Our thoughts about the episode going into it
We were both excited for and wary of this episode from the start. On the one hand, it’s not a silly tribute episode (we've had enough of that for now), and it might actually have a plot worthy of the characters. Also, we like religion and those discussions. Also also, one of us loves Billy Joel. On the other hand, how can everyone enjoy an episode when they have to sit tensely on their couches, hoping people won’t hurt their feelings by dogging their religious beliefs. Every time a religious person is portrayed as weak or stupid, it effects how much they are respected in the real world, and that’s a big deal. Also, others will be tense through the whole thing because they dislike religion and don’t want their favorite show to turn into a morality play.
Thoughts on the spirituality in the episode
First, we respect
Glee for being so balanced and inclusive in this episode regarding the issue of whether there is a God. But for an episode on grief and spirituality, we thought the episode was shockingly shallow and actually not controversial enough. Everything the characters said about God has already been said in countless movies and TV shows. There was no, “Wow, I should think about that” moment. There was nothing unsettling, other than Emma’s comment that atheism was arrogant and Mercedes’ comment that Kurt might be shutting himself off from something. The atheists and agnostics came off as whiners who didn’t believe in God because he doesn’t act as their personal vending machine. The religious people came off as dim, but well-meaning. The episode was FAIR, we will give it that. But no other religions than Judaism and Christianity were represented. As bloggers who are interested in religions in general, we think this episode missed opportunities to really bring up some good questions and show authentic faiths. Couldn’t they hire Rob Bell (who can make even the most mundane thing sound spiritual and life changing) or Richard Dawkins to consult? Whatever happened to compelling and awesome religious thought in art and entertainment? Read the chapter “The Grand Inquisitor” in
The Brothers Karamazov. THAT’S how it’s done. The episode was too fair, too sensitive, and too surface-level. And maybe we are biased because both bloggers read a lot of theology, so we we're used to stuff that packs a bigger punch. But come on. The average teen has come across everything Glee had to say about religion last night.
Thoughts on gay people and other “outcasts” going to church
The episode touched on how Kurt felt unwelcome at church, because he is gay. In light of the recent gay suicides, we thought we’d comment on this a little. We think it’s really sad that gay, imperfect, unique, and female people often feel unwelcome in church. The weirdos in society are just the sort of people Jesus was rumored to have hung out with. God loves gay people. Don’t let anyone tell you different. The church has a lot of work to do to become the sort of place where people who don’t fit a certain mold feel loved. For now, small groups of like-minded, spiritual people can provide fellowship and support. Trust us. This blogger is straight and never fit in much in church either.
Thoughts on episode happeningsFinn started the religion thing off because the burned bit of his grilled cheese sandwich looked like Jesus. He started praying to this “grilled Cheesus” for selfish, but funny things like “to be quarterback on the football team” and “to touch Rachel’s boobs". He wanted the Glee club to honor Jesus Christ through song (cueing the funniest look ever to cross Rachel’s face). But because no religion episode would be complete without some suffering to bring it to light, things got serious when Kurt’s dad had a heart attack. How could cruel fate (or God) strike down a man who once bought his six-year-old son a “Maria bonnet”? Although, we can’t say that we ever actually saw Maria wearing a bonnet in
The Sound of Music. Sue, Will, Emma, Kurt, Quinn, and others fought about whether to pray for Kurt’s dad and whether to sing spiritual songs in Glee club. Mercedes was able to get Kurt to go to church with her. Don’t worry Kurt, this is TV. On TV, the only nice Christians are black, so we knew you’d be ok. Then Mercedes threw out the old “if you don’t believe in God, at least just believe in something” cliché (best used in
Serenity, IMO). In the end, Kurt’s comatose father squeezed his hand, which indicates that he may recover. Yay! He’s one of our favorite characters on the show. This blogger didn’t cry during this episode. Maybe it was because we were supposed to feel sorry for Kurt, who was treating everyone badly and censoring other kids. Maybe it was because of the ungodly number of commercial breaks that brought this blogger out of the episode too much. Just didn’t feel it. We enjoyed Sue bringing her funny George Carlin-flavored views on religion, and we also enjoyed the Brittany line" Whenever I pray, I fall asleep". Also, good casting on younger Kurt. He looked just like Chris Colfer! And we loved your church hat, Kurt. Message to Finn: we can’t believe you ate the grilled cheesus after all that time. GROSS.
Thoughts on the musical numbers:Only the Good Die Young by Puck- Puck is one of the strongest male singing voices on the show (but that’s not saying much), so we are glad that he got another solo. It was a fun way to start off the night before things got too heavy. And one of us loves Billy Joel.
I Look to You by Mercedes- This song should have been sung in the church, and the other one should have been scrapped for something different. We can’t believe we actually got to hear Mercedes sing pretty. She is usually screeching in the background or screaming her way through something like “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.” We like to hear variety from her. We like how it started out nice and then she got to really rip through it. We bought this one as a single immediately.
Papa, Can You Hear Me? by Rachel- You know we love Lea Michele’s voice. It’s 90% of the reason we watch this show. But we’ve gotta say, as nicely as the scene was filmed, we prefer Barbra Streisand’s version in Yentl, especially on the big notes. Rachel’s voice naturally sits a little higher than this, so her tone wasn’t as full as Barbra’s on those notes. Still, a good effort. And we like the way she did the speaking parts of this song. It sounded less lame than Babs.
I Want to Hold Your Hand by Kurt- If Kurt wasn’t being such a butt this episode, we would have enjoyed this more and really felt for him. But we did enjoy the montage of scenes with Kurt and his father when Kurt was younger. Kurt’s voice is beautiful, and we like this version. However, this blogger’s brother, who has his own recording studio, says that Kurt’s voice is heavily autotuned on the high notes. Bummer.
Losing My Religion by Finn- This song was fitting for the episode, but Finn’s voice isn’t very good, so we didn’t enjoy it that much.
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Mercedes- This song is really overdone (but still good). By the time Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige whipped it out of their back pockets this summer, we were like, “Ok, this is boring.” The choir overpowered Mercedes, so she was reduced to background shrieking again.
One of Us by New Directions- That is a nice, neutral spiritual song with which to end the episode. We thought it was a little blah though. There are plenty of better spiritual songs they could have used. Maybe something by U2? Still, we liked this one.
We know many critics and viewers are going to rave about this episode because of how Kurt-centered and sensitive it was, but we've got to give it an episode grade of C+.
