Recap / Glee S 2 E 5 The Rocky Horror Glee Show

Don't dream it, be it.

Summary

Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, and Brad Falchuck would like, if they may, to take you on a strange journey^note Yes, more strange than usual....

Welcome to a tribute not to a person, but to one of the most iconic musicals of all time. So iconic in fact, that we open with a Shot-for-Shot Remake of the RHPS opening titles, with Naya Rivera's lips (and voice) taking prominence. Afterwards, we wavey fade to Brad^note ASSHOLE! at the piano taking us into "Over at the Frankenstein Place", cutting to the auditorium and its appropriate garb, panning over to see Rachel^note SLU... EGOMANIC! in proper Janet Weiss^note SLUT! regalia, of course accompanied by Finn^note IDIOT! in his Brad Majors^note ASSHOLE! attire. We then see they're not alone, as we see the other New Directions as well, specifically Brittany as Columbia, Santana as Magenta, Quinn/Tina/Artie as Transylvanians. Unfortunately, we get Musical Interruptus as Carl, dressed as Eddie, barges in accusing Will, watching as always, of putting moves on Emma; we cut to a V/O of a man who clearly stepped in it.

We then invoke In Medias Res and rewind a week to the lounge where Emma is having lunch when Will arrives; he notices Emma's hasn't cut the crusts off of her sandwich, a sign that Carl is doting on her to the point of her forgetting her OCD, even taking her to a midnight showing of RHPS and completely ignoring the dubious theater; we cut to said showing to confirm it. This will (pun intended) not go unchallenged, so Will counters by saying ND will put on Rocky Horror and once again, you must suspend disbelief because in real life not even the most open-minded principal would let anyone get away with it. Emma even points it out, saying there's no way Sue and Figgins will sign off on it. Emma leaves while Will is regretting letting his mouth write checks for him as we hit the orange-tinted Title Card.

Since this doubles as the Halloween Episode, we cut to the choir room where Kurt is asking Brittany what her costume's gonna be; Brit-Brit responding with a peanut allergy. You're a treasure Brit. Will enters and announces the musical and no Rachel it's not Evita. Finn says he's never seen it, not surprised, while Rachel also points out doing Rocky Horror in high school is asking for trouble, Kurt citing precedence by saying a Texas school tried Rent and couldn't do it. Will plays the "pushing boundaries" card, saying he came prepared, cutting the risque stuff, prepping permission slips, selling tickets and the take will go toward Nationals. Will, you haven't even won Sectionals, calm down. He then talks casting and like clockwork, Rachel volunteers Finchel as Brad^note ASSHOLE! and Janet^note SLUT!, while Artie is Dr. Scott, natch. Kurt vetoes Frank-N-Furter for wardrobe reasons while Mike steps up, feeling confident after last week. Uneven cast means dual Columbias and Magentas, while Sam is Rocky, who also has never seen the film. He does however have no problem showing off the bod thus giving Finn a slight BSOD.

Cut to Rachel going over stage directions (and revealing Kurt will instead be Riff-Raff), while Finn stands dumbfounded. Or for him, normal. When Rachel gets to being stripped down, Finn balks, admitting he has body issues. Rachel thinks he's gorgeous, and that should give him motivation to face his fear. And now, Sue's Corner.

You know, Halloween is fast approaching, the day when parents encourage little boys to dress like little girls, and little girls to dress like whores, and go door to door browbeating hardworking Americans into giving them free food. Well you know what, Western Ohio? We've lost the true meaning of Halloween... fear. Halloween is that magical day of the year when a child is told their grandmother's a demon, who's been feeding them rat casserole, with a crunchy garnish of their own scabs. Children must know fear; without it, they won't know how to behave. They'll try frenching grizzly bears or consider living in Florida. So moms, skip trick-or-treating this year and instead, sit your little toddler down and explain that Daddy's a hungry zombie, and before he went out to sharpen his pitchfork, he whispered to Mommy that you look delicious.

As we see Sue leave the studio, we see two suit-clad gentlemen that bear a suspicious resemblance to Meat Loaf and Barry Bostwick. This isn't just a random cameo as we'll soon see. Cut to Sue's office where she's sacrificing a poor innocent pumpkin when said suit-clad gentlemen enter. They're the new managers of the station Sue works for, with ideas about emphasizing fear in news. They inform Sue about the plans for doing Rocky Horror; Sue responds with a story of how she took Jean to a showing, only for her to be railed on for her disability. The men want Sue to do an expose, exposing supposed agendas at McKinley, baiting her with a possible Emmy. Naturally, she's in.

We return from break to see tape laid down on the choir room floor. Santana decides to start in on Finn; when Rachel objects, Quinn, Santana, and Tina all point out how men objectify all the time, so why can't the women get their own back? Focus returns as we go into "Dammit Janet", Mercedes as Columbia and Quinn as Magenta. As this goes on, Sue arrives and beckons Will into the hallway, where she states she has no plans to shut him down, lying through the lips on how the arts matter. Will tests this by offering her the role of the Criminologist^note AT LEAST SHE HAS A NECK!; she accepts, figuring being in the midst of things would make the expose pack more punch. She then exacerbates by claiming to have the power of rewrites, leaving Will confused. Cut to the locker room where Sam reveals his diet^note Chicken, egg whites, fish (no salmon), oatmeal, brown rice (but not after 6PM), no butter or oil, and no soda. to Finn who is aghast, wondering when did this matter? Artie blames the internet, saying it rewired female brains to make them similar to men's. Sam lays it out; to be cool, you have to look cool.

