On this week’s Glee, Burt gets sick, leading the kids to examine their religious beliefs, or lack thereof. A nuanced discussion of religion prevents Glee from slipping into After School Special mode, making this one of the series’ best episodes.
Creator Ryan Murphy’s recent declaration that this is one of the series’ most controversial episodes left me with low expectations for “Grilled Cheesus”. Last season, Glee featured several preachy moments, like when Quinn cured Mercedes’ eating disorder with a granola bar and a paralyzed boy was called on to teach Rachel a lesson, then never spoken of again. The scenes were gag-inducing.
However, this time Glee lived up to the hype. Murphy told Entertainment Weekly that he and the writers were striving to create a balanced story about religion with this episode so, “We went through and counted it word by word and line by line… Every time somebody said something anti-religion, we made sure somebody said something pro.”
As a result, Glee may have accomplished a prime-time first: An episode that was thoughtful, entertaining, and sympathetic to both believers and non-believers.
It starts out with Finn finding religion in a grilled cheese sandwich when his George Foreman Grill produces a burn in the image of Jesus.
Though this still doesn’t prevent him from eating the non-holy half of his sandwich, Finn comes to believe that “Grilled Cheesus” has the power to grant wishes after his prayer to win his next football game is answered.
In return, Finn promises Cheesus that he’ll sing about him in Glee Club, so he asks Mr. Schue to let them perform songs about spirituality. However, Kurt protests because he’s an atheist. He explains:
If I wanted to sing Jesus I’d go to church. And the reason I don’t go to church is because most churches don’t think very much of gay people. Or women. Or science.
Puck isn’t into the idea either. While he jokes that he’s a total “Jew for Jesus,” he doesn’t like “people using J-money to cramp everyone else’s style.” Puck says for him spirituality is about living life to the fullest. He declares that he sees God, “every time I make out with a new chick,” and expresses this sentiment by singing “Only The Good Die Young.” All the kids rock out to Billy Joel, except Kurt, who sulks in the corner.
Earlier at the Hummel house, Kurt gave his dad some typical teenage attitude and refused to go to their weekly Friday night dinner, a tradition his mom started. They part with Burt telling his son he’s disappointed in him. This comes back to haunt Kurt when later that day, Burt suffers a heart attack that puts him in a coma.
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