“Britney/Brittany”
Recap: The episode starts with the New Directions trying to figure out a song for the homecoming pep rally. Will and Brittany shoot down Kurt’s desire to do a Britney Spears song, with the former not approving of the music and the latter revealing her “haunted” past of closely sharing a name with Britney Spears. Apparently Brittany’s full name is Brittany Susan Pierce (Brittany S. Pierce).
We finally get to meet Dr. Carl Howell (John Stamos), Emma’s significant other. Will, wanting to know his competition better, invites Carl to talk to the glee club about their dental hygiene. While the majority of the kids have good teeth, a few of the kids have issues requiring them to go under general anesthesia.
While going under anesthesia, Brittany is listening to Britney’s “I’m A Slave 4 U”. This quells her fear of Britney Spears, leaving only Will as the force not allowing New Directions to sing a Britney Spears song at the pep rally.
Rachel is still being obsessive about Finn and wants him to stay off of the football team for good. However, Coach Bieste allows both Finn and Artie back on the team. Though there is some tension between Finn and Rachel, it ends up being resolved by the end of the show, putting their relationship in it’s strongest phase yet.
Will overreacts to a suggestion from Emma to relax, which culminates in him performing “Toxic” with New Directions at the pep rally. While Will is left searching for answers to attaining his desires, Emma and Carl drive off seemingly happy.
Analysis: We finally get to see Heather Morris not only sing, but really dance. She was absolutely stunning to look at in this episode, and absolutely demanded attention. Her rendition of “I’m A Slave 4 U” was stunning and breathtaking to the point I wanted more Heather Morris. Fortunately the next number was, “Me Against the Music” with her bff on the show and in real life Naya Rivera. While Rivera wasn’t featured, it was still a joy to get to see her in a song where she wasn’t overshadowed by the power singers on the show.
The show writers seem to be putting the Rachel/Finn relationship on a back burner. This is a very good thing, and will allow for other story lines to be explored, such as ones dealing with Artie, Kurt and Mercedes. (Honestly, give me some more Mercedes solos please!) In fact, based on the teaser for next week, we will be getting an episode dealing with Kurt. In addition, it was good to see Coach Bieste allow Finn and Artie back on the team in this episode instead of trying to stretch this subplot into multiple episodes.
Will’s story seems to be on edge as the woman he wants he can’t have and his ex believes that they will end up getting back together. He is dismayed at the end of this episode, as if he is lost and unsure of what to do. This is great for the writers as they have plenty of options for Will. I don’t see Will going back to his ex, and I’ll admit it was strange seeing her in the episode for all of 15 seconds. I believe that he will end up with Emma, but he has a lot of maturing to do.
Ultimately this episode was about being yourself. Though people may make suggestions to you, they should be taken in small doses. Otherwise you risk going overboard and alienating people further. Becoming a better person isn’t about radically changing who you are; it is about taking who you are and removing the obstructions to allow for you to be the best you can be.
Music must haves:
“I’m A Slave 4 U”
“The Only Exception”
“Toxic”