‘Glee’ season 4, episode 10 review: Damian McGinty returns; who gets ‘married’?
We don’t know quite what it is about Christmas, but it makes “Glee” want to take some pretty massive risks when it comes to the structure of its shows. Last year, this produced that disastrous Christmas special that we still regard as a relative waste of time (especially when you remember that Kurt and Blaine’s gift-giving and Santana singing “Santa Baby” were left on the cutting-room floor).
However, this time around we had a fun, “Love, Actually”-themed hour that kept the focus on the story, and it really was funny, surprising, and it showed us something new for most of its characters. Just like the show, we are going to break this up into all of the individual parts.
Artie’s story – Damian McGinty was back! Well, at least he was for a few seconds, and the show didn’t really delve into just where he went in the first place (presumably back to Ireland). This was a fun play on “It’s a Wonderful Life,” as Artie imagined what his life would be if he wasn’t in a wheelchair. This story did not exactly cover any new ground, but who doesn’t like a look at an alternate universe from time to time?
Kurt’s story – Burt went to visit his son in New York, and the Merry Christmas went sour when he revealed that he is suffering from prostate cancer (even though he is likely going to make it through). Burt did tell Kurt that he needs to live more in the moment, and this led to another surprise: a nice sing-along between him and Blaine (who showed up after Burt called him) as a way for the two to remain close friends, even if they are not together. But they could be together again soon, considering that Blaine is hoping to go to NYADA.
Puck’s story – As it turns out, Puck is a total loser in Los Angeles. However, that didn’t stop him from pretending like he was a giant hotshot and inviting his little brother to come party with him. We’ve seen this story a hundred times before, as well, but there is something about Mark Salling that still makes it fresh. Puck may also be moving back to Lima.
Brittany and Sam’s story – We have a feeling that Brittana fans aren’t going to like this, but these two are now married! Well, sort of. Coach Beiste “married” them in order to prepare for the end of the world Mayan-style. The world didn’t end, and then the coach revealed that it was all a ruse.
Marley’s story – Sue Sylvester does have a heart of gold! After learning that her Secret Santa in Marley’s mom, and also learning about what she was going through with her daughter’s eating disorder, she decided to help pay for all of their bills. (Aww.)
Everything in the episode culminated with a singalong to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” and it was worth smiling about. There was just enough story this week to make “Glee, Actually” feel special, and the format genuinely worked. Hats off to Adam Shankman for coming on board and directing one of the stronger episodes this season.
What did you think about this episode? Be sure to share below, and you can see what is coming up next for Brittany and Santana over at the link here.
Photo: Fox
Anonymoose
January 10, 2013 @ 4:01 pm
It seems that the lemmings have synchronized their opinions regarding last year’s Christmas show. In my humble opinion, last year’s was a solid 9.5 out of 10….Was charming, had great performances —especially Blaine and Kurt’s duet and Rory Flanagan’s beautiful rendition of “Blue Christmas”— and actually had some humor in it….Who’d a thunk it….:)…Loved it. Glee Actually was about a 3.5 in my opinion. Artie’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” should have been continued throughout the entire episode and it would have been soooo much better. The show was disjointed with no connecting thread between story lines. Too much Mayan apocalypse, too much dark, dark drama and had no musical performances to write home about. How could Glee put out such mediocre renditions of Christmas songs??? And, they didn’t even let Damian McGinty, who has such a stellar voice, sing even one single note! What’s up with that?! Must have been some squabbling in the writer’s room. Only explanation for what showed up on our TV screens. Glee, we all know you can do so much better. Fix yourself….Please?…:) You’re doing your actors and the audience a disservice by producing such…..Well, you fill in the word of your choice there. Didn’t hate it, but on the other hand definitely didn’t like it. Schizophrenic episode.
angiesauve22-23
January 9, 2013 @ 10:56 am
love glee all that you all the love glee the you all that you all that you love glee goodlooking glee tour all that you all the you all the that love glee
love angie+ Alex
Dave
December 28, 2012 @ 2:56 pm
Wait a minute, last year’s Christmas special was “disastrous” but this year’s was “one of the stronger episodes this season?” Wow, when I got through watching this episode, I thought that this year’s was terrible compared to last year’s! Last year’s was fun and very memorable, while this year’s was very random, sporadic, and I felt it was the worst episode this season (and this season hasn’t been very good so far, so that’s saying a lot). Bring back Rory as well, he has a GREAT voice!
Igy
December 16, 2012 @ 12:37 am
Gee, Damian had more than one line! Guess that was supposed to be enough to keep his gynormous number of fans tuned in to see if he’d get to sing at the end. Alas, it was not so. I recorded the episode, and found that the script made virtually no sense at all, other than the big chunk devoted to Kurt, Blaine and Kurt’s dad. It was pretty much a waste of time, and confirmed for me that the show’s writing is so poor that the talent of the performers cannot overcome it or disguise it. Overall, although I enjoyed seeing Damian perform, it was otherwise a waste of time. I won’t bother again. Even the music was totally lame.
Gramps55
December 14, 2012 @ 8:31 pm
They had Damian on, but didn’t let him sing????? Both Puck and Sam got two songs each! Doesn’t make any sense. Bottom line, Glee needs Damian more than he needs Glee.
Raine
December 14, 2012 @ 4:47 pm
Not enough of Rory! He has a really great presence and seemed to have matured somewhat. He has the potential of being a really good character if there is a good storyline for this up and coming performer. If not, someone is surely missing the boat on this one.
Ed
December 13, 2012 @ 10:27 pm
Bring back Rory for the rest of the season!