Grease Is the Word! Did Glee’s Latest Episode Make the Grade?

Grease was the word at McKinley High on the November 8 episode “Glease” as the New Directions kids performed the iconic high school musical. In this extra theater-centric episode, Rachel and Kurt return to Ohio only to have residual break-up drama with Finn and Blaine (respectively), Kitty’s claws come out as she does everything she can to destroy Marley, Cassandra July steals Rachel’s man Brody and new guy Ryder falls for Marley while Gleeks fall hard for Ryder. What worked? What didn’t? Here’s how “Glease" scored on Broadway.com’s Glee Report Card.

ALUMS
Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera): “Of course I’ll play Rizzo. I was born to be this role; I’ve known it by heart since I was one.”

Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley): Turns out in addition to taking classes at UCLA and working as a back-up singer, she’s also setting Puck up with L.A. sugar mamas.

Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr.): Mike’s got all the right moves as far as Tina is concerned. Looks like the two may reconcile after all.

HONOR ROLL
Best Number: Cassandra July, Santana and Unique performing “There Are Worse Things I Could Do.” Who knew this song could mean so much to so many? It was both shocking and moving, and we know Betty Rizzo would approve!

Best Line: “I’m living off Ambien and The Notebook” —Kurt explaining why he must see Blaine again.

Best Grease Look: Sugar Motta (Vanessa Lengies) as Frenchie. Her resemblance to the film’s Frenchie (Didi Conn) is uncanny.

Scene with the Most Heart: Both scenes between Ryder and Marley made us melt. What could have been a cheesy PSA about eating disorders turned into something fun and flirty. Their kiss prompted a major “aw.”

Relationship of the Week: Marley and Ryder. The only hitch: Jake might not be ready to give up on Marley so quickly.

Best Jaw-Dropping Moment Seeing Cassandra July seduce Rachel’s new beau Brody. Their shirtless tango was hot, her answering his phone and insulting Rachel was not. (Shout-out to the viewers who predicted this weeks ago!)

Star of the Episode: Melissa Benoist as Marley Rose. Marley totally shines as Sandy and her “Sandra Dee (Reprise)" was the runner-up for best number this week. As predicted in the first episode, Marley Rose is the new, sweeter Rachel Berry.

ADVANCED CHEMISTRY II
“You’re the One That I Want” was especially satisfying when looked at as a sequel to “The Scientist,” the final number of the earlier season four episode “The Break-Up.” We see all the young couples on the McKinley High stage again, but this time, they are reevaluating their failed relationships.

DRAMA CLUB
Rachel’s off-Broadway production of The Glass Menagerie set inside a zoo actually sounds interesting (if bizarre), especially since it features Game of Thrones Emmy winner Peter Dinklage as the Gentleman Caller. (Oy!)

NITPICKING HISTORY
Why was Patty Simcox in the number “You’re The One That I Want” and not Rizzo? Also, in high school productions, doesn’t Grease end with the original song “All Choked Up?” (Tell us we're not the only ones who thought this!)

DETENTION
Kitty’s sassy, mean streak is part of her charm, but this week she went too far. Pushing Marley toward bulimia is low, even for Kitty. Sidebar, why does Kitty just happen to have a poster of Troy Donahue in her bedroom? Convenient!

A FOR EFFORT:
We really enjoyed seeing Finn and Rachel’s interactions this week. Their final goodbye scene in the hallway was heartbreaking for Finchel fans, and only on Glee will exes ever say to each other, “No contact, not even through song.”

FINAL GRADE
B