**Spoilers Ahead**
It’s time for the Week 3 review of Glee, the show we all (or at least some of us) love to hate. In case you missed it, I’ll be your guide to Glee this season, breaking down the inevitable liberal indoctrination that occurs with each new episode.
Monday’s episode of Glee included offensive stereotypes, soap opera-style betrayals, outfits worthy of the classiest strip clubs, and… prayer? Yup, that’s right. In a tender moment between teacher Will (Matthew Morrison) and his girlfriend Emma (Jayma Mays), she falls to her knees and prays in earnest, telling Will that she prays in her head all the time but sometimes kneels so that God can hear her better.
I really can’t find anything to criticize about that scene. Glee surprisingly didn’t portray people that pray as weirdos, hypocrites, or terrorists, and given its track record, I suppose we should be grateful. Will didn’t tell Emma she was stupid for praying; he just held her hand and joined her. It was a nice moment.
Now on to the rest of the show.
One of the funniest lines ever came when Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.) got an A- on his chemistry test. His girlfriend exclaims, “You got an Asian F?” I’m giggling just typing that. It’s funny because it’s true; culturally speaking, the Asian community places a lot more pressure on their children to succeed than other groups. Tiger Mom, anyone?
Because poor Mike “failed” chemistry, his dad forces him to get a tutor and quit the glee club. He tells his son, “Michael, dancing is a hobby, not a career. There’s no future in it… you will not waste your life.” So Mike does what any typical teenager of any ethnicity would do; he lies to his parents and tries out for the school musical.
Eventually, Mike’s mom catches him dancing, and in a heartfelt mother/son moment, she confesses she abandoned her dreams of becoming a dancer at her parents’ behest. She vows that she will not let Mike’s father crush his dreams of becoming an artist.
Thank goodness for Obamacare, without which Mike might not be able to pursue his lofty ambitions of dance artistry.
The other Glee kids kept busy throughout the episode chasing their own dreams. Brittany (Heather Morris) is running for student body president with a slut dance “girl power” campaign, complete with pleather and pom poms. She croons the Beyoncé tune “Who run the world? Girls!” as she performs a “bend and snap” dance down the school hallway. Girls, if we’re going to run the world, can we please use proper grammar? Thanks.
Another dream chaser this episode was Mercedes (Amber Riley), who decides that she’s better than superstar Rachel (Lea Michele) and deserves the spotlight to herself. Even though she’s always late, rude to everyone, and uncooperative, she accuses everyone of playing favorites to Rachel and storms off in a huff. Mercedes decides to join Shelby’s (Idina Menzel) new motley crew of singers (see last week’s review for the baby mama drama surrounding Shelby), where she can be the star without actually having to earn it.
I wonder if she’s been talking to those crazy kids occupying Wall Street. They’ve all got a bad case of the Way No Fairs.
All in all, this week’s episode was comparatively innocuous–people of faith were given respect and not ridicule, and the regular teenage drama didn’t turn explicitly partisan. Don’t get too comfortable, though; we’ll be here next week to report on whether the writers keep this up or go back to blindly bashing conservatives.