'Glee': 'Home' is where the heart -- and Kristin Chenoweth -- are

If you find that place within, you’ll get that happy ending…

For the last week I’ve received a great deal of tweets, comments and e-mails regarding the now legendary all-Madonna episode.

While some readers commented that the show seems on the verge of becoming a self-parody, others blasted the episode for appearing as a sort of tribute commercial. Still others thought it was just simply the “Best. Episode. Ever.”

No doubt the debate is sure to rage on until the show confirms its next sure to be uber-spectacular all-artist episode. Could it be Britney (rhymes with snitch)? Until that happens, the kids went back to their usual selves and were busy finding their own personal “home” and their own happy ending in what has to be the most emotional episode out of the bunch, and my personal favorite next to “Wheels.”

After making a grand introduction to the Cheerios squad with their rendition of “4 Minutes,” Mercedes and Kurt are now bona fide members of the popular kids. Problem solved right? Wrong. Sadly they are brought back to the cold, cruel reality of the price so many have to pay to be a part of the “in” crowd. Sue informs Mercedes she has to either drop 10 pounds or she is off the team, sending our favorite diva into a tailspin of self-consciousness and starvation.

Although there were some light-hearted moments in her storyline -- including students as life-sized delicious treats and Sue’s extreme diet plan (which I’ve tried in the past, minus the ipecac ... lost nearly 30 pounds in a week plus and gained it right back in two) -- just like last week when they explored the topic of teen sex, the issue of body image and eating disorders was presented with heart and soul.

The beauty of Mercedes (played brilliantly by Amber Riley) is that she is confident and sexy in her own skin and the fact that she isn’t a size zero has always been more of a “so-what” factor than a topic of discussion. That’s why I believe her storyline is so great. Sue also informed Kurt he could stand to lose a few pounds as well, and we saw other girls on the team hoping to lose weight -- which, as ridiculous as it was, hit on the extremes of what is happening in high school life. No matter how confident and beautiful you are, you can fall victim to the pressure. Having Quinn, a former star Cheerio before the whole preggers deal, come to Mercedes' rescue and talk some sense into her gave me my first Kleenex moment of the night -- though the blistering rendition of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” (perfect song choice) that was soon to follow turned me into a weeping mess. Though her plot ranks as one of the riskiest that they’ve done, like Quinn’s pregnancy (minus the Terri factor), Artie’s physical disability and Kurt’s sexuality, it was grounded in a sense of reality.

With Mercedes struggling to find a home in her own body, Kurt wrangled with being comfortable in his own home. After setting up his dad with Finn’s mom, he quickly regretted playing matchmaker once he saw his father had instantly sparked a connection with his crush over a little “guy talk.” Finn in turn struggled with his mother getting her groove back with Kurt’s father because he didn’t want to replace the only home he knew. Again, incredibly touching. Thankfully the writers eased up on Kurt’s lust for Finn, which is cute and all but kinda creepy now that their parents are bumping uglies.

The dynamic of Chris Colfer and Mike O'Malley as father and son can’t get any better. O’Malley continues to be nothing short of perfection in the role, though it pains me to see him during commercials hawking cable. And with a second week of Kurt having a solo, this time completely stealing Rachel’s thunder with his take on “A House Is Not a Home,” this seems to be a welcome suggestion that the supporting characters will not only have deeper storylines but additional time to shine vocally, and I doubt there is one Gleek that will turn that down. Who else loved Finn chiming in during “A House Is Not a Home,” and singing to the father he never knew?

But I must say the best part about “Home” was undoubtedly the return of Kristen Chenoweth as April. The last time we saw April was the same way we are reintroduced to her: bigger than life, drop-dead gorgeous and boozed-up. This time she has a little money by playing the role of mistress to some old geezer, who oddly owns a skating rink. I continue my love affair with Chenoweth that started in college and while I don’t need to defend her brilliance, I will. From her spunky duet of “Fire” with Schue, to the heart-achingly lonely coo of "One Less Bell to Answer” which segued into a fantastic reprise of “A House Is Not a Home” and of course her bone-chilling take on “Home,” where I’m sure Stephanie Mills is somewhere applauding, I fell in love with her again. I spent a fair share of time shouting "Do it already" to my TV screen during her scenes with Will -- inappropriate, yes, but they make one heck of a hot couple even if they wound up as one big hot mess. Is it in bad taste to predict an Emmy nomination in her future?

Was I the only one surprised by the absence of Rachel from the action? I guess even a diva such as Rachel Berry has to take a seat in the back from time to time to recharge.

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy (Follow me on Twitter @GerrickKennedy)

Photos: (top) Kristin Chenoweth guest stars on "Glee." Credit: Fox

(bottom) Artie is transformed into cake during Mercedes' food-starved hallucination. Credit: Fox

Related:

Complete Showtracker coverage of 'Glee'

Comments

[Sam]

I felt the exact same way! Give Kristin her Emmy NOW! She is SO talented, and SO fantastic! I thought she was brilliant! What a treat! :)

[Juliana]

I really missed Rachel but she needs to take a rest for a while. She`s my fave character but the others glee kids needs more screen time too. I hope that in the next season the serie explore more Rachel personal life , like her family and everything that envolves her being so self obsessed and at the same time very lonely.

