Glee Season 1 Episode 16 Review

The show opens with Kurt and Mercedes in Sue Sylvester’s office as she discusses some issues she’s having with them.  First, Mercedes’ body.  She says that she’s not comfortable in the Cheerio skirts.  Kurt informs her that she doesn’t have to be embarrassed of her body but it’s the opposite for her.  She’s not embarrassed but rather doesn’t want to show too much skin and causing a *and I quote* “sex riot” *her words not mine*.  The thing is Splits Magazine *I’m assuming this is some sort of Cheerleading magazine, kind of like ESPN the magazine* has named her Coach of the last 2000 years *yeah the last 2000 years*.  They will be sending a reporter (Mr. Pendergrass) to interview her and she wants Mercedes to lose 10 lbs and be in a Fit Cheerios uniform by the next week when he arrives or she’s off the team.  She then excuses them so that she can call the Ohio Secretary of State to inform them that she will no longer need to carry ID because people should know who she is!

Later in the Teacher’s Lounge… Will confronts Sue about the Auditorium being padlocked.  Sue of course plays it off as if she had no idea that this has happened.  She has apparently made a sign up sheet for the auditorium use that she keeps folded in her waistband.  Not only that but she has the entire week already booked.  Will tells her he will see what Principal Figgins has to say about it, that’s when she drops the bomb that she is blackmailing the principal so he won’t and can’t do anything about it. Will leaves shocked.

At Glee rehearsal… Before they end rehearsal Mr. Schuester tells them that they can’t use the auditorium for the next week because the Cheerios need it to practice for the upcoming  magazine shoot.  Rachel recommends that they do a sit-in while Puck thinks that they should just torch the place.  As the club talks about what to do Mr. Schuester reminds them that they have faced adversity before and come out stronger because of it.  He tells them that he’ll look for some off campus locations that they can use instead of the auditorium.

As Class adjourns… Kurt comes up to Finn and asks his opinion on how he should redecorate his bedroom. He’s going for the Hunter’s lodge meets Tom Ford’s bedroom look.  *Yeah, that sounds like a hot mess.* Finn just kind of looks at him crazy and tells him he lives in a closet with cowboy wallpaper.  He nervously picks a pattern and walks away.

In the Cafeteria… As Mercedes is picking an item from the oh so nutritious selection of food *sarcasm* Kurt reminds her that she needs to lose 10 lbs or she’ll get kicked off the team.  When she goes to ask the two Cheerio spies how they stay so skinny they introduce her to the “Sue Sylvester Master Cleanse”.  * Get ready for it* It consists of water, maple syrup, lemon, cayenne pepper, and a dash of ipecac to induce vomiting.  When Mercedes suggests that it sounds terrible, they say they don’t care.  It’s either do that and stay on the team or don’t and get kicked off.  Quinn sees all this from the side as it happens and you can clearly see that she is feeling bad for Mercedes.

At Finn’s House…  Finn and his mom watch as all of his dad’s things are removed from the house.  As the movers ask about buying the recliner as well, Finn quickly says that it’s not for sale.  The only picture he has of him and his father is when his father is holding him as a baby in that recliner and he doesn’t want to lose that memory. He feels that is all that he has left of his father.  His mom responds that it’s just a chair and not his father.  When Finn asks her why she’s selling all of this stuff and what’s going on with her she tells him that she is seeing someone.  Not only is she seeing someone new but she thinks that she’s in love.  When he asks who it is well, *surprise surprise* it’s Kurt’s dad!!

Later that night… Will is searching around for a place for the Club to practice and finds his way to a skating rink.  When he asks around about who to talk to about renting the space he is directed to ex girlfriend April.  She insists that they sing ” Fire“ by Bruce Springsteen as a duet.  After their duet and a couples skate around the rink they have catch up on old times.  Last time we saw her she was an alcoholic on her way to rehab.  she stopped in a bar on the way there and ran into Buddy Lebowitz.  *who is Buddy lebowitz?  He’s the owner of a bunch of different strip malls in the area* She’s his new mistress and that’s how she has come to own the skating rink. He asks if the club can rehearse there since Sue is being so unreasonable about the auditorium and April quickly and enthusiastically says yes.  When he tells her that he has to leave to show his apartment so that he can find a new place to live he tells her about his divorce.  She is visibly excited that he is free to date.  *in order to get a chance to sleep with him* April decides that she wants to see the place and may want to rent it since she’s back in town and needs a place to stay. They make an appointment to meet the next day.

