Glee ‘Guilty Pleasures’ Review & Recap

Glee is a pleasure of mine, but I wouldn’t classify it as a guilty pleasure because I am not afraid to admit I love this show! I was excited for this episode because the title alone, “Guilty Pleasures,” promised a variety of songs. I was curious what those choices would be.

The episode opens on a conversation between Blaine and Sam, leading to a revelation that Sam harbors a guilty pleasure of making portraits (incredible portraits if I say so myself) using macaroni as his medium. Tina interrupts, and we learn that Mr. Schue is sick so Glee has been canceled. This doesn’t stop Sam and Blaine from taking the initiative to issue an assignment for the group. Their logic behind the assignment is level to anything Mr. Schue could have concocted.

Blaine and Sam assume a leadership role and start the assignment by performing one of Blaine’s guilty pleasures “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” by Wham! This leads to a rendition performed in outfits awash in 80s style (bright neon colors and all).

We learn that Brody has left Rachel without any real explanation. Rachel, Kurt, and Santana have an odd mixture of annoying and amusing that strangely works.

Sam takes a big step and comes out to the Glee Club as being a huge Barry Manilow fan. He honors his musical idol, performing Manilow’s “Copacabana.” Who doesn’t love this song?! Sam did Manilow well and would have made his elder proud. This leads to the remaining students admitting to being Manilow fans as well. The whole scene and how it was played out was quite entertaining.

Oh My Goodness! The girls getting on Jake’s case about wanting to perform a Chris Brown song actually pissed me off a bit. Do they not understand the concept of “Guilty Pleasures?” He clearly explained why he picked him and made it clear that they have performed songs by poor role models before (Whitney Houston & Britney Spears). The girls completely overstepped their boundaries and were rude and out of line but Jake came across as logical and intelligent.

Blaine performs an acoustic version of “Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)” by Phil Collins. Blaine is really captivating simply performing at a piano with just him minus the accompaniment. That is hard feat to accomplish. His voice is so emotional, gripping you and entangling you in the story of the lyrics. Even though we know the song was about his crush on Sam, he claims it’s the genius behind Phil Collins.

The New Direction females perform the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe”; each member was decked out in outfits to take on the personality of one of the Spice Girls. It was a decent – nothing unique and no one particularly stood out, yet I didn’t dislike it.

Jake sings “My Prerogative” by Bobby Brown as an answer to the girls’ interference concerning his song choice. Bobby Brown is the antithesis of a good role model (which apparently Jake didn’t know at the time) and the song itself is a message to the girls. I thought it was a good way to get at them and say “back off” which they desperately needed to hear.

Earlier, Santana tells Rachel about Brody, and she uses this new information to confront Brody. I like how she did it too (handed him money and said it was because she wanted to go to dinner with him). Brody responds by telling Rachel that Finn hit him. Rachel replies saying she still loves Finn and that she slept with him at the wedding. They end their relationship after some much needed honesty. If Brody is gone for good I have to say that I will miss his vocals. Their performance of “Creep” by Radiohead reinforced his vocal talent and those two work really well together (plus shallow moment: he is easy on the eyes!). I am happy that Rachel displayed some maturity and cut the cord on the relationship.

Sam exhibits his ability to pick up on things and his incredible level of friendship, admitting to Blaine that he knows that he is Blaine’s guilty pleasure. I was extremely impressed with Sam’s maturity (in both his having this talk with Blaine and how he handled it).

The maturity continues when Rachel thanks Santana for telling her about Brody and for how she is handling the break up with Brody. The episode ends with the New Directions and New York crew singing ABBA’s “Mamma Mia.” This was a fun song and a great way to end the idea of the whole episode.

Final/Extra thoughts:

• Shallow moment: Blaine looked delicious while singing Wham!
• First moment I have enjoyed Kitty was her guilty pleasure she admitted to during “Fondue for Two” with Brittany: “I like to fart around old people and watch the look on their faces ‘cause they just assume they did it.”
• Kurt’s guilty pleasure: “boyfriend arm” named Bruce – awesome!
• Blaine reading “Goosebumps” – wow that takes me back and made me smile!

Author: Karen Walsh

Glee: Guilty Pleasures
Season 4, Episode 17
Original Air Date: March 21, 2013