The girls of New Directions perform in “The Power of Madonna” episode of Glee on FOX.
© 2010 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Michael Yarish/FOX

I like Madonna’s earlier stuff a lot more than her later stuff. Is that unusual? Perhaps that’s why I didn’t love last night’s Glee as much as so many others did. Perhaps not. Either way, it was a mixed bag for me. Enjoyable but not worth the praise I’ve seen heaped on it in the past week.

Things I Liked:

• In an episode all about empowering women, it’s the the women who do NOT give in to the pressure and give up their virginity for the sake of others. And, though there’s nothing about the “after” between Finn and Santana that inidcates that she actually enjoyed herself, there’s no implied comment about her being a slut for what she does either.
• Despite being a show that is so over the top in so many ways (even in its marketing!), the underlying emotions are very realistic. In particular, I really liked the scene between Finn and Rachel after their dates. Their lies and the reactions to each other in that scene rang very true. I’m actually impressed with the way (so for anyway) relationships have actually stayed pretty consistent in these two episodes back. It’s a definite improvement over the “rinse repeat” the show was doing back in the fall.
• The “Like A Virgin” number. Oh, it was telegraphed from the moment Rachel brought up Jesse wanting to do it and I was dreading it as a result. So imagine my surprise when I thought it was probably the best one of the episode. And, because I don’t often comment on this aspect of the show, I really loved the costuming choices during the number. Nice contrast, on the girls, between the experienced and unexperienced.
• The random Madonna look-alikes passing through the background in various scenes. I had fun picking them out.
• “My favorites, did you bring them?” After thinking Shue was a bit of a sleaze last week, his assuring Emma that she did the right thing was nice. In general, this relationship still makes me happy. Yes, they’re not together together but I like the reasons they’re not together. It actually makes sense at the moment. Maybe it’s just such a relief after the way these two were handled in the first half of the season?
• Jesse St. James joining New Directions. Finn’s reaction is the best thing EVER, “What the hell?! It seems like now everyone’s doing things just to hurt my feelings.” Hahaha. Oh, Finn.
• Kurt and Mercedes joining the Cheerios. Much more than Rachel leaving the Glee Club because she wasn’t getting the solo on every time, it makes sense that these two would seek out another way to get the spotlight. Overall, I’m just happier with the ongoing storylines now. They all feel more natural.

Things I Didn’t:

• Too many musical numbers meant not all of them really “fit” into the episode. I like it better when the song actually has a place in the storyline rather than feeling like an excuse to squeeze in one more musical performance. I get that it was a Madonna episode and they wanted to take advantage of that but, eh, overkill. Who knew Glee could ever be accused of being too showy?
• The one ongoing storyline that makes me roll my eyes every time it’s brought up? Sue blackmailing the principal.
• How come Quinn was so much more visibly pregnant in the Fall than she is now? Are they trying to slow down that pregnancy? This was particularly evident in the girls only “Express Yourself” number (see photo above). There’s already a large amount of suspension of disbelief required when it comes to the musical stuff, they don’t need to add more.
• The hype. I know I am exposed to more of this than the average viewer but, man, this is one show that really suffers from being over-hyped. And, if I’m being honest, I’m not sure it ever manages to surpass the hype. Which is not to say I don’t enjoy the episodes. More that I enjoy them while also wondering why I’m not enjoying them as much as I apparently should be. Also, and I’m sorry for beating this dead horse (doubly sorry for those of you who follow me and everyone I’ve discussed this with on Twitter), I’m just sick of plot points being spoiled by Fox promos. I know it’s working for them and not likely to change as a result and I guess I can’t fault them for that? I guess. I just hate that there’s no way for me to avoid it. Especially when they decide to present the promo as something extra special for fans rather than making it clear that it was an extended piece from an upcoming episode. At least then I would have known NOT to watch the “Vogue” video after last week’s episode. Yes, you can enjoy the whole video storyline despite having already seen the outcome of it but is that really how they intended for us to experience that part of the episode? Anyway. Clearly it bugs me. There’s not much I can do about it – other than bitch about it in a blog post, that is – so I’ll just have to continue trying to avoid as much of the hype as I can for the rest of the season.