"Glee" Episode 216 Recap: Gay Romance and Rockin' Regionals

"They kissed."

I saw that as a trending topic on Twitter, and I thought, no, could it be? I usually try to avoid Twitter for the three hours leading up to airtime, and particularly #kurtrules and #gaysharks, because I'm in California and I don't want to be spoiled, but never, no, not once have a made it all the way to 8 PM without at least getting a rough idea what happens and what the Queer Nation thinks about it.

This was another landmark week in same-sex high school romance for Gleeks. The two most recent episodes have represented for queer youth and coming of age in a way I've never seen on broadcast television before, let alone one of the most popular shows in the country, with a mostly young audience. If you want a hard-hitting critical analysis of "Original Songs," definitely do not read this re-cap. Glee is making me very happy lately and I don't care who knows it.

The episode opens with a Warblers number, this one with… quelle surprise… Blaine singing lead on Maroon 5's "Misery."

Kurt seemed to be channeling the audience zeitgeist for once, rolling his eyes and conveying tolerant disapproval (oh, face of Chris Colfer, how I love thee) at Blaine's excellent and yet predictable performance, before ultimately surrendering to the music and doing the obligatory finger-snapping back-up swaying thing like a good Warbler should.

Do I get points for the longest run-on sentence in recap history?

Blaine is exhilarated, and he announces to the Warblers that they have their song for Regionals. He breathlessly compliments the "Burberry-esque" cover Kurt's made for Pavarotti's gilded cage, and asks how Kurt liked the number.

"Can I be really honest with you?" Kurt says, sounding much more like our old brave, strong, opinionated Kurt than the tentative one we saw when he first got to Dalton Academy. "Because it comes from a place of caring: Been there, done that. Look, Blaine, your solos are breathtaking. They're also numerous."

Blaine explains that the council decides who gets the solos, then says, "Do I detect a little jealousy?"

"No, you detect a lot of jealousy," Kurt says. "Look, Blaine, sometimes I don't feel like we're the Warblers; I feel like we're Blaine and the Pips."

Rachel next debuts her newest original song for Finn. It's an ode to her non-existent siblings: "I'm the only Berry on my family tree."

"Wow, it's better than 'My Headband,' that's for sure," says Finn. That's setting the bar so low a snake couldn't slither under it. Then he gives her some really excellent and perceptive advice – that she can tap into her deeper, more real emotions when she's singing, but she's not doing it yet with her songwriting. And as always, I stubbornly refuse to listen to the little voice that points out that Finn is simply not bright enough to articulate something like that.