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Glee-Dux: Praise Cheesus! Ryan Murphy Gives Insight on Tonight's Episode—and What's to Come

Get our recap of Glee's take on religion and find out what lies ahead straight from the main man upstairs, Ryan Murphy

By Jenna Mullins Oct 06, 2010 4:01 AMTags
Corey Moneith, GleeAdam Rose/FOX

Dear mighty and savory Grilled Cheesus, please shower us with your infinite power and deliver us more Glee episodes like yours. We cried. We laughed. We can't get rid of the goosebumps that came during the "One of Us" number. And we'd like to thank you.

Wait. You say Glee boss Ryan Murphy is fully human and not a cheesy, delicious sandwich? Oh. Well, we already have his scoop and feedback from tonight's episode. Plus juiciness on what's ahead.

Spoiler Alert: Read on only if you've seen tonight's episode...

WHAT WE LEARNED

Hey! Those Glee Kids Make Ya Think: The whole episode was just chock full of moments that probably made you sit back on your couch/recliner/stack of milk crates and ponder some stuff. Which was the whole point, of course. "I like that on the show we represent every side of the story," Ryan Murphy (a former altar boy) tells us. "Some of the people have problems with [faith], Kurt and Finn specifically because they think, 'If God is kind and just, why am I not feeling it?' My point of view is that God is everybody's collective goodness. And I like that if nothing else, this launches a conversation. I like that there are all these different points of view on it."

Miranda Penn Turin/FOX

Forget About Finchel/Wemma/Quick For a Hot Second: Kurt and Burt were the twosome we just ached for tonight. We do love shipping our McKinley High favorites, but tonight, it was all about Kurt's unconditional love for his dad. Kurt's version of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" combined with his flashbacks hit us and hit us hard. We also love that Ryan and Co. didn't go for the typical "patient wakes up from coma and embraces loved one by bedside" thing. It was just a wiggle of the fingers, and it's up to the audience to have faith that Burt will be just fine.

Mercedes, You Have Been Missed: We loved seeing lots of her in this episode. And not just because she can wail, but because her friendship with Kurt has been a cherished one since the very beginning.  And getting Kurt to come to church with the fabulous hat argument? She knows him oh so well.

We Got Some Couple Forward Motion: Finn and Rachel surged ahead, both physically and emotionally. And did you see the Will and Emma hand holding? It was a blink-and-miss-it moment that happened while they were waiting with Kurt in the hospital for news on Burt. Go back to your DVRs and rewind. It's OK, we'll wait. Of course, it could be just for support in a moment of crisis. Or it could be a tiny flicker of hope for what's to come.

Carin Baer/FOX

Sue's Humanity Can No Longer Be Ignored: Last season we saw little glimpses here and there of Sue's softer side, but for the most part she was just an insulting, New Directions destroying machine. However, with the confession to Emma (heartbreaking) and the moments with her sister (even more heartbreaking), Sue Sylvester may not be so easy to hate anymore. Do you now see her as a human being and not just a foe for Will and the Glee club? Plus, Jane Lynch's performance was a walking, talking reminder of why she won the Emmy. As if we could forget.

Heather Morris Makes for The Best Comedic Relief: Thank you, Brittany. I'm sure your report on heart attacks was really helpful for the doctors. Even if it was done all in crayon.

Glee Is Not Just a Treat For Your Musical Senses: "Grilled Cheesus" showed us that while the initial draw of Glee is in the musical numbers and show-stopping vocal performances, the handling of a controversial issue like religion can also make this show shine.  "I was aware that we had an obligation with anything religious to be responsible in the script, because it means so much to so many people," Ryan reveals to us. "It was important to me that we have good Christian values in the show, like with Mercedes and Quinn. It launches something positive. It launches conversation. I don't know why people stopped doing these kinds of episodes."

Adam Rose/FOX

WHAT LIES AHEAD

Prepare yourself for some mixing and matching in next week's "Duets" episode. Check out this preview for the songs featured in the episode, including numbers from Tina and Mike and...wait for it...Quinn and Sam!

You know what we're missing? The musical stylings of a certain football coach. But miss no more, because we have on good authority to believe that Dot Jones (Coach Beist) is about to get her time to shine--and yes, that means sing. And if you wanna hear the gang weigh in on a possible 'N Sync tribute episode, we got that right here.

By now, you know Gwyneth Paltrow will be playing a substitute teacher. And it looks like her first appearance is in episode seven, titled "The Substitute." The start of Emma's jealousy is upon us! Also a possible plot line for that episode? A flashback for our Glee kids, or at least a dream sequence starring younger versions of the cast. Perhaps the new sub triggers thoughts of yesteryear for the group? Speculation time!

The Super Bowl rumors are running rampant, and Jane Lynch is definitely behind at least one of them: The Boss. In an interview with RTÉ Ten, she said it would be "amazing" to do a Bruce Springsteen episode and that she is a "big fan." And by now, we know that whatever Sue wants, Sue gets. However, Ryan just told us that he wants to do an episode built around someone "no one would suspect." More names we're going to throw into the mix just for fun: New Kids on the Block, John Mayer, Celine Dion and Yanni. Yeah, we know. That last one is so obvious.

Not enough Glee scoop for you? Check out part one and part two of Kristin's exclusive chat with Ryan for all Glee insight and insider info you can possibly handle. Yes, there's even Groff talk!

(Originally published Oct. 5, 2010, at 6 p.m. PT)