“Mash-Off” Season 3 Episode 6 – Whenever I think Glee can’t get any more dramatical (and yes, that is a word), they come up with an episode like “Mash-Off.” I suppose an argument could be made for these shenanigans being no more or less ridiculous than the usual fare, so maybe I’m just getting tired of it already. I miss the days when Glee was charming, not grating; funny, not insulting. Sadly, it seems like that ship has sailed.
First of all, was anyone surprised that Rachel dropped out of the class president race, which is inexplicably being held halfway through their senior year? What was she doing in the race in the first place? Glad that mini-drama is over; now she and Kurt can have a sleepover and dish about losing their virginity in the same montage.
Shelby and Mr. Shue team up to try to establish peace between their rival glee clubs by making them compete against each other for the honor of best mash-up. Does that make any sense to anyone, even by Glee-land standards? It’s also kind of sad that Shelby’s team kicks New Directions to the curb; I might start rooting for them if I could stand Mercedes even a little bit these days.
Speaking of Shelby, Puck is hot for teacher, so much so that he decides to tell her all about Quinn’s efforts to get Beth back. After giving her a dressing-down, Shelby informs Quinn that she’s no longer welcome in Beth’s life. It’s probably not a good idea to make a desperate teenager even more desperate, especially when one is on the edge of having an affair with a student who is not known for his discretion.
Now let’s talk about Santana. She’s always mean and she never really cares about anyone but Brittany, but this week, she amps it up to a whole ‘nother level, going after Finn for absolutely no reason that I can see. He lashes back, accusing her of being a coward for staying in the closet. It’s the truth, but he didn’t have to yell it across the hallway. Santana’s sexual orientation is leaked to one of the candidates running against Sue and Burt, and this faceless stranger unfathomably outs a teenage girl in order to make a political commercial.
And by the way, can Sue please pick a character and go with it? Either she’s a right-wing nut job who lives to ruin lives, or she’s a caring educator who feels bad for starting a political fire that ended up ruining a (somewhat) innocent girl’s life. She can’t be both.
Santana takes out her rage on Finn, slapping him across the face in what cannot be described as anything but assault, even more so than her dodgeball rage earlier in the episode. Glee has never shied away from the message that violence is intolerable, but they’ve never had a club member attack another club member like this. I’m not sure we can ever get behind Santana again, no matter how sad her story is.
I feel like Glee is entering dangerous territory, making us dislike characters we used to love. First Mercedes and now Santana, and even Artie with all of his creepiness last week. The plots are insane, the songs are getting weaker…if we stop caring about the kids in the club, what will keep us watching this show?
What did you think of the episode? Am I being too harsh or not harsh enough? Let me know below.
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