Glee: Home

April: "Will Schuester?!? I just had a sex dream about you!"

I was pleasantly surprised by "Home". To be honest, my expectations were low. Actually - I don't know what I expected. Whether you loved it or hated it, you have to admit that "The Power of Madonna" was a dynamic explosion of pop culture energy. How could they possibly follow that crazy episode?

The writers were smart - instead of trying to top it, or even try to calibrate back to Glee's usual exuberance/absurdity, they went for a very low key, mellow episode. And hey, I admit it. I laughed, I cried. I bawled.

Glee: The Musical?

"Home" felt much more like a traditional musical than any other episode. I don't know if that's a good or bad thing. I enjoyed it a lot, because I really love musicals. But I also know that movie/tv go out of their way to not be all Broadway musical-y.

It felt like this episode had a lot more music than others. At least, a lot more of the story was told via numbers, especially that Will/April duet in his apartment. Unfortunately, I thought that the song was about 3 minutes too long... it was really good, until it kept going. That just felt indulgent.

Also, the music was a lot less pop cultural than usual. Even the Springsteen song, "Fire", was pretty mellow. Btw, I loved that number. I'm beginning to really appreciate the importance of having a musical/talent equal on duets. Matt Morrison singing with Kristin Chenoweth was just magic - just like Lea Michele singing with Jonathan Groff.

Kurt-Finn-Dad-Tears

I also thought the Kurt Dad/Finn Mom story was pretty well done. OK, I didn't love the awkward serenade Kurt sang to Finn in the music room - although Puck mouthing "Are you gay?" to Finn was worth the price of admission. But besides that, I thought the story had a surprising amount of depth. It could have easily just been Finn-doesn't-want-Mom-to-date, until Kurt's dad wins him over with sports. Kurt's visceral reaction to that bonding was unexpected, and heart wrenching. I'm not sure there's any sort of resolution for that either. His dad (Burt) clearly and openly loves him, and accepts his homosexuality. But neither are really going to be able to change if they want to love each other honestly.

Cory Montieth did a great job portraying all of Finn's conflicting reactions. For once, that wild eyed confusion - which I find adorable, but can sometimes be a bit much - worked very well in his favor. He doesn't want his dad to be replaced, but he clearly wants a father figure. His experience with Will, especially through the Quinn pregnancy, showed us that - but like Kurt and Burt, Will and Finn are just too different. They may both have a good heart with similar values at the core of their being, but Will just isn't going to hang with Finn and chat about sports. Not when Terri is the Jerry Bruckheimer fan in the (ex-) family.

I completely lost it when his mom put the urn in Finn's dad's chair. I haven't lost a parent, so I can't speak from experience, but the grief, mixed with the guilt of wanting to move on, was incredibly touching.

April v. Rachel

I did appreciate getting a week off from Rachel being the lead on almost every song. I love Lea Michele, but I agree with other fans who say that it was getting to be a bit much.

That being said, there was waaaaaay too much April. Everyone knows I adore Kristin Chenoweth, but come on - three songs? It almost felt like the writers were like, "Oh, we have Kristin for one more week, let's milk it for every minute!"

Walking Ice Cream Cones

No, I didn't forget about Mercedes and the weight-loss storyline. Just don't have much to say about it except that the scene where she saw Artie and Tina as gigantic ice cream cone and slice of cake was hysterical.

Bits 'n Pieces

-- Kurt: "You both have dead spouses... Maybe you should talk?"

-- Sue [to Kurt and Mercedes]: "How do you two not have a show on Bravo?"

-- April: "I finally realized my life long ambition of being a mistress to a strip mall tycoon."

-- Sue: "You're just like every teenage girl in America: obsessed with vanity. Before you know it, you'll be leaving baggies of vomit in your parents' closet."

-- Kurt: "I feel like the guy who set up Liza and David Gest."

-- April: "I'm gonna go get myself a bikini wax. And I'll see you tomorrow."

All in all, a solid, surprisingly low-key episode. I'd say 3 out of 4 gigantic slices of cake.

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