Recap: “Mash-Up”

Slushies! Everywhere! (spoilers ahead).

This week, Will tries to write a mash-up for Emma and Ken’s wedding while struggling with his desire to steal her away. The popular crossover members of glee suffer in McKinley High’s social hierarchy, and the football boys question their commitment to New Directions. Puck and Rachel make out, Sue Sylvester falls in love (!?), and Ken almost kills glee.

Musical Numbers

“Bust a Move” by Young MC

This number is completely unjustified plot wise, but it’s fun overall. We think it’s kinda inapprops for Mr. S. to sing “a chick walks by you wish you could sex her” to Quinn, and we’re not sure what’s eating Kurt, but Will’s breakdancing is delightfully retro. The kids are fun singing backup, and we like that Matt and Mike are getting to dance plenty lately. FlyBy’s issue with the number is that it’s very… Acafellas-y. And we were not a fan of that side project. The show became all about Will instead of the kids, who are more entertaining, and they kept having Broadway star Matthew Morrison sing in entirely the wrong genre. We’ll let it slide; maybe it’s a one-time thing.

B

“Thong Song” by Sisqó featuring Foxy Brown

Nope. It’s literally like two minutes later and he’s at it again, mugging all over the classroom and not even letting Emma dance, which is supposedly the point of the scene. Instead it’s all about him – and Ken’s right, Will’s messing with Emma just because he’s “getting high off of her fawning over” him. “It’s the darn Thong Song!” says Emma, when the number ends poorly. “I don’t think it’s the song,” chuckles Will. Yeah, we don’t either. We’ve changed our minds, Emma. Plz marry Ken ASAP.

F

“What a Girl Wants” by Xtina

Lovely. This acoustic little scene is completely believable. It’s solid and surprisingly uncomplicated, although we loved the irony of Rachel singing this to Puck, who most definitely does not, in fact, “know exactly / What a girl wants / What a girl needs.”

B+/A-

“Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond

So we admit the first time we watched this we thought it was sluggish, sparse, and dead. Turns out the original is, too; FlyBy’s just used to hearing it filled out with the energetic chorus of a thousand drunken fans. We think the song could have been used better in a rowdy, celebratory scene (post-sectionals?), but this is a worthy acoustic cover. Puck completely disregards Will's mash-up assignment, but if it helps a further another love rectangle, then sure, why not. Also, Santana’s look of disgust is pure gold. Quinn’s shell-shock, not so much.

B+

The Lindy Hop (dance) as popularized by Prohibition

It’s Sue Sylvester. Dancing.

A++++++

“I Could Have Danced All Night” as made famous by Julie Andrews & Audrey Hepburn

Emma stuns in the most gorgeous wedding dress ever. She’s like a Disney princess. She can sing! She can dance! Who knew? (Unless they dubbed her like Audrey, but we wouldn’t want to know. If this is a lie, it’s a lie we really want to believe.) The point-of-view shots are too claustrophobic and goofy, but otherwise this is just magic. As if we hadn’t been completely in love with Emma before. Good gracious.

A-

Missing Plotlines

Sue’s Corner

She can dance! She can fall in love! Who knew? This from a woman who thinks “intimacy has no place in a marriage.” This week we also learned that while Sue was scarred by walking in on her parents – “it was like seeing two walruses wrestling” – she is capable of some lovely innuendo over a board game – “You sunk my battleship, Rob, and you sunk it HARD. [makes explosion noise].” The whole love storyline happens way too suddenly and ends too quickly for us, but we enjoyed it as an excuse to see her dance and wear a spectacular zoot suit, and we were comforted in seeing her mean and bitter again by the end. Quinn without the Cheerios!? Unthinkable. But if Sue thinks you’re “disgrace,” you’re a disgrace.

Best line of the week: “If it is one minute late, I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. And then on some dark, cold night, I will steal away into your home and punch you in the face.”

The Short Version

Here’s the thing. Glee’s weakest moments have been when the show focuses too much on the grown-ups. “Acafellas” was cringe-worthy, and “Vitamin D,” while fun, fell a little flat between the spectacle of “Rhodes” and the high drama of “Throwdown.” This episode is somewhere in the middle, with entirely too much Will Schuester but mercifully less out-of-his-genre antics than in episode three. Still, we bring your attention to Best Week Ever’s current petition on the embarrassing state of affairs. We’re also troubled by the continuing trend of improbable, sudden emotional developments. Sue and Rob made a great storyline, just like Kurt and Mercedes, but why do the writers insist on cramming great setups into single episodes? The show needs more room for the character arcs to breathe. On the pro side, we liked all the fashion this episode, and especially enjoyed the scandal of seeing Quinn in street clothes. Take notes, everyone: clear raincoats and horrendous red zoot suits are in, trains on dresses are out.

Overall: B-. This snoozer of an episode almost got a straight C, but Emma and Sue are just too entertaining.