Glee Review: Dude, Where’s My Mohawk?

The Order has been disrupted at McKinley High! Noah “Puck” Puckerman has lost his Mohawk. Cue dramatic music! The legendary Mohawk was shaved off at the dermatologist’s office because of a skin cancer scare which turned out to be nothing. Poor Puck was “maimed over a freaking freckle.” Without The Mohawk, Puck has lost his cool factor and likens his ordeal to Samson.

Puck realizes one way to get his mojo back is by dating someone cool and popular. His problems seem to be solved when he begins taking notice of Mercedes’ newfound status as a cheerleader. At first, she’s having none of it and even his pick-up lines are falling flat. But one rendition of “The Lady is a Tramp” is enough to win her heart. Puck’s position at the top of the high school hierarchy has been restored!

Puck’s former girlfriend, Santana, is not amused with this Mercedes/Puck pairing. I don’t get what her deal is, but it’s a great excuse to have Naya Rivera sing her heart out with Mercedes in “The Boy is Mine.” After all, shouldn’t Santana be upset with Quinn? Since when has Puck been her sole property?

Rachel has a bone to pick with her fellow Glee club members (as usual). She is upset that she is the only one making an effort in Glee club and not everyone is pulling their weight. Everyone comes up with some silly excuse for their laziness, but Mr. Schuester gives them a new assignment. Each gleek must sing a song that best represents them in that moment.

The first to sing is, of course, Rachel. Her pick is Miley Cyrus’s “The Climb,” but her performance goes horribly wrong when she loses her voice. Uh oh! For some reason, Finn accompanies Rachel to the doctor’s where she is diagnosed with tonsillitis. We find out that Jesse is in San Diego on spring break with his Vocal Adrenaline friends… double uh oh! This prompts Finn to start singing the classic “Jessie’s Girl” – let’s face it, we all knew this was bound to pop up eventually!

Rachel becomes unbearable with all her whining and dramatization of her tonsillitis. She refuses to go through with the surgery and relies on the antibiotics to restore her voice. Finn becomes fed up with her constant complaining, so he brings her to visit a friend of his, Sean, who became paralyzed after a horrible football accident. The visit proves to be a real wake-up call for Rachel who takes a big bite out of the humble pie.

Kurt’s father is still romancing Finn’s mom, so Mr. Hummel invites Finn to a sports match without Kurt. It’s not intentionally supposed to leave Kurt out, but regardless he feels hurt. Kurt becomes so desperate to win his father’s approval that he actually tries to be straight by dressing like his dad with a ton of plaid and lowering his voice. Brittany even offers to romance him (he’s the only one she hasn’t conquered yet) and they walk through the hallways hand-in-hand. I don’t like this Kurt!

Mr. Hummel is very confused, but he accepts his son must be experimenting with his sexuality. When Mr. Hummel invites Finn to yet another sports match and again excludes Kurt, Kurt gives up and channels his emotions through song in an amazing solo performance of “Rose’s Turn.”  Mr. Hummel witnesses Kurt’s performance and is blown away. The father/son pair then has a serious heart to heart that ends in Mr. Hummel telling Kurt he should be who he is and that he’ll love him regardless.

This week’s Glee was a strong episode, and I think that was definitely due to the fact that the focus was solely on the glee club members. I just hope this doesn’t turn into Gossip Girl where everyone has hooked up with the other at least once!

For another take on this week’s episode, check out The Club Loses Its Voice by Allison Toner.

Season 1, Episode 18: Laryngitis (originally aired May 11, 2010)

For more on Glee, click here.

Tuesdays at 9pm on Fox

Photographs courtesy of Fox and IMDbPro