GLEE: Episode 14 - Hell-o

What's going down?

As Glee kicks off again after a short break we see our favourite kids ruling the corridors - Kurt feels like Lady Gaga - or so they think. Turns out the rest of the school aren't so hyped about their win at sectionals and they're promptly met with yet another slushie facial. To add to the drama Figgins tells Schue that the club now need to place at regionals or it'll be finished for good; those spotlights in the auditorium don't run on dreams, you know. It gets worse; Sue Sylvester is back under very suspicious circumstances and is meaner than ever.

Now that the football season is over Finn turns his hand to basketball and it seems as if this team could be even worse than the disastrous one of Ken's. Rachel beaming from the bleachers sporting a "Team Finn" t-shirt only makes him more nervous as we see him get owned by the opposition. His new relationship with her is pretty full-on and she even goes to the length of making his and hers date calendars. He isn't over Quinn and having such a high-maintenance girlfriend isn't quite what he had in mind.

Over in the corridors we see Sue cut off the ponytail of a terrified-looking 'shemale.' She tells Will that she has seen the error of her ways and it is this remorse that has allowed her to come back to work at McKinley. Of course she leaves out the key details that she roofied Figgins and sexually blackmailed him after they wake up in bed together. Disturbing or what? Will takes the opportunity to try and bury the hatchet but Sue is having none of it and won't be burying anything unless "it's a clear shot to your groin." Looks like she isn't quite done with trying to take down Glee just yet.

At rehearsal Will sets the Glee club their new task; they need to find a new "Hello." Basically New Directions need to find a different sound for the club using any song that has "Hello" in the title.

In her office Will and Emma share their own hello. He wants to kiss her but she insists that she needs to 'clean up' first. The first time was just "a surprise sneak attack." Will decides that the best thing for their relationship is for them to go on a date and get to know each other all over again. How very sweet.

"You two should be wetting yourselves with shame," Sue tells cheerleaders Brittany and Santana. How dare they not stop the club from winning sectionals? "We were seduced by the glitz and glamour of showbiz," Brittany responds. Since Quinn got pregnant and kicked off the Cheerios, there's space for a new head cheerleader. If either of them wants the job then they're going to have to seduce Finn. Sue thinks that if they steal him from Rachel then she'll have to leave the club, humiliated and shamed, costing them their star.

Will can tell that Finn is really starting to feel the pressure. The best way to let it all out? Sing about it, of course. He decides on The Doors' "Hello, I Love You," and he belts it out as we see a montage of his everyday life. We see him finally see him get his mojo back as he slamdunks one on the basketball court. We also see that it's clear that Quinn is jealous that she's no longer his number one girl, especially as Puck has real trouble keeping it in his pants. At rehearsal Santana and Brittany take the opportunity to ask him out on a date and wanting something new, he agrees. "Which one of you?" he asks. "Both of us," comes the answer.

Rachel realises that "being my boyfriend is a challenge" but she claims that she'll "always be honest with you, painfully so, and all I ask in return is that you're just honest with me." Though she doesn't get quite the response she was hoping for as Finn tells her he doesn't want to be her boyfriend any more. He needs to connect with his "inner rock star" before he can fully commit to one girl. "You're a scared little boy," she says, stating that he's too afraid that dating her will damage his reputation, just as he was humiliated by Quinn. Despite the fact that Finn freaks out because it's as if she's inside his head, he still insists that the two break up.

At the next rehearsal Rachel starts to get her own back by singing "Gives You Hell" by the All American Rejects making a point to sing right in Finn's face. I'm sure he got the hint,m love. As the rest of the club join in he's left there sitting awkwardly. This has nothing to do with "Hello" says Schue; Rachel apologises telling him that she was "focusing on the first syllable." He's not impressed, though; if they don't get their act together they stand no chance of beating arch-rivals Vocal Adrenaline.

Browsing through the library for sheet music she happens across Jesse St James (played by Broadway star and Michele's former co-star Jonathan Groff), Vocal Adrenaline's rather dreamy male lead. He both insults and compliments her and we can practically see the love at first sight on her part. They proceed to sing a duet of Lionel Richie's "Hello", with him at the piano. Finn dwindles in comparison to his vocals and charisma and the pair sound great together. After they finish, Jesse, much to Rachel's delight, asks her out on a date. He might be just the guy to help her get over Finn.

Poor Finn's date with both Brittany and Santana isn't going quite so well. They talk about him as if he isn't there saying "Finn isn't hot" and commenting that dating Rachel is dragging down his rep. They don't seem to care, though: "You buy us dinner and we make out in front of you," Santana explains, "it's like the best date ever." Eventually he's banished to his car but not without leaving his credit card first.

Enjoying their first date at the Schuester apartment, Will and Emma are enjoying their first date as they dance to "Hello Again" by Neil Diamond with Will sweetly singing in her ear. "I don't know why, but I've always had a soft spot for this song," he tells her and says that it is the perfect song for the two. Things start to heat up between the two on the couch until Emma freaks out admitting that she hasn't been intimate with a guy in a long long time, meaning ever. He's surprised at first, but after seeing how upset and embarrassed she feels by it, he agrees to take things slow between the two of them.

