Britney Brittany

Glee Episode Review

In which there is Britney. And Brittany. Glee kind of whiffs this one, but there's still enough going on to make it work.

What Happened

Not enthused about Will's choice of Christopher Cross as their next muse, Kurt speaks up and demands to do something closer to their age bracket: Britney Spears. The lone dissenter is Brittany herself, who is tired of laboring in the shadow of the blonde singing sensation. Will goes to ask Emma for her advice and she suggests loosening up and giving it a try. Then she introduces him to her new boyfriend, Carl the dentist. In an attempt to prove he doesn't care she's dating people who aren't him, Will offers to let Carl talk to the Glee kids about good oral hygiene.

Turns out Brittany, Rachel and Artie have massive amounts of plaque, which require trips to the dentist and a few hits of nitrous oxide. They are each inspired by a Britney-fied hallucination to stand up for themselves and be less uptight. Brittany retracts her objections to Britney, having decided she's more talented than any of them. In fact, she demands all the solos from now on.

Rachel starts dressing like Britney circa "Hit Me Baby One More Time," but soon collapses into a puddle of insecurity when she learns that Finn has won his way back onto the football team. In fact, he and Artie are both on the team. (Coach Beiste caved on the human battering ram thing.) Despite his accomplishment, however, Artie finds that Tina is no more likely to start dating him again than she was two days ago.

Will continues to act out in the hopes that Emma will like new improved him, but all it earns him is the wrath of his ex-wife when he purchases a sports car. And when he performs Toxic with the club at a pep rally, the resulting hormonepalooza prompts Sue to declare that it's a "Britney Spears sex riot" and pull the fire alarm. Chastened, he returns the car and watches as Emma rides off in Carl's convertible.

The Good

• You know. I never minded Britney Spears. I don't entirely buy into the whole "voice of a generation" thing, but I enjoyed her stuff.

The Better

• Terri and Will's showdown. She's still more than a little whacked, isn't she?

The Best

• Heather Morris dancing. Seriously. That was incredible.

Wish They Had

• Quinn tearing into "Piece of Me." Wouldn't that have been cool?

What Did I Think?

It was a hard to keep up Glee! Whee! this week. I loved all the bits that were Heather Morris dancing, but as time went on and it became all about Rachel and Finn's relationship woes, I found my interest waning.

The Pep Rally was ridiculous. I was embarrassed for the actors playing Jacob and the girl sitting next to him in the bleachers. Can we please find a joke for Jacob that doesn't involve how much of a pervert he is? And am I supposed to believe that Sue is honestly afraid of a sex riot? Wouldn't it have been better that she was worried that the Glee club might actually do something to get people interested and was just working the faux outrage to try and stymie it?