The Blues Room

Last night's "Duets," starring Dianna Agron's eyes and a bunch of twentysomethings pretending to be high school kids, contained a bunch of well-done songs, authentically hilarious Kurt one-liners, and fantastic Brittany moments that actually had dramatic impact. But really, it's all about Dianna Agron's EYES. Like seriously, she had the eyes of ten women. And not in a jar--not accusing. Like, seriously. Sure, the insanely-named-even-for-this-show Chord Overstreet (who for some reason they kept addressing as "Sam") pointed out how lovely they are, but somehow they kept going and going.

On a more serious note, I now fully believe Mike and Tina should attend Asian Couples Therapy (particularly after "Sing!", which was insanely ador(k)able, and support Rachel realizing exactly what kind of uber-harpy she can be, as well as Burt calling Kurt out for his stalkery behavior around Finn and now Chord. Artie is still crazily dorky, but wastes no opportunity when the spotlight is on him. Like I said, Brittany started out MAKING OUT WITH SANTANA being her usual airheadedly hilarious self, and even the final grace note with the nose-meatball thing was both smile- and sigh-inducing. This was a better Brittany episode than the Brittany episode (as a character, not as a singer/dancer).

Also, the song selection was brilliant and wonderfully executed. Rachel/Finn doing Elton/Kiki was great, I've already mentioned "Sing!", Mercedes/Santana's "River Deep, Mountain High" was scenery-chewingly awesome, "Lucky" was full of DIANNA AGRON'S EYES, and the end mash-up was well-done, although I'll always think of Harry Groener dancing in the streets of Chicago (before he became mayor of Sunnydale) whenever I hear "Get Happy."

Best episode of Glee this season, which to be fair isn't saying all that much (its competition was three episodes, of which one is a serious dud and the other two were uneven). I have a feeling the rest of the season won't live up to this, but I'll be happy to be proven wrong.

Also, DIANNA AGRON'S EYES.

• Oh, Jane Lynch, you are quickly becoming my go-to actress when I need a laugh. How come I never discovered you before Party Down? (The one episode you did for Veronica Mars doesn't count towards that, unfortunately.)
  
• I used to not like Jayma Mays' squeaky voice (see: guest spots on Joey, How I Met Your Mother), but after her role as Charlie on Heroes and now Emma here, she is fast becoming My New TV Girlfriend.
  
• If they focus exclusively on Finn and Rachael as the lead singers and don't allow the other New Directions members time in the spotlight, I'll be a bit put off. All of them love to sing! All of them should get their chance to shine there, not just in uniform design or instrumentals. This is Glee Club, not School of Rock, and as Rachael says, Glee Club is srsbzns.
  
• Did anyone else notice and crack up when Finn mentioned his father died in Iraq "when we were fighting Osama bin Laden the first time," while the camera deliberately focused on a picture of George H.W. Bush? I didn't pick that up until a rewatch, but it won't stop jumping out at me anymore.
  
• Use of a-capella of well-known songs (Soul Bossa Nova, Moonlight Sonata, A Fifth of Beethoven [thanks, Wikipedia! I forgot the name of that song]) as BGM: Stylish and presumably budget-slashing! Clever.
  
• So the end cover of Don't Stop Believing is incredibly over-produced, ridiculously cheesy, and overall another example of the music industry ruining the SHUT UP IT'S AWESOME THAT'S WHY YOU WATCH IT WITH A FREQUENCY YOU'VE THUS FAR RESERVED FOR THE MR. ROBOTO SEQUENCE IN CHUCK

Glee makes me want to turn in my man card and float away on butterfly hearts and wings. It's got its flaws, but it also shows a ridiculous amount of promise, particularly if it can retain the buzz it got this week (INCREDIBLY SMART MOVE, promoting a musical by pairing it with the Idol finale--a little less so for making us have to wait an entire summer for the show proper, when expectations will be buzzing so hard people will think a swarm of bees is on its way). As of right now, it's a bit of comfort in these dark times when Terminator:TSCC is cancelled and Chuck won't see a new episode for another ten months or so (but at least it WILL see a new episode!).

I admit I'm a sucker for musicals, but this one comes with a pretty wry sense of humor that I love (Rachael's My Two Dads story was cute, see the Finn line mentioned above). This is one show I think I'll love as long as they keep the hits coming. However, I hope they're writing it in expectations of it only lasting two seasons (senior graduation), because I realistically don't see it playing incredibly well beyond that. But as long as it's on the air, I forsee a little happy place that will also keep my Pushing Daisies cuteness quotient in check.

In conclusion: Dooooon't stop!