Cranberry January 7, 2015 Share January 7, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IbwMt4eqjY After Rachel's humiliating failure as TV actress, she comes home to Lima to figure out what she wants to do next. Upon discovering that Sue has banished the arts at McKinley, Rachel takes it upon herself to reinstate and lead the Glee Club. Meanwhile, Blaine, no longer in a relationship with Kurt, has moved home to coach the Warblers while Will is coaching rival Vocal Adrenaline, and Sam is the assistant coach for the McKinley football team. Puck, Quinn, Santana, Mercedes, Brittany, Artie and Tina all return to McKinley for Homecoming and help Rachel and Kurt recruit for the new glee club. Link to comment
Primetimer January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Glee goes back to its roots, and it's sort of like coming home. (But not 'Homecoming': that's the next episode.) Read the story Link to comment
Dave in Chicago January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I said it with season 2 of "Smash": sometimes finales of terrible shows are MORE cathartic, because I really feel like I've been through hell with these kids. I don't know that I'd call "Glee" terrible, but if I made it through the puppet and superhero and dog adoption episodes, I can't think what this show could do to alienate me now. 2 Link to comment
shantown January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I hate admitting it, but I didn't completely hate it. "Home" was my favorite part - the song was fun, everyone got lines, the bonfire was a nice scene. Even the newbies were incorporated more smoothly this time around. Really the only terrible parts were any time Blaine was on screen. Even Sam was tolerable once he was removed from Blam. 12 Link to comment
mustbekarma January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I was iffy on the first episode, but I fell in love with "Home." The singing talent is off the charts, and that's what I care about more than anything. I'm pretty stoked for this season. I loved every song. 1 Link to comment
LeeLeePanda January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 (edited) I really liked both episodes, though I think I prefer Homecoming to Loser Like Me. The newbies were interesting with out being over the top, the songs were great, and it was wonderful to see most of the original glee club back together. I think I may actually download tonights music. I haven't felt the need to do that since the beginning of season 4. Edited January 10, 2015 by LeeLeePanda 2 Link to comment
Advance35 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I 2nd the not COMPLETELY hating it part and surprisingly I really liked the Newbies we were introduced too. It's a shame because if RIB had built these characters and introduced them in Season 4 I think his "Choir Room is the Star" mentality could have had legs. I liked Jane, Roderick and that Jerk football player. Cracked up when Rachel was talking 5 miles per second trying to get Roderick to join and Glee and chasing him off with her intensity. Like Kitty as an antagonist. Like the Blaine/Rachel friendship and hope they make up. And WHY have I not been getting Schue/Rachel scenes in all these years. For me that was the most effecting scene within the whole 2 hours. MM is really good and Lea is good playing off of him. Tentatively approving of this season. 2 Link to comment
fakeempress January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 No, it wasn't so very bad. LLM was very hectic paced because of all the resets. Homecoming was definitely better, the reviewers were right. These are the newbies who should've been in Season 4, they actually seem like distinct personalities and not 2.0 versions. 7 Link to comment
ancslove January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I still don't understand Blaine/Karofsky. I can sympathize with Blaine's position at the end. I don't think Rachel did anything wrong - Jane came to her. And Jane was doing what she believed was best for herself. But, Blaine was left professionally humiliated, which is rough. He told Jane that he was going to fight for her, Jane (being a hurt and powerless student) didn't know how to tell him no, and ended up going behind his back to fix her own situation. She didn't want Blaine knowing until after the transfer was done, which left him operating on wrong information, and in a truly bad position. Blaine has a right to be upset and pissed at that, even if he doesn't have a right to be angry at Rachel or Jane. 6 Link to comment
