"PROM QUEEN"

Wow. What a comeback! I have to say that “Prom Queen,” which aired on Tuesday, March 10 was hands down my favorite episode…of the season (sorry, Season 1 was incredible). It was a perfect bled of humor, heart and some of the greatest musical performances ever to grace the series, which I feared was going down hill. I only wish that this episode got a more deserving spot, such as the season finale (which is airing May 24). This work of genius also put my concern about bad use of guest stars to rest (thank you Jonathan Groff). But I must give props to Ian Brennan for writing this unexpected masterpiece, for it contained all the elements of a good piece of writing: a good plot, creative conflict, and SHOCKERS!

We open on the nerdy, jew-frowed Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman; another great guest star) reporting on the hottest topic the school is talking about: Who will win the race for prom royalty at this year’s Junior Prom? He interviews Puck, and asks him a question that puts him off-guard: “Where does Lauren keep your balls?” Jacob reminds him off how his bad-ass status has been on the down low for quite a while, which inspires Puck to kick it up a notch (this was a little bit of a let-down compared to last week’s opener, “Fondue For Two”). Then, it is announced that The New Directions get the chance to perform at prom for money (wait…doesn’t that revoke their amateur status and therefore disqualify them from competing in Nationals??? Am I the only one who thought that when this was on???). Also revealed, the story of Sue’s antique punch bowl. Besides the fact that her mother drowned in it, she also shares her fear of it being doused with alchohol by the glee club. To Sue’s dismay, Will gets his way. When the exciting announcement (about the prom, not the punch bowl) to the glee club, everybody seems enthusiastic, except for Mercedes who storms out. Rachel goes to comfort her, and we truly feel her pain of wanting to be Cinderella for just one night of her life. Rachel is determined to get Mercedes to that prom with a date. Meanwhile, Kurt also seeks out a date for prom in Blaine. Blaine has had a bead experience with proms, when he got beat up after he took a male date to his prom, but Blaine can see how much Kurt wants to go, and he gives in (usually I’m a little uncomfortable watching these scenes between Kurt and Blaine because they are usually written poorly, but this one I have to say had a lot of heart, and was portrayed wonderfully by Cris and Darren). Then, Rachel gets the million dollar idea on what to do about Mercedes. She asks Sam to go with her and Mercedes in a group, and they will all pitch in to make it affordable for Sam. Then, it’s time for the girls’ (and Kurt’s) favorite part of prom…dress shopping! While at the dress shop, Kurt reveals that he will be going with Blaine. While everyone is celebrating, Santana pulls him aside and assures him that she and Karofsky (the ‘Bully Whips’) will be patrolling him through school so that he is not bullied (really so that she’ll get sympathy for the upcoming election). Then, Puck approaches Artie with the idea that will bring his bad-ass status to an all time high. He asks Artie to help him spike the punch bowl at prom, and he also stresses how this could also help him out with his Brittany problems. Artie denies, hoping that he can win Brittany over without alchoholic punch. Then, up next is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen on this show: an a capella performance of “Rolling in the Deep” performed by Rachel and…JESSIE ST. JAMES???? (dun dun duuuuun!!), as well as some busy, and surprisingly harmonic prom committee decorators (THANK YOU LORD FOR PUTTING IN THAT PERFORMANCE!!). Jessie has recently flunked out of college due to not attending a single class (a-hole). You can see that Rachel wants to stay strong, but as soon as  he apologizes for flinging eggs at her face, and asks her to prom, she melts (ugh…will she ever learn?). Then, Finn approaches Rachel about the subject and she claims that he is just joining the prom-on-a-budget group. Finn tries to talk her out of it, but she makes a very clear point: she’s been supportive of him and Quinn, even though she still has deep feelings for Finn, and that he just be just as respective (Although, I am very happy that Finn still cares for Rachel as a friend even after what they’ve been through). Meanwhile, Santana has kept her word and with Karofsky, are patrolling Kurt to an annoying level. Then, during Brittany’s concern about breaking an egg with a dead chicken inside of it in cooking class, Artie enters the classroom, and asks Brittany to prom in front of class with Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” with a little help from Puck and Sam on guitar, and Finn and Mike tapping on various kitchen utensils (making my second favorite performance of the night). Even after a heart felt performance like that, Brittany denies, though she does see how sorry Artie is and how bad he feels (good for you Brittany! Don’t be a Rachel Berry!). This rejection leads Artie to agree to help Puck spike the punch at prom, because he feels that he has lost the only girl that will ever like him again, and is desperate to impress her (poor Artie). Back at the Hummel residence, Blaine decides that he will help out the glee club perform at prom. Kurt emerges