I know this sounds like the craziest piece one may write, but as someone who’s using Glee as their eating show mixed with a rewatch, there are some episodes that I love and feel the need to subject everyone to. You may be wondering, “What could’ve possibly spurred my brain to subject myself to what (I think) may have been the most unhinged television show of all time?”. Well, the short answer is the insane amount of out of context tweets I had been seeing on my Twitter timeline and I just HAD to know what the context was again. So alas, here we are. To start with the basic premise of the show – an Ohio high school’s glee is trying to maintain funding for the arts and needs to win a national championship in order to keep the money flowing. Here comes the ever iconic (and very unhinged) Jane Lynch, who plays the school’s cheerleading coach with a blank check budget. That is until the glee club comes along and begins taking a fraction of her funds. War starts, the pilot episode ends, and I get a bunch of catchy songs stuck in my head.
Throughout this time, I realized how much pop culture is embedded within the show with not only the songs, of course, but the references such as the death of Whitney Houston, Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” era, and literally anything from the “Star Wars” franchise show. This show is essentially a time capsule. Now, I digress and lead you into what this is truly about: which episodes are my favorite? There are over 100 episodes and, having skipped none so far, I personally believe the first three seasons are the best compared to the later half of the series run. The compatibility of the original cast members sets it apart from the next seasons. Also, some of the storylines are so inherently insane that I have chosen to erase them from my memory (i.e. Tina & Blaine and David & Blaine). So without further ado, here are my thoughts (not ranked)!
The Power of Madonna (Season 1)
Favorite Song: 4 Minutes – sung by Amber Riley and Chris Colfer
This episode is dedicated to everything and anything Madonna – her presence, her impact, and (most importantly) her discography. Madonna didn’t have a direct impact on me growing up so I had no nostalgia in that sense. I mainly enjoy the appearance of Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) and the song “4 Minutes” that plays at the end of the episode. After listening to the original version of the song with Madonna, Justin Timberlake, and Timbaland, I can say with a proud chest that the cover is superior. Listen to it yourself if you don’t believe me.
Special Education (Season 2)
Favorite Song: Valerie – sung by Naya Rivera
This episode takes place during Sectionals for the glee club and has a lovely amount of drama. The mix of suspected infidelity, fear, and Rachel (Lea Michele) being annoying makes one of the episodes to stick out in my head. Additionally, if there is any song that the Santana (late Naya Rivera) sang on this show, I’m automatically tuned in. I actually think I heard this cover before I heard the original sung by Amy Winehouse. There are a few other plot points in here that I can’t discuss because of the spoilers, BUT JUST KNOW this is a favorite for Season 2.
Michael (Season 3)
Favorite Song: Smooth Criminal – sung by Grant Gustin & Naya Rivera
The girls are fighting!! This episode has the main glee club facing off against a competitor for who gets to perform Michael Jackson at the Regionals phase on their road to Nationals. The episode has another subplot surrounding a Finn (late Cory Monteith) & Rachel potential engagement, but that’s so incredibly boring! Let’s get into the real juicy plot: Blaine getting a slushie thrown in his face and ending up with a scratched cornea at the end of the a “Jackson-off” (their words, not mine). The plot then progresses to one of my top 10 Glee covers: “Smooth Criminal”. As I previously mentioned, I love most of the songs Naya Rivera sang during the character’s time on Glee and this one is just another reason I love this episode. The song is a Sebastian (Grant Gustin) & Santana duet and is accompanied by 2 cellos, adding dimension to this rendition.
There are so many other episodes that have hilarious moments but these are the three I think stick out in their respective seasons. I hope this article helps someone muster up the strength to watch Glee for the first time! It is definitely an experience you won’t forget…