Glee 2x22, "New York" - Dreams and Decisions in the Big Apple

New Directions singing their hearts out in NYC.

 In a season dominated by average finales, this one is...*drumroll*...yet another average one. But at least it's on the better side of average. Recap and review below.



Recap: The Glee club members are living it up in a New York hotel for Nationals (pillow fights, junk food, you name it). At Puck and Sam's urging, Finn takes Rachel out on a date and tries to kiss her, but she turns him down. Rachel realizes she will have to make a choice between staying with Finn and following her Broadway dreams. She and Kurt visit an empty theater to sing "For Good" together on a real Broadway stage. Mr. Schue struggles with the choice between Broadway and the Glee club, but he chooses the Glee club pretty quickly. Then the actual competition begins. Rachel finds Sunshine Corazon (now of Vocal Adrenaline) throwing up in the bathroom, planning to leave because she's too nervous to perform; Rachel encourages her, apologizes for sabotaging her when she came to McKinley, and convinces her to stay. As for New Directions' performance: after a passionate duet, Rachel and Finn share an impulsive onstage kiss ("Was that scripted?" asks a jealous Jesse in the audience). Their duet is followed by the upbeat "Light Up the World." Unfortunately, it isn't enough to get them a spot in the top ten who advance in the competition. New Directions flies back to Ohio, where there are many heartfelt exchanges. Kurt and Blaine have a typically cute conversation complete with "I love you"s, and we find out that Mercedes and Sam are dating (!). Brittany and Santana discuss feelings for each other and for the Glee club overall. Rachel and Finn share another kiss and decide to stay together until graduation.

Review: Meh. Decent episode. The classic romantic background music was a little odd in some of the beginning scenes (particularly Finn and Rachel's date), but the songs performed by the cast were all well-done. "For Good," in particular, was harmonious and touching, accentuating some adorable Kurt and Rachel moments. I love their friendship. Rachel's apology to Sunshine showed a gratifying growth of character--she's "making something right," and it's good to see how much she's matured since the beginning of the show. Sunshine's solo was lovely (it's good to see Charice Pempengco back on the show). The lyrics to the original songs were inane as usual. The camera spinning was somewhat excessive on the Finchel kiss. The Mercedes/Sam reveal was cute (and surprising), and I'm glad that Brad Falchuk (writer for this ep) fit in a quick Klaine scene as well. Nice episode. Not spectacular (to be honest, Glee rarely is) but it was enjoyable.

Rating: 6.7/10