Glee season 5, episode 6 “Movin’ Out” aired last night. In this episode, featuring the hits of Billy Joel, several McKinley seniors take a step towards life after high school. Read our full recap below.
Sue Sylvester has set up McKinley’s first ever career fair, mostly featuring disgusting and dead-end jobs. Will is naturally butthurt that no artistic careers are represented, and Sue tells him that she won’t support students – entering most competitive job market in history – in pursuing the fickle world of the arts, which is sure to crush their dreams of stardom and lead them to mediocrity and failure, just like Will. The look on his face shows us that some part of him agrees with her.
However, he squashes that part down and goes to try and inspire the glee club – he tells them that what Sue said is true – that attempting to perform can be impractical and uncertain, but people who really want something should still go after what they love. He tells them that the week’s assignment will focus on a “goofy-looking kid who struggled for years to make it in the music business” – I’m obsessed with the fact that Kitty victoriously hisses “it’s finally Marilyn Manson week!” – but no, the man in question is in fact the unlikely success story that is Billy Joel. Apparently Schue filled in Blaine and Sam on the plan, because they have a Billy Joel number already prepared to sing to the class before they both travel to NYC for college interviews – Blaine at NYADA for performance, Sam to Hunter College for an acting scholarship.
Blam begin the number “Movin’ Out” and they sing themselves from the choir room all the way to New York, catching public transport to Kurt and Rachel’s loft. By the way, I have a feeling the guy on the bus in the blue hoodie, the one Blaine gets all up in the face of, is significant in some way, like a secret cameo, but I can’t place it. Whatever. It’s like the cheesiest performance in the world, but they sound incredible – Billy Joel songs are so versatile, with such perfect melodies, that it’s kind of hard not to completely rock while singing them.
At the career fair, Artie notices Becky getting pretty involved, and asks about her plans after graduation – she thinks college is for suckers, apparently, but Artie goes on to tell her about colleges he’s researched which cater for disabilities. Sue interrupts the conversation by wheeling Artie away, and tells him not to interfere with Becky’s head. Artie tries later to give Becky pamphlets on colleges with Down’s Syndrome programs and she seems interested in spite of herself, but soon gets angry and defensive, and rejects the offer.
When Sam and Blaine meet the girls and Kurt at the diner, Blaine mentions checking out other college campuses, such as NYU and Columbia, saying he needs safety schools. Kurt is in complete denial that Blaine will go anywhere other than NYADA and is sure that Blaine will get in on the spot. Kurt encourages him to sing at Spotlight as an audition warm-up, and Blaine is embarrassed but plays “Piano Man.” Santana exists in this episode purely to eyeroll at her friends’ need to constantly sing their feelings – “seriously, you all need to be stopped,” and Sam plays the harmonica line as waitresses twirl while putting out the evening candles.
The song is a perfect Darren Criss performance that wouldn’t be out of place at one of his own concerts – it’s realistic to the point of being raw and slightly out of breath, and I can’t help wondering if this is meant to showcase his lack of a traditional musical theatre belt – possibly a clue that he might not get into NYADA. Kurt definitely states “There’s no way you’re not getting into NYADA!” a few too many times throughout the episode for the situation not to end in some deep irony.
Jake fills Marley’s locker with roses in an attempt to apologize for his transgressions, but she’s having none of it. He begs her for the chance to apologize, but she says that he shouldn’t have to – that she should have never expected him to change from his past ways.
Ryder also tells off Jake for screwing things up with Marley, but Jake claims that he is who he is and that they learn in glee to accept things the way that they are. It sort of feels like one of those situations where people criticise you so much that you start to believe it yourself – like he’s resigned himself to it – but still, when he tells Jake that he better start liking the real Jake Puckerman, I’m reminded how much I still ship it. Jake then starts to sing “My Life” in the locker room – some girls clad in towels come out of the men’s showers to dance with him – and then sings it in the choir room while sassing Marley and backflipping. Everyone kind of side-eyes him, and he then dances around school with more girls in half a minute than the tabloids pair Harry Styles with in a month.
Sam’s college interview is the WORST EVER and causes me so much second-hand embarrassment that I want to hide behind my hands. He tries to be a total social justice warrior, but makes himself sound naïve, stupid and obliviously privileged. I swear Sam used to be really, you know, good at dealing with people, and understanding personal issues? Guess that went out the window. But oh, Jesus.. “So you’re black… that must be interesting.. Do you know..” at this point I see where the joke is going and I cannot believe they’re doing it – “This is a shot in the dark.. do you know Mercedes Jones?”
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