Welcome Gleeks!

Casey is off this week so I will be covering for her. While I may not seem like the appropriate person to recap a musical comedy since I mostly recap superhero shows but I assure you I have been a Gleek since day 1.

Before I start this week’s recap, I had high hopes for the final season as its first two episodes were pretty good but not has good in its glory days called season 1-3. So I was extremely disappointed and a bit annoyed with this episode tonight.

The action was divided into three plots with two of them related.

The two that are interconnected was the beginnings of Samchel and Mercedes attempts to get Rachel back on her Broadway dreams saddle.

The episode opens with Sam and Rachel duetting on Dionne Warwick’s “I’ll Never Fall Again”. When the song ends, the two confirm their “date” at Breadsticks but it is all kinds of awkward when Sam leaves because he forgot he has to teach a health class. First question, do they let people with an education degree teach in the United States? I am a Canadian and the last time I checked, I think you need a Bachelor’s of Education or something similar to teach in a high school. I digress as Sam departs, he says a quick I love you to Rachel, which she reciprocates but is a bit confused at their confession.

However, it turns out that Sam and Rachel didn’t show up for their “date”. Sam saying that part of him still loves Mercedes and Rachel says she didn’t turn up partly because of Mercedes too.

This week’s theme is music song writing legend Burt Bacharach and according to Rachel and Kurt it is to keep the up beat momentum of their recent Invitational win. To help mentor the new New Directions is Mercedes fresh off having her latest single reach number 89 on iTunes. And for some unknown reason Artie, Santana and Brittany are also in the choir room.

The new glee kids are excited to have Mercedes be their mentor for the week.

In the teachers lounge, Mercedes wants to know what’s up her and Sam. Rachel says nothing as she didn’t want to pursue him because she doesn’t want to hurt her. Mercedes that she and Sam are just friends and that she is free to go out with him. Another purpose of Mercedes visit is to encourage Rachel to go back to New York and Broadway because it is where she belongs. In fact, Mercedes has secured her an audition for a new musical by a friend of Russell Simmons. Rachel isn’t so sure and starts to make excuses as to why not such as honouring her deal to help the Glee Club in Sectionals.

To cheer Rachel up, Mercedes, Santana, Brittany and Rachel sing The Shirelles “Baby It’s You.” Rachel is thankful for the song but still refuses to audition.

So Mercedes decides to enlist the men of old and new New Directions to help Rachel feel homesick for New York. So we have Blaine, Sam, Artie, Mason, Spencer and Roderick sing “Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”. While the men sing, we are treated to clips of Rachel on location in New York City. At the end of the song, it still doesn’t do the trick as Mercedes hoped as Rachel still refuses to audition. I don’t understand why the new guys would want to help Rachel realize her Broadway dreams, they really don’t know her and helping her means she will abandon them. Isn’t that the whole reason why Kitty returned to New Directions because Rachel promised she wouldn’t abandon them to go to Broadway when or if she got the chance? Has the show forgotten that? It just last week!

But later, we see a panicked Rachel in the choir room asking Mercedes to help Kurt with the Glee Club while she is away. Mercedes is confused until she sees the bus ticket and realizes that Rachel is indeed going to audition for that musical. Rachel then breaks down in tears and confesses that she is afraid to go back. Rachel explains that when she was in high school, people used to laugh at her Broadway ambition so she wanted to prove them wrong but she did make it and then lost it, people were laughing at her for different reasons. Mercedes gives her a pep talk and we transition from the choir room to a Broadway theatre where Rachel sings “Promises, Promises” from the Broadway musical of the same name.

Meanwhile, Sam serenades Mercedes with Homer and Marge Simpson’s song “(They Long to Be) Close to You“. Mercedes tells Sam that they are just friends and says that she has met a fellow Christian musician who is also saving himself for marriage. Sam admits to being a bit jealous while Mercedes admits to being a bit jealous of a potential Samchel.

Rachel returns from her audition and tells Mercedes and Sam that it went well but doesn’t if she got the part or not. Sam and Rachel then makes plans for a date at Breadstix’s.

I am not sure if I want a Samchel relationship. They teased the idea last season and at that time I was totally against it as it was too soon after Finn died. I know that Rachel needs to move on but somehow her being with anyone but Finn is just weird and not right.

Also, when are they going to give something juicy to the new girls. Jane and Madison were overglorified extras with zero lines.

The other storyline tonight was about Brittany and Santana.

