What I'm Watching: "Glee"

I’m not ashamed to admit that I welcomed “Glee” into the pop culture zeitgeist along with what seems like everyone else in America. What I admire about the show is how it plays with its own formula by toeing the line between clever musical comedy and campy teen melodrama. After four months off the air, I was more than ready for its return. What I got from this week’s episode was a mixed bag that’s still better than most shows but not up to typical “Glee” standards.

Only weeks, if not days, have passed in the story’s timeline from when we last saw the gang celebrating their win at sectionals. The episode’s central theme of rediscovering selves and meeting new people was marked by songs with “Hello” in their titles. I’m not sure if this was planned as the concept for their first episode back or if it just worked out that way, but it came off as a little too heavy-handed and on-the-nose.

I’m fully aware that characters and relationships need to be in flux in order to tell stories, but aspects of this particular episode felt forced and I dare say disappointing. Despite all the build-up in the first half of the season to get them to this point, I found the yo-yoing feelings of Rachel and Finn as well as Will and Emma to be strangely flat and one-note (pun intended on both counts). Rather than taking a little more time to believably explore those feelings, the writers seem to have brought them together and torn them apart in the space of a single episode simply for the sake of stirring the pot. In doing so, they also neglected some of the other glee club members who surely have more lasting and interesting stories to tell.

Thankfully, the consistently witty writing makes up for the occasional soapy histrionics elsewhere. Sue Sylvester is still a blast and a perfect foil for the “gleeks,” while her cheerleader minions manage withering condescension and superficial one-liners with equal aplomb. Brittany’s “Did you know dolphins are just gay sharks?” is quite possibly my new favorite example of priceless non-sequitur. In addition, the introduction of two supporting characters, the male lead and the director from rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline, shows promise as far as their role in the story and their intentions for the characters. While they appear on the surface to be just another device in the pot-stirring mechanism, at least their presence and chemistry felt more authentic than the lifeless, Stockholm Syndrome-esque contrivances wallowed through by the aforementioned couples. Even Will’s spurned wife Terri, who suffered early in the series from being too broad and vapid, brought a more grounded and sinister edge to her short, delightfully catty confrontation with Emma. Attention *is* being paid by the powers-that-be, but not always in the most-needed areas.

This being “Glee” and all, something has to be said about the music, which honestly wasn’t as impressive this time around. The song choices were mostly too obvious; I felt like I knew what the characters were going to sing before they did. I can think of several below-the-radar songs featuring “Hello” that would have packed a more legitimate musical and emotional punch. Worst of all, the staging and enthusiasm of the performances were wavering, which makes people less inclined to invest in the premise of the show if they’re not as engaged as those who are creatively responsible.

Zeitgeist or not, “Glee” should avoid the trap of getting too comfortable too soon. The viewing public can be fickle, and fame doesn’t always guarantee longevity. The show can only coast lazily on its popularity for so long before they jeopardize the quality that got them there in the first place. Here’s hoping that next week’s Madonna-themed episode restores the series to its full, former glory and its rightful place near the top of my weekly viewing list.