Glee-wind- Hold On To Sixteen

I've honestly been dying for this episode to air for a few weeks now. I had heard the music a week or so ago and I read some spoilers and everything just got me so excited for this episode and it did not disappoint. I thoroughly enjoyed the episode and I really think it switched the arc for a lot of characters for the rest of the season. It set up a lot of new stories for characters and really created some wonderful potential for new storylines.

As usual we got another look into crazy Quinn but this episode we got character after character urging her to change her ways and see just how wrong she was. First we got Rachel telling her the horrible repercussions reporting Shelby could be to Beth, and it was amazing because knowing what happened between Shelby and Puck must be completely confusing for Rachel, given her history with both. The fact that she was able to look past that to help Quinn grow and to protect Beth, signaled huge growth in Rachel's character. It was quite wonderful to see.

Then we got Sam who has been gone and hasn't even seen all of Quinn's crazy actions this year, tell her quite bluntly that she needs to grow up and that her problems are small compared to other people in the world. His words were simple but the meaning behind them created another moment for Quinn to look at herself and realize the error in her ways.

When Quinn went to Shelby and confronted her but didn't report her was a huge moment of redemption for Quinn. Although she was choosing to let go of the past and live in the moment enjoying her youth, I think it showed such maturation in her character. I also think her choice of letting go of the past was seen right after New Directions' performance. When Finn and Quinn broke up, Quinn didn't take it well at all, and I don't know if she ever got the proper closure. When she hugged Finn after Man in the Mirror and then walked over to Puck and melted into him, although subtle, I think that was another moment of moving on for her.

Although this episode showed huge growth for Quinn the real focus of the episode was Sectionals and for the first time ever I loved every performance. Buenos Aires was fabulous and Lindsay from the Glee Project killed it. The Troubletones performance was just as fabulous, my only complaint was that their choreography seemed so strange. There were a ton of arm movements and it looked like they were all flailing about after a while.

Obviously I thought the New Directions' Jackson medley was amazing. This year was light-years better than last season and we got to hear so many people that it was great. Tina was fantastic and Blaine was just as great on Control. My favorite though was Man in the Mirror. The spotlights were a great addition to an already amazing song and Cory Monteith just sounded amazing on his parts and he looked so hot in his tuxedo jacket. Oh yeah!-how cool were the outfits for New Directions?! Besides the gold dresses they used for Regionals in the first season, this years outfits were my second favorite.

The scene with Mike and his dad honestly made me tear up, it was so moving seeing his dad supporting him unconditionally. Then with Tina sending in the applications- it was so wonderful seeing them helping Mike work to achieve his dream, I just loved it.

Even though it was a Finchel-lite episode there were still a couple cute moments I caught glimpses of. This was like the Finchel hand-holding episode because it seemed they were always holding hands even if it was awkward, like when they were walking around the gate in Sam's yard. They had to contort their arms but they would not let go of each other. They did this when they were getting seated in the auditorium too, it was so cute.

Side note-Did any one else catch Rachel's new mod look when she was in the office? With the beret and the simple black tee, it seems she's moving out of her vintage obsession into a more mod look. Either way, I really like it!

Finally on to We Are Young...I loved it! Last year we had Dog Days are Over which although it has a fun message really didn't encapsulate the feelings of the Glee club, specifically Finn and Rachel who were still pretty upset with one another. This year, everyone came together in recognition of just how amazing this moment in their lives is. Rachel agreed to share the spotlight, Quinn decided to enjoy her youth, Finn let go of his insecurities surrounding Blaine, Mike decided his dream was worth it, and everyone was just truly happy. It was wonderful and I loved hearing Finn and Rachel lead a song again. Although it's not the duet I have been dying for, it is just a really great song.

Looking to next week-

I can't wait for this year's Christmas episode! As a Finchel fan, last year's Christmas episode was so sad but from the preview and spoilers this year is looking to be a great episode for Finn and Rachel. I'm so happy. I'm also really excited for the episode because it on my birthday!!!! Glee plus my birthday is going to be awesome! I can't wait!!!

xoxo,
Amanda