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'Glee' recap: 'Thanksgiving'

Nothing to be thankful for here

Heather Morris, Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera on "Glee"

Heather Morris, Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera on "Glee"

Credit: Fox

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"I just feel like every time we go home just makes me sad and like we're not moving forward, you know?"

Yeah, I know, Rachel. Because that's how I feel watching anything on "Glee" involving the current McKinley High crew. Sure, there are new faces, but the spectacle of bland characters dominating episodes with their bad storylines is certainly sad and definitely not moving forward.

Bringing all the "Glee" graduates back for a badly timed Thanksgiving episode didn't make it any better. Seeing Mark Salling, Dianna Agron and Naya Rivera return to McKinley didn't make me feel all mushy and nostalgic and happy to see old friends (and good actors) again. It just makes me upset we're not seeing them on a regular basis, or that the show hasn't found any remotely worthy substitutes to take their place.

Buried somewhere inside this new, nightmarish version of "Glee" is a glimpse of what could have been a far more interesting way of moving forward. I don't know what the hell was going on during that insane mashup of Scissor Sisters' "Let's Have a Kiki" and "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the Broadway musical "Promises, Promises" at Kurt and Rachel's Bushwick apartment, but I want a show that's that nutty, that wonderful/terrible, that audacious every week. (Guest stars -- like Sarah Jessica Parker -- who actually look like they're having fun and bring energy and freshness to the show are also a plus.)

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I don't want the seven thousandth showdown between New Directions and the Warblers, especially when it almost exclusively involves characters I don't care about. But that's pretty much all we get from "Glee" now, with very few exceptions.

There was the great phone call/reconciliation between Kurt and Blaine, where Darren Criss once again proved how impressive he is at conveying Blaine's vulnerability and sensitivity.

There was the great frenemy fight between Quinn and Santana, where Quinn reveals she's having an affair with a married professor (because, come on, that's exactly what perpetually screwed-up Quinn would do, like it or not) and Santana is forced to confront the fact that she's not pursuing her dreams (seriously Santana, it's time to move to New York already). Agron and Rivera nailed it, of course.

And there was the strange but comforting mashup of Simon and Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound" and Phillip Phillips' "Home" performed by Agron, Rivera, Salling, Cory Monteith, Harry Shum Jr. and Amber Riley. (Which has to be the first use of an "American Idol" coronation song on "Glee," right? And just over six months after its debut on "Idol" at that.)

I could complain about the terrible use of Matthew Morrison, Jayma Mays and Jane Lynch (hey, remember Sue has a baby!?); the nonsensical decision that Rachel and Kurt would stay in New York for Thanksgiving instead of visiting their parents (poor Burt!), when they flew out for freakin' "Glease"; the unexpected decision to give Tina the lead vocals on the big Sectionals number only to have the song be... "Gangnam Style" (Tina is Chinese, Ushkowitz is Korean-American, but with the way "Glee" treats its Asian characters, I wouldn't trust the writers to know the difference or bother addressing it on screen).

But those are all old "Glee" problems. The kind of silly stuff that might drag the show down a bit, while other strengths (lively production numbers, witty or at least amusing dialogue, charismatic performances, ballsy storylines, characters worth caring about) would lift it back up.

Now "Glee" has much bigger problems. It's so boring it's not even worth hate-watching.

Geoff-berkshire-sm
Geoff Berkshire
Contributor
Geoff Berkshire lives in Los Angeles and writes about film and television. His work has appeared in Variety, the L.A. Times, and Premiere, among other publications. He is the former national entertainment editor and film critic for Metromix.com.
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  • Default-avatar

    Rachel T.

    I couldn't agree more! This season of glee has gone way down hill. I'm disappointed this is the way it's going out. I can't see it lasting Another season if if keeps going this way.

    November 30, 2012 at 7:36AM EST Reply to Comment
    • Default-avatar

      Post a comment...

      November 30, 2012 at 8:26AM EST
  • Default-avatar

    Brad U

    Tina has never been confirmed to be Chinese.

