Santanna’s secret is revealed to the state of Ohio.
After a whole season-and-a-half of self-hatred, Santanna (Naya Rivera) faces the cold hard truth about her sexual orientation. Glee continues to progress its arcs in near sonic speed and the show refuses to lessen its throttle. This episode is an example of that; we see two big arcs come to a head. We also see that Glee’s version of dodgeball is a little anti-climactic until you add a Pat Benatar jingle to it.
Also, after two seasons Glee finally uses a Pat Benatar song. Can I get a rock-n-roll amen in the TV house? Other than my superficial love for all things Benatar, this episode shows some great character development for Santanna. Finn (Cory Monteith) destroys her self-esteem and she somehow retains that spark that keeps her fierce. This episode showed the more heartbreaking aspects of Glee; I’m glad they have returned. Glee has now foregone the “Aesop of the day formula” in favor of character development; the show has improved due to this creative decision.
Much of the episode deals with Kurt (Chris Colfer) refusing to resort to “poo flinging” like Sue’s (Jane Lynch’s) congressional campaign. Will (Matthew Morrison) also decides to work with Shelby (Idina Menzel) to have a mash off with their respective clubs. The actual “mashes” themselves lack the energy of previous seasons. The only solid ones involve Pat Benatar and Adele. Hit me with Your Best Shot” saves the dodgeball scene from being… boring. The last performance in the episode sets up for what will be a heartbreaking next couple of episodes. It’s actually a good thing that Santanna is out now… hopefully.
I find it interesting that whenever Glee does a good job in terms of story, it always lacks in the music department. Idina Menzel and Matthew Morrison’s mash up was forgettable at best and I can’t even remember the mash up the Glee kids put up against the Trouble Tones. Yay for plot, nay for music.
Some stats and info about Glee, “Mash Off”
TV SHOW – Glee
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 3, Episode 6
AIRED ON – November 15th, 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.