GLEE: What I Loved (and Loathed) About “I Am Unicorn”

[Warning! The following contains spoilers for the latest episode of GLEE. If you haven’t watch, you might want to stop reading.]

Political scandals. Relationships on the rocks. Baby mama drama. Unicorns.

Just another week at McKinley High.

You could read 20 different recaps or reviews of tonight’s episode of GLEE and you probably won’t find two people that saw the show in exactly the same way. Ah, the beauty of subjectivity. By the very virtue of you being here, I’m going to assume you want to know what I thought of “I Am Unicorn”. Well my friends, I quite enjoyed it. Despite some worrisome moments (which I’m sure you all are dying to discuss – as am I), the episode on the whole really worked. The music. The pacing. The story development. I so enjoy GLEE when it’s not a jumbled mess.

It’s important that you know upfront that I really enjoyed tonight’s episode. So don’t be swayed by the rest of this article in which I openly boo and hiss at the GLEE writers for their lack of continuity and general dismissal of their loyal viewing audience.

With that, let’s talk about some of the best and worst of GLEE’s “I Am Unicorn.”

The Return of Shelby Corcoran
Shelby has made her way back to Lima, Ohio to right some past wrongs. When we last saw her she was busy being the worst mother in the world. (Ok a bit harsh, but come on.) Shelby forced her way into Rachel’s life only to later tell her that it was too late to have a relationship and she couldn’t be the mother Rachel wanted her to be. And just to pour some salt in the wound, she up and adopted Beth (her do-over baby) form Quinn and Puck.

A year and a half later and she’s back. This time she’s teaching at McKinley High. In an incredibly eye-rolling plot twist, Shelby is now running a second McKinley High show choir, financed by Sugar Mata’s father. A show choir that doesn’t seem to ruffle the feathers of Mr. Schue very much. Why is that? Oh I know. It was convenient for the writers if Mr. Schue pretended he didn’t care. If he didn’t care then maybe the audience wouldn’t notice either. Seriously. I could think of a million ways to bring Shelby back in the mix without it being as lame as this. McKinley High struggles to keep 12 kids in a show choir that made it to Nationals. But suddenly the school has two show choirs. Listen GLEE writers, I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt this season, but in order to do so you must resist these profoundly dumb storylines. Your audience is smarter than that. Wow…end rant.

It seems Shelby has had a change of heart. She not only wants to mend her relationship with Rachel, it seems she’s also interested in ensuring that Quinn and Puck get to be part of Beth’s life. Yeah, that’s not going to be messy or anything. But if it means helping Quinn Fabray to get over this lame act of defiance (I prefer to call it a loud scream for help) then I’m all for the reunion. Shelby wants Puck and Quinn to prove themselves worthy of being in Beth’s life. Puck is all for making the change. Quinn, on the other hand, is ready to pretend to be whatever Shelby wants her to be if it means being reunited with Beth.

Loved what both Mark Salling and Dianna Agron brought to the episode tonight. After the way the writers conveniently forgot that Quinn and Puck had a child together for most of last season, I’m glad the actors now have the opportunity to play out this storyline. I’m not sure where it’s going to land. Like most of the Booty Campers, I too was fooled by the yellow-haired, crucifix-wearing return of Quinn Fabray. And when she revealed her true intentions of getting full custody of Beth, I might have shivered a bit.

Despite any issues I might have with Shelby’s sudden appearance, I am more than fine with the incredibly talented Idina Menzel singing on my TV each week. Idina and Lea’s “I Dreamed a Dream” duet from last season was one of GLEE’s best musical moments ever. Tonight, there performance of “Somewhere” might have bested it. The blending of their powerful voices left me in tears. Oh full on sobfest. It wasn’t pretty.

Kurt Hummel for President
Not since Brittany and Kurt were locking lips in Season One have Heather Morris and Chris Colfer shared so much screen time. I’m loving this on-screen pairing. The way Brittany helps Kurt to see how special he is was incredibly sweet. Glad they are exploring that relationship this season.

As for Kurt’s run for political office, while I understand and appreciate Brittany’s sentiment with the “Unicorn” platform, I’m not sure the McKinley High student body is going to respond to Kurt’s message. Let’s not forget that just a few short months back the same student body collectively conspired to publicly humiliate Kurt for the sake of their own enjoyment. Time will tell whether or not the GLEE writers will gloss over that and expect us to do the same. Sigh.

What will come of Kurt and Brittany’s rekindled friendship now that she’s his opponent for Senior Class President? Who knows, but I’m on board if it means a verbal battle between Kurt and Brit on debate night.

The Sharks vs. the Jets The Hummels vs. the Andersons
Seems like Brittany isn’t the only one Kurt will be battling with for the spotlight this year. Despite giving it his all in his West Side Story audition (we’re talking Streisand and Sai swords), the directors weren’t convinced that Kurt was manly enough to pull off the lead role of Tony. And after Blaine’s audition, it seemed Kurt might be out of the running completely.

As for junior class member Blaine Anderson (oh don’t worry, we’ll be talking about that in just a minute), he must be given some kind of points for trying to be a good boyfriend. Despite wanting to audition for the lead, Blaine stepped aside and auditioned for a smaller role so to leave a clear path for Kurt. Even when the directors specifically asked him about reading for Tony, he struggled to give them an answer as he knew it would hurt his boyfriend if he got the part.

