Always one to keep its finger on what the kids are into, whether it be Lady Gaga or Gwyneth Paltrow or watching a TV show out of pure hatred, Glee has latched on to the hot trend of school shootings that’s seen such a comeback of late. In what Ryan Murphy deems “the most powerful, emotional Glee ever”—even more powerfully emotional than the one where that thing happened and Lea Michele got upset—Thursday’s “dark and harrowing” episode, “Shooting Star,” will find New Directions in a “rehearsal focused on ‘last chances’ to share one’s feelings,” only to be interrupted by the sound of two gunshots. It’s a moment that may seem too perfectly choreographed not to be staged, but it’s as organic and real as everything else that happens on Glee.
Naturally, the threat of imminent death forces the group to spend the episode holed up inside the choir room talking about themselves—albeit in a slightly different, more urgent way—until, as TV Line puts it, a promised “big twist… prevents ‘Shooting Star’ from turning into Law & Order: Lima, while still retaining its teeth.” TV Line also admits that some might easily predict said twist—such as say, it’s revealed the “school shooting” was just a stunt to get the group really motivated for regionals, and then Drake shows up in his Degrassi “Wheelchair Jimmy” guise to remind everyone that school shootings definitely are no joke, and then everyone joins in on a somber, symbolic interpretation of his own “Shot For Me.”
Or, given that TV Line also says, “Things kick off on a kooky note, with Brittany stressed out about a comet or asteroid (or maybe a meteor) that’s coming to wipe them off the planet”(Because “Shooting Star” has two meanings!), which leads to her sharing her “theory on what killed off the dinosaurs,” maybe the group finally emerges from their hiding places to find a big game hunter standing over two dead velociraptors, since dinosaurs are also hot right now. And then the learning begins. [via UPROXX]