Episode Review: GLEE, "Home"

This week's Glee had its share of ups and downs, but mostly ups even though it did have a pretty heavy-handed, after-school special vibe to it

For me, the stand out storyline was Kurt and Finn dealing with their parents dating one another. Essentially, Kurt introduced his dad to Finn's mom with the hopes that they'll end up together which means he would have the chance to get to know Finn better. Unfortunately for Kurt, the plan backfires when his dad starts talking sports with Finn thus leaving him on the outside.

One of the highlights of the show is Kurt's relationship with his father because they love each other unconditionally, but they're still trying to figure out how to relate to one another. Their father-son moments feel organic and real, and the scenes involving Finn and his mother were also powerful. Plus, their storyline was a great way to show the joys and pains of being a blended family in a thoughtful, but still humorous way.

The Mercedes, body image storyline was good, but we've seen it before. There are plenty of shows, movies, and songs about not being happy in one's own skin and the pressures of society to fit in to a certain mold. It was only a matter of time until Glee tackled the same issue head on. Kudos to Quinn for stepping up and being supportive of Mercedes. She continues to show the most growth out of all of the characters, and it's been nice seeing her turn from bitchy queen bee to caring teammate/friend. The "Beautiful" rendtition towards the end was a little cliched, but I have to admit that I teared up a little. I'm also really interested to see what happens with Sue since she got credit for Mercedes' idea. Based on her reactions, I'm thinking she'll be coming clean sooner than later.

The Will/April subplot was the only element that felt off to me. Their extended sleepover duet just seemed odd and out of place. Part of me thought it was going to be another fake out like last week's "Like a Virgin" montage, but apparently they did sleep in the same bed together. Huh? I know that they wanted Kristin Chenoweth back, but I wish they had given her a storyline that made sense. While their scenes did give us an understanding of where Will is emotionally, I just couldn't shake the wonkiness of it all.

Other odds and ends: Not having a Rachel heavy storyline was a nice change of pace, but I did miss Lea Michele this week. Also, Brittany and Santana continue to steal scenes, especially when they locked their pinkies and Santana put her head on Brittany's shoulder. There are some great stories coming from those two; you can just tell.

The musical numbers were not as solid as last week's Madonna episode, but that was a hard show to follow. We also got more character driven storylines this week, and the music did a good job of supporting the narrative, so it's a win-win. "Home" was a pretty strong effort, but it didn't reach the pinnacle of glamor that this show is capable of.

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