As Brittany is solving a complex math problem using crayons, her parents played by Jennifer Coolidge (perfect casting by the way) and Ken Jeong, come in to tell her something they’ve been waiting 19 years to tell her. Mrs. Pierce tells there is a reason why she is good at math. The truth is Mr. Pierce isn’t her real father considering he only has an IQ of 60, proven where he never remember anything being said. Brittany’s real father is Stephen Hawking, whom Mrs. Pierce had a one-time encounter with in a bar in London. Before Mrs. Pierce revealed who is Brittany’s father, I knew it was going to be Hawking.

Brittany is not only solving math problems, she is also planning her wedding to Santana. And because Artie is a director, Brittany asks him to be her wedding planner as he can bring her wedding vision to life. Artie agrees so Brittany lists things that make her think of Santana that might help inspire a wedding idea. Artie dismisses scissors sweet lady kisses, and tuna (this was more to do with Lord Tubbington) but is intrigued that Brittany thinks of Heaven when it comes to Santana. So in a dream sequence we have Sam, Blaine and Brittany all in white and wearing angel wings sing “Wishin’ and Hopin'”. Lord Tubbington also makes an appearance eating a big tub of tuna. Man I love Lord Tubbington.

As Brittana go over Brittany’s crayon pencilled guest list which include Barry Bonds, Eric Bana and Klaine, Brittany wonders if Santana is okay that her abuela or grandmother (Ivonne Coll) isn’t coming. If you recall, Santana’s abuela shunned her granddaughter after she came out to her. Santana tells her fiancee that while she would love for her grandmother to be there, she knows she won’t come and has accepted that. The only thing she knows about her grandmother now is she has diverticulitis.

So Brittany decides to take matters into her and goes to visit Alma Lopez under the guise of a nurse. Brittany someone worms her way into the house and as Alma is about to kick her out, Brittany starts to speak Spanish and mentions having to watch a Telenovela. The two ladies start to bond over the Telenovela and when Alma notices Brittany’s engagement ring, she starts to ask questions about her fiancee. Brittany wants to move their conversation back to her house for another edition of our favourite Internet TV talk show “Fondue for Two” but with a Spanish title. Brittany gets Alma to talk about her husband. Alma talks about marrying two men with the last name Lopez. The first one died in Vietnam but the second one became the love of her life. Santana, in a coffee house, is watching the show on her computer.

The next day, Santana speaks to Brittany about talking to her grandmother. Brittany did it because she loves Santana and wanted someone important to her at the wedding. Santana thinks it is sweet but she won’t get her grandmother to change her mind. So to try and reconcile the two, Brittany get Alma to come and watch Santana and the New Directions old and new sing “Alfie”.

After the performance, Alma learns that Brittany’s fiancee is Santana and she isn’t pleased to being lied at. Brittany and Santana invites Alma to the wedding but she refuses and says that while she loves her granddaughter, she doesn’t love her sin. Alma says girls marry boys not other girls. As Alma leaves, Brittany comes to her defence and a quotes a New York Times article that the acceptance of gay marriage these days is due to generational turn over meaning that homophobic and bigoted people like Alma are dying off and that’s why there is starting to be more acceptance. Alma is offended and asks if Santana lets people talk to her family that way. Holding Brittany’s hand, Santana tells her grandmother that Brittany is her family now. It seems the gulf between grandmother and granddaughter is getting wider. But since this is the last season, I am pretty sure a reconciliation is on the horizon.

And different it is to see Coll as quite the unsupportive grandmother here on Glee when she the loving and supporting abuela on Jane the Virgin and we get a chance to hear her speak English as her character on the CW hit only speaks Spanish.

To help cheer Brittana up, the two ladies head to the auditorium where Artie, Rachel, Sam, Mercedes, Blaine, Mr. Shue and Kurt are their to support her and want to be part of the wedding party as they are all family now. Kitty offers the new kids to cater, hand out programs, do whatever to help at the wedding. The group then serenades the couple, who soon join them, to sing “What the World Needs Now.” The song is intercut with a party at Mr. Shue’s were we see Sam and Rachel getting closer, Artie and Kitty possible renewing their relationship, Santana and Brittany cooing over Danny Schuester and Kurt and Blaine being awkward friends. The song ends with one big group hug.

I won’t really review the songs here as I am not a music reviewer but I thought the performance were just okay. I am not a big fan of songs from the 1970s and a lot of the songs sounds dated for today so it would have been nice to have a bit of a modern take of these classic Bacharach tunes.

Sorry that this recap went a bit long but Casey will be back to recap.