Let me open by saying I went in with really high expectations for this episode. Like, "Power of Madonna" high. I'm a massive NPH fan, and while I am not into every one of Joss Whedon's sci-fi projects, I did absolutely love Dr. Horrible. So, yeah, I was looking for a brilliant episode.
I'm not sure it was. NPH's character did not really fit, and he, himself, was treated too low-profile--this was, by no means, the "tribute" to his career that the last episode with Kristin Chenoweth was. He had some funny lines, but it is hardly as if you're going to be repeating everything he said the next day. Even an encounter with Sue, while funny, felt like it could have been way better (she does have a few great rants, though).
Another thing worth noting is that there seems to be a switch back into "show tunes" or, at least, a Broadway style of performing songs. I almost feel like Ryan Murphy never wanted this to be a pop song show and only did that to hook viewers; now that they're hooked, he's pulling out more musical theatre numbers. You get "I Dreamed a Dream," and even "Dream On" is, without giving too much away in this recap portion, connected to Les Mis and WAY over-the-top.
That kind of song seems to work really well with NPH, but he definitely comes off like a "show" singer--if you're just into modern pop, you're not going to really like his performances the way you would something like a "Jessie's Girl" or "My Life Would Suck Without You."
The storyline itself is also fairly forced and pedestrian. They don't write enough depth into the NPH character, so he does not come off as any sort of 'rival' or 'villain' the way the promotional copy for the episode implies. He's pretty much just an excessively emotional guy who likes to sing.
As for the other storylines, there is one involving Rachel and Jesse and one involving Artie and Tina. The Rachel one is helpful in that it actually develops a long-term story arc and finally brings to light a "plot twist" that was revealed earlier in the season and then never addressed again.
The Artie-Tina storyline is kind of blah. I get that it's nice to focus on the problems facing other characters, but it is another one of these issues in which you do not feel anything NEW is being developed (kind of like how "Laringytis" rehashed the same old, albeit very emotional and entertaining, stuff between Kurt and his dad). To me, these sweet, dramatic storylines are going to get really stale if the writers do not find ways to develop them. We get that Artie occasionally struggles to deal with being in a wheel chair--what else is going on in his life?
All in all, it's "Glee," so it's good, but this is not the kind of episode people will rave about (unless they approach it with an overt bias for NPH and Joss).
Also, does anyone know why they changed the name of NPH's character? I was pretty sure it was supposed to be "Bryan Adam" (as in, a shot at Bryan Adams for not licensing his songs to the show), but it's now Bryan Ryan.
NOTHING BUT SPOILERS:
Bryan/Will storyline - Bryan is a board member doing an evaluation of the school's extracurriculars. While Figgins treats it as a formality, Bryan makes it very clear that he anticipates making cuts, notably to glee club.
Bryan gives a speech in front of the club and basically tells them that their dreams (particularly in show business) are never going to come true (the only way their dreams will come true is if their dreams are to stay in Ohio and work a mid-management job at a healthcare company).
When Will knew Bryan in high school, Bryan was the older, more confident star of glee club and basically had that 'all the guys want to be you, all the girls want to be with you' persona. So Will's a bit annoyed and unsettled by Bryan's attitude.
They go out for a drink, and we find out that all the minor success Bryan had in theatre and music was fleeting, and he ended up having to take on a dead-end job. He so misses his glory days as a performer that he regularly tells his wife he's going on business trips so he has an excuse to hit up Broadway shows.
We also learn that while he was able to ALMOST have every girl he wanted and thus inspired jealousy and admiration from people like Will, he ironically was in love with Terri in high school and was never able to make that happen. Will acknowledges that they were married but it did not work out.
Seeing how depressed Bryan is and that the depression is why he is so anti-Glee, he decides to remotivate Bryan. They duet over "Piano Man" and then decide to both audition for a local production of Les Miserables.
Their competitive streak comes back as we find out they are both auditioning for Jean Valjean and both want to use "Dream On" for their audition. The casting director notes that he's in a rush so they have to do it as a duet.
Recharged, Bryan is now a believer in Glee and decides that he will instead cut from the Cheerios' massive budget. Sue goes on a funny, absurdist rant about how she's sick of athletic programs losing funding to the arts. They get into an argument and both decide that they're extremely turned on and want to have angry sex--the budget cuts, nonetheless, are still going to happen.
