GLEE 1.9 - "Wheels"

WRITER: Ryan Murphy
DIRECTOR: Paris Barclay
GUEST CAST: Stephen Tobolowsky, Iqbal Theba, Mike O'Malley, Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr., Dijon Talton, Robin Trocki & Lauren Potter

[SPOILERS] Weak songs, meager laughs. "Wheels" was a well-intentioned but ham-fisted attempt to tackle issues of disability, and one that left me feeling bludgeoned from a shaky moral high ground (Glee's sole disabled character is played by able-bodied actor Kevin McHale, after all.) The positives included welcome character development in a few instances, although it was disappointing how an episode with an opportunity to flesh out wheelchair-bound Artie (McHale), didn't rise to the challenge...

This week, Will (Matthew Morrison) was told by Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) that the school's budget won't stretch to hiring a bus with wheelchair access to take glee club to sectionals. In an effort to team-build, Will suggests they raise funds themselves by selling homemade cakes, and show solidarity with Artie by using a wheelchair themselves for three hours a day. Oh yes, if your membership's already getting slushi's thrown in their faces for singing and dancing, it's a wise move to force them all into wheelchairs, Mr. Schue.

Of primary interest to me was seeing Puck (Mark Salling) take a sudden interest in the finances of mother-to-be Quinn (Dianna Agron), whom he instinctively knows is carrying his baby. He's spurred into action when he realizes that Finn (Corey Monteith) is struggling to help pay for simple antenatal expenses like sonographs. Incidentally, this made me appreciate the NHS even more, but I don't want to start an Anglo-American debate about the pro's and con's of free national health care. Anyway, it was a fun reminder that Puck's not quite the immature waster he's widely perceived as, and how he's a much better fit for Quinn as a boyfriend. Stalling and Agron's chemistry together during a food fight was one of Glee's more natural moments.

At this stage, I just hope Quinn realizes her mistake and stops using Finn. It's not only unnecessary now, it also reflects very badly on her as a person. Maybe it would work better if it was clear that Quinn's family wouldn't approve of a working-class dude like Puck, but would come round to liking middle-class boy like Finn, but we haven't been given enough information on the Fabrays to make a judgement like that. Although it was made clear in "Wheels" that Quinn's parents don't know she's pregnant yet, which struck me as untenable because the whole school are aware and the gossip would surely reach her home? Anyway, it was also fun to see Puck as someone trying to prove he'd be a good father (which he would be), as he later managed to sell a huge amount of cakes by lacing them with drugs to elicit "the munchies" in customers.

We also had a "diva-off" (rolls eyes) between Rachel (Lea Michele) and Kurt (Chris Colfer), who both want to take the lead female vocals in the group's rendition of "Defying Gravity" from the stage-musical Wicked. This subplot worked as a sequel to "Single Ladies", too, as we returned to the notion of Kurt's mechanic father as an unexpectedly sympathetic but ill-prepared to handle a gay son, who has just started receiving crank calls from homophobes. This all worked quite well, mostly because Colfer's tender performances are easy to respond to, and there was a good payoff with Kurt choosing to intentionally miss a high-note in his diva-off against Rachel to spare his dad further grief.

Sue (Jane Lynch) was given a weird storyline, as she was ordered by the Principal to recruit a disabled person for her cheerleading troupe, and was forced to hold open auditions with Will as an impartial co-judge. The peculiar thing was seeing Sue lose her vindictive nature and agree that a girl with Down's Syndrome (Lauren Potter) could join her Cheerios team. Will and Figgins were astonished by Sue's enlightened attitude, but all became clear when it was revealed that Sue's own ageing sister has Down's Syndrome, so she has a natural compassion for those afflicted with the condition.

While I understand the sentiment of this subplot, it was by far the most unnecessary and, if anything, continued to civilize Sue in a way that tarnishes what made her such a compelling monster. There are ways to tackle disability in a humourous way that plays more authentically (see Ricky Gervais' oeuvre), but I guess Glee's too mainstream and sugary to approach things from an interesting angle. I can only hope Sue's sister isn't forgotten about, having made her "point" here, but it wouldn't surprise me.

As for Artie, who should have featured more prominently in an episode that bore his Sue-bestowed nickname, he got to sing Generation X's "Dancing With Myself" in a fantasy sequence, and I liked his scene with Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), where she revealed to him that she doesn't really have a stammer after kissing him. She's pretended to have a "disability" all these years to cover for her shyness, but Artie reacted with surprising outrage that she's a faker.

Overall, I applaud the character development for Puck and good use of Kurt, but everything else made sledgehammer points about disabled people and intolerance. There are smarter ways to tackle these issues, in ways that disabled people would find equally funny, but seeing a few disabled people led onto the screen to make Glee look inclusive for an hour isn't it.

Asides

-- How stupid is Finn? It should be patently obvious to him that he's not the father of Quinn's baby (er, because they didn't have sex) and now he's failing to pick up on signs that Quinn and Puck fancy each other.

-- Terri's been absent for a few episodes, and Sandy's reduced to just one scene in this episode. What gives?

-- Dianna Agron's definitely hotter sans cheerleading outfit, covered in flour.

-- Maybe it's just down to personal taste, but does anyone else feel Glee's choices of songs are very hit-and-miss? I liked it when they took well-known contemporary pop anthems and "Glee'd" them up, but many of the tunes used in recent episodes are either unknown to me or from musicals I've never seen.

1 MARCH 2010: E4 (HD), 9PM