Britney/Brittany

Ummm...This wasn't what I was expecting. This episode was just awkward. This one definitely went in the wrong direction from the previous show. Many things went wrong in this episode: the random Britney cameos and random songs, the confusing plot, and that AWFUL ending.

Now I'm going to be honest. I used to be a huge fan of Britney. I listened to her a lot. But now I actually don't respect her as an artist. She doesn't write her own material and she can't sing as well as she should. So from the get go, I kind of felt they could have dedicated a show to someone more deserving. But Britney has had many hits and most of her songs are very catchy so it was probably a good choice for ratings. However, the random cuts to the Britney-esque videos were just not my cup of tea. I felt like the writers couldn't find a way to connect the songs to the story line (except for "Stronger"). they just put the characters to sleep and they dreamed about it. That's a cop out if I have ever seen one. In the past dedication episodes, they did a good job with this. In the Madonna episode, "Like a Virgin" was placed ingeniously, and I was hoping for something like that in this episode. I also felt like Britney's cameos were just not necessary at all. For example, in "Baby One More Time," she was shown for a half second in a sexy teacher outfit, and that was it. That was fairly pointless.

Also, the plot just confused me. First off, wasn't Sam Evans the new quarterback. Did Finn just take the spot from him without Sam's consent. I didn't understand why that wasn't touched on. I find this "Artie playing football" thing absolutely ridiculous. It might sound like I'm being rude saying handicaps don't belong on the field. But it's unrealistic for a kid in a wheelchair to play a contact sport with other kids who AREN'T in a wheelchair. How does he get tackled? How does he get pushed around the field? I just find it too ludicrous for it to be taken seriously.

The ending was absolutely horrendous. Way too dramatic, too much going on, and once again, ends with a Rachael solo. I know Evan will hate the fact that I didn't like the ending since they covered a Paramore song, but it was a Britney dedication, so I thought that addition was random. Plus, Rachael crying at the end looked silly and I actually laughed at her, which isn't what the writers were hoping to happen. So that didn't work.

The songs were inappropriate for younger children. But it's Britney. Nuff said. However, I hated the jewish reporter guy. That was just awkward, vile, and disgusting.

Okay. So now I'm done with being Negative Nancy. On to the good stuff. Heather Morris (who plays Brittany) was spectacular in this episode. Her dancing skills probably outshine anyone else on the show. She has been dancing for a while. She has been on tour with Beyonce and she performed Single Ladies with her on the American Music Awards and SNL, so I knew she could dance. I'm really happy they were able to let her shine so much in this episode.

I really enjoyed "Baby One More Time" and the beginning of "Toxic." "Baby One More Time" was my favorite song in the episode. The song was raised about 4 whole steps, but I thought it was necessary to make it more entertaining since Rachael's range is higher than Britney's. She also does well with the Choreography. We don't see her dance very often, so that was a nice change. The acoustic beginning of Toxic was phenomenal. Great add. The addition of Schuester was awkward, but that was the idea. And plus I love his voice, so I didn't mind.

So all-in-all, this video was a major step down from "Auditions." Hopefully next episode will step it up. It is about religion, which will definitely be a hit or miss. It's a touchy subject, but it might go over well. We'll see.

C (I'm giving each episode a grade now)

Rsmitty