    November 30, 2012 at 9:12AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Anna

    Yes! This episode reminded me how very good the grads are. I've missed them so much! Can we get rid of the boring 2.0 versions and keep the original recipe versions? This show has always been an uneven hot mess on the writing, but great actors make such a difference in pulling it off.

    November 30, 2012 at 9:25AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    C

    I'm not sure if Ryan Murphy just wants to get rid of this show as fast as he can or if these writers honestly think the vanilla flavored McKinley 2.0 is something anyone is actually interested in. I cant be bothered to rant about the awful storylines bc truthfully I can't even remember 90% of the episodes I actually manage to stick around for. What a sad waste of potential this show turned out to be.

    On a good note-except not really bc there's still gone- oh how I've missed Mercedes and Santana's harmonizing.

    November 30, 2012 at 10:15AM EST Reply to Comment
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    Anon

    The return of the graduates was refreshing. They're more interresting and have more chemestry together. Why can't they focus on the original members (the graduates and the tina, artie, brit, etc) instead of these newbies that we don't really care about. The NY scenes are always a welcome distraction of the mess that is Lima

    November 30, 2012 at 10:22AM EST Reply to Comment
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    sarah

    I just watch for Cory Monteith, so the last few episodes I've been thrilled because although the newbies have awful storylines i could watch him. Tonight, he was barely there. And as for a Fincel reunion, now I'm not even sure they haven't destroyed Rachel. I don't even faintly care if she makes it which makes me sad. People often complain about the writing on Glee, but stuck with it. But now many,many are giving up.

    November 30, 2012 at 11:12AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    betty

    There is a disconnect between what Ryan wants and what the audience wants. Cory Monteith has been wasted on this show. Where is the passion for performing that was the essential part to his character and the message that the arts can transform ones life for the better. Finn was setup to be this character that could have made a great life for himself that was essentially soulless and his blackmail to the glee club let all of us into the world of musicals and what that can do for people. Every episode he is still in Lima is a slap ihe face for the viewers. I am not feeling this season at all. Guest star stunts and that
    rachel crap fest is bringing me down.

    November 30, 2012 at 11:52AM EST Reply to Comment
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    LF

    So I have the solution. Put ALL the orig. cast in NY and keep Glee going in Ohio. I think that would be a show worth watching with all the magic of Glee. It wouldn't be that difficult, honestly. Solved!

    November 30, 2012 at 12:56PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Maria

    They need to make Santana a regular as in a true regular and stop every storyline being about Blaine. I'm kind of sick of him by now

    November 30, 2012 at 2:48PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Sam

    I actually preferred the last episode, Dynamic Duets, to this... even though it was almost completely devoid of the graduates. The original graduates seem out of place now, and I find myself not caring much about NY (although the Kiki scene was great). They need more people in NY and they need to focus on the remaining seniors that we care about - Blaine, Brittany, Sam, Artie, Tina, etc. I will, however, say that the Klaine phonecall made up for it all - I continue to be impressed with how the writers have handled their storyline and Darren and Chris were fantastic.

    November 30, 2012 at 6:02PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Kiff

    Yeah, this season blows, I personally think that season 2 was the show's best ever

    December 1, 2012 at 1:55AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar



    You are all just afraid to change. I like the new characters they add something to the show. Yes there has been some questionable episodes but that's glee!! I mean they've always had bad episodes. This season isn't that that bad and I think you all stop hating because it does you no good

    December 1, 2012 at 2:33AM EST Reply to Comment
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      E The problem is that very few people tuned into Glee for it's compelling plots. We were there for the characters (most of whom are absent or misused), or for the musical numbers. Without them, it's just a mess of contrived plots, offensive jokes, and mindless PSAs.

      December 1, 2012 at 12:25PM EST
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    Gina

    I like the new season, let go of the past people and enjoy the new talented cast.

    December 7, 2012 at 1:59AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    Gina

    I disagree. I like the new cast and I think the cast is quite talented between the signing and the dancing.

    December 7, 2012 at 2:00AM EST Reply to Comment

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