aradia22 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 So when I was watching the first half (Loser Like Me) I was really wondering if I could make it through this season. Season 5 was a struggle at times. Let It Go was a highlight but even then it wasn't up there with the top Rachel performances. I almost wish Glee had gone harder skewering Rachel's show as it was clearly a Glee parallel. I wonder if there's some of Kevin Reilly in the character Jim Rash played. Anyway, I was all prepared to be annoyed at them breaking Blaine/Kurt up only to get them back together but throwing Karofsky in (while not the best choice) at least gives us a reprieve from the probably inevitable make up. I actually really liked the Homecoming episode. A lot of it felt like the old Glee. This show has always had a problem with incorporating fan opinions while maintaining their own visions for the characters but I appreciate that they heard us asking for real underdogs again. We probably didn't need to abandon all of the 2.0's but now that it's done it does feel like we're getting a fresh start. And a boatload of talent besides. There were some nice song choices in the second half and strong performances (though I'm never going to believe that Heather and Naya and Dianna can sing that high. I have no idea what kind of magic they worked in the studio.). Mustang Sally was great and I felt like I was really hearing Lea Michele again during Home. It made me happy, guys. What can I say? I'm ready to put my faith in them again. 1 Link to comment
fakeempress January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Blaine is being an immature whiny brat about Jane. He's supposed to be akin to a teacher. 2 Link to comment
Dave in Chicago January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I'll stay spoiler free, but I'm still reeling over the music theme for next week's episode. Also much like classic "Glee", it has a fever dream specificity and seems to completely disregard the youth audience's likely frame of reference. I'm looking forward to it. Link to comment
CMH1981 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 (edited) I knew Kitty was sticking around seeing as how she was the only newbie that was worth a damn... The post-modern gay guy looks horrible w/the buzz cut, it doesn't work w/his features or anything. Kurt and Blaine, I don't care anymore about them, they work better apart than together. Overall I really felt they started this farewell season pretty good, they got back to focusing on the music which was pretty good overall. So are the twins supposed to be somewhat incestuous or something, b/c the lines they sand in Home were....odd. The girl twin has a great tone to her voice. Quinn does not look good w/bleached blonde hair, not a good look. Boy, they really are pushing hard the Rachel/Sam boat there aren't they, pairing them up every chance they can get. Edited January 10, 2015 by CMH1981 Link to comment
jaytee1812 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Can I ask a couple of questions about the episode before I decide to watch (I actually pay for eps so I'm not sure whether to part with my money) Did they make a joke of forcing the old newbies out of education? Did they actually have Puck acknowledge that his brother was forced out? I'm a Tina stan was she used for anything more than the butt of jokes? Does Santana do anything without Brittany? Are Quinn and Tina still at college? Is Jane used for anything more than Mercedes is this season - a token black women so they do get accused of completely whitewashing the show? I knew Kitty was sticking around seeing as how she was the only newbie that was worth a damn... I'll answer this in the all episode thread. Link to comment
adam807 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 OH GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THE PUPPET EPISODE 3 Link to comment
wingster55 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Wait..Sam knew about Quinntana sex? So that revelation happened off-screen as opposed to something that could've been a great on-screen moment? 5 Link to comment
MizStaken January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 There's nothing to understand about Blaine and Dave, it was quite possibly the dumbest idea the writers could come up with. if they are trying to make Blaine look like the world's biggest asshole, congrats, mission accomplished. I did feel bad for Blaine, Kurt did kind of just dump him for no good reason. Blaine deserved a better break up. Now this whole Dave thing, I just hope it ends soon and if they have Blaine doing it because he's a passive aggressive douche bag, well that's just further destruction of his character. And I say FU to RIB. Overall it was pretty awful, Carrottop really? Can an all boy school be forced to take girls these days? I thought it was only in schools that got money from the government. An institution like Dalton should be able to get around that easily. And is it me or did all those Warblers look kind of old? I won't even get into how old Dave looked. And I am trying to figure out how Kurt is now a junior,they really need to get their timeline straight, 1 Link to comment
