaynor's "Survivor/I Will Survive" at Sectionals.
The New Directions clinch the Sectionals title with Jackson 5's "ABC," Janet Jackson's "Control," and last but not least, Michael Jackson's "Man In the Mirror," (yes, this one gave me chills).
The whole gang comes together to do "We Are Young" by Fun

Extraordinary Merry Christmas recap coming your way soon! Happy Holidays everyone!

This Is Pretty Neat-o

I don't quite have the review ready for "Hold on to Sixteen," but while you're waiting, check out this fun infographic! I tried to take the image and put in into this post and it came out tiny, but here is the link to the site.
See the infographic here!