I love Glee. I love that it is about acceptance of diversity, music, and the freedom to be who you are. That being said, I have been disappointed by the show for the first few episodes this season. I felt like it was trying too hard and had too many big overwhelming themes. But for the past 2 weeks, starting with the fabulous “Never Been Kissed” episode last week, Glee has been the show I came to adore last year. This week, guest start Gwyneth Paltrow as the titled subsitute teacher really brought a breath of fresh air to the show. Gwyneth’s character Holly Holiday, emodied the frustration of the students with normal everyday life and their need to express themselves more openly on their own terms. The character of Holly also had some terrific banter with Mr. Shue and took a beat down from “principal” Sue Sylvester with grace. It almost made me wish she will will be a reocurring character. However, it is her musical numbers that really stood out to me. Her duet with Lea Michele’s Rachel was amazing. Not to age Ms. Paltrow, but all I could think of was how awesome she performed with the younger Michele. And that is really what the episode was about in the end; the mixing of old and new traditions. If there is one big lesson behind the mash up of Umbrella and Singing in the Rain, it is that you can take something classic and combine it with something modern and come up with a fabulous new creation.
Grade A-
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