You give that skinny Garanimals-wearing asskisser everything!

Glee - "Asian F"

This episode had a lot of things we didn’t like and a few that we did, so there are mixed feelings. We’ll start with the good news, then rip into the bad.

The good: Mike Chang! He still really can’t sing, but his storyline was sweet. Doing something you love is even more important than being yourself, which is what this show usually tries to tell us to do. We enjoy the change of message from time-to-time. Mike’s mom was adorable, and yes, Asians are really that strict. But how are Mike and Tina still together? Relationships last like half a season on this show, but this couple that formed mostly because of abs is really going the distance….

Brittany’s dancing and number were pretty fun, and we liked its effect on Kurt. We also liked meeting Emma’s parents. We knew that they had to be a big ball of crazy to have raised a kid with so many issues, but we didn’t expect them to be really mean! Freaky deaky? Will should have slapped them, but he put his aforementioned new balls to use telling them off. Also, didn't Emma already explain how her OCD tendencies started?

We thought it was pretty funny that they were “ginger supremacists” though. And they didn’t like Carl, haha. But poor Emma. All the work she did seems to have gone down the tubes after seeing the source of her crazy. We liked that Mercedes has a boyfriend who builds her up and makes her realize that she’s not an Effie. Even though she really is an Effie. She looks and acts and sings like Effie. Some of that is definitely a compliment though.

The kids did “It’s All Over” from Dreamgirls, and it really fit with the episode well, even though we don’t particularly care for the song. We liked that the sweet tone and some focus on Will and Emma is back. This season is feeling a little more like season one. Thankfully, Sue had a small part in this episode. We wouldn’t normally say this, because Jane Lynch is awesome and at one point Sue made the show for us. But lately, the show doesn’t know what to do with the character and Sue just ends up making episodes a nonsensical mess.

The bad: Brittany S. Pierce realizes that a dumb blonde being president would probably be so much better than another guy! Why does girl power have to mean dissing guys? It wasn’t egregious here, but we still rolled our eyes. If you have to say it (Run the World (Girls)) then it must not be true.

Worst of all, Mercedes’ ego has returned. The show is making us hate her, and we don’t want to! Rachel and Mercedes have a sing-off with one of the most boring Broadway songs of all time, “Out Here On My Own” from Fame. The judges still can’t decide who gets Maria, so they double the performances and give both girls a chance to play the role. Most girls who actually love musical theater would be thrilled, but Mercedes turns it down, disses Rachel, and joins Shelby Corcoran’s new show choir. Silver lining? Maybe she can drown out Sugar Motta.

Spotlight, Cool, and Run the World (Girls) are all very mediocre songs undeserving of covers. We like that the songs are following the plot rather than the plot following the songs, but picking current mainstream songs that didn’t even top the charts makes for a bland episode. Bring back the classic rock!

Glee tried to recover with a Coldplay cover, going with the overused Fix You. The plot actually made it appropriate, with the whole Emma thing, and it was almost touching. Our problem with it? It sounded almost exactly like the original. When you cover a song, you need to make it your own. Doesn’t anyone listen to Simon Cowell? (The exception to this rule is the national anthem. So many people jazz it up, riff, change keys, and holler that it’s more original to sing it straight and just sing it really well, holding the notes out.) Also, this song was used so much better in So You Think You Can Dance.

But, anyway, Glee works well when it swaps the genders to songs. Not so much with Kurt, but with having a female voice on Journey or Blaine’s Teenage Dream. We already have the original songs, Glee. Give us the sequel to them. Add some instruments, new harmonies. Something. That’s why so many people love the mash-ups. We have a similar Fix You on our iPods, and it’s better. Lots of people think that song is really condescending and lame anyway. So, on the music front, we were unsatisfied.

Question: What was all the stuff with Mercedes feeling physically ill? Was she really just having an off day, or is that going to come up later? Please say the only other Christian girl on this show isn't getting pregnant too. That would just be too funny.

Episode Grade: B-