The next day in Coach Sylvester’s office… Coach Sylvester is having a Cheerio weigh in and it’s Mercedes’ turn.  Instead of losing weight she actually gained 2 lbs.  Now she has only 4 days to lose the weight or she’s done as a cheerio.  Coach Sylvester tells her to do whatever it takes to lose the weight.

In between Classes… Finn catches up with Kurt in the hall.  He’s trying to figure out what’s going on with their parents dating.  Kurt informs him that they met at a parent teacher night about a month or so prior.  He conveniently left out the part where he introduced and practically hooked them up.  This is all Kurt’s plan to be with Finn.  He’s already picked out furniture and all.  Finn isn’t having it and walks off disgusted.

Back in Class… Mr. Scheuster delivers the news to the club that they’ll be practicing in a roller rink.  This does not go over well with them.  Kurt feels that the group just needs to find a sense of place. He then attempts and fails miserably at singing *My most favorite Luther Vandross song ever!!* “Still in Love (A House is Not A Home)“.  *I’m sorry but nobody can do that song justice except Luther*.  It’s clear that Kurt is singing to Finn, as Mr. Scheuster’s mind wanders off into thoughts of his own lost loves.  When Finn sings his portion he is singing to an Urn with his dad’s ashes in it as it sits in the recliner next to that portrait of them.

Later that night… April arrives at Will’s apartment with an overnight bag.  When asked about it she says that she needs to settle into the place by staying overnight to see if the energy is right for her.  Will is visibly uncomfortable about the situation but she assures him that it’s only one night, so he agrees and gives has her sleep on the couch.  As she is getting dressed for bed she sings “One less Bell to Answer” by 5th Dimension featuring Marilyn McCoo.  Will eventually joins in as he prepares for bed as well.  He pauses at one point to look at a picture on a table of him and a woman that looks like Emma but could have been Terri.  As they both separately sing and prepare for bed. He comes into the living room to tuck her in.  After this she transitions into “Still in love” by Luther Vandross.  She decides not to sleep alone and goes into the room with Will to sleep next to him.  They then do a mash-up of the two songs as they lay in bed together.

At dinner… Finn and Kurt accompany their parents on a date.  Kurt begins to make a toast to the momentous occasion.  Finn is visibly down and not into this couple.  Kurt’s father tries to make Finn feel more comfortable by asking him about sports. When they realize that they both love football, Finn seems to cheer up while all Kurt is concerned about are the new jeans he got Finn’s mom Carol.  Kurt’s father and Finn begin to bond more as they talk about going to football games together sometime.  Finn’s mom is happy that he’s coming out of his shell but Kurt seems to be hurt that his father is bonding so fast with Finn. *More on that later*

Later that night… Kurt is taking down the different color swatches of the wall that he was using to come up with ideas on how to redecorate the house when his father comes down to talk with him.  He’s pretty snappy to his dad because he was bonding so closely with Finn and he never was that tight with him.  His father reassures him that he loves him regardless and a little “guy talk” with another kid is not going to change anything.  Kurt starts to reconsider his decision to help his dad start dating again.

The next day at school during lunch… While Mercedes is sitting having lunch with Artie and Tina she is being really snippy.  They try and tell her that it’s not healthy to be drinking “Sue Sylvester’s Master Cleanse”.  When she starts to yell at them about how hard it is to be a cheerio and even to fit in at the school she begins to hallucinate.  Tina becomes ice cream on a cone and Artie becomes a piece of chocolate cake.  As she walks off the other students all look like food to her.  She then faints.

