Episode Review: THE GLEE PROJECT, "Romanticality"

It was "Romanticality" week on The Glee Project, which was tailor made for Blake and Nellie, so it was unfortunate that we were denied any more of their chemistry, but that didn't stop the show from creating a lot of drama as one of the early favorites was sent home.

Homework Assignement
This week's Homework Assignment had the hopefuls sing Extreme's "More than Words," and not only were they going to perform for a guest mentor, but the guy who wrote the song was going to occumpany them on guitar (which made me feel kind of bad for Extreme). The remaining six decided to pair off and sing to one another, and the move worked better for others.

Darren Criss was called in to evaluate the performances. Blake and Ali had the most chemistry and felt the more realistic while Aylin and Lily oversold their story and Michael and Shanna felt too stiff. The latter clearly set up this week's narrative of Shanna blaming everyone but herself for her shortcomings, but more on that later. When it was all said and done, the former Warbler picked Blake as this week's winner.

Video Shoot
There was finally a choreography session, but Zach was too busy with Glee to show up so his co-choreographer led things, and I immediately lost interest. I'm sure this segment had some entertaining moments, but I used it as a bathroom break.

As always, the recording studio once again made it easy to predict who was going to be in the Bottom Three. Blake finally had a misstep with his harmonies whereas Michael finally got out of his head long enough to give a solid performance. He was not the only one to struggle because both Aylin and Shanna had their share of issues. Along with Michael, Ali and Lily did really well in the booth.

On to the shoot itself. The song was Rhianna's "We Found Love," and the set up was a weak Breakfast Club ripoff where the six were paired off (Blake and Ali, Shanna and Aylin, Lily and Michael), and they snuck out of detention to have their own romantic liaisons. Predictably, Blake and Ali did well, but the big surprise was how comfortable Michael and Lily were, and they worked well off one another. On the flipside, Shanna once again struggled, but this time it was with Aylin as her partner.

The finished project was cute enough, but the best part by far was Principal Figgins dancing at the urinal.

Last Chance Performance
Again, based on the recording studio (and the opening) it was pretty easy to figure out who was going to be in the Bottom Three. Due to their issues in the booth and on the shoot, Blake, Aylin and Shanna were picked to sing for Ryan, and everyone was shocked (well, Aylin and Shanna were shocked) by who was at risk. According to Shanna, her participation in the Bottom Three was an injustice since Michael once again was criticized during the homework assignment, and she probably blamed him for her relegation.

As for the performances, Aylin did OK with "The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face," but she did forget some lines. Ryan noticed, but he was more interested in once again pointing out the fact that Aylin's Muslim and she could do wonders for a community that has yet to be represented on Glee. Blake was up next, and he did a good job with "Losing My Religion," but it did feel like a Finn-esque performance. Apparently, one thing that bugs Ryan is Blake's lack of vulnerability, so cue his nervousness during his number. Finally, Shanna blasted her way through "Stronger," and while she was decent, she also forgot lyrics and couldn't stop pointing at the fact that she's a better contestant than Michael.

Callback time, and it was pretty easy to see that Shanna's time was limited, and sure enough she was sent home probably because she's not as interesting to Ryan compared to others like Aylin and she's not head and shoulders better than Blake.

Final Thoughts
I can totally understand why some would think that Shanna being sent home was a huge mistake, but it's hard for me to complain with the decision. Sure, she was one of the strongest contenders and there are some sticking around that I'd rather have go home (i.e. Lily), but objectively it was the right call. When you look at "Romanticality," Shanna struggled not only with Michael but with Aylin as well, and Michael was only critiqued when he was paired with her. What it comes down to is Shanna had more mistakes than Michael this week, so she was cut. Is Michael a weaker contender? Yes, but he did what he had to do THIS week to survive. Shanna did not.

Is The Glee Project going to take a massive hit now that Shanna's gone? I don't think so. While I can give her credit, she was never one of my favorite contestants because much like Ryan, I thought that her story wasn't very interesting and she was resting on her pipes. That's not to say Lily or Ali are any more intriguing, but they should've been sent home weeks ago and weren't, so we're stuck with them. In the end, I'm glad that Michael and Blake were kept around, and I wish Shanna the best but I'm not sad to see her go.