Glee – Recap & Review – Mash-Up

photo: fox

Glee
Mash-Up

Original Air Date: Oct 21, 2009

Patricia Morris Buckley —Staff Writer
pmb@thetwocentscorp.com

A mash-up is a musical term for bringing two very different things together that normally wouldn’t mesh. Such as: Sue and love; Rachel and Puck; Emma and Ken; Quinn/Finn and social demotion.

But all those things happened on this episode of Glee, and more. The action starts with Finn getting a huge grape slushie thrown in his face, which signals that he’s no longer considered cool because he’s in glee. In fact, his football teammates won’t even take orders from him on the field anymore, despite the fact that he’s the quarterback.

Puck is in the same situation because he starts crushing on Rachel, after his mother admonishes him to get a Jewish girlfriend. Both football players need to make a decision between glee and football (and Kurt too, but we know what he’ll pick). Puck chooses the former, while Finn makes the macho choice.

The players are forced to choose when Ken sees Emma and Will getting way too close. Ironically, that happens because Emma and Ken ask Will’s help with their first dance after their wedding (which will be in Hawaii, far away from everyone they know, Emma says). Ken wants Sisqo’s “Thong Song” while Emma wants “I Could Have Dance All Night” from “My Fair Lady.” They ask Will to do a mash-up of the two songs and give them dancing lessons as well. But Will’s first lesson with Emma (in her Princess Diana wedding gown) gets too close for comfort, and the spying Ken bubbles over with jealousy.

So how does Ken get back at Will? Schedule a football practice right when glee meets. So the players have to make a choice — a choice that will keep the club from performing in sectionals if too many singers don’t go for glee.

Along the way, we get some wonderful tunes. Puck’s version of “Sweet Caroline,” sung to woo Rachel in front of everyone, is goosebump worthy. Will gets to sing several numbers, such as “Busta Move” and “Thong Song,” and Emma finally gets to pipe in with “I Could Have Dance All Night.” Nice job Jayma Mays! (Who looked lovely in a wedding dress, BTW.)

Will also dances a lot in this episode, including sharing a Lindy Hop with Sue. Got to be my favorite Glee moment. Ever. Sue is smitten by the news anchor of the station where she does her commentaries (my other favorite Sue moments) and they have entered a swing dance contest — until Sue discovered she’s not the anchor’s only dance partner (and by dance, I don’t really mean “dance”).

So Sue goes back to being bitchy, fires Quinn from the Cheerios for being preggo and threatens Will’s glee ambitions once again. As, well, guess that mash-up didn’t work out — and neither do any other the others, except that Quinn and Finn really are paying a steep price when it comes to their popularity. This show is ripe with slushie stains.

How nice to have an episode without Terri and the fake pregnancy. Did you enjoy that as well? Which was your favorite song? Will Puck and Rachel ever really pair up? Give us your Two Cents…