Now that the “Shooting Star” episode of Glee has aired on the East Coast, it’s fair game to talk about the lingering problem I had with the episode: While I do feel it had some of the most well done and dramatic moments in the entire series, I was a bit let down by the final result.

Warning: Spoilers for tonight’s (April 11) episode of Glee are within. If you have not seen it yet, read at your own risk!

I don’t want to suggest that I’d want horrible things to happen to anyone at McKinley (not even Tina), but with the amount of running around and that feeling of danger that we had, I did think that we were going to end the episode with some bad news. I even worried something bad might happen, like a teacher getting caught protecting the kids. As it stood, someone “protected a kid” – Sue – but the circumstances were much different. While I’d hope any school shooting would go as safely as a situation like this, where the notion of a gun going off accidentally was the only thing that really happened, unfortunately, reality doesn’t always go that way, as real life events have shown us in recent months.

I mentioned in my preview article that the episode seemed to go downhill once Sue showed up. I still stand by that. I mentioned in my preview how it’s hard to take Sue seriously in a dramatic moment these days. What are we to expect from a character who tried to marry herself? I know there’s a level of absurdity to Glee, and the absurd part was definitely missing from the dramatic moments, but some things are there that I cannot reconcile.

There’s also the reality of asking where Sue’s gun is (even if it wasn’t really hers), how she got it, when she brought it to school…. there would probably be an arrest involved, since the expenses of the police, etc. alone would cost a bit. Again, I know this isn’t real life, but that resolution bothered me.

I have to give my props, again, to the Glee cast, all of whom did excellent work in some of the show’s dramatic moments. It brought emotion out of me, and I’m sure the rest of the audience felt the same way.

Perhaps the biggest issue with how “Shooting Star” turned out is the lack of consequence. We know Sue will probably be back, just like it was silly how Quinn can get in an accident texting and driving that only leaves her paralyzed for about a month. By passing off the story as an accident involving a very sensitive and scared young girl, I think the message of “Shooting Star” was lost. And that’s really too bad, considering this could have been one of Glee’s absolute best episodes.

Agree? Disagree? Come talk about the episode on the KSiteTV Forum!

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KSiteTV Editor-In-Chief Craig Byrne has been writing about TV on the internet since 1995. He is also the author of several published books, including Smallville: The Visual Guide and the show's Official Companions for Seasons 4-7.

4 Comments

  1. I think few people are getting what I feel this episode was meant to do. Glee writers want people to think about guns pro or con. Also to speak your feelings and not wait until the last moment. I feel there could have been more in to each actors phone calls but all and all they did a great job. Sue stuck up for the girl who she chose to help and protect and feel important. The one that was closest to her sister. I feel you are wrong that she wouldn’t step up she sure would. Many times the real sue has popped up. Some things could have been better (missed NYC people) but with only an hour not bad!

  2. Quinn was actually in a wheelchair for 3 months. There was a 7-week break between the accident and the next episode, during which Quinn’s hospitalization was skipped over.

  3. Synyster Gates on

    I dunno why people are so butthurtt in this episode. Its a TV Show. It’s all about ratings. Ryan Murphy wants ratings and if it involves doing an episode like this one, then so be it. It was a very emotional and memorable episode IMO and made Glee deeper. If people wants to watch tv shows thats all about “fun and games” where they sing happily in the end, go watch Dora The Explorer

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