Just when I was embracing all of the ridiculousness that is Glee, they really test my patience with shows like this one (and the alcohol episode). Seriously, are we supposed to believe high school kids are that naïve about sex (Brittany excluded of course — do they have storks in Ohio)? This was another one of those episodes that seems to have been built around the songs — half of them I didn’t even know — and how to bring Holly back to McKinely High.
I really enjoyed Gwyneth Paltrow‘s first appearance on the show, but this one felt forced. Teaching the glee kids about sex by singing Do You Wanna Touch Me? That was like teaching about the dangers of alcohol by singing Blame It on the Alcohol. Maybe I’m just an old fogie, but these “lessons” just seem a tad inappropriate considering who is actually watching this show. I also didn’t like how Emma has suddenly gone from a pretty confident, semi-well-adjusted woman since her marriage to Carl, to this cartoon character we saw this week. She’s suffering from the Sue Syndrome!
With all of the really stupid stuff this week, there were a few shining moments. Holly, Brittany and Santana singing Stevie Nicks’ Landslide was amazing, thanks to Naya Rivera’s performance. My heart broke for her when she finally laid bare her soul to Brittany and got turned down because of Artie. I also thought the scenes with Blaine and Burt, and Burt and Kurt, were handled very well. All of those moments of this episode were more positive and real than anything else; they really lifted the episode out of the gutter. I did get a kick out of the Afternoon Delight number, too, with the pies as a backdrop (of course, that was a double-entendre unto itself), and the Kiss tango (not that it had anything to do with the episode in the end — just an excuse to use the song). Overall, this was just another of those episodes that makes me wonder where it all went off the rails.
All songs above are available through iTunes. Also featured this week: Animal.
“Don’t you think it’s time for the Warblers to do a Joan Armatrading medley?” – Kurt
“I’m not interested in any labels … unless it’s on something I shoplifted.” – Santana
“Afternoon Delight is a dessert! It’s made with coconut, pineapple and Marshmallow Fluff.” – Emma
“Girlfriend, what’s up with that? He’s hot; you’re 30.” – Holly wondering why Emma and Carl have not had sex.
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Mar 09, 2011 @ 14:44 EST5EDT
Oh, come on… We haven’t really SEEN Emma since the wedding to know if she’s somehow morphed into a semi-well adjusted woman :P
*POST AUTHOR*
No, but we’ve seen her a few times since she started dating Carl and she had become a little less neurotic and uptight (she went to a Rocky Horror screening and didn’t freak out at food being thrown around). Hey, she didn’t have a bottle of Purell on the table at the Celibacy Club meeting! Maybe being married and still in love with Will has sent her back to those old habits, but up to now she has shown improvement in her behaviors.
Oh, fair point on the OCD kind of stuff.
But the not sleeping with Carl? That’s a different kind of odd.
*POST AUTHOR*
Yeah, that’s why I said she was semi-well adjusted until this week. It’s like what they do with Sue – one minute she’s protecting Kurt or being human with her sister, the next she’s trying to fire someone from a cannon. Emma is the new Sue.
“onsidering who is actually watching this show”
You mean gay men in their 30s shouldn’t learn about the joys of teen sex?
I guess you’re right ^^;
I took the lesson as being have safe sex as a teen because when you look back at all the times you could have gotten laid in high school you will be very sad. lol
They had the same message as a Dead Like Me episode. :)
Glee has never had a message, the point of every episode is the songs and this week they completely destroyed Neon Trees: Animal. Gods what was bad.
I’ve given up on the show more or less since the religion episode, but even back in the summer when I was pro-Glee, I found out that my little cousin (I think she’s about 10) is a fan and I told my aunt that I really, really didn’t think it was appropriate for her.
The funny thing is, my aunt and uncle are uber-religious and don’t even like us saying words like “crap” in front of their kids. If they’re not getting why their preteen shouldn’t be watching this, I shudder to think about what more secular parents are letting their kids watch.
*POST AUTHOR*
That was kind of my point about who is watching this show. They get away with it being an 8:00 show so kids can watch because it’s about kids (mainly), there are pop tunes and flashy music videos but between all of that you’ve got these attempts at doing “message” shows that just fall flat or seem to be saying the opposite of what is intended. I know I’m in the minority on this, but I think the bullying episodes have been the most well-handled. If the show just wants to entertain with the musical numbers, that’s fine but the shoehorning of stories around music or just mishandling a message isn’t doing the show any favors considering what the show’s real demographics are (or at least the demo they’re aiming for). The other problem is that you have characters that are all over the map from week to week depending on the story needs. It’s like they’re all schizophrenic!
This was meant for Katie…
No offense, but your aunt is an idiot. :-D
This isn’t a kid’s show, they have it on at 8pm not because it’s some magical family hour, but because they wanted the lead out to help whatever show is on after it.
I wouldn’t let my children watch it, however I don’t have any, and if I did I wouldn’t bitch about my 7 year old watching sexy images. It’s rated TV14! Parents are too gods damn lazy or stupid not to stop their children from watching it then too bad for them when they show something they don’t approve.
ummm… huh
I agree Chuck – this “moralizing” re sex and alcohol (guess drugs are next) seems unnecessary and takes away the – I’ll say it – “glee” from the show. Are the writers losing storylines? Why is Kurt being downplayed? The joy of the personalities (without the sudden shifts in character of Sue and Emma) are worthy of pursuing, perhaps of other student characters who get less screen time. I’m getting a bit tired of Sue’s jokes about Will’s hair, too. Seems there is a bit of writer’s block, ey?