Here’s a first: A highly anticipated episode that not only lived up to its hype, but surpassed it. Last night’s all-Madonna episode of “Glee” was everything and more that I’d hoped it would be. So good, dare I say, it was the show’s best episode to date. And the woman we have to thank for it all (besides Madge herself, of course) is Sue Sylvester.
Turns out Sue, who has her very own Madonna diary, feels empowered and inspired by the Material Girl and thought the students of McKinley High would feel the same if her greatest hits were played, at full volume, throughout the school. Despite Principal Figgins protests that “blasting the delicious hooks will make it impossible for the students to concentrate,” Sue (as per usual) got her way, thanks, of course, to her ongoing blackmail. The Cheerios, who were encouraged, among other things, to start dating younger men, (look out middle schoolers!) and the entire school were officially under Madonna’s captive spell.
Meanwhile, Rachel is still secretly dating the sneaky Jesse (guest star Jonathan Groff) who is now pressuring her into having sex even though she’s not ready. Speaking of controlling boys, Tina was urged by Artie to change her look if she “planned on getting all up on this.”
Without having any real strong women to turn to for advice, the ladies of New Directions were lucky that Mr. Schuester had stumbled upon the Cheerios practice and their jaw-dropping performance of “Ray of Light.” Mr. Schue stole, er, borrowed Sue’s idea and made the glee club’s assignment for the week: Madonna! This prompted to ladies to break out into the self-respect anthem “Express Yourself” which sounded great and the girls totally looked (except for Quinn, who mysteriously lost her baby bump) the part.
Nevertheless, according to Sue, the one woman who desperately needed Madge the most was Emma. The guidance counselor felt so lost herself and decided to take action with Will. Literally.
But, before Will and Emma could take their relationship to the next level, Will was still busy with the other other woman in his life. Will finally reached his breaking point with Sue’s endless, albeit bitingly hilarious jabs (“I thought I smelled cookies wafting from the ovens of the little elves who live in your hair”) and he came up with his own comebacks, including: “How’s the Florence Henderson look workin’ out for ya?” Oh snap indeed!
Elsewhere, Finn, who is still battling his feelings for Rachel (how adorably hot was their mash-up of “Borderline” and “Open Your Heart”?!), is facing the same dilemma as it seems like everyone else is all of a sudden: To lose the virginity or not? Having been prompted, once again, by Santana to get it done and over with, Finn decides to go for it. Cue “Like A Virgin” showing all three couples (Will and Emma, Rachel and Jesse, Finn and Santana) in a scene that wasn’t just sexy, but perfectly tied in song and plot. Unlike Finn, Emma and Rachel ultimately opted to stay virginal.
Still, there was another dynamic duo making big changes — Kurt and Mercedes. The two took Sue’s side in the showdown with Mr. Schuester (and thank goodness, because it resulted in the “Vogue” video, which was released last week) and joined the Cheerios in giving Madonna and Justin Timberlake a run for their money with a new take on “4 Minutes." Meanwhile, Jesse transferred to McKinley High thus causing a mixture of confusion and rage among the entire glee club.
While lessons were learned this week (all the boys — except Puck — really stepped into the girls' shoes with “What It Feels Like For a Girl”) and musical numbers were belted (“Like a Prayer” was perfection) there are still so many questions for us to mull over.
Want to relive all of the powerful Madonna performances? Press play below!
Will Kurt and Mercedes being on the Cheerios hurt New Directions? Will Jesse really stay at McKinley High School until regionals? Is there any fighting chance for Will and Emma?
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