Glee Season 2: Brittany/Britney Episode Review

Brittany/Britney
Season 2, Episode 2

Potentially my inner Britney fanboy talking, I absolutely enjoyed this episode. Was it the best Glee episode ever? Maybe not, and I'll tell you why.

Just like the Madonna tribute from last season, this one felt a little gimmicky as the story was driven forward by the songs instead of the songs driving the story. Yes, the episode had epic - and I mean EPIC - moments this week, but some part of it fell short of how great it could have been. Simply put, the episode wasn't bad, but not as good as I was expecting.

Let's just say that I was thoroughly entertained for what it was.

THE GOOD: 

- Brittany S. Pierce! Haha. She was, as always, ridiculously hilarious! Just from the opening scene alone, when she was talking about her real name, Brittany had me cracking up. I also loved how she kept saying that she wants to get all the solos now as she think she's better than everyone. Haha. But I have to hand it to her, she does have a great voice and she totally acquitted herself well in her first time singing. Oh, and her dancing was fan-freakin'-tastic! This just shows how grossly underused Heather Morris actually is. Unbelievable.

- "I thought I was the only one getting the solos from now on? Next week, I'm going to be performing a musical number by Ke$ha." Ha! Of course, this one deserves its own bullet. I'm pretty sure that this one had me genuinely laughing (out loud). Seriously.

- Kurt having a bitch-fit at Will was unexpectedly funny! Truth be told, Mr. Schue needed that kind of beating from Kurt. I mean, he was being a total a*s about the whole Britney thing. I don't know, but that scene was shocking. Ha!


- Rachel and Quinn finally had a scene together! Frankly, I was so happy to see them actually being civil with each other. A possible friendship in the future? Hopefully.

- Santana was on fire with her half a dozen great lines!

- The production of their musical performances this week were all top-notch. Arguably, better than most - if not all - of their numbers during The Power of Madonna episode.  

- Britney Spears cameo! 

THE BAD:

- Yes, I love me some Brittany (S. Pierce) but a lot of the focus towards her was mostly concentrated in the first half, which made the episode slightly unbalanced.

- The Emma-Will scenes were uncomfortable to watch, for some reason.

- I've always appreciated Glee's willingness to have its main characters - specifically Rachel - be realistically unsymphathetic, but I think they're pushing it a little too far these last two episodes. Come on! Rachel now comes across vaguely like a sociopath - "I want to be the only thing that makes you feel good about yourself". Seriously?

- I was missing the storyline established in last week's episode. You know, Glee club members hating Rachel because of the Sunshine incident? What happened to that? And where was Sam?

- Every contribution Jacob made to this episode was unnecessary, awkward, and annoying. I wanted to watch the freakin' performance of Toxic, but, alas, I couldn't because of the distasteful scene he and that obnoxious girl were making. Ugh!

- How come Kurt didn't get a solo in this episode? He was obviously the one who kept on pushing for a Britney theme right? That's a little odd.

- The awkwardness of Will performing with New Directions.

- Not enough Sue.

THE MUSIC:

I'M A SLAVE 4 U. I'm dead. I must be dead. Haha. I have to give props for the incredible Heather Morris in her performance of this Britney classic because she killed it. This girl is so talented, and it was nice to see her have her moment. She can really move!

ME AGAINST THE MUSIC.  Really. Brittany + Santana = Incredible. Not only have I put this song on repeat on my playlist, but I've also played that part of the video - and Brittany's monologue directly after it - over and over again. The choreography was ridiculous and the way they recreated the music video was just as good. Of course, Britney Spears appearing at the end of the number made it so much better, I suppose. 

BABY ONE MORE TIME was decent. I did not like Rachel's version but the way the original music video was recreated somehow sold me to this particular performance. It was ok.

STRONGER annoyed me. I don't know. Personally, Single Ladies still blows this one out of the water, and I don't think the football team can ever dance to a Glee song without weird-ing me out. Haha. Vocally, it was good but I just didn't get that.

TOXIC was fun to watch. This is like Push It from last season. Haha. I think it was the best Britney performance of the episode because of the hilarity it created. Too bad, Jacob and the obnoxious girl ruined the moment. I'm also not sure if Will Schuester being part of this number is a good thing as well - it was a little creepy to me.

MY ONLY EXCEPTION was lovely. It was so poignant that it almost reminded me Smile from last season. By cutting away little scenes between the Glee members, it emphasized their underlying stories, thus broadened the emotional resonance to me. Somehow, this montage gave me a little preview of what they'll focus on for the rest of the season - hopefully.

Download music HERE.
Watch the preview for next week HERE.
Check out the promo pictures for next week HERE.