In the Nurses office… The nurse tells her that her blood pressure was low causing her to faint and goes to call her mom to let her know.  Quinn is in the office and has a talk with  Mercedes about what’s going on with her.  She tells her that she has been in the same situation before and knows how she feels.  She tells Mercedes how lucky she is to be so comfortable in her own body and not to let Coach Sylvester take that away from her, she then reassures her that she is beautiful no matter what. *Message!!!*

Later at the Rink…  As the club does some skating after practice Will says that he doesn’t feel like things are working out.  April just brushes it off and suggests that she close up early and that they rent a movie and snuggle up for the night. He doesn’t want to make it a habit of them being together since he’s in the middle of a divorce and she’s a mistress to someone else.  After all this he offers her a place to stay for the night, she declines and says she is going over to Buddy’s to break it off.  They hug it out as she walks away.

The next day… In between classes, Kurt comes up to Finn and tells him that they need to find a way to break up their parents.  Kurt felt left out when Finn was talking to his dad.  They agree to try and put an end to the relationship.

At Finn’s house…. Finn takes drastic measures first by attempting to flush his dad’s ashes down the toilet.  His mom stops him and he tells her he’s only doing what she’s going to do since she’s dating now. She’s on to him and quips back that they can pretend to be a family and sets the urn in the recliner, turns the tv on and begins talking to the ashes.  When he says that she is being crazy she comes right back that he is being selfish by not letting her date and try to move on.  She tearfully confesses that she takes the urn with her to bed every night and talks to him about what’s going on with her day and asking for his advice, while waiting on his laugh for 16 years.

At the Pep Rally the next school day…  The Cheerios are getting set to perform when Sue Sylvester walks in and sits next to the reporter.  She finds out that her story is not some little fluff piece for the magazine but actually a hard hitting investigation into student athletics.    The Cheerios then enter and get ready to perform. As they set up and wait a few seconds before starting to *”build the tension” per Coach Sylvester* Mercedes walks out and up to the mic to address the crowd.  As the rest of the student body look to her she tells them that their self image and self worth is more important than anything as she tells her story.  She then begins to Beautifully sing “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera. *Very heart touching and warming performance* The Glee members join in as she gives a masterful performance while Coach Sylvester and the reporter watch.  He then tells a shocked Coach that he will finish the interview with her in her office tomorrow.

The next day in Coach Sylvester’s office… Coach Sylvester comes in to try and explain what happened at the pep rally but he stops her.  He explains to her that at first he didn’t like her and thought she was a bit racist.  He thought that he would have a story that would expose her as a coward and a cheater but was wrong.  Coach Sylvester is not surprisingly shocked.  He goes on to say that she has put together a team that represents every shape and size singing about empowerment and inclusion telling everyone that it’s okay to be exactly as the way you are.  He feels that she is a visionary and may be redefining cheer leading.  She of course regroups and spins it into something that she came up with.  he assures her that this is a great thing and when his story comes out it can only mean bigger things for her.

Later on that night… Back at Finn’s house, Kurt’s dad drops by.  He was invited by Finn’s mom to come over and have a man to man talk with him.  Kurt’s father goes on to say that there is no way that he can fill his dad’s shoes but that he loves his mom and promises never to hurt her or try to replace his dad.  After all this Finn, doesn’t have anything left to say and invites him to sit in his Dad’s chair to watch a basketball game.  Kurt is watching from the window and begins to cry as he sees his father bonding with Finn.

the next day at school… April tells Will that she took his advice and told Buddy to either ditch his wife or she’s leaving.  Guess what?  The old man has a stroke and dies!!  To ensure that April doesn’t go to the newspapers with the story of the affair, the wife pays her $2 million to keep quiet!  So what does she decide to do?  Go to Broadway and start an all white production of The Wiz!! * You know the classic with Diana ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, Nipsy Russell as the Tin Man, Ted Ross as the Lion,and Lena Horn as Glenda the good witch, and who can forget Richard Pryor as the Wiz!! Sidenote; The Graffiti kids were way way way way way better then the Lollipop guild!!!* Not only is she leaving but her parting gift is that she bought them the auditorium!! *You Principal Figgins is all about the budget!!* It is not called the “April Rhodes Civic Auditorium.

The final performance and probably the best one of the night is April singing  “Home” as sung by Diana Ross in The Wiz.  You  should also click here and here to check out Stephanie Mills’s version.  In my opinion she does a much better job at it but since they were talking about The Wiz I added Diana Ross’ Version.