by Chris Saccaro
A college freshman’s first visit home usually ends up happening right around Thanksgiving, so it makes sense that “Glee” would take advantage of this. Visiting home the first time after months in college is a unique experience that forces students to reevaluate his or her high school friends and experiences.
And with “Thanksgiving,” “Glee” manages to nail this experience pretty well, especially by opening up with a fitting cover of “Homeward Bound/Home.” From the naïve excitement of seeing friends for the first time in months, to the eventual bitter feelings, “Glee” manages to weave all of this into the larger narrative of Sectionals.
Finn takes a cue from the recently returned graduates and pairs them up with some of the new glee club members for a mentor program. The pairings that he picks are obvious, grouping graduates with their replacement characters: Puck and Jake, Quinn and Kitty, etc. But it still provided for some interesting dynamics to emerge.
For the most part, however, not much really happened in this episode. Most of “Thanksgiving” was spent preparing for sectionals, and reconnecting with the returning graduates. Though it should be noted that Rachel and Kurt are absent from this McKinley High reunion. Instead, they are spending Thanksgiving amongst new friends, singing a painful mashup of “Let’s Have a Kiki” and “Turkey Lurkey Time”. And for one of the first times ever, I found myself questioning why I was watching “Glee.” This scene singlehandedly made me question whether I should keep watching.
One of the things I do have to commend the writers on, however, is keeping Marley’s eating disorder just below the surface in this episode. It’s always there, lingering, but it’s never really brought to the forefront. Even Santana’s discovery of her laxatives, and the subsequent showdown with Quinn, was more about friends growing apart after college and less about the eating disorder.
It’s clear that this was done to give Marley’s fainting spell on stage that much more impact. And for once, I really think “Glee” handled that really well. Watching Marley’s vision stuttering automatically put us on edge. And it actually makes the insufferable inclusion of this storyline in previous episodes worth it for the scene.
This was also a good way to change the monotony of the previous seasons’ Sectionals episode. Halfway through the Amish glee club’s performance, I thought to myself, “Ok, so its still going to be between the Warblers and the New Directions…just like last year.” But Marley fainting at the end of “Gangnam Style” changes everything.
This episode acts as an interesting analysis on coming home. The returning students immerse themselves in the new kids’ storylines so effortlessly that one has to wonder if they changed in college. The only proof that they’ve changed is the deteriorating relationships amongst them and their peers. And it’s when “Glee” focuses on these true-to-life experiences that it manages to become more than just a show with questionable musical numbers.
Chris Saccaro is a staff writer. Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com.
