Glee Review: A New Direction for Kurt

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For the first time in awhile, Glee aired an episode that delivered laughs, tears and solid performances - along with cohesive storylines that actually built on previous installments and provided legitimate character development.

Heck, "Furt" even concluded with an intriguing cliffhanger. When was the last time that happened?!? Overall, with one exception, this was one of the best episodes in show history.

Rachel and Santana

Let's get the negative out of the way: you won't find a bigger Sue Sylvester fan on the planet than yours truly, but the entire concept of this character marrying herself was simply... stupid.

It didn't make a lot of sense, it wasn't very funny and it was a waste of Carol Burnett as Sue's mother. I wish the show had come up with a better way to incorporate this great guest star, as opposed to burying her within such a disappointing B plot.

Now, on to the good stuff...

I'm not the only writer who has been critical of Glee for delivering stand-alone episodes that were more focused on delivering a message than a storyline that felt organic to the show and the characters we grew to love last year. At times, the students have felt like pawns in installments that served as tributes to major artists or PSAs regarding Topics of the Week.

I gave "Never Been Kissed" a poor review, for example, because I thought it was a contrived attempt to simply tackle the current, tragic issue of bullying.

But "Furt" made me glad to take those words back. It continued the angle of Karofsky harassing Kurt, making this into the first real development of the season that lasted beyond one episode and led to a major consequence: Kurt leaving William McKinley.

This opens up a number of intriguing possibilities, as the group will actually be competing against him at Sectionals, while also making good use of Blaine and ensuring more of Darren Criss next week.

A few other thoughts:

  • It also made perfect sense for Sue to be on Kurt's side throughout the episode (funny nickname of "Porcelain" aside). The fact that her mother talks down to her ("You still might grow into your looks...") and the fact that she grew up with a handicapped - sorry, handi-capable - sister contributed to welcome continuity in the character.
  • So, Suinn is official, huh? If Sam gave me the same speech he gave Quinn to open the episode, soon after giving me a glimpse of his flexed biceps, I'd like wear his promise ring, too.
  • Sue's online dating profile said her turn-ons are "Tantric yelling and poking the elderly with hidden pins." Amazing.
  • I love when the show tweaks the meaning, or subjects, of songs. A great example was when Rachel and her mother sang "Poker Face" to each other. And another went down last night, as Finn directed "Just the Way You Are" at his new step-brother.

What did everyone else think?

Furt Review

Editor Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 4.7 / 5.0 (139 Votes)

Matt Richenthal is the Editor in Chief of TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.

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Glee Season 2 Episode 8 Quotes

We're gonna go to the hotel where they put up the guest stars on Lost.

Burt

Carol: We wanted the two of you to be the first to know.
Burt: Yeah, after the kids in that home room.