I loved this ep. I loved all the songs. I loved Kristen Chenowith. I loved that Kurt and Mercedes actually got to sing their own numbers, rather than Rachel and Finn getting all the tunes. The hurt Kurt felt because his dad could bond with another kid. (Which was sort of selfish, because Kurt maks no attempt to be into the stuff his dad likes, and his dad is supportive mof him). But the hurt was real. Just a good ep.
StG
hated this episode and the “afterschool special” feel of every single unsatisfying storyline.
-10 lbs is not a ridiculous amount to ask for.
-also, i doubt she would have low blood pressure, no matter how hard she dieted. blood… sugar?
-what kind of psychotic plan is it to set up your dad so you can bunk up with your crush?
-how hurt exactly would you be that your dad started talking about the Browns in the middle of dinner?
-what’s wrong with owning a roller rink? it’s not exactly like shuster’s life is HIS life dream either.
-wasn’t chenowith TRYING to find a relationship? getting pizza and popping in a movie is a DATE move. Shu’s actions are a little puzzling.
-of course sue sylvester has a patented protein shake that kills people. 4x national champions are just won off sheer bitchiness and a dash of hotness. it’s not like competitive cheerleading requires athleticism or anything.
this addendum is disappointing story-wise. it lacks intrigue, humor, and originality. my CAT is reading my diary? i put a dash of sand into it? those are pretty weak throwaways. it’s also becoming a little too self-aware and putting way too much emphasis on the singing. imo, it’s lining up to jump the shark already in its 1st season.
I loved it. I didn’t recognize any of the songs (except Christina at the end) so it was refreshing to hear a new sound. I liked that Kurt and Mercedes got a chance to sing.
(’‘Why don’t you two have your own show on Bravo?’’)
I thought both Kurt and Finn were being petty and self-centered… but the core of pain from which each of them acted was real. I loved when Finn’s Mom put him in his place. It seemed very real to me.
Overall, great episode.
I thought this episode was a little weak, but I did enjoy seeing Kurt and Mercedes having more of a role in this episode. It must be hard for the writers of a show with such an ensemble to get everyone some good screen time.
Just a quick comment about this:
10 lbs is a ridiculous amount to ask someone to lose in 1 week. Everything I’ve read says that 1-2 lbs/week is a safe rate to lose weight.
1 lb = 3500 calories
So she would need to have a 24,500 calorie deficit by the end of the week (if you think Sue was giving her 7 days; I think she said end of the week, which would be 17,500 in 5 days). I’m not sure that’s possible, and I’m damn sure it’s not healthy.
Yeah, I’ve read the same things as you about this. 10 lbs in a week of “actual” weight loss (i.e. not water weight) is ridiculous. That said, wrestlers and such can cut more than 10 lbs by dehydrating themselves, so it is possible to do in that way (although you gain it all back when you rehydrate, which of course for wrestlers is the point, to have a weight advantage for your match . . . but it’s probably not what Sue has in mind.) At any rate, for someone whose never cut weight before to do so with no supervision probably wouldn’t be safe either.
Did Rachel have any lines this episode? Does anyone know if there was a reason for her absence?
Because I wished really, really hard for it?
That’s an average. When people start doing things to help them lose weight (diet, exercise), they lose a TON of weight at the front end (mostly water weight). It’s not unreasonable at all to expect a 10 lb. loss at the beginning. It would be unreasonable for Sue to make her maintain that 10/week pace (which I could see her doing).
After really, really disliking last week’s episode, I was almost ready not to watch this week but I’m glad I did. I thought it was great. My only complaint (and it’s minor) is that it was ballad-heavy with not much in the way of up-tempo numbers. But Chenowith is always a winner; it was nice to see Kurt and Mercedes get some face time and Sue was marvelously evil as always.
I thought the best part of this episode was the tampon commercial near the end. I laughed at that more than anything in the episode, except maybe Chenowith’s line about “I haven’t had a drink for… 45 minutes.”
I strongly disliked this episode - I don’t want to go as far as “hate”, because there’s always Sue, and the aforementioned ‘45 minutes’ line was just perfect. I straight out didn’t like most of the music, though, and could have really done without both the Mercedes and Kurt/Finn storylines.
The two best lines by far were, “I’m pretty sure my cat is reading my diary.” and “I haven’t had a drink for 45 minutes.”
I’m waiting to see how this magazine article is gonna bite Sue in the butt…and you know it will.
Oh, and those of you who didn’t recognize the songs…look up “Burt Bacharach”
I thought it was dull as hell. I know I didn’t laugh once and I’m not sure if I cracked a smile.
At the end of the episode, my wife apologized for reminding me that it was on.
Kristin’s songs were:
Fire – written and originally performed by Bruce Springsteen, though the Pointer Sisters’ cover was a hit.
A House is Not a Home / One Less Bell To Answer – both by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Both were hits in the 1960s (Dionne Warwick for the former, the 5th Dimension for the latter), though Barbra Streisand did a medley of the two songs in 1971.
Home – I believe this is from the musical “The Wiz”.
Boy, people sure have differnt tastes, don’t they?
Kristen’s dream of being in an all-white cast of “The Wiz” is particularly funny when you know that she was in the original cast of “Wicked”.
ETA: I miss Pushing Daisies. There’s just not enough Kristen Chenowith on TV. Althouggh I did think that the last number in the white gown with her hair pulled up was a bit aging.
StG
Interesting how love/hate the reactions to this episode seem to be.
I agree with the reviewer from the onion av club, that there were some great individual scenes, but the episode as a whole was a bit of a mess. Still thoroughly enjoy the show as a whole, though.
You and me both. 
I think it’s kinda funny. Just a few weeks ago, everyone was talking about how badly they wanted Kurt and Mercedes and Artie to have some plot lines and songs. Now we have an episode where they do have plot lines and songs and such (except Artie) and people are bitching that they didn’t like the episode.
The thing I didn’t like about it was that the music was generally slow. They usually have a pretty good mix of up and down tempo stuff, but this was pretty down tempo. Every series will have an episode or two where it is less than stellar. Usually they’re filling out story lines or biding time until something big happens. I don’t have a problem with that.
I just want to see Artie and Tina get more stories/songs/lines. I like Artie.
I think part of the reason this episode annoyed me is that I have been dying for more Kurt and Mercedes, and when I get it, it sucks.
Or at least Mercedes’ did. I suppose Kurt’s storyline wasn’t terrible (or at least it wasn’t completely out of left field), but Mercedes was awful, ridiculous, and cringe-inducing. And seriously… Beautiful? Seriously?
Um, there is now.
I loved Sue’s WTF reaction as the reporter started describing her as a cheerleading visionary for having such a diverse squad. 
It’ll be interesting so see how this effects her coaching. I doubt she’ll soften up, but just imagine Sue using the same old tricks this time to fatten up her Cheerios or give them exaggerated fake ethnicities. Would Sue go so far as to put a Cheerio in burqa, I think she would.
I feel for Kurt. Every gay man has had the experiance of lusting after the straight boy who’ll never return the affection. Plus it seems like Finn’s getting less and less oblivious re Kurt. And Kurt has made an effort to get into stuff his father likes; it was why he joined the football team. Kurt’s on the road to heartbreak. There’s been nothing to suggest that Finn’s even bicurious, and even if he is so what? Kurt & Finn do experiment a little, have oral sex on a class trip and the next day Finn ditches him in the middle of Disney World.