Finn corners Rachel at her locker and tells her that he's come to his senses. After his disastrous date he's realised that he doesn't want to date other girls, only her. She rebukes him saying that it's too late and that she's met someone else. "Do I know him? Is he bigger than me?" he protests. His anger soon turns to humour though once she reveals who he is. Doesn't she find it suspicious that he's shown an interest in her now that they've won sectionals? Rachel doesn't care though and as she leaves tells him to move on, as she finally has.

"You may be two of the stupidest teens I've ever encountered, and that's saying something. I once taught a cheerleading seminar to a young Sarah Palin." Brittany and Santana find themselves yet again reprimanded by their coach as they failed to seduce Finn. However, word of Jesse and Rachel's relationship has spread and once they tell Sue she decides to use this to her advantage, being "engorged with triumph and venom."

Unhappy with Rachel's new leading man Will pays Vocal Adrenaline a little visit. Here we see them practice a stirring performance of the rock classic "Highway to Hell". While we may be impressed, their coach Shelby Corcoran (played by musical theatre goddess Idina Menzel) likens it to "watching beige paint dry." She wants to see thEm Looking "so optimistic it could cure cancer." She's also suspicious of Will's visit, adding that she hopes he isn't spying on them. He insists that he just wants to discuss the Romeo and Juliet-like relationship of their two leads. She brushes it off though saying "sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants."

Cut to Shelby and Will making out on his couch at home. However, just as Emma did, he freaks out and tells her that he can't do this. They bond as they talk about how the Glee clubs have taken over their lives, with Will blaming it in part for the break-up of his marriage and her admitting that she hasn't been on a date in 3 years. She tells him that he should take some time to just be by himself and figure out what he needs. Isn't that just what he told Finn earlier?

The Glee kids take it upon themselves to intervene with Rachel and JessE. Mercedes takes the soft approach saying that they're worried that he's playing her, with Kurt adding that he most deifintely is. However, after Rachel doesn't respond well they question how she could do this for the club. "You always wanted us to be great, to be a part of something special: is that still true or not?" Mercedes asks her. They give her an ultimatum; dump Jesse or leave the club.

Over at the Schuester flat ,Emma is preparing a meal for Will to surprise them for their date night. Unfortunately for her Terri turns up to collect some of her DVDs and in her typical fashion spoil the party. Here was Emma thinking that everything was just fine and dandy between her and Will, when his psycho ex-wife rains on her parade and reveals that "Hello Again" was her and Will's song at their prom.

Back at school, Sue invites Rachel to take a gander at McKinley High's Old Maids Club. Here we see horror stories of girls who have been left without a love, as Sue sneakily plans to scare Rachel into sticking with Jesse. Afraid of ending up alone just like they did she runs straight back into his arms, telling him that they have to keep their relationship a secret. As the pair kiss we see he and Shelby share a look which can only mean one thing; he really is playing her. Poor Rachel, will she ever find the right guy for her?

In Emma's office Will waits to ask her about the meal that she cooked for him and why she had mysteriously disappeared before he came back. She pulls out the Thunderclap from the year of his prom, making him realise the mistake over the song. He protests that he had completely forgotten about it but Emma takes it as a sign that "somewhere inside you're still not over her." With tears in her eyes, she tells him that she thinks it's best if he takes some time to be by himself, essentially ending their relationship.

Rachel decides to let Finn know that everything with her and Jesse is over, asking him to spread it around the club as she knows he's good with that. He takes this as a sign to tell her again that he wants them to get back together but still being in a relationship with Jesse she has to tell him no. Finn says that she can't blow him off so easily and that he won't give up just yet. We close as the club perform "Hello Goodbye" by The Beatles and we are pointed to the relationship dilemma faced by Rachel and Finn and Will and Emma.

11 o'clock number

For the first episode after the break all of the numbers tonight were linked to "hello" or "hell". The first two were much rockier than we've seen on Glee before, with Finn in particular pulling it off well - his voice seems much more suited to this genre - and Rachel turning hers into something rather humorous. What can I say about Rachel and Jesse's duet "Hello"? Having impregnated her on stage eight times a week in Spring Awakening I knew the two of them together would be something special and they didn't disappoint. With them both having strong vocals the two worked well together and I hope there's more numbers from them in the future. After watching "Highway to Hell" the only thing that went through my mind was how on earth will New Directions beat Vocal Adrenaline? Finally we ended on a typical number from the club with "Hello Goodbye" where we saw the kids doing what they're best at; a happy, poppy song.

Quote of the week

Brittany: Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?

Final thoughts

Glee picks right back up from where it left off before the season break, though seemingly everything that it built up to - Will and Emma and Finn and Rachel - has already been broken before the first episode has ended. Rachel/Finn I'm not so fussed about, but Will/Emma, oh please, the two are meant to be together. Sue is back and better than ever with some brilliant one liners and Terri appears to be just as psycho as ever. We see the introduction of two new characters, Jesse and Shelby, played by Broadway vets and I for one have already fallen head over heels for the former, despite the fact that he appears to be not as nice as he seems. It's going to be a rocky road to regionals.

 

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