By Benjamin Matern
After Madonna and Olivia Newton-John this is the third homage after Sectionals – and it’s Lady Gaga, of all people. I never really understood what the fuss is about, I always considered her and her songs more upsetting than musically shining. So I was surprised that I still found this episode entertaining, weaker than the previous one, but still pleasant.
At first, you think it’s a Tina centered episode – which would be nice since she doesn’t get much credit. Principal Figgins is disturbed by Tina’s gothic style and because Vocal Adrenaline is doing a Lady Gaga number, the Glee kids kill two birds with one stone: they find Tina a new look and do something theatrical a la Gaga. The girls (and Kurt) in Gaga outfits do look funny, especially Brittany with the giant scorpion on her head.
The guys refuse to “gaga” along and do a number by KISS which might sound manlier but they look just as insane and the entire group suffers under constant harassment and threats from the football team. It’s particularly difficult for Finn who doesn’t know what side to take (I say: Be a man, punch Karofsky and stick up for your Glee friends); and when he learns that he and his mom are moving in with the Hummels, he loses it, yells at Kurt and insults him. This leads to another great and emotional scene with Burt who defends his son. It seems that whenever Burt enters the room, the scene is going to be intense. It’s a great character but also played extremely well by Mike O’Malley.
Rachel now identifies her mother after having heard her voice for the first time last episode. She’s overwhelmed by happiness but we all soon sense that Shelby isn’t as satisfied with the situation as she is supposed to be. The new relationship doesn’t last long, but they part in friendship and sing “Pokerface” as a duet which is a thousand times better than the original.
And Tina? Oh right, we thought it’s all about her … well, she returns to her gothic style and what’s more important, Finn sticks up for Kurt and the New Directions realize they may look and act as freaks, but they’re a team. And in between, Puck convinces Quinn to name their daughter Beth. It all fits together only loosely, but the end product is definitely worth watching.
