Christmas has been replaced by Opposite Day on Glee this year. In one of the most absurdly entertaining episodes of the year, Sue becomes the moral voice of reason while the kids of New Directions become selfish Grinches. Throw in random references to Chewbacca, Judy Garland and a reading from the Bible and you have the trippiest Christmas special ever.
Luckily, Sam is here to save the day, because Sam Evans is the greatest person in the history of this show. And his blossoming friendship with Rory is officially my favorite thing from the entire third season of Glee.
Rachel is Kim Kardashian
This holiday season Rachel is obsessed with getting as many presents from Finn as she can, like earrings and other baubles that are way out of his price range. He finally realizes that he’s dating Kim Kardashian, which makes him the slack-jawed Kris Humphries, someone no one wants to be.
Luckily by the end of the episode, thanks to an insanely sweet gift of a star named Finn Hudson (because there’s already a bright, shining star named Rachel Berry), Rachel comes to her senses and decides to return the nice earrings he bought her and donate the money to charity. The best part is that, in the final moment of the episode, Rachel wishes people a happy Hanukkah, which is the first and only time that Glee references the fact that Rachel is Jewish and wouldn’t actually be this into Christmas.
Artie’s Glee Christmas Special
The local PBS affiliate has to fill time on their schedule, so they ask New Directions to stage a special with Artie directing. Am I the only one who remembers how drunk with power Artie got the last time he directed, essentially forcing Rachel and Blaine to have sex with their significant others? This time he mounts a Star Wars and Judy Garland-inspired black-and-white spectacular, and we get to see all of it.
That’s right, nearly half of the episode is the actual Christmas special where Kurt and Blaine play a pair of confirmed bachelors hosting a fancy Christmas party for their friends at their Swiss chalet. The result is pure Glee absurdity with rather raunchy jokes (what was it Justin Timberlake drank if not egg nog?). There’s also a hilarious joke about Blaine’s wardrobe when he receives a Christmas tree bowtie and candy cane striped Capri pants. Those are so Blaine.
But my question is: Who was this for? Do Glee fans even know who Judy Garland is? Are the writers of this show under some delusion that everyone who watches Glee is a gay man in his 50s? Because that seems to be the target demo of this black-and-white special.
It gets even more surreal when Finn and Puck show up dressed as Luke Skywalker and Han Solo (but not really, because those characters are trademarked). Then Rory, dressed as Itchy the Christmas Elf (or Linus from Charlie Brown), arrives to read a passage from the Bible to teach everyone about the true meaning of Christmas. I’m sure FOX News will love the fact that Glee chose their side in the War on Christmas.
Sue and the Homeless Shelter
Meanwhile, Sue agreed to serve food at a homeless shelter, mostly as a way to distract herself from the sadness of losing her sister this year. I love that the show essentially admitted that the only reason Sue is doing nice things is for herself, and I love that she invited New Directions to join her by mocking them, calling Blaine “other gay” and “young Burt Reynolds.”
Of course Sue’s invite was for the same time as the TV special, so New Directions decided to ignore the homeless and focus on themselves. When did Sue become the moral compass on this show? And when did almost everyone in New Directions become so self-involved? Luckily she’s joined by Sam and Quinn who are also good people. But then the whole message gets muddled because, when the TV special is done, New Directions comes to the shelter with food and a song.
This is where I’m confused. Sam and Quinn seemingly did the right thing by choosing the shelter over the special, but doesn’t the fact that everyone else came sort of take away from their good deed? I really wish Glee explored that issue more, because I respect and love Sam and Quinn for doing the right thing all along instead of needing a push. Now I’m left with the idea that it’s OK to be completely selfish so long as you sing one song for homeless kids.
Sam is the Best Wingman Ever
Speaking of Sam being a good person, my love for Chord Overstreet grew three sizes this week as he took Rory under his wing since they’re both away from their families. He helped inspire the plucky Irishman to be a better person and Sam also promised to help get Rory some snogging by Valentine’s Day. Please, Glee, don’t forget about this storyline, because I want to see a whole lot more of Sam and Rory’s totally awesome friendship. The combination of those two guys is sure to set ladies’ heart afire all throughout the spring.
That’s all for now, but Glee will return on January 17 when Will proposes to Emma (is she still on this show because I haven’t seen her in forever) and Sam puts on a speedo to join the synchronized swimming team. Now THAT’S a Christmas present.
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
