Glee Review: Dream A Little Dream

Gleeks, what do you get when you mix Emmy Award winning director Joss Whedon, guest stars Neil Patrick Harris, Idina Menzel, and of course some awesome music—one dreamy and excellent episode! It ranks up there as one of my favorites, dare I say in the top three, of season one thus far.

Will is surprised by Bryan Ryan (Neil Patrick Harris), a former high school rival, who made his life hell and is now an auditor of curriculum/hater of glee clubs. He is threatening to cut the glee club. Is that storyline (of glee club possibly being disbanded) getting stale for anyone else besides me? Anyway, Bryan talks to the glee club and basically crushes their dreams telling them “show biz dreams are the most unrealistic of them all.”

In an effort to convince Bryan to not cut glee club, Will and he share a beer and reminisce. We learn the one girl who got away from Bryan was Will’s estranged wife Terri. We discover that Bryan desperately misses singing/glee club—he even has “playbills hidden in a box in [his] basement like porn.” Will and Bryan sing “Piano Man” and decide to audition for a local production of Les Miserables.

Unfortunately, at the audition, the rivalry is back on as Will and Bryan are trying out for the same role with the same song and are forced to sing (an intense) duet of “Dream On.” Later, Bryan tells Sue he is cutting half her Cheerio budget and the two end up having “anger sex.”

However, glee club is not safe when Sue announces that Will, not Bryan, was awarded the lead role in Les Miserables. Will explains to Bryan, that “there are no labels in glee club” and that “most are not stars but they shine like them.” Will exchanges his role in the play for the safety of the club. I for one hope that Neil Patrick Harris will make another guest spot in the future…I enjoyed his comedic relief!

Jesse is back and things are back on with Rachel. I have to admit I missed his gorgeous face. He asks her “when you lie awake at night, what’s missing?” Rachel answers, “my mom.” They decide to search for her mom and end up going through boxes from the Rachel Berry museum aka the basement of her house. Jesse pulls out a tape from his pocket and sneaks it into the box, which reads “From Mother to daughter” but Rachel refuses to play it.

We then witness a rendezvous between Jesse and Shelby (Idina Menzel). Shelby did send Jesse to “befriend” Rachel and he admits to now “kind of liking her.” She tells him to hang on for one more week and then he can return to Vocal Adrenaline. We find out that Shelby IS RACHEL’S MOM!!!! She tells Jesse how she signed a contract that she wouldn’t contact Rachel until she turned eighteen but Rachel can initiate contact, hence the reason for the tape.

Later, Jesse forces Rachel to listen to the tape which begins with Shelby saying, “hi baby, it’s your mom. I think this pretty much says it all” as she begins to sing “I Dreamed a Dream.” The scene switches to mother and daughter singing together…I teared up as I watched the beautiful duet between Rachel and Shelby.

If it wasn’t apparent in previous reviews, I’m a huge Wicked and Idina Menzel fan. I’ve been secretly hoping she would be Rachel’s mom and that they would sing together. So this episode was pretty much the icing on the cake. But I guess we need to stand by to see how this relationship will affect regionals.

It was a difficult and emotional episode for Artie and somewhat heart wrenching to watch. I just wanted to give him a hug. His one dream—to dance. Tina suggests that since there was no assignment, they should choreograph a dance together. While rehearsing, Artie decides to try a pair of crutches but falls down and looks devastated.

Afterward, Tina tells Artie about the promising research she found on correcting spinal cord injuries because she “doesn’t want him to give up on [his] dream.” They go to the mall and Artie has a dream/fantasy about him dancing to a fun performance of “Safety Dance.”

Back at school, a brief meeting with Emma brings Artie back to reality when she reminds him of the severity of his spinal cord injury. Artie explains to Tina that he has accepted his injury and proclaims that he is going to “focus on dreams that I can make come true.” He also tells her to pick a different dance partner (she chooses Mike Chang) to perform her tap number to “Dream A Little Dream,” which Artie still sings a beautiful rendition of to end the episode.

Another amazing Glee! So glad to see many more of the ensemble cast being featured. Well, I’m off to download the songs from this week’s episode. Two words for next week: Lady Gaga.

For another take on this week’s episode, check out Show Choir Kills by Stephanie Jaar.

Season 1, Episode 19: Dream On (originally aired May 18, 2010)

For more on Glee, click here.

Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro