Can I add a dash of Rod to this lady soup?

Glee. Regionals. What a great episode this was. It had everything a great Glee episode needs: drama filled romance, great one liners, and a whole lot of singing. It had so much singing, in fact, that it seemed like a Glee episode of 2 years ago - rather than the over complicated soap opera that the show has taken on a bit lately.

Anyway. There were 3 main sections to this episode. The romance between Kurt and Blaine, the romance between Finn and Rachele/Quinn, and the Regional competition. I'll take each in stride.

I have to say, the relationship between Kurt and Blaine took a nice turn this episode. At times Kurt can come off extremely preachy and really tends to do more harm to his campaign for equality than good when he acts like a spoiled child. This episode - however - had almost none of that. It was a love story, albeit between two men, and there was nothing catty about it. You could see the moment Blaine fell for Kurt when he was singing which led up to the famous kiss between the two of them that viewers have been waiting for for weeks. And finally the duet of Candles, which was fantastic, if you ask me. Good job, Glee. And the burial scene was great - poor Pavarotti - with Blaine telling Kurt, "You did win...so did I. We got each other out of this - that beats a lousy trophy, don't you think?" Collective "awwww."

Then there is the triangle of Finn, Quinn and Rachele. Coming into the episode, we had Finn/Quinn together and Rachele on the side. But there still seems to be something that can't pull Rachele and Finn apart.

It's pretty clear that Quinn is aware of this, and we see her stand her ground a bit this week. A friend of mine even went so far as to call her "evil" as she lays out the fact that she and Finn are together to Rachele. But I saw another side to her, she welled up a bit as she said it, almost as if she knows she's not after the right things. She seemed insecure to me. And rightfully so. At the end of the episode with Rachele singing her original ballad while Finn looks on, it's quite clear that not everything is over between them. Will the end up together? I can't really see a way that Quinn and Finn can work with the way they're moving the story line. I'm not really sure how I feel about that, as I have an objection to leading characters dating each other in principle (I think it makes every show worse), but I do think we will see some Finn and Rachele love coming in the next few episodes.

Now onto Regionals. The Sue Sylvester led group was a total letdown. After so much buildup to the Regionals, Glee really dropped the ball. Sure, the "Jesus is a Friend of mine" song was a bit funny, but I felt that overall the joke fell flat. Everyone's seen that youtube clip, but it didn't work as well on stage at the competition. The Warblers sang great, as always, and their performance was filled with even more Kurt/Blaine love as Blaine calms a nervous Kurt down and then shoves him into the spotlight to accept his applause after some great singing.

But the real story of the show was the original songs of New Directions. Lea Michele showed why we all love Rachele (even though in most episodes she's so annoying that we can't stand her). Why is that? Because that girl can sing. Her solo song "Get it right" was a fantastic ballad, and my oh my did she sing the crap out of it. Really well done. And directly following, New Directions showed off a more "rock" side with the "Loser like me." Loved the homage to the slushies at the end.

This episode was a winner not only because of the romance but because it got back to what Glee is great at - singing. I'd say 70% of the episode was in song, and that's why we all watch anyway. One downside, I am no Palin fan, don't get me wrong, I think the woman should be sent back to Alaska on a one way ticket, but Kathy Griffin is arguably someone I like even less. Her impression was too on the nose, it had no finesse and it was just as annoying as we've all become accustomed to from Griffin. Glee should be above things like that, and I for one think it is a poor form to have had here there.

Anyway, I still found the episode funny, and the other two judges more than made up for Griffin.

And Brittany, as always had some great lines:

-"I don't remember putting that in there" (about the dirt Sue puts in her locker)
-"My Headband" (her response to Shue's question - what's your favorite song?)
-"Headbands" ("What are these songs all about?")

And Sue: "Well if it isn't Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Fake-boobs."

Altogether, definitely worth a watch. Check it out if you can.

Until the next episode...
Chris