GLEE: ‘The Spanish Teacher’…Oh, Dios Mío
February 7, 2012 by Kath Skerry
Even you die hard ‘GLEE-can-do-no-wrong’ers’ out there have to admit that despite Ricky Martin’s dashing good looks, dazzling white teeth and hot hip action, this week’s episode was rather miserable. And you know an episode of GLEE is bad when not even the musical performances can save it. Ay caramba!
Was I the only one that went back to the beginning of the episode to make sure Mr. Schue didn’t write ‘Inappropriate’ on his white board of bad themes? There were so many things that were just plain wrong about this episode that I found myself echoing Mercedes anthem “Hell to the No’.
I jotted down just a few of the moments that had me yelling “seriously?!” so much that I thought I was in an episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
- Sue, a teacher, asking high schools boys for their sperm so she can have a baby. Then of course dismissing the handicapable kid and the gay kid.
- “Sexy and I Know It” performed by a teacher, during school hours, complete with pelvic thrusting, girls (and Kurt) swooning while Santana was slapping her ass. As I tweeted during the episode, teachers in the real world honestly fear touching the shoulder of a student, not wanting to risk any sense of impropriety. (Dicho esto, Ricky Martin es una pieza caliente de culo y es bienvenido de vuelta en McKinley High en cualquier momento.)
- Same said teacher performing a provocative duet with a student all while they undressed each other with their eyes. I’m not saying I hated it, because I absolutely did not…but in context of a school musical performance, yeah no.
- Emma’s pamphlets – I know her heart is in a good place but referring to students as ‘two timin’ hos’ and feeling the need to discuss proper genital washing with boys – nope. Didn’t know that was the role of the high school guidance counselor.
- Becky injecting hormones in to the exposed ass of her cheerleading coach.
Despite all the ‘no, just no’ moments of the episode there were two scenes so awkward that I visibly cringed.
(1) Finn’s body roll. This is twice now this season that Zach Woodlee made Cory Monteith move his body like that. Frankenteen was not made for the body roll. Please stop. I’m begging you.
(2) Matt Morrison’s rendition of “A Little Less Conversation”. Not sure if I should categorize that as awkward or offensive. Let’s just say both. I know it was intentionally bad, but I don’t care, it still happened. Who knew that Morrison sporting the sombrero at the beginning of the episode would be one of his finer moments? I can’t believe there was a point in time, waaaaaaay back in season one, that I actually loved Mr. Schue. They have done a fine job of ruining that character beyond redemption.
GLEE writers, you have lost your way. Maybe you need a little reminder that You is kind. You is smart. You is important. And you are better than this! I know you are. If you need me to, I’ll personally put together a list of episodes you should go back and watch to help you remember the true potential of GLEE. Bottom line – be better.
Not all was lost in tonight’s episode. There were a few snazzy one-liners (and surprisingly not all from Auntie Snixx) and a few other stand out moments that reminded me that buried deep under the pile of whatever this episode was, is my GLEE.
- Favorite line of the night. Not sure if this was intentional or a product of my own inappropriate mind but Beiste saying “When I showed it to my Cooter…” almost lead to a legit spit take
- Second favorite line of the night goes to Finn: “Mr. Schue, what’s with the shiny coat? I thought you were Kurt.“
- Kurt and Finn’s heart-to-heart in the locker room. I wonder if Chris Colfer knows just how lucky he is that the writer consistently give him good material. Loved seeing the two guys finally remember they are brothers. Kurt could learn to be a bit more delicate and a tad less judgmental in his everyday interactions with Finn, but the message was worthy of the borderline bitter delivery. I’m glad Kurt helped Finn see his is more than Rachel’s boyfriend. I really wish someone would just ask Finn if he is even remotely interested in pursuing a career in musical theater. Kurt and Rachel keep assuming and pushing. Kind of annoying.
- Sam lives with Hudson-Hummels? I’m sure they’ve mentioned that in passing, but it’s still way bizarre.
- Mercedes: “Sam just tweeted that I smell good”
Sam: “And I won’t stop until it’s trending.”
