GLEE RECAP: Season 3, Episode 1- The Purple Piano Project

What's going down?

As Glee made its return onto a new home Ryan Murphy has promised us that season will go back to basics with a focus on all of the main characters, with no themed episodes or special guest stars. Key Glee members Rachel, Kurt and Finn will be graduating at the end of year, so this season will also be one making way for changes.

We are shot straight out of the cannon as Jacob whips out his camera and interviews all the kids about their hopes for the prospective year and it turns out a lot has changed this summer. Mercedes and Sam's relationship has ended, now that Sam's moved away due to his Dad's new job. (Why oh why did you have to get rid of Sam, Glee gods?) She won't be doing any wallowing though as she's got a new man in the form of jock Marcus. Mike's parents haven't quite decided what Ivy League school he'll be attending and Artie and Tina are very keen to point out that they're just juniors, so they'll still be around next season.

Finn and Rachel are finally going strong, with Rachel still dreaming of conquering New York. Finn however, has found himself feeling rather directionless. Lauren has ditched Puck and quit the Glee club, saying she just can't be seen to associate with them after their loss at Nationals. She isn't the only one to reject the club, as Quinn too has left, dyed her hair pink and is looking like a 80s Madonna knockoff, with a new set of friends called The Skanks and also appears to have taken up recreational smoking, how lovely. Schue and Emma are happily shacked up, though it looks as if she is still having intimacy issues, as he just isn't getting any.

As some of our beloved Glee kids are graduating this year, Schue is more determined than ever that the New Directions take Nationals. In order to do so the club need new members, now they're without Lauren, Quinn and Sam. He proposes that the club burst into song whenever they see a purple piano, donated to the club, which he has placed around the school.

The first piano is met with an early death by none other than Sue Sylvester, who smashes it up in outrage. Sue's new challenge is running for Congress and smashing the musical instrument up gives her an epiphany. She decides that her lead policy is going to be one of cutting funding for arts in public schools. I don't think she's going to be getting Schue's vote. The second becomes the casualty of a food fight that breaks out in the dinner hall. Despite a rousing performance of 'We Got The Beat' by The Go-Gos, it seems as if Glee is still at the bottom of the high school food chain as the kids are covered in leftovers. It doesn't look as if anyone's going to be rushing to that signup sheet then. The last goes up in flames as Blaine serenades Kurt with Tom Jones' 'It's Not Unusual' as he celebrates transferring from Dalton to McKinley in order to spend more time with his beloved. With some rogue Cheerios as back up dancers, those pesky cheerleaders, under Sue's orders, set it alight.

There is one kid interested in joining the club, though: Sugar, the daughter of the man who donated the pianos. It turns out that despite her big talk she is tone deaf, as she gives a rather interesting performance of 'Hey Big Spender'. Schue has always said that anyone who wants to join Glee can but Rachel and Mercedes argue that if Sugar joins she's just going to hold the club back. Coach Bieste agrees and tells him that he needs to put the kids he already has in the best position possible. And so after much soul searching Schue manages to grow a pair and tells Sugar that she just can't sing.

All het up from Sue's manifesto to eradicate the arts in school, Schue and Emma gatecrash the Cheerios tryouts. Whilst Emma films it, he glitterbombs and yells at her about all the benefits the arts give children. The pair then upload it on to Youtube in the hope of bringing down Sue's congressional campaign. However, it backfires on him as his little outburst puts Sue up in the polls. The one bonus though is that Emma now knows how it feels to be turned on.

Back to the Glee kids, where Rachel and Kurt have set their sights on attending Julliard. However, as Emma points out, Julliard doesn't have a musical theatre department. Don't they have internet? Instead she suggests they focus on the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. As luck would have it there is a local mixer for prospective students the next week, giving the pair a chance to show what they're made of.  Kurt commandeers a purple piano and has picked out 'Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead' from The Wizard of Oz' as their big number. It's everything you would expect from the pair; perky and camp.

However, when the two attend the mixer, they soon realise that whilst they might be hot stuff at McKinley, outside the school they're hardly stuff. They meet Harmony (played by Glee Project finalist Lindsay Pearce) and Gavroche, yes, he is named after the Les Mis character. The two have been acting since they were foetuses, literally in Harmony's case, and have numerous acting credits and even headshots. Their competition performs a belting mash-up of 'Anything Goes' from the musical of the same name and 'Anything You Can Do' from Annie Get Your Gun. It's so good, in fact, that it induces Kurt and Rachel into a near nervous breakdown, as they contemplate whether they'll ever achieve their dreams. After a rousing speech from Kurt the pair promises to pursue their ambitions no matter what. He decides that he's going to run for Senior Class President and she announces that the McKinley will finally pull of a musical. Her choice? West Side Story, with her as the perfect Maria of course.

 

Back in the choir room Schue kicks Santana out of the club for her involvement in the flaming purple piano and her loyalty to Sue, meaning the club is once again down three members. Poor Brittany looks heartbroken as her BFF storms off. As with every Glee episode we have to end on an important lesson and this week's comes from the trashed pianos. Even though they have been smashed up, the victim of a food fight and a minor arson attack, they can still be played, as Schue demonstrates by banging out a bum note. Their music simply can't be stopped. Rachel has a thought, as surely all musical theatre geeks did, that there's only one song to fit this moment; 'You Can't Stop The Beat' from Hairspray and the whole club take to the stage to join in. Cut to Quinn as she watches on, clearly unsure whether her decision to quit the club was the right one. How long is she willing to outcast herself for?

 

11 o'clock number

Tonight's favourite number has got to be the mash-up of 'Anything Goes' and 'Anything You Can Do'. Harmony has some serious vocal chops and it's easy to see how she tap-danced Rachel and Kurt into misery. Second place goes to Blaine for yet another showing stopping performing in the schools court yard. Must he really be so charming?

Quote of the week?

Sue: I've put plastic on your chair, so feel free to wet yourself with excitement.

Tonight's verdict

Whilst there was no real emotional depth or tugging of heart strings, tonight's episode did offer us up a good dose of character development, continuing old threads from last season as well as offering new ones. Tonight's song choices really hit the right note with an ample dose of show tunes, rounded off with a typical Glee inspirational closing number. I really hope that this time around Will and Emma can make it work and I can't wait to see just how Blaine is going to fit into New Directions. Most importantly, though, will Schue be able to fill the three empty spaces?

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