Glee: New York Spoiler-Free Review (3/5)

It's hard to talk much about the final episode of Glee's second season without spoiling the various surprises that lie in wait, but here goes: your enjoyment of this one is going to depend solely on how much you warmed to Journey (Season One's finale) and its climax. This time around, more of the episode is spent exploring the streets and theatres of New York rather than actually at the Nationals competition, and while I think that's totally justified given the cast's own journey to the Big Apple to film, I can't help but wonder if the episode would have benefited from a longer running time to give equal time for exploration and tension, perhaps building on several of the emotional strands that lead to the season's conclusion so that what transpires over the course of this story wouldn't feel so jarring. After twenty two weeeks of waiting for Nationals, there's a sense of "Was that it?" when the credits roll for more than one reason, and the non-spoilerific one is that we hear just a few average renditions from various glee clubs (New Directions included, obviously) before heading back to McKinley High to share the outcome of the competition in typically hilairous fashion. It's not all bad: Dianna Agron in particular gives her best performance as Quinn Febrisnky after her break-up with Finn in Funeral, while Chris Colfer and Leah Michele are clearly having the time of their lives performing a number from West End hit Wicked, plus Matthew Morrison gets a chance to show off his solo talents on stage too. However,  I can't help but think that many fans of Glee are going to find this a pay-off that simply wasn't worthwhile or in any way satisfactory, and as such it seems to leave the show on shaky territory in terms of whether viewers (myself included) will want to return to watch Series Three. Nevertheless, here are a few teasers for the finale:

1. More original songs!

2. The Lady & The Tramp gets an unexpected homage here.

3. Listen out for a familiar background track when Rachel and Kurt head for breakfast at Tiffany's...

4. Want to hear a song early? Search Matthew Morrison's Still Got Tonight.

5. Listen out for Artie and Britanny's "My Cup"- a true classic in the making!