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The McKinley High School glee club, New Directions, returns for a second year. The second season of Fox’s Glee will probably be remembered for the guest appearances, including Gwyneth Paltrow, John Stamos, Carol Burnett, Britney Spears, and Charice.
Throughout the season, a new theme is introduced at the beginning of each episode, and the music and plot for that episode follow the theme. Since the writers have chosen this format for the show, viewers should pay attention to see how closely the dialogue in the show fits the music chosen for the episode.
Episode 4 is entitled “Duets”—and this turns out to be a good way to watch the entire season. There are many different duet pairings throughout the season, and many of the storylines revolve around the various couples and their struggles in the glee club. Season 2 offers a chance for viewers to get to know all of the glee club members, but the most important storylines belong to Chris Colfer’s Kurt Hummel, with the most compelling story arc centering around his being bullied for being gay. The bullying eventually drives Kurt to Dalton Academy and new cast member Blaine (Darren Criss). The Dalton Academy Warblers are a competing glee club to New Directions, and they perform many numbers during the season.
Glee’s popularity comes just as much from the music as it does from the characters. Season two features many original arrangements and original music. In episode 6, “Never Been Kissed,” Matthew Morrison’s Mr. Schuester assigns the boys to perform a mash-up from works originally performed by women and the girls to perform songs from male artists. Both groups do a great job with their numbers, but the episode is stolen by the debut of the Dalton Academy Warblers doing an a cappella version of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream.” Season 2 also features original songs at both of the big competitions during the school year: regionals and nationals. Fans can decide for themselves what they think about the new material, but I think it’s safe to say that the choir handles it well.
The costume and set designers also do a particularly good job of recreating the music videos of Britney Spears in episode 2, and the makeup department shows off with their zombie transformations in the episode that aired after the Super Bowl. A bit of trivia from the costume department: the blouse that Lea Michele is wearing in her duet with Chris Colfer for “Happy Days are Here Again/Get Happy” is similar to the one worn by Barbra Streisand when she sang the song with Judy Garland. Both Lea Michele and her character are fans of Streisand, and this is one of at least a couple of tributes to her during the season.
Glee’s second season gave fans more of what they wanted—singing and dancing—to the detriment of the storylines. However, this format makes each episode stand more or less on its own, making repeats easier to follow. Celebrity guest appearances, a variety of vocal performances, and the coveted spot after the Super Bowl gave the second season a chance for the cast and crew to go bigger and better with mostly positive results.
Blu-ray Review:
The Blu-ray release of Glee’s second season contains a variety of extras but no deleted scenes. The extra features are short and are generally the kind of behind-the-scenes segments that people are used to.
The funniest segment shows Heather Morris going around the set as her character, Brittany. The crew plays along, and the result is very entertaining.
Like the Season 1 release, the second season’s release also includes the Glee jukebox, with every music video and vocal performance from each disc compiled by episode, allowing them to be shuffled or played in order.
This Blu-ray release offers fans a chance to own all of the music of the second season at a much lower price than purchasing each song as a single. If you’re a fan and want to own every episode, you won’t be disappointed. If you’re a casual viewer, the best moments are probably available online or on a streaming download service like Netflix.
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