(I love a good Twitter reference) - Kurt’s reaction to Rachel’s engagement announcement: “SHUT UP!” – yeah, pretty much
- Kurt’s reaction to Rachel asking him what he would do if Blaine proposed today — sorry but all I saw there was ‘oh you caught me, I would totally say yes’ – but maybe that is just my wishful *cough* (spinoff) *cough* thinking.
- “La Isla Bonita” – the only musical number I really enjoyed tonight. Not so much that I’ll buy it off iTunes, but Naya and Ricky were sexy enough that it’s certainly worth a re-watch. Speaking of Naya – she IS season 3 of GLEE, no? Girl is owning it this season. Step aside the rest of you, this is Naya’s world
Tonight’s GLEE MVP goes to someone who didn’t have a line. Who hardly ever has a line. Sugar Motta. Her reactionary facial expressions throughout the episode were priceless. Glad to see they are at least bothering to put her on camera.
Second runner-up for MVP – Darren Criss. Yeah, I know he wasn’t in the show as he was off starring in a Broadway musical, but the lack of Blaine was felt throughout the entire episode. Guess we know an essential ingredient to my enjoyment of GLEE. (Come on, like this is news.)
Next week on GLEE…
Valentine’s Day. Rachel’s two dads. Kurt has a secret admirer (theory: pretty sure it is not Blaine. Is it a love declaration from Karofsky or an evil prank from Sebastian – discuss!). And some kind of school dance that involves karaoke. Blaine will be back…in some capacity. Here’s to hoping that GLEE warms my cold heart on V-Day.
Lo siento si te amaba episodio de esta noche y me pisó por todas partes. Me encanta Glee y no voy a renunciar a la serie, pero me siento frustrado cuando yo sé que puede ser mejor que esto. Hasta la próxima semana mis compañeros de Gleeks.
Your thoughts? Was I too tough on this episode? If so, why?
Related Posts
Filed under #1 featured, Glee
From Kitty-Kat85 (Tumblr comment) “It just seems completely arbitrary if Karofsky is the admirer considering we know of no interaction between the two since 3×05. Plus it sounds like the Gorilla is just a messenger, so it could still be sent by Blaine with Chris trolling as usual. “
Santana’s hypocrisy was breathtaking. She has perpetuated more racist and other offensive stereotypes through her insults than anyone but Sue Sylvester. For her to turn around now and take offence at Will, who has conveniently lost his ability to teach, to try to speak from a position of moral authority, was just ludicrous. I barely know Ricky Martin and he seemed charming and fun in the role. NeNe Leakes was just as funny this time out as last time. Some nice moments this episode, but the Santana/Will storyline just irritated the crap out of me. Glee is always prone to twisting the character to fit the story but it annoyed me more than usual here.
Kurt didn’t have a massive part in this episode, but he was unusually well-written for Brennan. The crush scene in the choir room was adorable, I can’t get enough of the Three Divas in their jammies and Kurt’s line about ‘our period’ cracked me up. Rachel and Mercedes are apparently close enough this episode for their cycles to synch. Hee. Also, did he get his jammies back from Blaine, or do they have matching pairs? I’m torn between Kurt being unable to say *anything* when asked about what he’d do if Blaine proposed [Rachel knows very well that Blaine is Kurt’s kryptonite] and his desire to rush right home to yell at Finn as my favourite moments. The synchronised snack sharing was also fun.
And of course the scene between Kurt & Finn really delivered. Happy happy joy joy! Kurt trying to inject some sorely needed self-esteem into Finn, and also saying the right things to actually get Finn to stop being defensive, listen and then start to question himself, all worked really well. Finn isn’t a Kurt or a Rachel, it’s true, but then Kurt no longer seems to see what sets him apart from the clones. I think he was right to say that Finn did bring something to the table and that is, simply put, himself. I liked the seed planted that Finn could be doing something productive and gainful in NYC and that Kurt hit him just hard enough to stop him thinking of himself as dead weight. More please!
Oh, and I didn’t even notice Blaine wasn’t there. Not that there seems to be much room for anyone not Santana these days. I was so excited at the start of the season to see more of both these characters, now I’m sick of the sound and sometimes the sight of them. Glee can’t do anything in moderation.
AHHH! Totally forgot about Kurt’s line about their periods synching. Classic! Of course I am way too lazy to go back and find the quote, but thanks for reminding me.