Cut to Emma's office where she's measuring her desk. Will is there, being completely suckered by saying the reason Sue's so mean is cause she wants to be included. He then decides to include Emma on costumes, temporarily getting her to forget she's with someone not him. And again, when Will is reminded of his negatives, it begins a domino effect, starting with Mike arriving to say his parents are pulling him out of Rocky Horror. We meet his father next season and you'll understand why he would do this. Cut to Sue applauding Becky on her Halloween costume; naturally it's the most scary thing one could think of... Becky in her own tracksuit. Sue hands her the megaphone for fun and menace, dispatching her as Will arrives to tell her with Mike out, there won't be a musical. Sue is displeased. After the break, we see Carl and Emma playing around with the costumes, Sue walking by and going bug eyed at Carl holding up the Frank-N-Furter corset. She misunderstands, thinking the two of them are about to get their BDSM on. Carl is introduced to Sue, poor bastard, but when it's mentioned he and Emma are Rocky Horror fans, this lights up the brain cells within the hair helmet as Sue overdoes it on the dramatics and the Blatant Lies, mentioning wooden teeth as a hook. Cut to Will flummoxed as Carl offers to keep the musical afloat. A proper audition is required and we then go into "Hot Patootie", showing that much like Stamos himself, the pipes haven't aged a bit. Will of course sits there dilapidated. Sue points out they need a Frank, not someone who's offed in five minutes and was written out in her rewrites. When Will challenges Carl, Carl responds with the standard complaint of inappropriateness, saying Eddie doesn't grind against anybody and we then cut to Santana overdoing her denials yet again. Unfortunately for Carl, Will was looking for a reason and gets it, accusing him of trying to take over production; before things degenerate, Mercedes steps up for Frank, having re-read the script and finding the Catchphrase gave her confidence. Will and Carl shake hands in one-sided Teeth-Clenched Teamwork.

After the break, we see the first dress rehearsal. Or at least an attempt, as Finn expresses his discomfort at being stripped down. Sam then expresses concerns as well, seems the gold shorts were more snug than he thought. Will puts discomforts aside for now as we cue up "Sweet Transvestite" and see Mercedes in all her glory. And yes, Amber Riley kills it. Afterwards, Carl crashes in proper Eddie fashion, though two acts early. When Will points that out, Carl says he was feeling it in this scene. Will is not happy as we cut to him in a classroom moving tables as Emma enters. Will says Carl's a problem, this leads to admissions about how some parts are too adult, specifically Sam as Rocky. The gleeks then realize what Will's play is and contextually go into a collective "No. Just… No" Reaction. Yes, Will wants the gold shorts to one up Carl. Dear god. Anyway, in a flip from last season, Will asks Emma to help him with the libretto, knowing that singing with him usually lets her untamed side out; this in turn leads into Jayma's first of two solos, "Creature of The Night", and again, as with the homage at the top of the show, we get accurate touches such as Brittana in the appropriate backup roles, both happily unguarded for once, and the POV camera with various characters to close it out. Afterwards, as per custom, and after she rips Will's shirt off, we get an Almost Kiss as the world crashes down around Emma causing her to bolt.

We return from break to see Finn struggling to bench press, Sam arriving to help. He then laments about how he's not Rocky, blaming himself; when Finn gets worried about being replaced, Sam placates saying the role of Brad^note ASSHOLE! is not about looks but about confidence in ones self. Sam tells Finn to be himself and this gives Finn the motivation to face his fear, as we cut to another rehearsal, this being Dr. Scott's introduction. However, since Finn's not there, Will has to fill in his lines and Rocky's grunts. Good night this makes Shock Treatment seem bearable. Rachel complains about no Finn, Will says he's gone radio silent before telling Sue to stop making interjections. Unfortunately for Will, the one person who's usually clueless about everything chooses today to smarten up, as Figgins arrives to summon him to his office. Seems as though Finn decided to conquer his fear and walked down the McKinley halls in his undershorts and someone blabbed, the resident terrible twosome delivering the usual jabs to drive it home. Figgins calls for a month's suspension and summer school; Will tries to defend, pointing out the Double Standard by saying when Sue won Nationals last year, Santana exposed Brittany and everyone cheered. Figgins drops it to a warning for Finn and Will, asking if doing Rocky Horror is worth it if it goes south. Right on cue, we then get context for the opening scene; seems Emma spilled the beans about her slight stray to Carl and he's snorting fire, giving Will the deserved "The Reason You Suck" Speech but assuring him he's still in the musical. Cut to him doing his own rewrites as Mini-Sue enters for trick or treating, and spilling the beans about Sue's ulterior motives. Cut to Sue's corner where she makes a valid point: artists are free to push boundaries to make art, but if it's their only aim, the result is usually bad art. Three seasons from now, Will shall forget this and it gets him fired, temporarily. This winds up hoisting her, as we cut to the lounge to start the home stretch with Will catching Sue and calling her out, only for her to admit she had a point. Kids may be exposed to all manner of things, but they need people to pull them back and make sure they don't see too much too soon. Will, realizing once again that his feelings for Emma clouded his judgement, pulls the show. Sue promptly kicks herself.

