Review : Glee ‘Ballad’
Glee’s Tenth instalment has hit our screens in the UK. Monday’s E4 screening of Teen-centric chart topping Glee sees the cast start to unfold the truth about the father of Quinn’s baby bump. ‘’Ballad’’ also sees the Glee kids paired off in the bid to learn expression of emotion, through a ballad, which has been added to the bill of requirements for sectionals.
Schuester however has the unwanted task of being paired off with control freak Rachel, due to a member being sent to hospital with a spider in his ear. During Rachel’s insisted demonstration of a ballad, her feelings for the Glee coach change. The obviously awkward ‘Endless Love’ recital, on Schuester’s behalf, leads Rachel to become smitten for the educator.
Moreover Rachel’s feelings are not the only ones to be aired. Finn has to team up with recently outed Kurt. Although Finn finds it hard to convey his emotions to a man, Kurt grasps this moment in the hope that Finn will realise that Kurt is the better diva to date. Every attempt made by Kurt is in vain, as it only brings Finn closer to Quinn, consequently making Finn reveal the truth to his mother and Quinn’s parents about her pregnancy, obviously in Glee fashion.
After taking Kurt’s advise, Finn starts singing to the ultra scan of his ‘’supposed’’ baby, to help express himself better. However his mother walks in and susses the secret. Leading to the not so clean-teen’s naive boyfriend to then reveal the mother of all secrets, to her Christian parents during Finn’s rendition of ‘’ (You’re) Having My Baby’’, over dinner. Ashamed of his daughter’s failure to follow her faith, Quinn’s father kicks her out, so she moves in with Finn. The Glee gods also unravelled further the pregnancy plot. During a paired session between Puck and Mercedes, Puck admits he is the father of Quinn’s unborn baby. However Mercedes kindly informs Puck that, although he is the sperm donor, Quinn has chosen Finn to be the father of his baby.
Rachel’s obsession with Mister Schuester brings back memories of past school girl crushes, one in particular Suzy Pepper. Pepper was one of Schuester’s students, whose heart was broken when Schuester made it clear that he did not share the same feelings as she did. This however resulted in Pepper eating the world’s hottest chilli, leaving her in a medically induced coma for three days and needing an oesophagus transplant. The Glee founder had no other choice but to tell Rachel the feelings she has are wrong, again in Glee traditional fashion. While singing a mash up of The Police’s ‘’ Don’t Stand So close to Me’’ and Gary Puckett & the Union Gap’s ‘’Young Girl’’, Rachel’s feelings for Schuester still persist. She shows up at his apartment and cooks and cleans for Schuester’s un-pregnant wife, Terri. Fortunately after being confronted by Pepper in the girl’s toilets, Rachel sees sense and ends her ‘’endless love’’ for the teacher.
As the plot thickens, the Glee cast end the episode by coming together to jointly sing a ballad to Finn and Quinn to show their support, despite some individual difference, Mercedes and Artie front the ‘’New Directions’’ version of LeanOn Me. Catch next week’s Glee on E4 on Monday at 9pm.