I’m going to give you an Artie one-handed preach for calling attention to Santana’s hypocrisy. So true. But so typical of GLEE. How about Sue telling Emma that every time she has been cruel to Will he has just responded with kindness….um WHAT? What episode was that? I saw him pretend to have feelings for her only to f*ck with her. I remember him dumping glitter on her head. There was the 548 times her tried to get her fired. Oh Glee….you drive me insane. Why do I love you?
You didn’t realize Blaine was missing? You might be sick of him.
And to think we were friends (Rachel Berry storms off…ha!)
I just wish people could remember that this is Glee, and not Blee.
Simple, friendly reminder.
Wow. I love how even when Blaine isn’t in an episode people STILL feel the need to mention him. Forget the fact that there were characters who were actually in the episode. We don’t want to hear an un-biased view of “The Spanish Teacher” we want to hear how much you missed Blaine. Fantastic use of journalism and critique right here…
Blaine’s absence was a breath of fresh air. He often makes Glee episodes boring for me with his constant songs that have no relation to the plot and his general blandness as a character. Because Blaine was gone Kurt had an opportunity to do things unrelated to him for once, which was really nice. Kurt’s little scene with Rachel and Mercedes was cute and fun. Kurt’s scene with Finn was very touching to me because since Season 1 Finn has thought he had no talent, Kurt reassuring him was heartwarming to see.
I didn’t really get on board with the Samcedes subplot, Mercedes picking Shane over Sam at the end of the episode irritated me but I don’t care all too much.
I’m really excited for next week’s episode! I have a sneaking suspicion the secret admirer is Dave Karofsky, that would be real interesting to see.
Please let it be known…I am NOT a journalist. Not a critic. Never claimed to be nor do I want to be. I’m just a fan, and as such I call ’em like I see ’em. I like Blaine, not everyone does. That’s cool. We can all still live and be happy, I promise. It’s just TV my friends…it’s all about having some fun 🙂
Really? They started with a song about weed? Really? WTF????
Repost from Tumblr (where I am being ripped to shreds…HA!)
I don’t follow any one on Tumblr that participates in ‘ship wars’ or whatever they are called, but I’m seeing some of it tonight. People who are all about Dave and Kurt really hate Blaine/Darren. I’m feeling the full wrath. Uh oh.
It’s cool. Listen, I love TV…I have a passion for it. But I think some folks need to realize that something like GLEE is inconsequential in the big picture. Yeah, I get all fired up about a bad episode, but it’s still all in good fun. I promise you it’s not keeping me up at night. Viscous words would be better directed toward people really hurting the world, not someone sharing their thoughts on GLEE. But that’s just me. HA!
Have some tea…I promise it’s not all bad.
I’m still a Klaine shipper, though a less enthusiastic one than I used to be. I don’t hate Blaine, though I haven’t been happy with some of the writing choices made for him this season, like the ludicrousness of Junior!Gate, and the emphasis on the passive in his passive-aggressiveness. I certainly don’t hate Darren. I also like Max Adler and think he’s done some good work on Glee. I don’t think Karofsky faced anywhere near the consequences he should have for his treatment of Kurt, and I think Kurt was much too kind and forgiving on the strength of very little by way of repentance and remorse from Karofsky. But I’ve always believed Karofsky had stronger feelings for Kurt than just targeting the obvious gay and I’m interested to see where the story goes. I don’t see Kurt returning his feelings, but I do see Kurt continuing to be kind and compassionate. It would be great if Blaine had some feelings on this.
The pressure to conform to set views is as strong on tumblr as I’ve seen it anywhere, fuelled by the anonymity. Sorry to see you subjected to it, Kath.
@Heyerchick -Thanks…I can take it. It’s all good.
While I do think DC brings much to the show, I do agree with you about the character decisions they’ve made with regards to Blaine. While at Dalton it seemed like he was a stronger character, a bit more established and purposeful. I personally saw a big difference in acting choices on behalf of Darren once it was revealed that his character was younger than Kurt. Now, at times, he’s just Kurt’s knight and shining armor. Hoping that with the casting of his brother we will see more of Blaine’s backstory.
