Honourable Mentions
Trashy but hilarious episodes: Throwdown (Season 1, Episode 7), The Substitute (Season 2, Episode 7), Blame It On the Alcohol (Season 2, Episode 14)The best of the Tributes: The Power of Madonna (Season 1, Episode 15), Saturday Night Glee-ver (Season 3, Episode 16)
'Brittana' highlights: Sexy (Season 2, Episode 15), Heart (Season 3, Episode 13)
Promising but misleading premieres: The New Rachel (Season 4, Episode 1), Homecoming (Season 6, Episode 2)
Episodes that should have been the finale: Goodbye (Season 3, Episode 22), New Directions (Season 5, Episode 13)
Surprisingly good episodes later on: The Break Up (Season 4, Episode 4), Trio (Season 5, Episode 10)
10. Props (Season 3, Episode 20)
Props is one of the few episodes where Glee manages to
balance comedy and drama, featuring one of the show’s funniest sequences, where
the whole cast ‘bodyswap’ and act as each other, after Tina falls into a
fountain, bumps her head and hallucinates she is Rachel. Yes, it’s a bit of a gimmick,
but it’s a great source of comedy and provides a much-needed showcase for the
underused Jenna Ushkowitz. Writer, Ian Brennan undercuts this comedy with the heart-wrenching
conclusion of Beiste’s domestic abuse storyline, featuring some of Dot-Marie
Jones best work on the show as she finally manages to leave her abusive
relationship. A late gem from the mostly
uneven and messy third season.
9. Sectionals (Season 1, Episode 13)
Sectionals could well have been Glee’s series finale had
it not become the phenomenon it was. As a result, it is packed full of plot,
wrapping up almost every story arc whilst presenting the glee club’s
anticipated Sectionals competition, where it all falls apart – Finn has quit
and the other clubs are performing their setlist (courtesy of Sue). Despite its
break-neck pace, the episode never feels too rushed, mostly down to
its crushing sentimentality and big fat heart. Lea Michele’s Don’t Rain On My
Parade is a real showstopper while the final number My Life Would Suck
Without You is perhaps the most feel-good number the show ever did, with its
incorporation of just about every routine the club performed in the previous
episode and the last shot of Will & Emma finally kissing.
8. Silly Love Songs (Season 2, Episode 12)
This episode is Glee tackling the highs and lows of teenage
romance at its very best, while being extremely funny at the same time. Santana
takes centre stage and Naya Rivera is hilarious in every scene, from her plans
to expose Finn & Quinn’s kiss, her fight with Lauren and the club’s recollection
of her many insults (“I just try to be really, really honest with people when I
think that they suck!”). The Rachel-Finn-Quinn-Sam love square is fairly silly
but fun and Blaine’s failure at seducing a GAP worker is hilarious. However,
the real highlight is the development of Puck and Lauren’s relationship, where
Puck attempts to court Lauren. Lauren is a great female character, with real
confidence and pride in herself that makes her a delight to watch, as Puck tries
hard to win her over.
7. Nationals (Season 3, Episode 21)
Nationals is an extremely cathartic episode of Glee,
where these kids finally reach a goal three years in the making – the winning
of the National Show Choir Competition (spoilers). The episodes begins in true Glee fashion - in the last hours, everything seems to go wrong as Mercedes falls ill, Quinn is
struggling to dance, Puck’s trying to study and Rachel is worried about her
future. But despite these setbacks, the club are so determined to win and
really feel like a united team. They produce their best setlist since Season 1
(Lea Michele’s It’s All Coming Back To Me Now is breathtaking) and Vocal
Adrenaline’s Unique is also fantastic. It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s moving, it’s
musical numbers are excellent – everything that can be great about the show.
6. Preggers (Season 1, Episode 4)
An early highlight of Glee that puts focus on Chris Colfer’s
Kurt for the first time (who later becomes one of the show’s signature
characters and a gay icon) as he attempts to hide his sexuality from his father
(Mike O’Malley), by joining the football team. Colfer and O’Malley are one of Glee’s
best relationships, and Kurt’s coming out to him is just beautifully handled
and a benchmark for the handling of teen sexuality on TV (too bad it didn’t
work out that way for Santana). The episode is also very funny, with Kurt’s
interactions with the football team, their performance of Beyoncé’s ‘Single
Ladies’ dance on the field (that leads to their first win) and Sue & Sandy’s
teaming up to steal Rachel away from the club.
5. Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1)
This is where it all began. The Glee of the Pilot is so
different from the last few years of Glee, and really, so much better. This
show is a dark comedy, about sad, desperate people longing for a better life (like
Rachel) and people who are clinging onto the dreams they never achieved (like
Will). It is full of biting humour, funny performances and musical performances
that are there to progress the plot (rather than shift iTunes sales). And
despite this darkness and some stereotypes the show has never really shaken, the pilot truly lived up to the show's name, especially with Don’t Stop Believin, which is now
one of the most iconic TV moments of the last decade. If the rest of Glee had
been as good as this Pilot, then this list would have been a lot harder to
make.
