Glee Season 2
While I am a devoted ‘gleek’ myself I found season 2 a bit upstaged by the first season. The wonderful promotion of the arts was still present and the execution of performances were immaculate, yet still something was missing. There were so many weird changes to the characters and their personalities. I feel like all the growing and building they did in season one was somehow lost in the transition from their freshman to sophomore year. They all seemed somewhat different from their previous seasons persona.
For example Rachel (Lea Michele) took a huge leap backward from her ‘team player’ attitude in season one, and Finn (Cory Monteith) finds himself once again striving to be Mr. Popular as the star quarterback. Quinn (Dianna Agron) is also struggling to be queen bee again and seems to have completely forgotten all about her pregnancy incident and how the glee club members were her only supporters. Some characters are seemingly forgotten in the background while some are awkwardly forced front and center.
What happened to Quinn and Puck over the summer? I thought that ended on a good note in last seasons finale, but there was no explanation as to what happened. Oh, and what happened to Sue (Jane Lynch)? She used to be so mean and marvelous. To my utter disappointment she seems to have mellowed out quite a bit in this second season. Still mean, don’t get me wrong, just with less enthusiasm as usual. Jane Lynch is probably one of my absolute favorite actresses to watch. As soon as I see she’s in something I am immediately all for it. Glee is no exception. Another lead to be drastically altered was the once incredibly compassionate Will Schuester. I can’t quite put my finger on the change but he just doesn’t seem as devoted to the glee club and members as he once was. There is something lost about the character. Some of his smolder seems to have fizzled out.
I think there were several “what? moments’ at first, but then you get used to it and are able to enjoying the rest of the season. It’s really not all bad I promise. It actually ends up being pretty good. The writing for this season is just off. I don’t necessarily think it is bad, it’s just not as genuine as the first season. In the grand scheme of it all it’s just hard to follow a season as great and endearing as the first. The journey the small misfit show choir struggle through to be something is very emotional and heart warming.
The loss of character charisma and plot (ex. The Brittany/Brittany episode. What was that?) are almost completely forgiven by the sole addition of the masterful Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones). I thought she was absolutely grand! She is a perfect addition to the McKinley High misfits. Her random quips thrown out with no relevance to anything being said were priceless. Stick them together with the sassiness of Sue and Santana and the complete stupidity of the hilarious Brittany and you have a show all its own. Like I said, not all was lost. The redeeming brilliance of these characters and the charm of Kurt, Chris Colfer (my favorite) are rich in composition. The relationship between Kurt and his father, played by Mike O’Malley, is beyond beautiful. It is such and emotional ride this season, and possible more endearing than last season!
Other new additions to the cast are also very welcome. John Stamos was a smoking addition! He gave Will a run for his money. Sam, Chord Overstreet, a.k.a. adorable, was such a genuinely sweet addition to New Directions. I loved the ‘Bieber fever’ he started. Laughed my butt off! And boy oh boy can Charice sing! The little Miss Sunshine was knock your socks off good! No wonder Rachel sent her to a crack house! The intimidation was thick. I wish we could have heard a little more of her amazing singing voice. Although I’m not quite sure I cared much for her character. I just enjoyed her singing.
No matter how off the writing and characters are at times there is one thing Glee never gets wrong, and that is their outstanding performances. The singing and dancing, aside from poor Finn, is immaculate. It never fails to be entertaining. The episode featuring the mash up of ‘Singing in the Rain/Umbrella’ was ridiculous! I thoroughly enjoyed that performance. It was visually outstanding. The beautiful rain splashing and showering everywhere was very nicely highlighted by the lighting. It just seemed to glitter and created an engaging atmosphere. The contrasts of the dark background and lighted gleaming water are spectacular. So very pretty in high definition. Scenes like that are really enhanced by the clarity and precision of high def. The great audio (5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio) also really sets the mood and catches the audiences attention. The details are just amazing to see and hear.
Another outstanding episode and my personal favorite was The Rocky Horror Glee Show. That was by far the best of season 2. That single episode made the entire season for me. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is one of my very favorites and I really love the homage paid to the incredible film. I just can’t say enough about that episode. Mercedes (Amber Riley) gave an especially outstanding performance.
As disappointing as some parts of the show and characters were the musical numbers and witty quips more than made up for the small flaws. The new relationships are incredibly interesting and exciting to see bloom and the characters, although slightly altered, are still the characters we all came to love. As the season developed we got to see some of the old characteristics of the show reappear. Though the “finale” if it can be called that, was not so exciting, the rest of the season was quite enjoyable. I look forward to seeing how Season 3 plays out.
All in all I think Glee is an outstanding show. I love the message they are trying to get across. Everyone matters and need to be who they truly are inside. We are all misfits in our own way. No matter how well we appear to ‘fit in’. Season 2 may have been a little misfit itself but in the end we all still love if for what it is. Inspiring.
Special Features
Disc 1
-Glee Music Jukebox
-The Making of The Rocky Horror Glee Show
-Exclusive Bonus Song
Disc 2
-Glee Music Jukebox
Disc 3
-Glee Music Jukebox
Disc 4
-Glee Music Jukebox
-Building Glee’s Auditorium with Cory Monteith
-A Day In The Life Of Brittany
-Shooting Glee in New York
-Guesting on Glee
-Stevie Nicks Goes Glee
-Sue’s Quips
-Santana’s Slams
-The Wit of Brittany
-Getting Waxed with Jane Lynch
-Glee at Comic-Con 2010
Now after that incredible rant of special features let me tell you a little about them. The Glee Music Jukebox featured on every disc is actually a recap of the songs performed on those episodes. This is a great feature. I loved the option of re-watching the best parts of the episodes over and over again. The making of The Rocky Horror Glee Show was also wonderful, mainly due to the fact that this was my favorite episode. Most are self explanatory, but just incase let me just tell you how funny I think Brittany is one more time. I loved that she has 2 features all to herself! After watching the Comic-Con 2010 Q&A I am really beginning to see how easy it may actually be to write for Brittany (Heather Morris). She seems to be a natural hoot. I mean that is the best possible way.
The rest of the features are all really interesting to watch. I know special features can sometimes drag on, but these made me laugh and were quite entertaining. Several are just recaps of witty quips, but all the more funny when pointed out separately.
If you have the time definitely give them a quick go. You will get a few quick laughs out of it and possibly find the characters a bit more interesting in the long run.
