Glee “Ballad”

Between this week’s episode and the spectacular “Wheels,” it appears that Glee has finally figured out what type of show it wants to be. “Ballad” is notable for a couple of great moments that helped this episode rise above its ever-present weaknesses. The first is Rachel’s crush on Mr. Schue, which is hilariously executed, if only for the crazy eyes that Rachel is a little too good at. The second would be the Finn/Quinn baby drama that, for this episode at least, provided some real drama and did not make me want to gouge my eyes out.

Spoilers after the jump.

I think this episode, more than “Wheels,” embodies what we are going to be getting from Glee on a week-to-week basis. A show that is maddeningly inconsistent, shifting from the sublime to the painfully awkward within the same scene. Just watch the scene wear Finn is trying to tell Quinn’s parents that she’s pregnant in song and try not cringe by the time he reaches the second verse. You can’t do it. And it’s not the good kind of intentional awkward that this show can do well, it’s just painful, obvious, and dragged out beyond the point of any possible enjoyment. The same can be said of Schue’s mash-up that he sings to Emma and Rachel. This show has a habit of being pretty literal in its song choices, but this was a bit much.

What we saw in this episode though were the great moments being able to overcome the weaknesses of the episode. Most notably, the scenes where Finn’s and Quinn’s parents learned about their impending grandparentdom were stunning. Finn’s mother, consoling him while trying to hide her disappointment with her son, absolutely nailed it every second she was on-screen. She was a character who, in the pilot, appeared to be a slightly pathetic punchline, but here she quickly became a real person.

Every week I am going to be hoping for an episode as good as “Wheels,” but if the show can be as intermittently brilliant as it was this week, I will be very satisfied.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 22nd, 2009 at 6:00 pm and is filed under Leisure, Vox Populi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.