in a half tux/half dress outfit that he is planning to wear to prom. Finn likes it, and describes it as ‘gay Braveheart, but Kurt’s dad and Blaine disagree, and think it is a little too much (I’m glad Finn is not painfully honest with Kurt, and that he is now fully supportive of him, like a true brother). Kurt states that he is wearing the suit no matter what, with or without Blaine. The next day, as Karofsky is walking Kurt to class, Kurt expresses to him how he notices how miserable Karofsky has become, and advises him that he should ‘come out’ when the right time comes. Seeing how supportive Kurt is even after the way he treated him, Karofsky breaks into tears. He sees what horrible things he has done to this innocent kid, and apologizes again, this time meaningfully. Before prom begins, the whole crew goes out to Breadsticks with their dates. After criticizing Sam’s bolo-tie, Jessee proposes the idea to open a dance school specifically for glee clubs. The idea is tuned down by Mercedes and Sam, but Rachel supports it, claiming ‘He’s so smart. I can’t believe he flunked out of college (best line of the night!). Finn and Quinn go up to them, and a little argument between Finn and Jessee occurs (don’t worry, I wouldn’t think much of it. I mean, it’s not like Finn is going to, I don’t know, punch Jessee in the face and have them both kicked out of prom). Then, the moment has arrived: PROM IS FINALLY HERE! Unfortunately it had to open with one of the worst songs ever written, “Friday” by Rebecca Black. Although on countless occasions I have expressed my hatred to the top-selling tune, this version (that included Puck, Sam and Artie) was surprisingly my third favorite song of the episode. We go to commercial break with Brittany screaming “Best prom ever!” and so it seems, for now! We come back to Rachel’s fantastic solo performance of “Jar of Hearts,” by Christina Perri. The song was written about a girl denying a reconnect with her ex-boyfriend after a tough breakup (maybe Rachel should be listening more to the lyrics rather than the sound of her own voice). During which, Mercedes gets her wish. Sam tells her how beautiful she looks, and the two join together for a dance. Alright, it’s time to stop being serious and loving, and get to one of the top perks of watching Glee: SUE! When Artie is pouring something into the punch, Sue catches him and takes him to her office where she threatens him with dental equipment. She claims he is the worst P.O.W. and that John McCain is rolling over in his grave (haha). During a less enthusiastic performance of “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend to Dance With You,” Jesse gets a little too close to Rachel for Finn to bare. He goes up to Jesse and they start fighting. Finn punches Jesse right in the kisser, and Sue is there to witness it. The two are removed from the prom (who could’ve predicted that?). But, the winner will have to be announced without Finn there to accept the award. Whoops! He wound up losing! In a suprising twist, Karofsky won prom king. And now, the moment we’ve been waiting for! The 2011 Junior Prom Queen is…Kurt Hummel??? SHOCKER!!! In an overwhelming feeling of embarrassment, Kurt storms out, as does Quinn and Santana. Blaine goes to Kurt, Rachel goes to Quinn, and Brittany goes to Santana. Kurt thinks he is a big joke, and that he was stupid to believe that people had changed. Quinn is hysterical, knowing well that people didn’t vote for her because Finn truly loves Rachel. She slaps Rachel in anger, and realizing what she has done, apologizes, shocked at herself. Santana is upset that her beard won and she didn’t, and thinks she will always be an outcast. Meanwhile, Artie reveals that he was too afraid to spike the punch with gin, so he used lemonade instead. Sue kicks him out of her office saying he should be ashamed of himself for being such a terrible prisoner. In the end, Rachel reassures Quinn about her fear of losing Finn, Brittany encourages Santana to be herself, and Kurt returns to the prom, accepts his crown and septor and responds to this embarrassing prank by simply uttering into the microphone “Eat you heart out, Kate Middleton.” He is greeted with a roar of applause. When the king and queen are ready to take their traditional dance, Karofsky bails. Oh well, who needs him? The show closed with an uplifting performance of ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” What a night!

I cannot get over how excited I was when I saw this episode. It was an ideal mixture of all the things I wanted to see all season, but unfortunately I only saw in this one. The glee club has always been talking about acceptance, and standing up for what they believe in, and not letting words defeat them. Kurt Hummel accomplished that. Unfortunately, Karofsky, one of the toughest guys in school, couldn’t do what this kid could. That truly shows why Will revived the club almost two years ago when the show premiered. It might not have been the prom that was expected, but boy was it incredible! Thank you Ian Brennan and Eric Stoltz for creating the best episode of Glee yet! I really hope there is even more greatness to come.                         

  

RATING: *****

WHERE TO WATCH:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/237560/glee-prom-queen

http://www.fox.com/glee/full-episodes

NEXT EPISODE: "Funeral" premiering May 17 on FOX