After a fantastic season opener that produced two of the best episodes of Glee in recent memory, this week’s episode, “Jagged Little Tapestry,” is a more of a mixed bag of moments: some good, some less so. Last week’s double dose of Glee did a great job of reestablishing the status quo and reminding us that these characters, at their core, are still underdogs–it felt very much like the Glee of old. “Jagged Little Tapestry” also feels like old school Glee, but that’s because it’s an episode that tackles “big issues,” something that Glee has done time and time again in the past, sometimes effectively and other times not.
Let’s get the biggest of these “big issues” out of the way first. We discover in this episode that Coach Beiste has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria by her psychologist, a genetic disorder in which a person does not identify with the gender he or she was born as. In this case, Coach Beiste was born a woman but identifies herself as a man, and she is beginning to undergo treatments and surgeries in order to transition into a male.
Now, Glee does a nice job here of explaining the details of gender dysphoria and of carefully detailing how this does not affect whom Coach Beiste is attracted to, as she still finds men attractive (attraction is something that is often misconstrued with gender dysphoria–just because you’re transition from female to male doesn’t mean you suddenly start finding yourself interested in women, and vice versa). Also, Dot-Marie Jones acts the heck out her scenes, and I really loved seeing Besite, Sam, and Sue coming together.
My problem with this storyline lies in the lack of build-up towards it, because everything we know about Coach Beiste (who always just wanted to “feel like a real girl,” as she told Will back in Season 2) doesn’t really click with this reveal. I need more than just one scene of her discussing her condition before I truly buy into it, and I’m hoping that Glee does more with this plot and taps into the conflict that Beiste has always faced. Now, though, as a one episode storyline, it all just feels undeveloped and a little manipulative.
The second “big issue” that Glee handles in “Jaded Little Tapestry” touches upon a topic that is very personal to me: individuals with Down syndrome and how we treat them. One thing that I’ve always loved about Glee is how it has given a voice to the less-noticed, less-shown members of society, including the special needs community, and I’m glad that the series brought Becky to show us her relationship with Daryl. His connection with her and the way that Quinn, Tina, Santana, and Brittany helped Becky with her relationship problems worked very well, showing that people in the world don’t need to treat you differently just because you appear different.
However, the scenes that showed why Becky should be treated the same as others, like the one with her and the girls from the glee club, or her on her date with Daryl, do such a better job at illustrating Glee‘s point than other moments, like Daryl’s speech in Sue’s office. While I’m so happy that a show like Glee uses its platform to address issues like the treatment of special needs individuals and represents them in a real, believable way, the show is so much better at it when it steps away from the soapbox and allows for its characters to behave like actual people instead of message-spreading puppets. Overall, though, I’m glad to see that Becky has found happiness, and I hope we see her and Daryl again before the series ends.
So with this episode addressing so many “big issues,” there wasn’t much time left for other stories. Brittany and Santana get engaged, and it’s sweet and satisfying (and the pair’s mash-up is absolutely wonderful). These are two characters that have always worked well together, and it’s great to see Santana bring out something more in Brittany than her stereotypical “dumb blonde” persona.
More interesting to me, however, is Rachel and Kurt as co-directors. This week, conflicts arise between the two of them, mainly due to Kurt’s feelings about Blaine. However, Glee smartly makes this about more than Kurt’s relationship drama and near the end of the episode addresses the fact that both of Rachel and Kurt’s teaching styles are needed in order to create a successful team. I’m excited to see the two of them collaborate more, and I wish we had gotten a couple more scenes of them doing that in this episode.
And speaking of wanting to see more, how about the new kids? There’s not nearly enough of the four glee club members that we met in last week’s premiere, although Jane and Mason’s mash-up is truly tremendous. After getting to know these kids pretty in the season opener, I hope that Glee doesn’t just push them to the side for the next couple episodes. I want more of Rachel, Kurt, and co. mentoring these newbies like Mr. Schue originally did for them, allowing for Glee to come full circle in what will hopefully remain a strong, if not spectacular, final season.
Other thoughts:
– Still waiting for Glee to treat Karofsky as an actual character again. I understand he’s there to cause trouble for Blaine and Kurt, but come on, Glee writers, you can make him a real person for at least one scene. Oh, also, he and Blaine are moving in together.
– Speaking of Blaine and Kurt, seeing the flashbacks to their relationship really makes me want to go back and re-watch the show from the beginning, all of it: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
– Santana’s tirade to Kurt may have been her longest and most vicious of all-time, and Naya Rivera, as always, killed it. Just wish that we got to see the two of them make up before the closing song, although I did really enjoy Kurt’s scene with Brittany.
– God, the music in this episode was just great. I really don’t think I could pick a favorite. I loved everything from Santana and Brittany’s performance of “Hand in My Pocket/I Feel the Earth Move” to Jane and Mason’s mash-up of “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” and “Head Over Feet.” Not to mention, I’m always a sucker for big episode-ending numbers, so “You Learn/You’ve Got a Friend” was also superb. The music was definitely the strongest part of the episode.
What did you think of tonight’s episode of Glee?
[Photo via FOX]
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