aradia22 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Did they make a joke of forcing the old newbies out of education? Did they actually have Puck acknowledge that his brother was forced out? They said Sue made them leave but Kitty was allowed to stay. It was sort of a Sue joke but not like an "education isn't important and the 2.0's were left without a place to go" joke. No, Puck didn't mention his brother. I'm a Tina stan was she used for anything more than the butt of jokes? Does Santana do anything without Brittany? Are Quinn and Tina still at college? There was one Tina joke where she was left out of a hug because she was parking the rental car. Then she made a Debbie downer comment. Other than that they weren't really ragging on her. The Unholy Trinity were back together for a lot of the episode but there was no real focus on the Brittana relationship. As far as I know, they're still at college though they will be coming back from time to time to mentor the new Glee club kids. Is Jane used for anything more than Mercedes is this season - a token black women so they do get accused of completely whitewashing the show? They gave her a nice plotline this episode and a great performance. By the way, they did also have Tina and Mike and Santana. We'll see how they use her for the rest of the season but I feel like she'll have more to do than Mercedes did. Of course that might be because of her body type but that's a different issue. Link to comment
madhacker January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 No that wasn't too bad and I do have a few random thoughts: I also like the new guys even the douchey football player mostly cause he has the balls to stand up to Sue. I've heard the actor sing on youtube and he'll be a great addition. Loved seeing most of the original cast back (but where was Mike? Was Harry busy on unavailable?). Gee is it too much to hope that we might be seeing a Tina/Artie reunion? Am I the only one who thought Dianna broke character when she giggled at Sam bitching out the Tea Baggers? Loved also when Kurt thought "please not Sebastian Smythe". it was a nice shout out to Grant who's obviously too "Flashy" these days to pull off a cameo these days. Personally, would it have killed them to let Darren in this last season just dump the damn gel. The brief scenes with Blaine just showed how much hotter he is with the curls. Link to comment
jaytee1812 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 They gave her a nice plotline this episode and a great performance. By the way, they did also have Tina and Mike and Santana. We'll see how they use her for the rest of the season but I feel like she'll have more to do than Mercedes did. Of course that might be because of her body type but that's a different issue. Lea and Amber are the only female regulars this season, and yet Amber hasn't been a regular since season 3 and has no big storyline. Was Mike there tonight? Link to comment
mustbekarma January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 ... surprisingly I really liked the Newbies we were introduced too. It's a shame because if RIB had built these characters and introduced them in Season 4 I think his "Choir Room is the Star" mentality could have had legs. I liked Jane, Roderick and that Jerk football player. These characters should have been introduced as the New New Directions the first time around. The talent was amazing, and they weren't 2.0s of every original character. I still think the music is the star of Glee, and having awesome singers is what made this episode for me. 4 Link to comment
Dave in Chicago January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 This show even had a freaky Friday. Some enterprising gay bar could have a trivia round where people have to guess if a list of "Glee" plot points actually happened or not. Link to comment
aradia22 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Was Mike there tonight? No, but Harry might be working on other projects more than the others (besides Lea, Chris, Blaine, Matthew who had to come back). I think he was in a movie or two but I forget when they were filming. Link to comment
Cranberry January 10, 2015 Author Share January 10, 2015 If you're only going to buy one episode, I'd go with Homecoming. I was bored through most of Loser Like Me and I didn't care for the songs, but Homecoming was actually fun. 1 Link to comment
jaytee1812 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 (edited) No, but Harry might be working on other projects more than the others (besides Lea, Chris, Blaine, Matthew who had to come back). I think he was in a movie or two but I forget when they were filming. I didn't think he was there. I'm sure he was in New Zealand filming the sequel to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Edited January 10, 2015 by jtrattray Link to comment
aradia22 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Loved also when Kurt thought "please not Sebastian Smythe". it was a nice shout out to Grant who's obviously too "Flashy" these days to pull off a cameo these days. Ha! I enjoyed that, too. Personally, would it have killed them to let Darren in this last season just dump the damn gel. The brief scenes with Blaine just showed how much hotter he is with the curls. I think they made a good point that while he's not unrecognizable, he just doesn't feel like Blaine when he's dressed like himself. Link to comment