Following his decision, we see that Bryan took Cheerios' funding to support Glee club, buying them new outfits and the sheet music to every Broadway musical over the last 50 years. As he's handing everything out, Sue comes in and strategically congratulates WILL on getting the lead in Les Mis. She also congratulates Bryan on receiving the role of "townsperson," noting that he even has a LINE! He gets to say, "Hooray!" Bryan immediately takes back his gifts and decides to cut Glee.
Eventually, Will arranges that he'll give up his part in the musical to Bryan in exchange for him not cutting the budget. Bryan gets super-excited about getting to star in the play.
Rachel/Jesse storyline - During a discussion about their dreams, Rachel says that she's always wanted to meet her mother but that asking her dads about it would probably hurt their feelings. She's also very nervous and insecure about what her mom was like. Jesse's very interested in helping her (he's forgiven her for the Run Joey Run incident and is essentially her boyfriend again).
At first, her insecurities overcome her desire for truth, and she starts coming up with wacky theories about how different Broadway actresses could conceivably be her mother. Jesse brings her back to reality--and they decide to look through her dads' archives in the basement (which is a "Rachel Berry museum") to find clues.
While Rachel is looking through the archives, Jesse blatantly slips a cassette into the pile. Mentions the tape to Rachel - "From mother to daughter...what is this?" He wants to play it, but she's afraid (this is the clip you see on the commercial - what if she can't sing...or worse, what if she's better than me?)
We then see Jesse and Shelby have a rendezvous in a parking lot. They finally outright SAY that Jesse was on a mission to get close to Rachel, although Jesse admits he's starting to like her (it should be noted that Jesse was supposed to BEFRIEND Rachel, not seduce her). Anyway, we find out that at least one of the reasons Jesse was sent to infiltrate New Directions was because SHELBY IS RACHEL'S MOTHER.
Shelby made a deal with Rachel's dads to give up the baby in exchange for money that would help her get started with a showbiz career in New York. That obviously did not pan out, and throughout everything, she still longs to get close to the daughter she gave up. Unfortunately, under the terms of the deal, she cannot approach Rachel until she turns 18 (and we find out Rachel was born in 1994--which is all kinds of ridiculous), so she needs to make Rachel seek her out.
Shelby says that Jesse's work is almost done and that he can soon come back to Vocal Adrenaline.
Anyway, Jesse eventually convinces Rachel to listen to the tape. It's Shelby singing "I Dreamed a Dream," and they end up duetting in a fantasy sequence--Shelby is imagining from her car, Rachel from her bedroom.
Artie/Tina storyline - Again in the "dreams" theme, Tina feels sympathy for Artie, who wonders how his handicap will affect his showbiz dreams. She decides to include him in a tap dance number she's working on, but it's clear he can't really do it. He also tries to walk on crutches (not exactly crutches - those metal things old people use where you like put your hands through loops in the top and walk) and fails miserably. He's embarrassed and feels pathetic.
Tina tries to boost his spirits by finding some experimental research that suggests a surgery might soon be able to repair his condition and help him walk. He's dismissive at first, but then he starts to get more optimistic, and he even has a fantasy sequence in which he can walk and then leads a group of people at a mall (as well as Mike and Matt) in a rendition of "Safety Dance."
An overly-optimistic Artie meets with Emma; he seeks her guidance as he's wondering how the fact that he'll soon be walking again will change his lifestyle. In one of the best Emma scenes to date, she has to give him an unfortunate reality check--that even if these experimental procedures prove successful, they will take decades to get established and that he, personally, will not receive the benefits of the research for a long time, if ever.
As he and Tina talk about their tap dance number again, he breaks her optimism by noting that he's never going to walk again--and that's okay. He's also never going to dunk a basketball. He recommends that she use one of the better dancers for her number, as she shouldn't have to suffer just because he can't dance.
Performing in front of the club, she says that her partner will be Mike Chang (even though Artie gave her the go-ahead to use a different partner, his facial expression seems to suggest that he was still hurt that she had to pick another partner). It cuts to a version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (Artie sings, just doesn't dance), with Tina and Mike engaging in a tap & non-tap dance combo number. She's having the time of her life, while Artie has to look on, a bit crushed (Quinn rubs his shoulder to comfort him).
