Every GLEE-tail: Mercedes Is NOT Pregnant!

We repeat – NOT PREGNANT! But she is in trouble…
(NOTE: Watching you all freak out on Twitter thinking that she was pregnant was hysterical. Also, for about 20 minutes there, we thought the same thing.)
So, here’s what we learned from last night’s Glee: Brittany is the fiercest that there ever was. Tina is still a vampire. (YES!!!) Artie has a weird liking to Binaca. Breadstix delivers. (Is it lunch yet?) Mike Chang has a wonderful voice… and Mercedes has a mean streak that changes everything for the New Directions.
Gleeks have been hearing nothing but praise and the words ├óΓé¼┼ôgame changer├óΓé¼┬¥ from those who saw ├óΓé¼┼ôAsian F├óΓé¼┬¥ before the masses. Now that you├óΓé¼Γäóve all seen the episode, we hope you feel the same as we do: it was FLAWLESS. Watching last night├óΓé¼Γäós episode recalled memories for us of watching ├óΓé¼┼ôWheels├óΓé¼┬¥ for the first time – or watching ├óΓé¼┼ôJourney├óΓé¼┬¥ for the 15th. It reminded us why we refuse to make plans on Tuesday nights and why our iTunes looks like complete Glee catalogue ├óΓé¼┬ª because it is. It was an emotional episode with a lot of heart, some amazing music and most importantly, some focus on some characters that were more than overdue for their time in the spotlight.
Speaking of spotlight, we might as well kick things off with the lady of the hour: Mercedes. She’s our game charger instigator as a major decision she makes opens the door for bigger changes to come. For two seasons, Gleeks have watched as this delightful, tot-loving diva feared that her talents were being overlooked in favor of Rachel Berry’s. But all of that changes when her new boyfriend tells her she’s better than Rachel, stirring a confidence – and perhaps a cockiness –that motivates her to audition for the role of Maria. It’s good, but not good enough to convince the musical’s three directors – Emma, Artie and Beiste – that she deserves the part over Rachel. In order to decide, a time-honored tradition was put into motion: a diva-off! One song, two ladies, and stirring sensation of delight through our bodies upon hearing them sing together again!
But here’s the thing: though Mercedes proves without a doubt that she has the talent to overthrow Rachel’s rule, she also starts showcasing some really unlikable behavior to those who have always supported her. She gets so consumed with the idea of being the best Maria that she forgets to be the best Mercedes. She becomes entirely self-involved and faces off with Mr. Schue and the New Directions, proclaiming that she has outgrown them. She walks out on him and later, walks out on the role of Maria when the directors decide to dual cast the ladies. It’s then that she draws a line in the sand that foreshadows tough times ahead. Mercedes strolls into Shelby Corocan’s office and joins her new aspiring Glee club. No doubt, in episodes to come, relationships and loyalties will be tested as others consider following Mercedes lead. (See promo for next week for confirmation.)
The episodes title comes from Mike Chang’s struggles to be himself, but also who is father wants him to be. Yeah, you read that right. Mike got himself a B storyline all to himself! And let us tell you something – it was incredible. Two very emotional scenes in the school’s dance studio later and we’ve learned more about Mike than we have in two years. His father demands that his son give up dancing after he gets an Asian F (an A- to the rest of us), but thankfully, he decides to be true to himself and his talents, with a little help from his mom and lands the role of Riff in the musical.
Oh yeah, about that musical. Somewhere in there, Santana auditioned for Anita and got the part. It was possibly one of the best developments to come out of the episode so we had to throw that in. Santana’s girl Brittany is running for school president against Kurt … and also Rachel. In a moment of desperation and fear that she would lose the role of Maria to Mercedes, Rachel threw her hat into the ring so that she would have something significant on her transcripts for college. However, she stays in the race even after getting the part for the same reason. Cue the tension between she, Finn and Kurt. By the way, rounding out the cast was Blaine as Tony. Raise your hand if you’re going to be watching iTunes like a hawk for Darren and Lea’s duet of Tonight. (We’ll put ours up in a second. Let’s just finish this recap first!)
Finally, there was some deep, emotional Wemma action last night with a lot demons faced but not conquered. After offering to iron him some bacon (WHAT?!) and he in turn revealing his porn stash (AWKWARD!), Will starts to second-guess his relationship with Emma since she hasn’t introduced him to her parents yet. But it turns out, she isn’t ashamed of her relationship with Will; she is ashamed of her parents, a pair of “ginger preservationists,” who have belittled non-red headed folk almost as much as they have belittle Emma for her condition. After a disastrous meal together, Emma’s progress with her OCD is drastically set back, but Will vows to fix her with love and a little bit of Coldplay. There’s an entire box of Kleenex missing from our bathroom because of their last scene together. Don’t judge.
All and all, this episode really delivered in a way the Glee hasn’t in over a season. There were laughs, tears and a real sense that Ryan Murphy is not going to let us down.
The next three weeks will be excruciating, but watching this episode a few more million times might just ease the pain.
What did U think of last night’s show?