Craphole Island January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I kind of really like that. Even "Loser Like Me" which I was kind of dreading. LOVED "Homecoming". Like, a lot. I was pleasantly surprised with these episodes. Really liked all the newbies, and "Problem" and especially "Home" were highlights for me. Link to comment
TAG42481 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Totally agree with mustbekarma's comment about the new characters not being version 2.0 of other characters we already had. Marley was Rachel, Kitty was Quinn, Jake was Puck, and Ryder was FInn. You can't say that any of the 5 newbies introduced tonight were very similar to other characters we've seen before. It really troubled me all the way back in the first season of The Glee Project when Ryan said that the contestants needed to give him something good to write to. NO NO NO! YOU'RE the writer, it's YOUR job to write the character as opposed to casting people in autobiographical form. That really showed with the first set of new kids, that he couldn't figure out how to write anything new. I agree with what seems like the general consensus so far - first episode seemed rushed explaining the resets, but second episode showed some promise. I felt obligated to watch tonight's episodes, after which I would finally give myself permission to stop watching the show. But I liked what I saw. I think I'll be sticking around all the way to the end. 3 Link to comment
ancslove January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 This whole thing should have been in place of Season 4. If Rachel didn't get into NYADA, her jumping at the chance of a TV show centered around her (I don't care how it comes about) would've made sense. She could have crashed and burned the same way, helped Will with the New New Directions - with this season's newbies. And eventually regained her confidence, made it to New York, and then the show could have ended with her starring in Funny Girl. 12 Link to comment
fakeempress January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 And is it me or did all those Warblers look kind of old? I won't even get into how old Dave looked.And I am trying to figure out how Kurt is now a junior,they really need to get their timeline straight, My thoughts exactly about the Warblers and Karofsky. Dave looked 30. Kurt started freshman year later, in the winter/spring semester afaik. If he made up the courseload, this should be junior year for him. Link to comment
aradia22 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 My thoughts exactly about the Warblers and Karofsky. Dave looked 30. I actually saw him recently at the closing night of Side Show. He doesn't look bad in person. But maybe that's because I'm getting old. ;) Link to comment
camussie January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 (edited) I liked "Homecoming" and i thought the newbies were good. I think having these newbies in season 4 would have made the split narrative better even as I still think it doomed to fail. I really didn't like "Loser like Me" because I felt like it was the writers at their self indulgent worst. The meta is not self referential fun, to me. It is the writers being lazy. I am really glad that Rachel is saying she wants to get back to Broadway. I was glad they had Will mention that he always thought it would be Finn doing this because to me that was a big elephant in the room. Edited January 10, 2015 by camussie 3 Link to comment
caltrask55 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Fuck me. I actually enjoyed both episodes. WHY? Big props to the newbies. Pretty talented all around. 6 Link to comment
CMH1981 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I know the gay football player will eventually join up w/the glee club, but he made a very valid point as to why Kurt was singling him out to join. Just b/c you are gay doesn't mean you have any ambition or want to sing or perform. I really wish he will stick to his guns and not join the glee club, or after continuing needling by Kurt and Rachel to audition that he does, and blows them out of the water singing wise but at the end says no to joining b/c it's not his thing. 2 Link to comment
jaytee1812 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 That says it all. I'm assuming the newbies being kicked out of school is a meta reference to them being kicked off the show. Is it just me or is this Jenna telling us what she thinks of the final season. http://instagram.com/p/xqFpSpGZRz/ Her dog is watching while she's off skiing, with one of the actors who got kicked off the show no less! Link to comment
RealityCowgirl January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 (edited) If TPTB spent half as much time conceptualizing great characters and giving them compelling stories as they do playing head games (with cast, fans and whoever), they'd be closing out a hit show. I must admit, I see potential in the new characters and the actors playing them. Too bad they didn't put some effort into creating them - or characters similarly original - instead of "one each of what we had before (more or less)" two seasons ago. Still not convinced these are the stories I want to see in this shortened good-bye season, though. Edited January 10, 2015 by RealityCowgirl 2 Link to comment