As for Max Adler/Dave Karofsky – despite GLEE’s overstuffed cast, I personally am bummed that Max hasn’t had a bigger role to date this season. His redemption arc at the end of last season was fantastic and I really wanted to see more of his story play out. I thought Dave’s scene with Kurt in “The First Time” was one of the stand out moments of S3 thus far.
While I do agree with you that Dave may have stronger feelings for Kurt than has been revealed to date, I’m not sure that I really want to see that story come to fruition. It has very little to do with my love for Klaine and more about wanting to see Dave Karofsky’s character be developed outside of a romantic entanglement with Kurt. Would I love to see Dave come back and see he and Kurt develop a strong friendship – you betcha! But I’m more interested in Dave’s story on its own and not tied to Kurt.
(Sorry kind of babbling on about GLEE tonight. Too much coffee. But I enjoy the conversation, so thanks)
Ok, I´ve watched the whole thing now. Let me say this. Thank God Naya plays a lesbian and Ricky is gay, those two together… My God!!! HOT! HOT! HOT! I don’t think I could deal with that.
Mr Shue, plase stop being such a jerk. I can’t believe what an ugly boyfriend he is. Insecure, little piece of arrogant teacher.
By and all, me being a latina, I loved the musical numbers, Sam, babe, you can be my hero any time! And La Isla Bonita will be played many times in this computer. Can’t wait for Gloria Stefan and Naya to duet!
I agree, as usual, Naya is killing it this season.
And Kath, I always read you in english, It was really cool to read some of your spanish, loved it! Ay, Caramba! Bien hecho nena!! .
Muy buena review, (muy is very – Mr. Shue lesson).
Con Amor,
Sole
I know about as much Spanish as Will. Oh wait, I’m sure I know more. Disclaimer: All Spanish included in this post came directly from Google Translate. I can’t lie.
Sorry this is kinda ridiculous… i´m a really Big fan of karofsky, and as many of us i also love Blaine and Darren, you can generalize this way.
i´m happy with the lack of Blaine not because i dislike him, but because without him Kurt had the chance to shine as KURT HUMMEL not just a part of klaine.
i agree with you that for many moments this episode was racist and inappropriate but not even one of the worsts of the season.
I completely agree with all of the inappropriate moments that you pointed out. There were many that I thought were thoroughly awful to watch.
There is something that I have seen several reviewers fail to mention about this episode so far, and I am intrigued to know your point of view about it. I was very upset about the moment in which they had Puck predict himself as dead or in jail in the future. I understand a comedic moment when I see one, and I’m sure that is what this was meant to be. It bothered me, though. I thought that Puck had gotten to a point in his life where he didn’t actually consider himself a Lima loser or a loser in general. I’d really like for this show the venture a little bit down the path that he hopes to travel in his future. He’s not a loser, and I thoroughly believe him to be a good guy at heart. I would like to see someone point this out to him or for him to at least come to this conclusion himself. He has a lot of potential to make something of himself.
What did you think of that moment? Did it bother you or was it something that simply just didn’t stand out to you in light of what was happening elsewhere in the episode? Do you think that we will see his potential come to light eventually? I’d just like to know your take on it.
To be fair, gentile washing is a little more complicated – what with the foreskin and all – so maybe a pamphlet was warranted?
I don’t even understand what happened in this episode, but I’m sure it doesn’t even matter since the majority of plot points will be forgotten by next week!
Was Tina (other asian) even in glee club this episode? I noticed Sugar was absent last week from all the MJ numbers, but she’s back in glee this week?… I keep blaming their awful character development on having way too many characters to keep track of, but after watching Parenthood tonight, I realized there are so many other ensemble shows (FNL, Parks & Rec, The Office, Mad Men, etc) that manage to feature all their characters over the course of a few episodes with consistent story lines that also move the plot forward. Imagine! We haven’t heard hardly anything from Artie, Tina, Brittany, Rory, Puck, etc, for a long time! I realize you can’t feature every character every episode, but good grief! Why even have these other characters on?
I think Ryan Murphy & co. would do well to focus on their 4 main characters moving on next year and start over! They’ve obviously proven they can’t maintain multiple characters, so just cut your losses!
I was so hopeful this year with the new writers coming on, but after tonight’s episode, I think I’ve truly given up on Glee and wont be tuning in anytime soon.
Ps. Kath- always enjoy reading your recaps!!!