Glee: You Are Beautiful

Oh, Glee. Why must you do this to me?

One of the things I think makes Glee such a great show is that it always manages to add a touch of humor when tackling heavy topics such as sexuality, teen pregnancy and mental illnesses. But last night’s episode dealing with weight issues was a bit of a dud – although to be fair, it would’ve been hard to top last week’s Power of Madonna!

Sue Sylvester has a big interview coming up with Splits Magazine and she wants her Cheerios in top form. New Cheerio inductees, Kurt and Mercedes, need to make sure they fit in – Mercedes, especially. Sue tells her she needs to lose 10 pounds in a week or else she’ll be kicked off the team. Not cool, Sue!

Mercedes caves into the pressure and reverts to eating… nothing! Mercedes starves herself to the point where everyone around her begins to resemble food and she passes out. Quinn comes to the rescue, however, and reassures Mercedes she’s beautiful the way she is. Quinn knows all too well what it’s like trying to be a skinny cheerleader and letting Sue control your every move.

This week also sees the return of Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes, washed up Glee Club star. I don’t quite understand what her entire purpose in this episode was, frankly. Aside from the fact that Chenoweth is amazing and she and Matthew Morrison have great chemistry together, did they really have to bring her back? Please don’t overdo it, Glee! All these ladies turning up in Schuester’s life does nothing to change my belief that he’s a total womanizer.

Kurt also can’t seem to get over his crush on Finn. He even goes as far as to hook up his dad, Burt, with Finn’s mom, Carole. The plan seems to be working out well – Burt and Carole are head over heels for each other! But Kurt gets upset when Finn and his dad begin bonding over sports. Kurt is such a sympathetic character and his solos are always fantastic, but this storyline was a bit weak. Honestly, what did Kurt expect? Finn is 100% straight and his dad is equally a manly-man. Still sucks to see Kurt so upset, though. He needs some love!

Glee ended the episode strong with Mercedes’ cover of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” Weight and appearance is always a tough topic to tackle because it is so prevalent in our society, but I don’t know if Glee really handled the topic as smoothly as it has handled other controversial topics in the past. This episode just felt very dull.

For another take on this week’s episode, check out An Introspective Glee by Allison Toner.

Season 1, Episode 16: Home (originally aired April 27, 2010)

For more on Glee, click here.

Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro