'Glee' recap: Chewing on faith and divine grilled cheese

Holy grilled cheese! The “Glee” writers sure sandwiched a lot into Tuesday night’s episode, giving viewers who complained that last week’s Britney Spears confection was overdone, tasteless and all empty calories a lot to chew on. The episode sank its teeth into the big questions: Is there a God? Should we believe? And, most importantly, if Jesus appeared to you on a grilled-cheese sandwich, and you maybe got three wishes, what would you wish for? (Please don’t say getting to second base with Rachel -- that wish has been taken.)

It was “Glee’s” faith episode, though George Michael was nowhere in sight. (Suggestions for other pop songs that would have suited the theme? Please share them in the comments section.) Then again, who could see anything through the blur of tears? Kurt wasn’t the only one who went through the episode with red, swollen eyes (Chris Colfer is a true master of the been-crying-for-days look) after his dad, Burt, collapsed of a heart attack in his garage while cracking lame (but sweet) self-deprecating jokes.

Kurt’s relationship with his dad is one of the show’s warmest and most nuanced, and to see it in danger, and to watch how Kurt responded to the possibility of losing his dad, well, let’s just say it was a major mood crash that was a far cry from last week’s laughing-gas-induced debauched delirium.

In many ways, it was a tough episode to get through, though it did present an opportunity for some transcendent (and admirably plot-advancing) numbers. Finn’s version of REM’s “Losing My Religion” was a highlight, as was Kurt’s emotionally piercing “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” which made me cry only a little less than he did. Puck’s “Only the Good Die Young” (the Billy Joel song was a continuation of his streak of doing only songs by Jewish artists, he noted) worked, too, but watching Rachel sing that "Yentl" song (“Papa, Can You Hear Me?”) in Kurt’s dad’s hospital room, reaching around the wires and beeping machines to fondle his bald head while calling him “Papa” and singing about missing his kiss goodnight, was more than a little discomfiting. I know Kurt later regretted kicking her (and Quinn and Mercedes and Finn and his mom) out of the room, but really, it seemed like justified irritation to me.

And Mercedes’ spirituals? Honestly, I was disappointed. Whether you’re a believer or a non-believer, it’s hard not to feel something lift and expand in your chest when someone belts out a big, heartfelt gospel number. Surely all of us “Glee” watchers believe in the miracle of good music, its ability to heal and uplift and move and delight. But both of Mercedes numbers -- in the chorus room and in church, with her well-turned-out congregation clapping and swaying along -- left me strangely unmoved. Mercedes sang admirably, beautifully even, but she didn’t seem truly transported by the music; so we weren’t.

Neither was Kurt. Or wait, was he? It’s hard to know whether to credit Mercedes’ song, a gospel take on “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” and introductory speech (about the necessity of believing in something beyond what we can detect with our senses) with helping Kurt to espouse his own true belief. He doesn’t believe in God, he told his comatose father, but he does believe in him, and in their relationship. That, to him, is sacred. (Cue Joan Osborne’s “One of Us.”) Kurt also seemed to come around to believing in the power of friendship, which is helpful when you’re a character in an ensemble show.

At turns silly and serious, the faith episode presented viewers with a nice smorgasbord of approaches to religion and belief: Some people find God, if only temporarily, in a wish-granting singed grilled-cheese sandwich. Others see it in living life to its fullest: “I see God every time I make out with a new chick,” says Puck.  For some, like Rachel, religion is a matter of culture and tradition. For others, like Mercedes and Quinn, faith is a way to get through life when things get rough. For some, religion is boring: “Whenever I pray I fall asleep,” Brittany says. And for others, it’s a form of oppression: “Asking someone to believe in a fantasy, however comforting, isn’t a moral thing to do. It’s cruel,” says Sue. “It’s as arrogant as telling someone how to believe in God and if they don’t accept it, no matter how open-hearted and honest their dissent, they’re going to hell.”

And for some, believing in God is pure self-delusion: “I think God is kind of like Santa Claus for adults,” Kurt says, channeling Bertrand Russell (Kurt-style) as he adds, “You can’t prove that there isn’t a magic teapot floating around on the dark side of the moon with a dwarf inside of it that reads romance novels and shoots lightning out of its boobs, but it seems pretty unlikely, doesn’t it?” 

But what do you think of the episode? Did you find the whole religion thing a little awkward and didactic (like Tina says, “Last week we were too sexy; this week we’re too religious. We can’t win!”) and not really what you look for in a show like “Glee”? Or did you relish the chance to chew on some big thoughts and see facets of the show’s characters we may not have seen before? Were you pleased with the song selections? And how old do you think that grilled-cheese sandwich was by the time Finn finally ate it?

