The Gleek Critique: "Props" Episode

Will Schuester dressed as Coach Sylvester on Glee.  Image property of Fox.

by Jack Garcia

Unique is now a show choir celebrity making Vocal Adrenaline all the more powerful when it comes to Nationals.  Sue wants Kurt to dress in a flapper's gown as Porcelina... and she's also making the choir use a bunch of dorky props like a welder's mask and leg warmers.  But even when Puck decides to take one for the team and dress in drag, it doesn't look like they have what it takes to beat their arch rivals.  In the end, however, they realize that their "unique factor" is their ability to come together as a team.

Being a team player isn't always easy to do though.  Tina is tired of being ignored in the glee club and she finally speaks her mind.  Rachel thinks she's being ridiculous, but Tina just wants to have her moment in the spotlight.  She wants to be Rachel.  And after a horrible trip and fall into a mall fountain, she IS Rachel!  What?  Yeah... it's trippy.  Rachel and Tina have switched places and so has everybody else.  Puck is Blaine and Blaine is Puck.  Finn is Kurt and Kurt is Finn.  Weirded out?  It gets weirder!  Artie and Santana have swapped.  Mercedes and Brittany have swapped.  Quinn and Sugar,  Mike and Joe, Sam and Rory, Mr. Schuester and Sue! WHAT IS GOING ON!?

Well, it was just a crazy hallucination, but it helps Tina realize that sometimes it's okay to sway in the background.  She's only a junior and she can shine next year.  So she encourages Rachel to speak to Carmen Tibideaux, the NYADA judge.  Rachel has already tried calling multiple times, so the two of them set out on a mini road trip to speak to her in person.  Rachel begs Ms. Tibideaux to see them perform in Chicago, but it doesn't seem like she's going to give Rachel the second chance she's asking for.


Meanwhile, Santana, Brittany and Mercedes find out that Coach Beiste is still with Cooter and they confront her about it in the teacher's lounge.  She tells them that she's given him a second chance, even though things aren't getting any better at home.  It takes Puck to have an emotional breakdown for her to realize that they both need to start believing in themselves.  You see, Puck gets into a fight with one of the hockey players when he calls Puck a "Lima loser."  After Beiste breaks up the fight and talks with Puck she makes the decision to finally leave Cooter for good. And sensing a kindred spirit in Puck, she talks his geography teacher into giving him a second chance on the final exam he bombed.

With Beiste in tow, the episode ends with the kids all on the school bus heading toward Chicago where they will compete in the National Show Choir Competition.

The Pros:

• Kurt dressed in drag in a Halloween flashback was awesome!
• Jason Mraz's "I Won't Give Up" performed by Rachel Berry was a nice start to the episode.  Despite what some haters say, I still love Rachel's voice!  I'm glad she's determined not to give up on her dreams!  (Although 14 messages to Tibideaux's voicemail is a little much...)
• Go Tina!  Demand some attention!  You're an original member!!  And didn't she kick some Celine Dion ass on "Because You Loved Me"?
• Seeing the characters all dressed like one another was pretty awesome!  So funny!  Blaine looks sexy with a mohawk!!  Ha ha.  It was even funnier than when Mr. Schue got sick and saw everyone as little children last season...
• "Cooter was in 21 Jump Street?  I didn't know he was an actor."  Oh Brittany.  You are so dumb and I love it!
• The fight scene was very well-done!  And Puck's breakdown scene in the locker room with Beiste was one of the most emotional scenes I've seen on Glee in a while.  Mark Salling did a great job with it.  I was literally in tears.
• Second-most emotional scene followed closely after when Beiste left Cooter.  The Beiste/Puck duet of Taylor Swift's "Mean" was perfect for their situations... and Beiste sounded a hell of a lot better on it than she did on "Jolene" earlier this season.
• Tina and Rachel come together on their little road trip to see Carmen Tibideaux and it's further solidified with their first duet together when they sing "Flashdance...What a Feeling."  Fun and adorable and it left the episode on a high note.  We are now ready for Nationals!

The Cons:

• Puck is one ugly woman!  Yeesh... "Some things can't be unseen" is right, Artie!
• Mullet-boy was one of the worst actors I've ever seen on Glee.  And that's saying something.