Regarding this storyline, note that while Artie was clearly upset about the situation, I don't think it's necessarily going to build into any long-term storyline. I think the idea was just for Artie to be realistic about what was going on.
Source: gleeforum.com
I'm not sure it was. NPH's character did not really fit, and he, himself, was treated too low-profile--this was, by no means, the "tribute" to his career that the last episode with Kristin Chenoweth was. He had some funny lines, but it is hardly as if you're going to be repeating everything he said the next day. Even an encounter with Sue, while funny, felt like it could have been way better (she does have a few great rants, though).
Another thing worth noting is that there seems to be a switch back into "show tunes" or, at least, a Broadway style of performing songs. I almost feel like Ryan Murphy never wanted this to be a pop song show and only did that to hook viewers; now that they're hooked, he's pulling out more musical theatre numbers. You get "I Dreamed a Dream," and even "Dream On" is, without giving too much away in this recap portion, connected to Les Mis and WAY over-the-top.
That kind of song seems to work really well with NPH, but he definitely comes off like a "show" singer--if you're just into modern pop, you're not going to really like his performances the way you would something like a "Jessie's Girl" or "My Life Would Suck Without You."
The storyline itself is also fairly forced and pedestrian. They don't write enough depth into the NPH character, so he does not come off as any sort of 'rival' or 'villain' the way the promotional copy for the episode implies. He's pretty much just an excessively emotional guy who likes to sing.
As for the other storylines, there is one involving Rachel and Jesse and one involving Artie and Tina. The Rachel one is helpful in that it actually develops a long-term story arc and finally brings to light a "plot twist" that was revealed earlier in the season and then never addressed again.
The Artie-Tina storyline is kind of blah. I get that it's nice to focus on the problems facing other characters, but it is another one of these issues in which you do not feel anything NEW is being developed (kind of like how "Laringytis" rehashed the same old, albeit very emotional and entertaining, stuff between Kurt and his dad). To me, these sweet, dramatic storylines are going to get really stale if the writers do not find ways to develop them. We get that Artie occasionally struggles to deal with being in a wheel chair--what else is going on in his life?
All in all, it's "Glee," so it's good, but this is not the kind of episode people will rave about (unless they approach it with an overt bias for NPH and Joss).
Also, does anyone know why they changed the name of NPH's character? I was pretty sure it was supposed to be "Bryan Adam" (as in, a shot at Bryan Adams for not licensing his songs to the show), but it's now Bryan Ryan.
NOTHING BUT SPOILERS:
Bryan/Will storyline - Bryan is a board member doing an evaluation of the school's extracurriculars. While Figgins treats it as a formality, Bryan makes it very clear that he anticipates making cuts, notably to glee club.
Bryan gives a speech in front of the club and basically tells them that their dreams (particularly in show business) are never going to come true (the only way their dreams will come true is if their dreams are to stay in Ohio and work a mid-management job at a healthcare company).
When Will knew Bryan in high school, Bryan was the older, more confident star of glee club and basically had that 'all the guys want to be you, all the girls want to be with you' persona. So Will's a bit annoyed and unsettled by Bryan's attitude.
They go out for a drink, and we find out that all the minor success Bryan had in theatre and music was fleeting, and he ended up having to take on a dead-end job. He so misses his glory days as a performer that he regularly tells his wife he's going on business trips so he has an excuse to hit up Broadway shows.
We also learn that while he was able to ALMOST have every girl he wanted and thus inspired jealousy and admiration from people like Will, he ironically was in love with Terri in high school and was never able to make that happen. Will acknowledges that they were married but it did not work out.
Seeing how depressed Bryan is and that the depression is why he is so anti-Glee, he decides to remotivate Bryan. They duet over "Piano Man" and then decide to both audition for a local production of Les Miserables.
Their competitive streak comes back as we find out they are both auditioning for Jean Valjean and both want to use "Dream On" for their audition. The casting director notes that he's in a rush so they have to do it as a duet.
Recharged, Bryan is now a believer in Glee and decides that he will instead cut from the Cheerios' massive budget. Sue goes on a funny, absurdist rant about how she's sick of athletic programs losing funding to the arts. They get into an argument and both decide that they're extremely turned on and want to have angry sex--the budget cuts, nonetheless, are still going to happen.
