Bottom line: zero conflict.
On occasion, there are some TV episodes that make you want to strangle the nearest living creature.
Glee’s holiday special is that episode for me. I could forgive the whole Santanna malfunction that one time, but I cannot forgive an episode that lacks conflict. When Artie (Kevin McHale) is hired to put the Glee club in a live TV special, Rachel (Lea Michele,) Kurt (Chris Colfer,) Blaine (Darren Criss,) and the rest of the gang aren’t complaining. Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) wants the crew to sing to orphans the same night – shocking, I know. What will Glee club choose? The show or the orphans? Well, apparently they can do both. And there lies the problem.
Sue’s anger flares when she finds out the kids are not singing to the orphans. Then the story shifts from that drama to two full acts of the aforementioned special itself. There is no cutting back-and-fourth between the two stories, there is just the special. It’s cute and I’m sure it satisfies one of Matthew Morrison’s Broadway styled wet dreams. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s a 20-minute distraction from the plot.
Then, once we do cut back to the orphans, the club members walk in late and sing as if there was no problem at all. No, I’m serious, there are no scruples discussed. It is these kinds of Glee stories that ruin the show for people. We all know it is commercialism, but for goodness’s sake, at least give us more Sue Sylvester styled insults. Otherwise, we’re just watching a Judy Garland Christmas Special knock-off. Glee isn’t about songs, it’s about the drama that’s behind those songs. The songs are just a vehicle for the characters to express their emotions. We should be watching the characters struggle and love through Christmas just like everyone else.
Some stats and info about Glee, “Extraordinary Merry Christmas”
TV SHOW – Glee
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 2, Episode 9
AIRED ON – December 13th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – FOX/Hulu
GENRE – Drama, Musicals, Comedy
CREATED BY – Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy
CAST – Chris Colfer, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, Kevin McHale, Naya Rivera, Jenna Ushkowitz, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Heather Elizabeth Morris, Chord Overstreet, Darren Criss, Harry Shum Jr., Cory Monteith, Jayma Mays, Dianna Agron
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.