Glee: "You don't need her to be great"

On last night's episode of Glee, the club had to learn to cope with not having Rachel as a member. This made for an interesting episode. Here is a recap.

- Finn is called to the guidance counselor and Emma, who knows about the baby but tries to pretend that is not the reason she is worrying about him, tells Finn that it would be much easier for him to get a college scholarship for music than it would for sports. So Finn decides that he will do everything in his power to make sure glee succeeds. He knows that without Rachel they have little chance of doing well, so Finn, while talking with Rachel, flatters her and flirts a little, taking advantage of the romantic feelings she has for him. Finn and Rachel even go bowling, alone, on what she must construe as a date. They even kiss again. Following the kiss, Finn asks Rachel to come back to glee and because she is under the impression that there is a chance something romantic may happen between them, she agrees. But once she realizes that Finn was only using her and that Finn is going to stay with Quinn, especially since she is pregnant, she walks out again.
-Will gets the idea to invite an old student who was a wonderful singer and never graduated back to school to finish her credits. Then, since she would be a student, she could be in glee. He meets up with her and we see that she's a mess - mostly that she has a drinking problem. But she agrees, enrolls in Will's Spanish class, and joins the group. The kids, noticing that she is rather old, think it is a bad idea, but then she sings and she is so good she leaves them speechless. Still, they are not sure about the plan, that is until she makes an effort to win each of them over. After running into Curt, who showed up at school drunk, Emma talks to Will about how she is worried about glee. She even points out that Will's obligation is to give the kids room to grow, not to bring in someone who is much older and more experienced to take the lead. April shows up for the performance - the first in front of the school - drunk, yet she pulls it together. They do wonderfully and receive a standing ovation. But then April decides that she needs to walk away because she realizes it is the kids' time to shine and that her time has already passed. So with no lead singer, and another act to perform, glee seems screwed. But Rachel arrives just in time to save the day. She tells them she realizes that being a star means less to her than being their friend and that since they need her she is willing to be there for them again.

I have to admit that I think the episodes are getting better. The pilot was amazing, then I was disappointed by the premiere a few weeks ago, but now, with each new episode, I am more and more pleased. I really liked this week's episode and I hope you did too.