Following his decision, we see that Bryan took Cheerios' funding to support Glee club, buying them new outfits and the sheet music to every Broadway musical over the last 50 years. As he's handing everything out, Sue comes in and strategically congratulates WILL on getting the lead in Les Mis. She also congratulates Bryan on receiving the role of "townsperson," noting that he even has a LINE! He gets to say, "Hooray!" Bryan immediately takes back his gifts and decides to cut Glee.
Eventually, Will arranges that he'll give up his part in the musical to Bryan in exchange for him not cutting the budget. Bryan gets super-excited about getting to star in the play.
Rachel/Jesse storyline - During a discussion about their dreams, Rachel says that she's always wanted to meet her mother but that asking her dads about it would probably hurt their feelings. She's also very nervous and insecure about what her mom was like. Jesse's very interested in helping her (he's forgiven her for the Run Joey Run incident and is essentially her boyfriend again).
At first, her insecurities overcome her desire for truth, and she starts coming up with wacky theories about how different Broadway actresses could conceivably be her mother. Jesse brings her back to reality--and they decide to look through her dads' archives in the basement (which is a "Rachel Berry museum") to find clues.
While Rachel is looking through the archives, Jesse blatantly slips a cassette into the pile. Mentions the tape to Rachel - "From mother to daughter...what is this?" He wants to play it, but she's afraid (this is the clip you see on the commercial - what if she can't sing...or worse, what if she's better than me?)
We then see Jesse and Shelby have a rendezvous in a parking lot. They finally outright SAY that Jesse was on a mission to get close to Rachel, although Jesse admits he's starting to like her (it should be noted that Jesse was supposed to BEFRIEND Rachel, not seduce her). Anyway, we find out that at least one of the reasons Jesse was sent to infiltrate New Directions was because SHELBY IS RACHEL'S MOTHER.
Shelby made a deal with Rachel's dads to give up the baby in exchange for money that would help her get started with a showbiz career in New York. That obviously did not pan out, and throughout everything, she still longs to get close to the daughter she gave up. Unfortunately, under the terms of the deal, she cannot approach Rachel until she turns 18 (and we find out Rachel was born in 1994--which is all kinds of ridiculous), so she needs to make Rachel seek her out.
Shelby says that Jesse's work is almost done and that he can soon come back to Vocal Adrenaline.
Anyway, Jesse eventually convinces Rachel to listen to the tape. It's Shelby singing "I Dreamed a Dream," and they end up duetting in a fantasy sequence--Shelby is imagining from her car, Rachel from her bedroom.
Artie/Tina storyline - Again in the "dreams" theme, Tina feels sympathy for Artie, who wonders how his handicap will affect his showbiz dreams. She decides to include him in a tap dance number she's working on, but it's clear he can't really do it. He also tries to walk on crutches (not exactly crutches - those metal things old people use where you like put your hands through loops in the top and walk) and fails miserably. He's embarrassed and feels pathetic.
Tina tries to boost his spirits by finding some experimental research that suggests a surgery might soon be able to repair his condition and help him walk. He's dismissive at first, but then he starts to get more optimistic, and he even has a fantasy sequence in which he can walk and then leads a group of people at a mall (as well as Mike and Matt) in a rendition of "Safety Dance."
An overly-optimistic Artie meets with Emma; he seeks her guidance as he's wondering how the fact that he'll soon be walking again will change his lifestyle. In one of the best Emma scenes to date, she has to give him an unfortunate reality check--that even if these experimental procedures prove successful, they will take decades to get established and that he, personally, will not receive the benefits of the research for a long time, if ever.
As he and Tina talk about their tap dance number again, he breaks her optimism by noting that he's never going to walk again--and that's okay. He's also never going to dunk a basketball. He recommends that she use one of the better dancers for her number, as she shouldn't have to suffer just because he can't dance.
Performing in front of the club, she says that her partner will be Mike Chang (even though Artie gave her the go-ahead to use a different partner, his facial expression seems to suggest that he was still hurt that she had to pick another partner). It cuts to a version of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (Artie sings, just doesn't dance), with Tina and Mike engaging in a tap & non-tap dance combo number. She's having the time of her life, while Artie has to look on, a bit crushed (Quinn rubs his shoulder to comfort him).
Regarding this storyline, note that while Artie was clearly upset about the situation, I don't think it's necessarily going to build into any long-term storyline. I think the idea was just for Artie to be realistic about what was going on.
Source: gleeforum.com
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