-- Amy Reiter

Photo: Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer and Naya Rivera in "Glee." Credit: Fox

Comments

[Nicole]

I personally did not enjoy last nights episode of Glee. Imma total "Gleek" but last night I just had a hard time watching it. There were some parts when I laughed and some when I cried, but most of the time I was just getting mad because I found it just flat out disrespectful to peoples beleifs. I dont know, I mean this is just my opinion but alot of my friends were so offended by it and said theyre never going to watch the show again. What do u guys think, are they over reacting or are they being reasonable and was the episode disprespectful??

[markiejoe]

"I Wanna Hold Your Hand" was a beautiful whole different take on the classic, and it fit perfectly within the episode. Well done to all on that one.

As for the rest of the episode -- meh.

And does anyone else get the feeling that all the songs are now being sung by other pros and just synched by the cast? I had the sneaking suspicion last season that it was happening sometimes, but this episode I didn't believe even one number was recorded by the person on screen.

[Brandon]

I didn't really enjoy it as much as I hoped (due to a personal bias). I felt like they portrayed atheists as a bitter-cynical group that walks away when their prayers are unanswered or when bad things continue to happen to them in life. I know this outline fits for some, but it does not fit for all. I was fine with Kurt feeling that way, but I wish Sue would have espoused/presented her disbelief through a different approach. Perhaps something to the extent of - when she studied science/religion deeply she saw it was not compatible with theism. Something like that, and something not as similar to Kurt's POV. This of course is my opinion, perhaps I am making a big deal out of nothing.

[Brandon]

Also, it seemed at the end, it was the atheists that opened up or gravitated to a more spiritual stance, since Kurt sings a God song at the end, and Sue sits to watch their performance.

[MarlinMorales]

Though I got a little offended by the 'God doesn't exist' stuff, I still felt the show was one of the most enticing. I cried a lot, embarrassing myself in front of my sister who didn't take things as serious as I did.
Probably because they're on their second season, they figure they can start getting serious (they/writers/Ryan Murphy).
Puck's number seemed sort of out of place.... I thought Finn was going to spit out his bite--would've been comic relief. Rachel's Yentl song was perfect, but her stroking someone else's father's head wasn't necessary; when are we meeting her dads??

[Lorna]

I was annoyed and disappointed with last nights episode. My own personal beliefs aside, Glee is, or at least has been portrayed, as a rather secular show. I didn't start watching go get a surprise "7th Heaven Musical". Not to mention the entire thing was completely biased. The only characters standing on the atheist side where Sue, constantly considered the bad guy of the show and spewing out ridiculous accusations, suddenly we're supposed to believe shes conveying a meaningful, malicious-less opinion? And Kurt, the 'gay kid' that feels if there was a God, he's being punished by him so he chooses not to believe. And both are non believers because they had reasons to be. Not because they had just never been raised in a religious home or given and sort of reason to have faith in the first place.

Frankly the whole episode was unnecessary, slightly offensive, and poorly written. If they wanted to discuss faith and spirituality of the characters on the show, they could have done it a few different ways, they went with the most biased option. Again, disappointed.

[Luka]

I liked the episode. It was a welcome change of pace from last week (they can't keep that up for the whole season). Part of the problem for me was that the songs, especially the ones sang by Mercedes, didn't have time to breathe--so the emotional punch was stripped away. Even "One of Us" at the end should have been an emotional exclamation point but it was so edited (audio and video) that the result was a chopped up mess devoid of feeling. But good for the show for tackling an issue that the media tells us most young kids don't care about.

[shawn]

To me, it seemed like it should have been titled "For your consideration" because they were clearly trying to put together some kind of emmy reel.

I thought all the songs were very flat, except for the "I wanna Hold your Hand", which got me weepy. I loved the flashback scenes of father and son learning to ride a bike and having a tea party. And Brittany really cracks me up with her delivery of the most absurd things.

I have loved the other songs Puck did, but he seemed like he was singing through his nose last night. It really sounded quite nasally.

I'm an athiest, but I found it offensive to people that do believe. I don't believe in God, but I don't think we have a right to insult or be offensive to those who do.

[Brandon]

I agree with Lorna, I think the Ep leaned towards a "Pro God" stance. It was a bit hard to watch since I do not believe in a deity. Again, this is just my personal bias getting in the way.

[Rapsam]

I liked the show overall--I always like Kurt-and-his-dad material--but very much disliked what I saw as a piling-on against atheists. Can't believe after Kurt made his religious views clear that others would ignore his wishes....kinda like someone saying Catholic prayers when the family is Muslim. and that the people who don't believe in God get pushed toward it in the end. The only reason someone would find the existence of a deity unlikely is because of personal disappointment? Give atheists a little more credit. I'm glad for the show to take up some complex subjects, but this wasn't well handled. Also--possible?--too many numbers. I found myself fast-forwarding through a few of them. Too many kids bopping up to the front of the class saying, "I just have to express myself."

