Glee recap/review: I Do

Diva recap/review


I Do was a lovely slice of Glee perfection. 

Witty, funny, and adult, this is the episode that showed audiences Glee has grown up, instead of incessantly telling them without any evidence to back the claim up.

Gathered together again for the wedding of Will and Emma, the old New Directions and the new New Directions found themselves trying to untangle their various love lives on Valentine's Day.

Let's start with the easy stuff - Will and Emma. I love Emma, I don't love Will. He constantly takes her for granted, then realises he is doing so, then a few weeks later takes her for granted again. This time, he ignored her plea to help her with the seating chart to go swanning off to glee practice, not realising that stepping in at that moment could possibly have stopped Emma's dizzying spiral, which eventually led to her leaving him at the altar.

Emma's panicked demeanor was brought out even more when she was waiting in the church, all dolled up in a gorgeous wedding dress. In comes Sue, dressed the same but the complete opposite to Emma in all other ways, to enhance just how scared and not ready Emma is for this moment. For the record, I don't think Emma doesn't want to marry Mr Schue, I just think she doesn't want a huge wedding and the pressures that come with it. And her panic was shown even more when she, Will and Mercedes sang Getting Married Today from Company. It was a fun, frenzied song, but Emma's parts were so fast, her enunciation not amazing, and her lip syncing out of time that I was a little distracted by it all.

I liked that Glee's focus on Emma's uncertainty didn't revolve around her kiss with Finn ("I'm sorry I don't have a pamphlet for you right now, but if I did, it would probably say get over it"). Yes, the kiss didn't help, but it's not what made Emma not want to go through with her wedding to Will.

And advice about the kiss and how it wasn't Finn's fault came to him from an unlikely source - Rachel. This is quite possibly the first time Rachel has ever offered sage advice to anyone, and telling Finn to not worry was the right thing to do (although I'm sure Will will find out at some point).

Still, I was a little confused about Finn and Rachel's sudden closeness in the opening scene of I Do. I thought they'd decided not to speak again, but suddenly Finn's calling Rachel and confiding in her. Did I miss something?

Anyway, apart from that blip, Rachel and Finn's development over the episode was good. I've never been a huge fan of this coupling, but I can't deny they have chemistry. The "she loves me, she loves me not" scene was zinging, and puts Brody and Rachel, and the new Finn and Rachel Marley and Jake, to shame. Yes, their chemistry dimmed a bit once they got to the hotel room, but that may be more to do with the couples they were juxtaposed against.

Back in New York, Rachel hooked up with Brody again, who, while living with her, is not her boyfriend. Brody had potential when he was first introduced, but now he's just slimy. Is he a gigolo? Because that's what I understood. Skanky. And Rachel is pregnant? I'm guessing there's supposed to be some kind of plot here about it being either Brody or Finn's, but isn't it way too soon for it to be Finn's and to be showing up on a home pregnancy test?

Anyway, back to McKinley, where Artie was trying to hook up with Emma's bitchy niece Betty (one of the not-winners from The Glee Project). As usual, because it involved Artie, it was very sweet, and all worked out for the best. I liked Betty, but I'd also like Artie to have a proper romance plot, a bit like he did with Tina in the first series, rather than just having a meaningless sub-plot so Glee can focus on other characters.

Santana and Quinn hooked up. There's not much to say beyond that. The two have always had friend chemistry, and it zinged over for one night into something more.

Marley and Jake were being their usual sweet, bland selves. In proper teen movie style, Jake's best bud Ryder was being Cyrano, setting Jake up with amazing presents to give to Marley for Valentine's Day, and watching from afar with a longing look on his face as Marley succumbed to Jake's charms. Well, okay, she didn't succumb because they didn't have sex, but it was close(ish). Anyway, it was all really boring until Marley thanked Ryder, knowing he'd been behind it the whole time, and then Ryder kissed her. In the hallway of their school. While people were wandering around. Really, this is going to stay a secret?

And finally, saving the best until last - Kurt and Blaine (and Tina). Kurt and Blaine's relationship is in the physical stages, and they're not ashamed of it. Caught by Mercedes making out in a car right before the wedding begins, the two brush it off with laughs and Kurt's "everyone hooks up at weddings". I can fully believe Kurt and Blaine are at the stage of physical interaction again. We know they've been repairing their friendship, largely over the phone, and seeing each other again, their "legendary chemistry" (thanks Tina) comes back.

At the wedding the pair sing a cute duet, before Blaine heads off to get punch with the instruction "we're not dating, we're here as friends". And in steps Tina to have a go at Kurt for not being there for Blaine. Hands down, this was one of the funniest moments of Glee, as Kurt called her out on being a hag for Blaine, and Tina told Kurt some home truths about him flitting in and out of Blaine's life, and then accidentally confessed she'd put Vapor-rub on Blaine's chest while he was asleep. Kurt's "did you Vapor-rape my ex-boyfriend?" was wonderful because it addressed just how inappropriate Tina's actions were while at the same time moving Tina's crush on Blaine from disturbing back to kind of funny. And it also demonstrated that while Kurt may be protesting (constantly) that he and Blaine are just friends, he still feels jealous enough to have a go at Tina for touching his ex-boyfriend.

His ex-boyfriend who he's sleeping with. In the hotel room Blaine told Kurt that the two were destined to be together (while the walls still vibrated with the chemistry bouncing off the pair). While Kurt didn't deny it, he's also not ready to throw himself back into a relationship with Blaine. I'd love to see them back together, but I like that Glee is taking its time. It's much more realistic than an immediate declaration of love. Kurt is still guarding himself, although he's forgiven Blaine, and Blaine knows it's only a matter of time before they get back together.

And the best thing about Kurt and Blaine's interactions was how happy they both were. We're used to seeing them buttoned up (physically as well as mentally), and both have been very guarded with their emotions since their break-up. In I Do they were laughing and smiling and making jokes, and sometimes being inappropriate. It's clear to see that having the other in their lives makes Kurt and Blaine much, much happier.

Best moment
Just the whole thing really. I did enjoy Kurt, Blaine and Tina's final scene together, where they made up, bringing a ridiculous storyline to a welcome, well thought out conclusion, and where Blaine said he as determined to find Tina a boyfriend. Tina and Blaine's friendship is now back to being cute. I love it.