A boyband? Really?

Last night’s episode veered wildly between disappointing and cringe-worthy, with dollops of missed opportunities mashed into it. As much as I may have criticised certain elements of the first two episodes, they nevertheless had a certain spark and energy that was inexplicably endearing. There was enough wit and warmth to carry the cliched [...]]]> Um…

A boyband? Really?

Last night’s episode veered wildly between disappointing and cringe-worthy, with dollops of missed opportunities mashed into it. As much as I may have criticised certain elements of the first two episodes, they nevertheless had a certain spark and energy that was inexplicably endearing. There was enough wit and warmth to carry the cliched storylines, and most of the characters were likeable in their own way.

I finished watching “Acafellas” and just felt blank. Not a good sign.

Will’s abandonment of the club, even temporarily, just didn’t feel believable considering all of the effort he’d poured into it. Rachel’s character has seemingly lost the weird quirkiness and hint of a dark side she had in the first few episodes and has morphed into a bland, stock “good girl” figure. The most heinous character crime of all, however, came in casting Victor Garber in an utterly forgettable role as Will’s father. C’mon, Glee! Garber is better than that. Maybe they’ll do something interesting with him in the future to redeem such a waste of a good actor.

Even the musical numbers this week felt off to me; I’d expected Glee to use the songs in a naturalistic way, with the club performing them (as they have been in the last few episodes.) Tonight’s bizarre hallucinatory car-washing extravaganza was just painful, and seemingly only shoe-horned into the episode to give Amber Riley’s Mercedes a chance to sing and/or have a dozen cheerleaders dancing in skimpy outfits. (Speaking of Mercedes, did that plotline with Kurt make sense to anyone? The boy is so clearly, overtly gay that Mercedes having feelings for him only rings true if she had been portrayed as incredibly naive, which prior to this episode she hadn’t.)

All of it just left me rooting for Sylvester and the Cheerios to destroy them. I don’t think that’s what the writers were aiming for.

I think the reality is that I’m just not the target audience for Glee, and that’s fine. Plenty of people seem to have really embraced the show, and I’m always happy for any scripted series to enjoy success. But, like Finn, I’m thinking of quitting the Glee Club.

Of course, you can have your say by rating the episode below!