I thought it started, "life is a mystery..." I can't find a music video version that starts with "Oh heavenly father"- maybe on the album?

Isn't that Madonna's "Like a Prayer"?

Isn't that Madonna's "Like a Prayer"?

ayup, it sure is. I'm not sure how I misread that. Did my brain go from, "Papa Can You Hear Me?" to "Papa Don't Preach" to "Like a Prayer"? Perhaps I need a little lie down. (needless to say the episode hasn't aired yet out here)

I'm eh on the episode, but Lea Michelle sang that song beautifully.

Oh, Glee, apparently I can't quite quit you. I thought Chris Colfer's performance was amazing, and they actually handled all the religion stuff with a lot more nuance than I expected, so kudos to them. Some of the stuff Sue said about her sister made me cringe a bit, but eh.

I can't believe he ate the sandwich!

Both my daughter and I "ewww"'d loudly when he did 'cause stale grilled cheese is yek.

And I loved the kid who played mini-Kurt. He looked JUST like Chris Cofer.

I thought Chris Colfer's performance was amazing, and they actually handled all the religion stuff with a lot more nuance than I expected, so kudos to them.

And that's just it, isn't it? When they do that stuff well, they just absolutely hit it out of the park. Which is why it makes the less-than-stellar episodes so damned painful.

Some of the stuff Sue said about her sister made me cringe a bit, but eh.

See, maybe it's just that Jane Lynch can deliver a soliloquy on the phone book and make it work, but those things Sue said about Janie just felt so damned real. And I can't think of another actor right now who can imbue a single syllable with as many layers and as much meaning as Jane did with Sue's simple "No" at the very end.

I think some of the most beautiful music in the world is spiritual. 17-year-old-me didn't feel that way and I would have been the first one down to the principal's office to lodge a complaint. I'm a bit surprised that Kurt was the only atheist in class. Maybe the only one who felt he could speak up about it.

As a grown-up I do believe it's OK to teach the bible (as literature) in public school, just as it's OK to talk about The Last Supper in art class & therefore singing spirituals in glee club is just as OK. But there I go again- analyzing this largely non-sensical show.

I loved that episode. I thought that the religious stuff was well-done, on the whole - I'm sad that Kurt's atheism was being treated as a religious outlier, but not unrealistic, especially in small-town America. In the end, I think the show ended up landing on "It's good when other people care about you, however they express that caring in their own spiritual way" which I mostly agree with. I am an atheist, but if I was having a rough time I would accept every "I'm praying for you" and feel truly thankful for it, so I guess I liked that Kurt came around to that way of seeing it. I didn't think even when Mercedes took him to church that she was really trying to force her belief system on him - she was just using her faith as a way of expressing her personal support.

Also, I liked all of the musical numbers and LOVED three of them: Puck's Billy Joel, Rachel's Yentl moment, and, most of all, "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." That was brilliant. Such a wonderful repurposing of the song, and Chris Colfer sang it amazingly and acted it even better. And the little bow-tie child Kurt was adorable. The show doesn't often depart far from the original ( Dancing with Myself and.... anything?) but I like it when they do, and this really got me. I cried.

I would've really liked the spiritual Bridge over Troubled Water except that I love the original more than perhaps any song in the history of life, so I have a hard time enjoying even good covers.

And I liked Sue, too. The sister storyline doesn't always work, and sometimes feels on the verge of manipulative, but Jane Lynch is such an amazing actress that I always feel it in the moment, even if after, during analysis, I have doubts. Also...

And I can't think of another actor right now who can imbue a single syllable with as many layers and as much meaning as Jane did with Sue's simple "No" at the very end.

...this.