Craphole Island January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I actually never had anything against the original newbies, but I really liked these guys a lot. Wish they were introduced earlier. Also, I know I'm one of the few Sam fans here, but I have to say pretty much all his lines were killing me. I especially liked the reveal that he knew about Quinntana sex, and yes Dianna definitely broke character laughing! My Fabrevans shipping self really enjoyed that. 1 Link to comment
camussie January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Also, I know I'm one of the few Sam fans here, but I have to say pretty much all his lines were killing me. I especially liked the reveal that he knew about Quinntana sex, and yes Dianna definitely broke character laughing! My Fabrevans shipping self really enjoyed that. Sam works as male season 1 Brittany but just like Brittany herself didn't work as more than someone who has the funny one liners I don't feel Sam works as more than that either. He fun in this episode because they used him well. 1 Link to comment
Cranberry January 10, 2015 Author Share January 10, 2015 Moved some posts to the People in Charge thread, as they were about behind-the-scenes decisions from past seasons. Link to comment
aradia22 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 With the meta way they managed to diss Naya by making her sing an Ariana Grande song, i'm willing to bet dollars to donuts things were at the more fractious end of the spectrum. Does the timeline work out for that or is it just an unfortunate coincidence? The flip side of that is her showing off that she can sing as well (and high) as Ariana (which again, I'm not sure I believe given her previous performances). Link to comment
camussie January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 (edited) A few more thoughts I thought Glee was more "fun" than it had been since early season 4 and I think that is because they telegraphed clearly that this is just a temporary stop for Rachel while she gets her bearings rather than the end of the line for her. That makes her being back more hopeful rather than something she needs to learn to accept While I still think the alums popping in and out is contrived at least they built it around homecoming versus having them come home at random time and mentor the newbies. It also worked better for it to be more group on group interactions between the originals and the newbies rather than one on on Actually i would say the group thing was key to the newbies fitting in more seamlessly. Before it was Finn alone trying to bring the newbies on. Sure some alums popped in randomly and some of the originals were still in school but it wasn't a group effort among the originals to keep the glee club going and transition the newbies in. It was a Finn and to a lesser degree Will effort and as much as I loved Finn I always said that he alone (nor really anyone alone) was not enough draw to do that especially when the originals who were still in the choir room seemed to never really interact with the newbies. Glad RM and team learned their lesson by having it be more of a group effort to get the newbies up and running but I also wonder how it will go once most of the originals aren't there. Edited January 10, 2015 by camussie 2 Link to comment
Craphole Island January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I will say that I wish they DIDN'T make Sam the male Brittany, though. While he was always kind of, err, dumb, he was never quite what they made him during Season 4. Oh well. 3 Link to comment
Advance35 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Also, I know I'm one of the few Sam fans here, but I have to say pretty much all his lines were killing me. I especially liked the reveal that he knew about Quinntana sex, and yes Dianna definitely broke character laughing! My Fabrevans shipping self really enjoyed that. Aside from his looks (Growl) I've always liked Sam because he's as eccentric as any other character in Glee with the exception of Rachel and Sue, but he can still come across so relaxed. He always comes across as being who he is. I like that about him. He's also hysterically random which is always good for a laugh. And with him being the assistant coach they definitely left room for him to have a journey of his own this season. 1 Link to comment
tab19 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Am I the only one who thought Dianna broke character when she giggled at Sam bitching out the Tea Baggers? I wondered whether maybe Chord running into her was an accident, as well - and that was a *cackle* not a giggle :) and one of the best parts of the whole episode! 7 Link to comment
