by Chris Saccaro
Very rarely do the titles of “Glee” episodes make their way into all the storylines of any given episode. That would make too much sense. But in “Makeover,” nearly every character goes through a transformation that, as Rachel says; changes their outside until their inside catches up.
The main storyline at McKinley High proves very worrisome. Despite all of the characters at its disposal, everything happening at the high school just feels empty. Now that Kurt left, Blaine is feeling alone and fills his time with extracurricular activities. This concept is real enough that it should have elicited some sort of emotional response, but it just falls flat. Running against Brittany for student body president could have been interesting, but instead it feels familiar. A main story arc of last season involved characters running against Brittany as student body president, so revisiting this idea is yet another example of the repetition that’s been prevalent in the fourth season.
This is primarily why the scenes that take place in New York are so refreshing. But these are still far from perfect. While the stories that are taking place in Lima, Ohio are stale with a slow build up, the stories in New York develop too quickly to establish any sort of dramatic richness to them. In the span of one episode, Kurt interviews at Vogue.com, gets the internship, and becomes part of his boss’ inner circle. Sarah Jessica Parker’s performance as Kurt’s boss is uninspired and forced.
To further go along with the “makeover” theme of the episode, Kurt breaks into Vogue and gives Rachel a makeover. Ignoring the implausibility of an intern getting access to a Vogue Headquarters within the first few days of work, this is an overused plot device that only results in an insufferable rendition of “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile/The Way You Look Tonight.” At least Rachel finally got a chance to hook up with Brody, only to be interrupted by Finn. While this was meant to be a surprising twist, it was easy to predict the moment when there would be a knock on the door.
The songs performed this week were forgettable at best, unwatchable at worst. Blaine’s performance of “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was fun and inspired by the narrative, but all of the other songs were really absurd. The worst contender was definitely “Celebrity Skin,” which pit Brittany and Sam against each other in a dual makeover as they got ready for their campaign.
It’s disappointing to see a show that started with so much promise suffer such a decline in quality. The fourth season had plenty of potential to reinvigorate itself with that unnamable quality that once made it great. By allowing the seniors to graduate, “Glee” was giving itself a second chance at these storylines. But unfortunately, this second chance has been squandered on repeated character dynamics and stale circumstances.
Chris Saccaro is a staff writer. Email him at entertainment@nyunews.com.
