GLEEkscape Recap: Dream On (directed by Joss Whedon)
I know what you’re thinking, two reviews of Glee in two months. What is becoming of Geekscape? Frankly, I love this show; I’m down right geeky about this show. So I, for one, think it belongs on our site. Secondly, last night’s episode was directed by Geekscapist favorite and Avengers helmer, Joss Whedon. Never one to come empty handed to a party, Joss also brought along his Dr. Horrible star Neil Patrick Harris. Did the show measure up to it’s massive expectations? You bet your show choir lovin’ ass it did.
Glee rarely gets a stand alone episode. It’s formatted like a soap opera in that way and it can sometimes make the show a little to dense to jump into and out of. Luckily, last nights episode didn’t get bogged down in too many of the overarching story lines. Joss got to direct possibly the most straightforward Glee episode that has been scripted so far.
“This is going to be legen… wait for it… darily underwhelming.”
The episode starts with school board member and former Shue classmate Bryan Ryan (Neil Patrick Harris) coming into town to shut down the glee club. What thin excuse does he have for doing such a heinous deed? Apparently Mr. Ryan was given hopes and dreams by participating in glee in highschool, and when those dreams never came true, Bryan Ryan became a bitter black hole of evil. EEEEEEEVVVVVVIIILLLLL!!!! *cough*
Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, NPH. Bryan Ryan is an unfunny combination of Barney Stinson and Dr. Horrible. I loves me some Neil Patrick just as much as the next man, (gay pun not intended) but in this episode the only thing I was thankful for were his singing chops. I could guess it might be difficult to create an endearing character in a short guest appearance, but Mr. Harris is clearly in cruise control on this one. Even Bryan Ryan’s interactions with Jane Lynch’s cantankerous Sue Sylvester came up short. His redeeming performance? A duet of Aerosmith’s Dream On with Matthew Morrison as an audition for the role of Jean Valjean in a local production of Les Miserables.
Whedon’s strongest talent as a tv director so far is not forcing something in his episodes that would feel unnatural to the series. His episodes don’t stand out, and as many industry folk will tell you (if you talk to industry folk), not leaving a mark almost takes more skill than leaving one. He did it well on the Office, and he certainly does a good job of it here.
Why do they always make the handicap kid sit in the photos?
The aspects of the episode that weren’t just one offs, like NPH, were handled so well in fact, I sincerely hope Whedon returns to Glee. Whedon is the first director to choose angles and edits and lenses that don’t make Glee look and feel like just a High School Musical clone. The two other major story arcs handled in this episode are wheelchair bound Artie learning not to get his hopes up and Rachel beginning her path to discovering the identity of her mother.
Artie is easily a geek favorite in the mix of glee kids. Since they elected not to have any overweight nerds in the cast (show me one high school show choir that doesn’t have four fat guys that love a capella, I dare you), he’s the closest character to one of us we have to root for. In this ep he dares to imagine what it would be like if he ever left his chair, culminating in the most well choreographed and shot dance number we’ve had on Glee to date. Made all the more awesome as it was set to the Safety Dance, I shit you not. Ultimately the character is forced to face his limitations, but Kevin McHale’s acting shines as Artie realizes he’s not as okay with his disability as he once led everyone to believe.
The Broadway nerds just had a Wicked Spring Awakening in their Pants
The last portion of the episode was dedicated to Rachel Berry realizing she had a desire to find her mother. Anyone who’s been watching this second volume of Glee episodes can guess who it is, but for those playing catch up, New Directions biggest competition, Vocal Adrenaline, is coached by Idina Menzel. You put Idina Menzel next to Rachel Berry’s Lea Michele and they are eerily close to one another in looks. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where the producers were going with this when they cast Menzel. The way the show finally comes clean gets pretty emotional; the two perform a flawless duet of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables (many may remember it as that Susan Boyle song).
The two other tunes this go ’round were NPH and Matther Morrison on Billy Joel’s Piano Man, and Kevin McHale busting out Dream a Little Dream. *GASP* An episode of Glee got by with only one song from Lea Michelle and no Finn? I hope that a sign of things to come. It was really nice to see Artie get two whole songs to himself.
Quinn is barely in this episode. Doesn’t mean we can’t still appreciate her. *SIGH*
Save this cheerleader, save the world.
Overall, the episode was near flawless and by far one of the most entertaining hours of Glee produced so far. Joss Whedon’s approach to the show gave Glee a fresh vibrance I hope carries over to other episodes still to come. Overlooking Neil Patrick Harris’ phoning it in, I definitely recommend checking it out on Itunes or Hulu.
And if the Safety Dance video starts making the rounds, definitely give it a look see… Uh oh. What’s that? We’ve got it for you right here! How long ’til we’ve all learned the new Safety Dance!
