The fine art of the mash-up has been a hallowed tradition that has been explored to a significant extent on GLEE since the very beginning, so a night filled with only such two-stack tracks would seem to be the ideal way to celebrate the show's 300th musical performance to date, which arrived with apropos regalia in last night's "Mash-Off" episode. The mash-ups blasted off in a grand manner and the carefully-constructed couplings were often quite brilliant twists on the sounds of the original singles - the spectacular 300th performance showcase of Adele's "Rumor Has It" and "Someone Like You" acting as the musical apotheosis of the evening, at its conclusion. Mixing disparate elements from the incredibly diverse musical catalogs of Adele, Lady Gaga, Hall & Oates, Pat Benatar, Blondie, Van Halen, Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gayle, "Mash-Off" managed to shine a light on the couples singing the musical mergings, as well as provide the high entertainment value implicit in any episode so far on the resoundingly strong third season of GLEE.
World War GLEEMark Salling's LION KING-inspired, Puckfasa-narrated opening all the way to
Idina Menzel's recreation of the "Hot For Teacher" chick in the daydream sequence onwards, "Mash-Off" hit all the right notes insofar as musical moments to remember go - and certainly continues on the winning streak of Season Three of GLEE thus far. The humor was in huge supply, as well, with Sue's anti-Burt "Baboon Heart" Hummel TV ads a fabulously over-the-top example of her all-too-lovable, but, at the same time, all-too-despicable devilry. Also, as for the comedy quotient,
Heather Morris excelled, as always, this time with her, "Is this what a stroke feels like?" acting as just another of her seemingly endless series of unforgettable one-liner one-offs. No, "Mash-Off" was decidedly not a one-off full of forgettable and disposable variety show moments, though - as I admittedly feared it could have easily become and could have oh-so-easily been dramatically justified as becoming given the theme; but, no, it was exactly the opposite of that. The musical moments were even more interwoven into the dense, multi-layered tapestry of the sprawling, oft-unwieldy musical comedy/drama mash-up that is GLEE than could have been expected or anticipated, really - the out-of-the-blue but ringing true Shelby/Will impromptu piano/guitar duet as much a treat as the intricately choreographed and edited Adele mash-up/medley later on in the show; or, for that matter, the Pat Benatar/Blondie dodge-ball war. Yes, the most visually striking sequence was undoubtedly the soon-to-be iconic dodge-ball match - to follow in the sloppy steps of the slushies of seasons gone by - and it is already prominently featured in the Season Three logos for the show. It's a solid metaphor that hits a chord, for sure.
The addition of a delicately played violence angle and the depiction of the thin line between sport and brutality is a topic broached far too little in depictions of school, so it was a smart and apt accent to have Kurt (
Chris Colfer) respond in the manner that he did to Santana's bullying and to make it an issue to at least be up for discussion. As for that matter, Santana's overall bitchiness seems to be reaching new heights - and, as a result,
Naya Rivera is hitting new highs; or should that be, depths - which is definitely saying something given her character - and Finn's public humiliation of her and subsequent condemnation of her cowardice was satisfying to finally see portrayed and enacted and next week proves to be even more exploration of Santana's travails. Bullies lose much more than they win and Sue got her comeuppance in a sense, too - or we can at least hope she will someday soon. After all, Sue's character is shaded ever-so-slightly as to give her a little bit of heart - such as in the Grinch-themed Christmas episode from roughly this time last year. Indeed, Sue and Santana seem to share certain themes and their similar attitudes and overall actions seem to show the typical high school mean girl and what she can ultimately become. On the dramatic end, Shelby was spotlighted in several enjoyably played scenes and simply seeing her interact with estranged daughter (and soon-to-be-star) Rachel; as well as the mother of her adopted daughter, Quinn (
Dianna Agron); in addition to the aforementioned liason with McKinley student Puck and spurned ex-lover Mr. Shu - was a dramatic delight, particularly given the incredibly complex nature of her relationships with each of them. I cannot wait for Jessie St. James and
Jonathan Groff's grand return later this year and to witness how he will deal with his ex-mentor (as well as everyone else) - and, of course, what he will sing!
As far as revelations and hints as to the future for the glee club members, near and far, it was particularly interesting to hear Rachel and Kurt discuss their post-graduation plans - Manhattan and Broadway being the theme - which seems to be setting the stage for the on-again/off-again proposed spin-off, should it ever arise (it seems as though it is inevitable that it will, in one form or another). After viewing the overall seamless storytelling employed by "Mash-Off" - every bit as good as every other supremely strong show so far this season - it shall be very instructive to see if GLEE can somehow keep up this unbelievably heady pace all year, because, truly, there has not yet been a secondary episode in the stack - something which cannot be said of either of the previous seasons at this stage in the game, since we are now more than halfway through the first half of the episodes before the hiatus (believe it or not). Next week the show takes off for turkey time, but it will be back the Tuesday after Thanksgiving with an all-new episode - "I Kissed A Girl". In the meantime, we have the brand new (and absolutely fantastic) Christmas album to enjoy - Volume 2, which will be in stores and available to purchase online this time next week!
To go step by step and song by song through the double-dose musical sequences of last night: Inspired by Puck and Shelby's new hot and heavy romance, the boys of New Directions took Van Halen's rough and ragged "Hot For Teacher" to appropriately bouffant mall-hair highs and the all-around winning "Mash-Off" episode also allowed for Shelby herself to finally share a long-awaited musical moment with Mr. Shu - played by fellow Broadway baby
Matt Morrison - in the form of two songs bearing the title "You & I" - the first made famous by Eddie Rabbit and Crystal Gayle in the 1980s and the latter a country-inspired rock anthem released earlier this year by
Lady Gaga, taken from her multi-platinum BORN THIS WAY album (the title song of which has been covered on the show). The aforementioned 80s rock legends Blondie and Pat Benatar got their due with a juxtaposition of the hard-hitting "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" and the gleefully catchy "One Way Or Another" during the dodge-ball game, and, continuing on the 80s theme, the Hall & Oates medley and mash-up was an appreciable exploration of the two seemingly dissimilar tunes that worked together all-too-deceptively well and more rhythmically pleasing than one would have ever imagined given the two songs used - "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)" and "You Make My Dreams". All of these sensational sequences aside, the indisputable highlight of the night was unquestionably the Trouble Tones shining through on two of the very best songs from Adele's 21; which is itself saying something since that fantastic album has nary a dud on it - "Rumour Has It" and "Someone Like You".
All in all, "Mash-Off" was all any gleek could ask for from GLEE at this stage of the game and it continued the consistently high quality of Season Three. Who knows what upcoming weeks will hold in store and whether or not GLEE can keep its game on indefinitely - but, if this season so far is any indication of what we are in for, we can most certainly look forward to turning the cruise control on for a smooth, slick and shiny ride through the decades of American popular music with some seriously compelling storytelling, too - dramatic, comedic and otherwise - scattered throughout, making GLEE even more consistent and less sporadic in quality than ever before. Plus: Slap!
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