The Cutprice Guignol

I feel like any Christmas special needs to be judged on a bit of a sliding scale.

It’s the scale I judge Doctor Who festive specials on – essentially, would this be enjoyable to be after a few mulled wines, in the early stages of a food coma, cloaked in the pleasantries of a stereotypically Nice Christmas? It’s not neccessarily that I’ll give a pass for a bad episode, but I’m willing to indulge a little more silliness or syrupy-sweetness because, you know, ’tis the season, right? Ignore the fact it’s early August right now. Just don’t think about it. Because, my friends, it’s time for A Very Glee Christmas.

And, to be fair, though I came into this episode with slightly adjusted expectations, there is some genuinely good stuff here, Christmas episode or not. Will’s storyline this episode – spending Christmas alone – really works for me, and I think Ian Brennan, who penned this episode, really brings it with the Sad Will stuff. It feels melancholy in a way that contrasts with the tinsel-soaked brightness of the rest of the episode. That speech he does about the Gift of the Magi really hits, especially contextualized in Will’s arc for the last few episodes, and I love seeing Matthew Morrison share a bit of screentime with Dot Marie-Jones too.

The rest of the episode is…a bit chaotic, to say the least. A major part of this week’s plot revolves around the Glee club and everyone else coming together to try and keep Brittany’s belief in Santa, as she wishes for Artie’s ability to walk for Christmas. In some ways, this plot is actually kind of sweet – I love Coach Beiste’s speech to her in character as Santa at the end, but you sort of have to forget that this entire storyline revolves around a group of adults and teenagers trying to convince this young adult into continuing her belief in Santa for…reasons? I get it, preserving the Christmas spirit in her and all that, but it feels infantalizing to a plot-breaking degree when you remember this is Brittany they’re talking to. Bad? Not necessarily, if you’re willing to suspend your disbelief from the very highest branch on the Christmas tree.

The Rachel-Finn plot is another more bittersweet touch to the episode, and, while I don’t think this is a particularly sensational bit of romance writing or anything, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith are really settled into their chemistry, and their scenes actually have some impact – their final confrontation at the Christmas tree place is particularly effective, the set-up of the trees framing them in together driving home the emotional beats of the scene.

Elsewhere, Sue predictably gets a Grinch-themed mini-arc, and I have to say, I do really enjoy this. From her telling Becky to suit up in a set of felt reindeer horns to that ridiculously entertaining You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch while she stoats around the neighborhood in badly-applied green face paint, it’s exactly where you think Glee would take it, but when it’s played with this much of a sense of fun, it’s hard to begrudge it. Jane Lynch doing these po-faced costumed bits always slays (sleighs?) me, and the lighter tone to this plot really lets her go all-in.

Performance-wise, there are some cute numbers in this – nothing that blew my socks off, but they’re all perfectly serviceable. My favourite by far is, of course, Baby, It’s Cold Outside between Blaine and Kurt. I think the show does a great job capitalizing in the fun, flirty energy between these two in their first few episodes, and this number is the perfect choice for that chemistry, even aside from the fact that their voices are a perfect fit. It’s got a classic feel to it that is so fun to play with as part of a gay romance plot, and the blocking and use of the more luxurious space at Dalton is just right.

So yeah, honestly, this is a pretty good episode, and it delivers on what I want from a Christmas special. We’re heading with increasing speed towards the more distractingly stupid writing for Glee, but with enough grounding around the silliness, they’re still hanging on yet.

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