Kristin and Chris Colfer were amazing in this episode.

[Jeff]

How can anyone as petite as Ms. Chenoweth have a voice THAT big? She's terrific!

[Natalie]

I'm still struggling with the body-issues plot - at times it felt like Mercedes was supposed to end up feeling good about herself *despite* the way she looked, but at other times it genuinely seemed to want to expand narrow definitions of beauty...when it succeeded at the latter, I liked it, but when it fell to the former, it seemed awful - because Mercedes really is gorgeous! It seemed ridiculous to me that folks were thinking she wasn't in the first place! But I'm starting to wonder if the fact that I struggle a little with each episode like this is part of the genius of Glee...probably so!

You are so right about KC though - she is amazing! How does someone so tiny have not only such a huge voice, but also such a gigantic personality!

I blog about this episode at http://themothchase.wordpress.com - check us out!

[LACowboy]

Kurt (Mike O'Malley) completely blew me away with his solo "A House Is Not A Home". I'm so glad I had recorded it - I replayed it several times. Amazingly touching, beautiful and powerful job!

[Fabrisse]

"Who else loved Finn chiming in during “A House Is Not a Home,” and singing to the father he never knew?"

He was so badly off key that it was painful. Emotionally, the moment wasn't bad, but the execution was so poor that I wish they'd left the whole song to Mr. Colfer.

[Mathew]

Yes it's good for people to be comforable in their skin, and yes people (girls in particular) take dieting to far.

But let's not kid ourselves. Mercedes is NOT, NOT, NOT at a healthy weight. Her current weight level will cause all types of health problems and probably result in a shorter life span as well.

It's important that people don't try and become to skinny. But they should strive to stay fit.

[Jac]

Great Episode. Finally back to what makes this show stand out. NO MORE artist-centric episodes please!
Is there anything Sue says that isn't hilarious? That first duet between April and Will was great as well as the other songs (excluding "Beautiful" which fit perfectly with the plot but def. should've gone with "Unpretty" by TLC if we're trying to keep the show edgy.)
So many great characters, love to see an episode that fleshes out some of the rest. Time to get Puck back in front of screen...

[Babs]

I completely agreed with every word in this post! The episode didn't make me feel happy though...it made me feel depressed :P

[jtbwriter]

Kristin Chenoweth is the best singer around-bar none! Her note at the end of "Home" just brought tears to my eyes-what a moment! I don't get to see "Glee" that often-but this was must-see!

[ann]

"presented with heart and soul"? Try presented as a cheesy afterschool special. I haven't been preached to that hard since the last "very special episode" of "Full House"! Talk about heavy-handed bad writing!

And "grounded in a sense of reality" - what reality is that? Is it the reality that Mercedes never would be allowed on that cheer team in the first place given her weight and athletic inability or the reality that she would be asked to lose a lot more than 10 pounds to stay on the team?

I don't watch "Glee" for "the special eating disorder episode". I watch it for the great performances. Mercedes is a great character and the actress playing her is an amazing singer - I think her "And I Am Telling You" is better than Jennifer Hudson's. But this plotline was ridiculously wedged into an otherwise entertaining episode. I don't need to be hit over the head with "love who you are as is" - that's what the whole show is about!

[Dean]

Wow, Kristin has unbelievable pipes. Loved the rendition of the Bacharach songs. Seems like the arrangements were lifted right out of the Barbra Joan Streisand album. Maybe a Streisand-centric episode is in the wings?

[Laura]

I loved this episode for most of the reasons you mentioned. However, I have to go with Fabrisse in thinking that Finn was so off-key that it kind of ruined that moment for me. The one criticism I have with the show is that they feature Finn way too much. I think both Kurt and Artie have better voices, so I think Finn gets picked for the leads because of his popular status at the school, which I find a bit disappointing.

KC really is the greatest. She not only has an amazing voice, but a huge personality and awesome comic timing to go with it.

[DRE DAWG]

Glad for the weight storyline...i get everyone needs to feel good in their own skin. But Riley is not at a healthy weight for her height. However, look at the first couple of episodes and you'll notice that Riley has lost weight since....great job girl!!! I'm proud of you!!!

[Laura]

@DRE DAWG - I was thinking that Riley had dropped some weight. I agree she is not a healthy weight, but I think the message was more around the fact that the Sue Sylvester diet plan was not healthy. (She actually tried to eat healthy, chicken breast and veggies, and was told that wasn't good enough and she had to starve herself.)

[SLBTS]

Thank for a fantastic article the war on negative body imaging is education based, the saddest part is that without education, untreated body imaging will keep taking lives. http://www.eatingdisordertreatment.com