[Tina]

Nicole, yes, I think your friends are overreacting. But if you type 'u' and 'imma,' then I assume you're in high school and your friends are still not ready to think for themselves.

I thought it explored the shades of faith quite well, with equal representation (and no denigration) for all. Although as Brandon points out, not all agnostics/atheists disbelieve because prayers weren't answered, and maybe an exploration of rationalism (rather than disappointment) would have served that side better. But none of those in the "I'm religious" camp really went much further than "that's what I was raised to believe," either. When you really get down to it, only Puck really articulated any meaningful interpretations of faith; for all others it was rote.

I appreciated the equal time aspect (even if topical), the recognition that a relationship with God is unique and personal, and the accommodation of each person's approach (eventually) with a 'to each his own' attitude. Nothing is more irritating than proselytizing and judgment, whether it's from believers or nonbelievers.

Without carrying it over across multiple episodes, I think they did what they could in an hour, and perhaps Nicole's friends and others will explore the issues, the options, and what it was that 'offended' them so much.

[Angela]

I assume we can expect episodes like this in order for Glee to stay fresh and new and keep us talking about it. It didn't seem to off base with how a group might vary in beliefs and since often beliefs make up a lot of who we are, it's good to know what others believe. On a personal note, literally minutes before the show started my husband got a call that his uncle had just died from a heart attack, so the episode was almost too hard to watch.

[Clementine]

I hated last night's episode of Glee, but in all fairness I did not watch the whole thing. When Rachel started singing that song to Kurt's dad, I turned it off.
I did like that they sang "Only the Good Die Young".

[Kimberly]

After all the Sound of Music references, I was expecting Mercedes and the choir to sing a gospel version of Climb Every Mountain. Missed opportunity?

[Nikki 'n' Buddy]

I didn't mind "Glee" exploring religious beliefs, but I do object to the sandwiching in of as many songs as possible at the expense of forwarding the plot. This is a disturbing trend, and I think the show is suffering a serious sophomore slump. And is anyone else annoyed at Mr. Shue just sitting there, biting his lip, while watching all the kids sing? Waste of Matthew Morrison's talent. And I can just hear Lea Michele's agent demanding the "Yentl" number - which was out of place. And I'm sorry. As talented as Michele is, she's no Streisand.

[Amy]

I thought the episode was done very well. Some are complaining that it was disrespectful to their god; however, let's keep in mind that this is a one-hour comedic television show. I believe the writers did remarkably well in presenting multiple arguments given the time and situational constraints.

In any school, work place, mall, etc., you will find atheists, agnostics, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. - all with varying commitments and expressions of their beliefs. The show portrayed the characters getting over their differences in an effort to band together to support Kurt in his time of need. How is it that so many ignore that message and focus only on a few words spoken by a character who likely expresses the sentiment of many similarly situated gay teens and adults?

[Fabrisse]

The kid they found to play young Kurt was priceless, and I love Mr. Colfer's "I Want to Hold Your Hand" interpretation. I thought Kurt, overall, presented the rationalist side well, and I never felt like he came over to the believers' side.

[Nancy Gee]

I liked the "I want to hold your hand" number, and think the actor who plays Kurt deserves some kind of nomination for that alone.

But I kept thinking, "where are the Muslims?" since Christians, Jews and Hindu' were all represented. I guess if you're a Muslim and there are any questions about anything in your near vicinity, then blood becomes spilled. Seems like it could have at least been mentioned in passing, that "we're not talking about Islam because they're all murderous lunatics".

I'm increasingly finding the Rachel character unwatchable, even when she's channeling Ms. Barbra as hard as ever she can.

[O-town]

The show wasn't offensive to me, despite my being raised as a Catholic. The viewers who are religious and were offended by last night's episode forget that entertainment comes in different forms. I imagine they were more upset that they didn't have any songs to lip sync too or the subject matter made their heads hurt. I poke fun because quite frankly if you didn't like the episode, you could have switched the channel and let the whole thing go. Instead, on top of the "I"m not satisfied with the episode", you have to go to a message board to perpetuate your dissatisfaction. And please, if your parents couldn't afford to take you to Disneyland when you were 7, what made you think you'd get a pony. Grow up.

[Kevin]

Ryan Murphy said in an interview with EW that they went through and "counted it word by word and line by line" to make sure the episode was evenly divided between religion and atheism. I think it's interesting many of the comments here are from people who thought the episode was skewed opposite their way of thinking...