4. Journey to Regionals (Season 1, Episode 22)
Glee’s season 1 finale creates high stakes for a situation
where in real life they wouldn’t be that high. But Regionals feels so
significant because of what the glee club means to all of these characters, and
so their fight (and then loss) is genuinely moving and enthralling. With one of
the best competition setlists that the show has seen and Glee’s best ever
musical number in the form of Bohemian Rhapsody, a genuinely incredible showcase
tying up a number of plot threads all while Jonathan Groff absolutely knocks
the iconic Queen number out the park, this is certainly one of Glee’s most
exciting and dynamic episodes.
3. Wheels (Season 1, Episode 9)
Too often Glee fell into the ‘Very Special Episode’
territory and seemed to never rest until it could shoddily tackle every social
issue they could think of. But the first episode that could fall into this
category is actually one of Glee’s best. Wheels features Artie prominently
for the first time, as the school budget will not cover a handi-capable bus for
Sectionals. As a result, the club hold a bake sale to fund this bus, which
develops the Puck, Quinn & Finn love triangle nicely.
However, where the episode shines is in its development of
Artie & Tina’s sweet relationship, the Defying Gravity sing-off and in
the development of Sue Sylvester. Chris Colfer & Mike O’Malley continue to
work tremendously together as they fight for Kurt’s right to solo on the Wicked
track. But Kurt blows the sing-off intentionally to spare his father from
harassment over his sexuality. It’s a sad plot development that reminds us of
the struggles homosexuals face in society. And finally, we learn of Sue’s
softer side with the introduction of her sister with down syndrome. Jane Lynch
is so wonderful in this episode, and while Sue increasingly became a one-note
caricature, this was a highlight for a character. These plots may come across
as preachy to some, but in my opinion, Wheels rights just the right balance.
2. Duets (Season 2, Episode 4)
Duets is very quietly a perfect episode of Glee. It
features no super elaborate musical numbers, big name guest stars or major plot
developments. The thing that is so great about this episode is its pure
simplicity and its use of the entire ensemble. Writer, Ian Brennan finds time
for everyone here, basing everyone’s stories around the week’s lesson in Glee
club – to sing a duet. Every one of these stories is very funny, natural and
nails their emotional beats when sometimes you’d think they shouldn’t.
Finn and Rachel for once go behind-the-scenes, planning to
help Sam win the competition to make him stay in the club. Kurt initially seeks
to pair with Sam, but ends up singing a duet ‘with himself’ (in a theatrical
performance of Le Jazz Hot) in order to protect Sam’s reputation. So instead
Sam and Quinn pair up and their early relationship is greatly natural and
well-acted. Meanwhile, Mercedes and Santana team up and rock the hell out of River
Deep –Mountain High, Tina helps Mike turn his singing flaws into a virtue, and
Brittany takes Artie’s virginity to make Santana jealous. The plot seems
absurd, but Ian Brennan and the actors make its fallout actually poignant and sincere.
But while Duets is wonderful, one other episode just pips
it…
1. Dream On (Season 1, Episode 19)
Glee is at its best when it confronts the topic of these
character’s dreams and the reality of some of them never happening. Cult hero,
Joss Whedon (of Avengers and Buffy fame) guest directs the episode and focuses
in on this theme, particularly in the characters of Artie, Rachel and Will.
Artie dreams of becoming a dancer despite his disability. Rachel dreams of
meeting her birth mother. Will’s dreams never came true, leaving him stuck with
a life of regret of what could have been. Bryan Ryan (played by guest star,
Neil Patrick Harris who rightly won an Emmy for this episode) also failed, but instead
spends his time keeping anyone from dreaming like he did.
By the end of the outing, there is not much hope for Artie,
whose new found optimism (as shown by his dream sequence Safety Dance number)
is crushed as he realises the unlikelihood of him ever even walking again.
Neither for Will, who gives up a role in a local theatre show to Bryan so he
can live his dream a little. For Rachel, there is more hope, as Jesse helps her
persue her mother’s identity (aided by her mother, Vocal Adrenaline coach,
Shelby) and they discover a tape of her singing. The following I Dreamed a
Dream performance is beautifully shot and performed spectacularly by Michele
and Idina Menzel, who seem so close, yet so far to each other.
Despite all this underlying sadness, Dream On is still as
funny as the best of Glee (“You can’t feed a child sheet music, Will. Well I
suppose you could, but they’d be dead in a month” is my favourite quip). But
its emotional punches are some of its strongest ever. It is this balance that
makes the episode exceptional and Glee’s legacy could have been far more
significant (critically) had there been more episodes as sharply written,
directed and performed as this one.
And that's it from me! Please leave a comment and let me know what your favourite episodes of Glee are! Also, enjoy the finale!
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