I have this urge to compare this week’s Glee to the calm before the storm. Okay, it’s not exactly calm, but you know what I mean, right? Funny yet cringe-worthy moments aside, the hour merely felt like a bridge between last week’s episode and next week’s finale: Jesse is back with the rivals, the kids aren’t confident about their chances of success at regionals, and Sue is back to make things complicated. It feels like the episode got itself in a funk, and when things got close to being awesome, it pulled back. I don’t know, really. Maybe watching this a couple more times would make things clear, but right now, we’ve got loads to talk about — so let’s do that first, shall we?

So what happened? Vocal Adrenaline, featuring a certain Jesse St. James, showed off and got New Directions in a funk — and Rachel can’t help but feel heartbroken. Puck and Finn got revenge, but ended up working at Sheet and Things to pay for the damage. Which meant Finn getting closer to a newly-divorced (and oddly creepy) Terri. Meanwhile, Sue’s back to her terrorizing ways, so Will decides to seduce her and then humiliate her — although he can’t take the idea of destroying the dreams of several Cheerios, so he ended up living with her trophy in his choir room. But we got some genuine(ly creepy) sexual tension.

This week’s best: Quinn and Mercedes’ budding friendship

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In an episode that felt a little disjointed and unreal — I know, I know, most of the hour was about Will faking it and Jesse trying to fake it, but it could’ve gone better — I appreciated the play on Quinn and Mercedes’ budding friendship. It’s the one thing that brought the episode back down to earth from the admittedly outrageous revenge schemes and put the spotlight back on the kids and how they are developing as regionals loom. I love the way it’s come naturally, slow and steady over the past few episodes, and while it’s an unlikely friendship, I can’t wait to see what happens next.

This week’s worst: Will just can’t get past Sue

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Oh, just when we thought Will could finally get revenge on Sue, his heart breaks and he decides to apologize. I’m not complaining — it’s exactly what he does — but apart from the zingers a few weeks back, I was hoping Will could get a one-up on her. Then again, he was quite close to the win, although the idea of the two kissing (“on the lips, with tongue”) gives me goose bumps of the wrong kind. Can they just stick to suggestive conversations and some booty shaking?

This week’s best song: Puck and Finn’s (and Terri and Howard and Sandy’s) “Loser”

For everyone who feels like they’re stuck in a dead-end job, frustrated that they can’t move up, annoyed that they only have brooms to use as guitars (well, that’s Finn’s story)… this is the right song for you. And it was a very surreal performance that stayed true to Beck’s style. I also appreciated the return of several much-missed characters — yes, I also mean Terri.

This week’s quotables:

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“You know, for me, trophies are like herpes. You can try to get rid of them, but they just keep coming. You know why? Sue Sylvester has hourly flare-ups of burning, itchy, highly-contagious talent.”
— Sue explains her trophy addiction, possibly begging for intervention

“I don’t sell to the clinically depressed. You’ll throw yourself off the parking garage and I can’t have that on my conscience.”
— Sandy, I’m just happy you’re back

“When white people try to be funky, you end up with KC and the Sunshine Band!”
— Mercedes becomes unintentionally racist

“Oh, you know what Wednesday is, right? Hump day.”
— Will points out the one thing we like the most about Wednesdays… no, not that!

“I hear you’re a vegan, Berry! The souls of these poor egg fetuses are all on your conscience now!”
— that girl from Vocal Adrenaline who got more lines than expected

My thought bubbles:

What’s Terri thinking? It may seem that she’s really willing to change after the divorce with Will finally pushed through, but is it just me, or does her treatment of Finn feel creepy? Is she planning to get Will’s favor back, or is she just ready to move on from that “toxic mold”? Oh, and what does Puck have to say about that? Oh, right, he goes for MILFs, and Terri isn’t one…

When will Rachel realize that Jesse isn’t all that he is? Okay, we get it, Jesse had feelings for Rachel, and he probably had to give it up due to peer pressure. But when will Rachel stop being such a drama queen and realize that there’s a guy named Finn? I mean, he works as Sheets and Things’ assistant assistant manager and he can sing “Jesse’s Girl” in a snap.

Who would’ve thought that not having Cheerio practice would have such consequences? Santana crying, not fixing her hair and sitting with her legs apart? Sure, you do lose your poise in such events. But Brittany wearing her uniform the other way around, not fixing her hair and asking Jacob for help? Uhh…

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Do pearls look good on Sue and her tracksuits? Who would’ve thought it was even possible? Me, I didn’t even notice.

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What did the kids do to deserve this? First, we had pregnant students dance with Quinn’s solo, spinning and jumping around and paying no mind to the babies they’re carrying. And then we had baby chickens (okay, eggs) splattered on Rachel’s face. What’s next?

(Images courtesy of FOX)

Henrik Batallones

Staff Writer, BuddyTV