Kurt’s behavior got under my skin more than a little bit during this episode. I’m not a fan of selfish Kurt and I feel like we saw a lot of that guy tonight. It all started with the big reveal of Blaine as a junior. When I thought about it, I was taken back by the idea that while it was ultimately Blaine’s decision, Kurt certainly put some pressure on Blaine to transfer. He asked him to leave his safe school, his friends, and his Warbler life to join him at McKinley knowing that he was going to be graduating at the end of the school year and leaving Blaine behind. That doesn’t sit well with me at all. But putting that aside for a moment, I was also bothered that Kurt didn’t encourage Blaine to go full out for the role of Tony. Kurt even admitted that Blaine would be perfect for the part. Letting Blaine resign himself to a smaller roel so Kurt would have a better shot didn’t earn him any good boyfriend karma in my book. And later, despite watching Blaine’s incredible audition, Kurt seemed truly bothered that the directors would even consider Blaine for the role of Tony over Kurt. Come on, Kurt. Be better than that.

While their battle for the spotlight might be a minor bump in their otherwise happy existence, I don’t think this is going to be the end of Klaine. Far from it.

Junior Warbler Blaine Anderson
Now to the controversy that has many a GLEEk in a tizzy! In tonight’s episode it was revealed that Blaine is in fact a junior at McKinley. What the what?! Come on, let’s call a spade a spade. Making Blaine a junior is all about keeping Darren Criss on the show another year. There is no way you can convince me otherwise. Hell, Blaine was even referred to last season as a “Junior Warbler”  (which Brad Falchuck tried to play off as an indicator of Warbler status rather than grade level. Yeah, nice try.)

The very foundation of Kurt and Blaine’ relationship was built on Blaine being a mentor-type for Kurt. Just ask Ryan Murphy, he went as far as saying in interviews that Blaine was a “seasoned pro” and even said flat out that Blaine was a year older than Kurt. We’re supposed to believe that Blaine was a sophomore last season? Yeah, no.

Listen, no one wants to see more of Darren Criss than me. While I’m thrilled he’ll be back at McKinley next season, I’m annoyed that once again the GLEE writers thought so little of their audience that we are expected to just accept this glaring sidestep without question. Very frustrating.

That being said, armed with this new information, I have noticed a small shift in acting from Darren. Maybe knowing that Blaine is a year younger than Kurt or perhaps it’s his general uneasiness as the new kid, Darren has played Blaine as someone with a somewhat diminished sense of self. Honestly, Blaine seemed younger to me tonight. Despite whatever cannon may be driving the acting and directorial decisions,  Blaine Anderson needs to get back his swagger. Stat!

Remember at the beginning when I said I enjoyed tonight’s episode? Well, despite my ranting, it’s true. Let’s talk about a few moments that made me happy, ok?

• I’m a sucker for any scene with Kurt and Burt Hummel. TV’s best dad nailed it again with his tough love speech. I like that he doesn’t coddle Kurt and respects his son enough to tell him like it is. It shows just how truly accepting he is of Kurt. I especially loved the moment when Burt told Kurt that if people weren’t writing roles for guys like him then maybe he should writer roles for himself. Perhaps a nod to the incredible accomplishments of Chris Colfer off-screen. Chris has two books in the works and just finished wrapping “Struck By Lightning”, a feature film that he not only stars in, but also wrote. If Chris Colfer can do it Kurt, then so can you!

• Still not enough Finn Hudson for my liking. But he did share a sweet moment with Rachel in the garage. A lot of focus has been on Kurt and Rachel but I think Finn’s going to be racking up some more screen time soon!

• We already talked about the amazing performance of “Somewhere” and Kurt’s over-the-top but awesome take on “I’m the Greatest Star”. That leaves us with the third and final musical moment of the episode – Blaine’s  on rendition of  “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story. Wow. I thought Darren Criss gave an incredible performance here. So vocally strong. And that final note? Damn! Makes me happier than ever that I have my tickets to see him do his thing on a real Broadway stage in January.

• I’ll be honest. I usually couldn’t care less about Will Schuester. But the way he put Quinn in her place tonight was down right fantastic. Matt Morrison really delivered.

• Only one small Brittany and Santana scene tonight, but I thought it was so sweet. I love the way that those girls love each other. Santana reserves all her sweetness for Brit. I don’t think Santana was lying at all when she said she thought Brit was a genius. In her own, special way she is.

• Forget Kurt and Rachel in NYC, I want to see a spinoff where Coach Bieste, Emma and Artie are hanging together 24/7. Loving this threesome (ew, you know what I mean.)

• OH and I almost forgot the single best thing to come out of tonight’s episode. “Kurt Hummel’s Bulging, Pink Fun Sack” – girls and guys are lining up to get some of that swag. I speak the truth.

So much babbling from me yet I know there is so much I haven’t covered. Luckily I have YOU!

Talk to me about what worked and what didn’t for you tonight. Loving the musical numbers? Thoughts on Quinn’s scheme to get Beth back? Ready to kick some heads in about Blaine being a junior? Are you voting for Kurt or Brit for class president?

Let’s continue to discussion in the comments.

In case you missed it…
GIVE ME MY REMOTE talked to Chris Colfer about his dream musical number, his choice for a Kurt & Blaine duet and more…

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