We cut to Will and Emma on stage, Will apologizing and agreeing to back off, letting Emma go for now. He then apologizes to ND as well, admitting his motives but also pointing out a parallel: RHPS midnight showings are for the outcasts with no place to go. He says that if they wanna do Rocky Horror for fun, that's cool. And of course, we end on the Signature Song, a little "Time Warp" to take us home.

Next Time: We go from the Rocky Horror to the real horror, as a supporting player reveals a hidden aspect in a most terrifying way. But, we also get the debut of the man that many considered a breakout star.

Songs

• "Science Fiction Double Feature" performed by Santana Lopez
• "Over at the Frankenstein Place" performed by Rachel, Finn, and New Directions
• "Dammit Janet" performed by Finn and Rachel
• "Hot Patootie" ("Whatever Happened to Saturday Night?") performed by Carl Howell
• "Sweet Transvestite" performed by Mercedes Jones
• "Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me" ("Creature of the Night") performed by Emma Pillsbury
• "Time Warp" performed by Quinn and New Directions

Tropes appearing in the episode

• Acting for Two: An in-universe example. Will has to cover for Finn, and it's terrible.
• Actor Allusion:
  • Jayma Mays has previously played Janet Weiss, as well as singing "Touch-A…" for her Glee audition.
  • In a benefit concert prior to Glee, Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele played Janet and Brad together. This makes the show's in-show casting a little less creepy. Only a little.
• Adaptation Displacement: The version in the episode is based on the movie, not the play.
• Age-Inappropriate Art: Discussed in-universe. Much of the conflict in the episode revolves around the inappropriateness of the show for a high school audience. Particularly when Will offers to perform as the Creature, given the role's requirement to grope Janet◊ ...played by Rachel (!).
• Beware the Nice Ones: Carl doesn't appreciate Will infringing on his relationship with Emma.
• Bowdlerize: Both in and out of universe, the lyrics are sanitized.
• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: "Terrorists! Mexicans! Ants! Mexican Terrorist Ants!"
• Casting Gag: Barry Bostwick and Meat Loaf appear as cable TV reps who are opposed to the show.
  • In-Universe, Quinn is given the role of Magenta - in the show and film it was played by Patricia Quinn.
• Celebrity Paradox : No one mentions the stunning resemblance the TV execs bear to two members of the RHPS film cast, nor Carl's resemblance to John Stamos, despite the actor's mention in Season 1.
• Fanservice: Plenty, including shirtless Will, Sam, and Finn, Carl's sexy rendition of "Whatever Happened to Saturday Night," and plenty of Les Yay with a corset-clad Mercedes, Brittany as Columbia, and Santana in her French Maid Outfit as Magenta.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Mercedes is Frank-N-Furter and Sam is Rocky. Watch RHPS, then watch next season.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Discussed. Finn is insecure about taking off his shirt, although he is far from out of shape.
• Les Yay: Santana and Brittany recreating Magenta and Columbia's interactions during "Touch-A-Touch-A-Touch Me".
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Sue's efforts to bring down the show succeed in getting it cancelled.
• Pelvic Thrust: In "Time Warp", naturally.
• Rocky Roll Call: Finn as Brad is missing, so Will runs around the stage as Rocky and Brad, but announces which he's playing before line so it has "terrible pacing".
• Shout-Out: To Johnny Cash.
  Emma: Carl, this is Sue.
  Carl: How do you do?
• Special Edition Title
• What Could Have Been: Mike taking on a lead role in Frank N. Furter, if he'd been allowed by his parents, and also what he might've looked like dressed in that corset. Also, we never got to hear Mercedes' take on the Power Ballad "I'm Going Home," or the song mentioned but not performed from RHPS, "Don't Dream It, Be It."
• What the Hell, Hero? : Will's entire motivation, questioned in-universe by Sue, Figgins, and Carl is to creep on Emma. Despite his and Carl's agreement that Will back away from Emma while she and Carl are dating. Plus the whole "Paedo Will" aspect of the Creature's relationship with Janet. Played by Rachel. Especially given his reason for taking over the role from Sam is that it's "not appropriate for a student" yet it's somehow more appropriate for a teacher to feel up his underage co-star? What the hell?
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Mercedes as Furter in his "women's" clothing is a lot better looking than it may have been expected when she first took the role, and Quinn looks amazing in the tail suit with the shirt to show that it's based on a male Transylvanian's (probably Perry Bedden or Anthony Milner's; Tina's is a female's, likely Sadie Corre's).