Glee, S3 Ep18 – Choke

We’re down to just four more episodes after this one. This may be the first time I’ve actually been really looking forward to a season ending. I just hope next year things get better. Anyway, onto the show.

Puck may not graduate. You’d think we might have heard about this before now. I mean, it’s not a surprise that Puck is not doing well in his classes because, well, Puck. But we’ve got four episodes left of the season and we’re only just now finding out that Puck is doing so badly that he might not graduate high school? And if he were doing that bad, then a) Why was he allowed to be on the football team, and b) Why is he still in New Directions? Part of participating in school activities like these is a requirement that you keep up at least a C average. Heck, Glee has even addressed this point previously when Will threatened to flunk some of Sue’s Cheerios. That was back in Season One.

Oh wait, I forgot. This is Glee, where the writers can barely remember what happened last week, let alone two years ago. Carry on, then!

Of course Puck’s first thought on how to pass his European Geography exam is to seduce his teacher. Sigh. This storyline for Puck got old a very long time ago. Luckily, this teacher isn’t crazy (like Shelby was), and it doesn’t work. So he’s out of there, with “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper, which brings back all these memories of the end of the school year when someone would inevitably play this song to celebrate. The best part of this version is just how scared half of ND is when Puck rushes into the choir room to sing it to them.

And then suddenly Finn is talking to a room of mostly underclassmen (only he and Mike are seniors in that room – there are four who are not) about how they need to help Puck so that they can “all graduate together.” I always thought Finn was an idiot, but this is just ridiculous. So there’s a massive plan with a ridiculous drawing by Finn on how the boys are going to kidnap Puck and get him to study. But it’s not necessary, because Puck’s Dad showed up and scared him straight. So he’s ready to study, and the boys are going to help him.

3 AM Cram session with the bros

In the choir room at 3 a.m. the “bros” are all helping Puck study for his exam. At McKinley they allow students to just hang out on campus at all hours apparently! Also, I don’t even remember taking Geography in High School, but he’s taking European Geography? Don’t think we don’t know that was just to get at the song, writers. And so it is with a ridiculous rock version of “The Rain In Spain” from My Fair Lady (made hilarious by Blaine in his prim clothing head banging with the boys. Oh Blainers.), Puck has apparently learned everything he needs to know for his test. Except for European Pre-Industrial Deforestation.

Puck takes his test, gives us the hundredth use of the “You taught me what it means to be a man” BS that this show is so ridiculously fond of . . . and then in the end we learn he failed his test. Ruh Roh.

Bike Chanderson lives. All season we’ve gotten some great background moments with Blaine and Mike, but until this episode they had yet to speak two words to each other. It was a great lesson in how to build up a relationship on a show without being given anything by the writers. Now, after a ridiculous — but adorable! — conversation about the joys of hair gel, Bike Chanderson is real.