'Glee'-cap: "The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester"

Raina Deerwater ‘16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Jane Lynch in the Glee episode "The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester." Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/FOX.
Jane Lynch in the Glee episode “The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester.” Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/FOX.

On the ante-penultimate week of it’s far too long reign, Glee decides to open with the 2014 pop hit “No Place I’d Rather Be,” reminding the few poor souls who gather round the TV every Friday night, that yes, there are so many places they’d rather be. Hospitals, coal mines, desert islands ala Cast Away; all of these are preferable to another hour of watching Matthew Morrison smugly smile at these one-dimensional auto-tuned nobodies.

That might have been a little harsh. On second thought, nahhh. The thing that has been so frustrating about the last few episodes of this once beloved travesty is that it isn’t even fun-bad anymore. “The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester” is the textbook example of this. The IMDB description for this episode was “When Dalton Academy burns to the ground, the Warblers must combine with New Directions.” Honestly, that sounds like a good time. A horrible train wreck of a good time, but still something to love/hate watch.

Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch in the Glee episode "The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester." Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/FOX.
Carol Burnett and Jane Lynch in the Glee episode “The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester.” Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/FOX.

That plot only gets about 10 minutes of screen time. A whole school burning to the ground was just a mention. Then, the combining of the two glee clubs was just a subplot. They could have done so much with it. There was the whole super duper terrible sexist thing of the Warblers not letting Jane (Samantha Marie Ware) in, that gets a grand total of one line. There is also the issue of the Warblers being acapella, or maybe Blaine (Darren Criss) clashing with his new husband Kurt (Chris Colfer) about coaching. These weren’t even addressed. Things that could have been made captivating, even if overdramatic television were not brought up.

Instead, the episode, as per its title, focuses on Sue (Jane Lynch). We have all known since season one that Sue is only fun because of her one-liners and the fact that she is played by Jane Lynch. Nothing else matters. This is the one situation where Glee doesn’t need character development. And yet here we are with 15 minutes devoted to a fake Fox News interview, a rendition of “The Trolley Song,” a cameo by Michael Bolton (okay, that was pretty cool,) and a looming sense of hatred in both our hearts and our minds.

Jane Lynch in the Glee episode "The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester." Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/FOX.
Jane Lynch in the Glee episode “The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester.” Photo Credit: Eddy Chen/FOX.

While this is happening, Rachel (Lea Michele) also happens to get her dreams back. With a couple scattered scenes, she gets a part in a play and gets back into NYADA. She just has to make a decision. Oh wow! Either way she will be in New York living her dreams. Remember when the entire point of this season was that Rachel couldn’t be in New York living her dreams? Remember when this season had a point?

This whole thing begs the question when is enough enough? That was not actually rhetorical, enough will be enough in two weeks when this nightmare dressed like a tv show ends. Though it will be a rough journey, remember the words of the mediocre William Schuester from this week’s episode, “We’ve survived much more difficult things. Not just in Glee Club, but in life.” Truly inspirational words.

Overall Episode Grade: D-

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