GleeCap: Born This Way

Good morning, Glee fans! It's time for another recap of the show that is burning the candle at both ends.

Just as awesome as Kurt resembling Rufus Wainwright more and more as the seasons progress:

- As soon as Rachel got hit in the nose, I thought of Marsha Brady, "Oh my nose!" It's been done before, but it's a classic.+3
- Kurt's hair combed back = awesome. +5, and that watch fob + another 5
- "I've got to gay, I mean go." +4
- The mash-up of I feel Pretty and Unpretty was a really solid choice. It is so refreshing to hear them being creative with arrangements, and utilizing harmony. Even though it is pretty cheesy, I'm going to go with a +15.
- Even though I think the Lauren/Puck relationship is the weirdest thing ever, at least Puck didn't fetishize her in this episode, a very welcome change. +25
- Puck is getting some great reactions these days. The dry heaving at the sight of Karofsky and Santana being each others' beards. +3
- At first I thought the union of Karofsky and Santana would be a really bad move, but then they brought in the Guardian Angels reference with the red berets and red vinyl jackets, and while I don't believe for a second that their characters would have any idea who the Guardian Angels were, I'm going to have to go with a big +33 for sheer hilarity for the Bully-Whips.
-Kurt's calling Santana a "Latina Eve Harrington," you are so delightful, Mr. Hummel. +4
-Kurt referenced PFLAG, and all I could do was think about Reality Bites, when Steve Zahn and Janeane Garofalo were role playing Sammy telling his mom he was gay, and Vickie saying, "puh-flag, I like the sound of that." No points, just a nostalgic little journey. 
- And I really liked Lauren and Puck being all Saved By The Bell and breaking in to the school records. "My permanent record has three volumes? I don't remember doing half of this stuff." +5
- Brittany is my favorite. "Why because you're Lebanese and I think I'm bi-curious?" +15
-"I have to stay away from vigorous choreography while my nose heals." Well, there goes her social life. +12
- At first, I thought a lack of Sue Sylvester was a bad thing, but thinking about how in recent episodes I've felt like they were really reaching with her, I'm glad they made Santana the zinger of the week. +20
-Santana zingers:  "Legend has it, when I came out of my mother, I told the nurse she was fat." "Be more careful with your leering." and "I'm not ready to start eating jicama or get a flat top...maybe in Jr. College. + 76

+230

More unlikely than another school's choir showing up the middle of the day, and being accompanied by musicians who just happen to be outside with their instruments:

- Last season, Rachel said something to Quinn like, "I completely understand if you want to beat me up, just try to avoid my nose." Why is she now all of a sudden insecure and ready for surgery at the drop of a line by Dr. D-bag? Continuity. -5
- Finn's dance number with Mike Chang to "I gotta be me" was confusing. Is he trying to be as bad of a dancer as he appears, or is he hamming it up to make a point? I think it is the latter. I don't know that it is worthy of any negative points, but I feel like they could have done better.
- Karofsky looks at least thirty. His age isn't on his IMDb page. What are you trying to hide, Max Adler? The fact that you graduated from high school like 12 years ago, but are still trying to pass as a teenager? -6
- I always enjoy when Kurt sings show tunes (except for that awful one from Evita they did a few months ago.) and with his Eve Harrington reference, I totally buy him as Norma Desmond, but must the production be SO LITERAL? When someone is singing about painted trees and scenery, he's on stage with said scenery, then the makeup chair? F minus on creativity. -17
- I love flash mobs, but this one made me a little angry. First, it made me think of their last flash mob with Artie dancing, and it made me think, we need to have more dream sequences of him dancing. You show Finn and Sam dancing all the time and they are AWFUL, but you have a very solid dancer in Artie and you have him in a wheel chair? If you're going to keep him in the wheelchair all of the time, you should have cast a kid who is actually in a wheelchair. And Second, if these kids are so good at getting the community to help them out and learning a dance for a "barbra-vention" (worst name ever) they certainly could have gotten people to come to their concert last week. Continuity. -45
- I'm still really conflicted about Lauren's character. She has the deluded self-image of Samantha Jones, but no career, super hot body (post fifty at that), or Birkin to show for it. Then she calls Quinn a fraud for losing weight and using Proactive (product placement, a bit much)? As if Quinn being depressed by excess weight, acne and a lack of friends is unheard of or unacceptable.  -30
-Finn telling Quinn that her 8th great picture is the first picture where he can "actually see" his girlfriend? What?!? -40
- To continue on with outside cultural references. Puck is turning/has turned in to Julie Cooper. He started out villainous and is now a very funny and well-meaning guy? This makes me totally happy in that Puck is great. BUT, Fox canceled The OC after the villain went funny. And now with Karofsky? If Sue ever starts to turn the show needs to be canceled immediately. No points, but tread carefully.

-143

And now the T-shirts:
Emma gave the t-shirt assignment by stipulating that the t-shirt should read what you're "most ashamed of, and would like to change, but you can't because you were born that way, which is super terrific." "You were born this way, hooray!"

-Lebanese +13
-I'm with Stoopid [up arrow] +25
-Butt Chin -18 (any thing that makes you resemble - even a little bit - Cary Grant cannot be a bad thing.)
-Likes boys -60 (Ever since Kurt came out to Mercedes and his dad, he's been spouting how proud he was to be himself. Why would he put that on a t-shirt saying he's ashamed and would like to change it? He's embraced it.)
-I'm with Stupid [down arrow] +50
-Four eyes, Nose, Brown eyes, Can't dance, Can't Sing +20  (Artie, Rachel, Tina, Finn and Mike were the kids who actually did what was assigned.)
- No weave (Mercedes' shirt confused me. She's ashamed she wasn't born with a weave? Or she's saying this is my real hair? I don't think I understand.)
-Trouty Mouth -5 (Love the reference, but Sam is so cute sans James Van der Beek's first season of Dawson's Creek hair.)
- Lucy Caboosey -28 (she changed what she didn't like. That's not the point of the t-shirt.)
- Bad Attitude -15 (she could change that if she wanted to.)

+108/-126

So with a grand total of +69, I'd say that the episode was more enjoyable than not. 90 minutes suits you, Glee. Shoot, you were even able to squeeze in all 7 verses of that Sunset Blvd. song.