Hana Chan January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 It wasn't all bad. The new noobs are a definite improvement over the previous incarnation and I won't hate every instant that they're on so... progress? Rachel's crash and burn was pretty epic, but entirely self-inflicted. I get having those closest to her wanting to cheer her up, but she really does need some tough love and not this endless stream of sunshine blown up her ass. Someone has got to point out that she was a dumbass for burning every bridge that she crossed along the way and made all these choices herself. I'm curious to see how this is going to translate to her earning a second bite at the Broadway apple (now that it's her dream again). The breakup scene between Kurt and Blaine was a study in contrasts. On one side we had Chris, who was able to translate Kurt's increasing frustration and the growing distance between them in a way that kept the viewer's sympathy directed on him despite the fact that he was ending the relationship. And on the other we have Darren, who has the emotional depth of a kiddie pool in Nevada during a 20 year drought. Blaine's "suffering" in the aftermath of the breakup came across like it was being played for laughs because Darren was completely incapable of even an iota of genuine pathos. And no one can tell me that he didn't arrange to have Dave just appear at Scandals when he was going to meet Kurt there... blindsiding Kurt like that was in no way an accident. Sam continues to be a blank slate and I have no clue why they're keeping him around. 3 Link to comment
possibilities January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 The Tom Brady fleshlight and the bashing of the Tea Party Patriots made me really think no one at the network is looking, and I'm happy enough to see how that turns out. No mention of Sue's child, so I guess that's been retconned away-- another thing I'm glad enough to not have to worry about. 5 Link to comment
spiritof76 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 So I watched, live, which is something I have not done since Season 3 I think? Maybe I watched a few Season 5 episodes when they aired. Anyway, i'm not sure what possessed me, but I did. And I didn't hate it. I didn't love it. Not by a long shot. But it didn't make me want to throw anything at the TV , and with this show that is a win. I did like, "Home" better than the first hour. Just seeing everyone back together again, felt good. And it made a little more sense how they did it, then last time. (But "Take On Me" was awful. Just awful) I didn't cringe as much as I thought I would at Sam's line to Mercedes about still being a virgin. I purposely didn't watch the clip, i just heard about it. I thought he was going to say it front of everyone and kind of embarrass her. I still don't like that he said it, but the fact that they had him kind of toss it off as a funny aside, wasn't as bad as I imagined. Also I didn't really see the Rachel/Sam moments like I thought I would. (And you know I was looking. Hard!) But I know what happens in one episode has little to no baring on what happens in another episode on this show, so just because I didn't see them now, didn't mean they won't be there. Heck, if I didn't know better (and I do) based on the "Loser Like Me", i'd say they were trying to push together Blaine and Rachel! They went have on the "we're in this together" angle with them. I'm kind of conflicted. I like Jane (another black girl! With a fro!) and i like Roderick. The twins don't bother me. I really liked both Jane and Roderick's story lines. BUT, seeing as this is the last season and there are only 13 episodes (11 left now) I don't know if I want the show wasting time with a bunch a new people, when we have so many stories and characters, of people we have been following for 6 years now, to wrap up. I have to say I HATED that they made Kurt, be the one to come crawling back to Blaine and apologize. Because Kurt was right and I was glad someone said it, They are kids! After everyone left and Blaine moved back into the loft, that was the second time, they couldn't make a go of it. Take the hint guys! There is nothing romantic about this situation. 4 Link to comment
CoyoteBlue January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 Seriously, they've been gone two years. Why are the students talking like the Originals are from another generation altogether? 1 Link to comment
Hookian January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 I've never seen them set up something so obvious as Samchel since they set up Finchel and Wemma in the pilot. It's like every scene they either paired them together or sat them next to one another. It was ridiculous. Link to comment
memememe76 January 10, 2015 Share January 10, 2015 If I knew anyone from high school who became the lead of a tv series that lasted one episode, I would think that would be *really* cool. While I can snark about it on a message board, I would be more than impressed if this was real life. "Home" was probably the best song since "The Scientist". The most joyous since "We Are Young", maybe? Mason is exactly what I envisioned Phil Dunphy from Modern Family would've been like in high school. 4 Link to comment
Recommended Posts