Glee – "The Break-Up" Review/Recap [Spoilers]

Kristina Carroll ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff

Attention all Gleeks!  If you have not seen the latest episode of Glee, you are in for a bumpy ride.  “The Break-Up” is probably the most emotional and heartbreaking episode in Glee history.  So, be ready to break out the Kleenex.
In last week’s episode, Ryan Murphy left us utterly shocked when Finn Hudson (Cory Montieth) made a surprise appearance to Rachel’s (Lea Michele) and Kurt’s (Chris Colfer) apartment, only to find Rachel in the company of another man, her new New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts (NYADA) love interest Brody Weston (Dean Geyer).  Fast forward to this week’s episode when we find out that Finn has been released from the army on semi-honorable discharge after accidentally shooting himself in the thigh.  (A classic Finn Hudson move, if you ask me.)  Rachel, who is torn between Brody and Finn, ultimately decides to choose her longtime boyfriend, and suggests that Finn stay with her and Kurt in New York, and apply for NYADA the following year.  For those Finchel shippers out there, this probably made their day, seeing their favorite Glee power couple reunited at last.  Well unfortunately, this excitement was short lived.  In fact, everything seems to go downhill from here.
However, Finn and Rachel are not the only ones struggling with their relationship in this episode.  When Blaine (Darren Criss) calls Kurt for their routine “phone date” and realizes that Kurt does not have time for him anymore, he begins texting a man named “Eli C.”  Whoever this man is, he clearly wants his relationship with Blaine to be more than just friends.  It will definitely be interesting to see if this character develops and actually makes an appearance later on in the season, but for now all we have is a name.  Although Kurt and Blaine’s relationship is obviously falling apart, fans are given a glimmer of hope when Blaine also surprises Kurt and Rachel at their New York apartment, making for a heartwarming reunion between Kurt, Rachel, Finn and Blaine.  However, this heartwarming scene immediately turns to heartbreak, when the two couples get into an argument in the middle of Central Park.  Finn learns that Rachel kissed Brody, and Blaine admits to Kurt that he was involved with Eli.
Blaine and Finn return to McKinley, where things are almost just as bad as they were in New York.  Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who has been offered a job that requires him to move to Washington, is shocked and quite frankly enraged when he finds out that Emma (Jayma Mays) has no interest in moving with him.  And finally, Santana (Naya Rivera) returns to Glee only to confess to Brittany (Heather Morris) that their long distance relationship is not going to work out.  And thus marks the end of virtually every relationship on the show.
However, not everything about this episode made dedicated Gleeks want to crawl into a cave and shut themselves off from the world for the rest of their life.  Kitty, the newest Cheerio played by Becca Tobin, managed to briefly lift up the audience’s spirits in her scene where she held a meeting for the “Left Behind Club”, a club dedicated to preparing for the Apocalypse.  Also leaving fans all over the country elated was the news that McKinley’s fall musical was going to be Grease.
This episode had some of the best musical numbers of the season, which definitely made up for the past couple episodes that featured not-so-stellar renditions of not-so-exciting songs.  The first song of the episode was a duet between Finn and Blaine, of Duncan Sheik’s song “Barely Breathing”.  This was my favorite performance of the episode, and I felt that it defined the episode perfectly.  Following this number, Rachel and Brody performed Demi Lovato’s “Give Your Heart a Break”, which Although that might have been Ryan Murphy’s intention, to show that Rachel and Brody are not exactly going to be the most successful couple on the show, if in fact they do end up together.  Immediately following Rachel’s and Brody’s duet, Blaine put on an extremely emotional acoustic performance of Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream”.  This was one of the most brilliant elements of this episode as it clearly depicted a change in Kurt and Blaine’s relationship from when he first sang this song to Kurt in episode six of season two.  No Doubt’s “Don’t Speak” and Taylor Swift’s “Mine” also made their way into the episode.  The melancholy episode ended with all of the couples standing expressionless on the auditorium stage, singing Coldplay’s hit “The Scientist”.
No matter if you’re a die-hard Gleek, or if you have never seen an episode of Glee in your life, I highly recommend watching this episode.  It is simultaneously eye opening, depressing, and entertaining; while it definitely leaves you wanting more.