Glee: Props and Nationals

Wow. That is all I can really say. These two episodes were great, truly. Certainly the best episodes in a while.
First, to Props. Tina finally got some major screen time, and I was happy about it. However, some Rachel lamenting came before Tina's moment. Rachel was still devastated over not getting into NYADA, apparently, the confident Rachel from last week is nowhere in sight. Moving back to Tina, in a rehearsal, Tina flipped out because all the stage time and solos were reversed for Rachel. No one, not even her boyfriend, Mike came to her defense. She took no comfort in the fact that she is head of the costume committee. Later, at the mall, Tina was busy buying supplies to create costumes for Nationals and text fighting with Mike; then, disaster struke when she fell into a fountain while texting, just like on that youtube video.
When her head hit the bottom of the fountain, she had a nightmare or reversal reality, whichever you prefer. She and Rachel had switched places, Kurt was now Finn, Finn and Puck were now Kurt and Blaine. Santana was now Artie, Mercedes Brittany, and well, you get the idea. Here Tina finally got her solo number, and she did quite well, though Rachel would have done better. Rachel as Tina gave Tina as Rachel some good advice, seek out Carmen and talk to her about coming to Nationals to see Rachel sing again. Needless to say, this was a great interlude, and everyone got the correct mannerisms of the other person they were playing down perfectly. They really have spent tons of time together over the past couple of years.
Now, back to reality. Blaine and Kurt (as themselves) rescue Tina, and she recovers, and once again, puts her support behind Rachel. She even encourages others to do the same. She drives Rachel to confront Carmen, which doesn't go as planned, though Rachel made her point well. Rachel pointed out that didn't it take Carmen four tries to get into Julliard. To end the episode, she and Rachel sang a beautiful duet as they boarded the bus to Nationals.
The other major plotline consisted of Puck and Bieste and their hidden issues. Santana, Brittany, and Mercedes confronted Bieste and begged her to leave Cooter. However, she didn't leave until after helping Puck through his issues. Puck, forever taking one for the team, decided that he would be to one to dress in drag for Nationals, per Sue's suggestion that Kurt do that after Unique won rave reviews for doing just that. Santana was oddly turned on by Lola, Puck's stage name. Yet, others in the school didn't take as kindly, and soon there was a fight out by the dumpster where Puck had formally dumped his victims. The fight got quite nasty, including some nasty name calling against Puck's parents. After Puck get out of the dumpster, he pulled out a knife (I also immediately thought of West Side Story), causing me to gasp. Luckily, Bieste came along and broke up the fight, before things could get any worse. Puck had a meltdown, because he wasn't going to graduate high school, and he was living up to his parents' awful expectation of him; he was a nothing, just like they thought. Bieste told him that even though they always acted like badasses, stuff did hurt them. Needless to say, this was just the advice she needed to hear. Upon coming home that evening, she told Cooter that she would be leaving as she laid her ring down on the table. Cooter tried his evil mind tricks to get her to stay, but luckily, this time she stood her ground. Cooter did not take the news well, and flipped the table over. The scene was chilling, especially when Bieste admitted that she slept with a knife under her pillow at night.
Still, this episode was real, with an amazing performance from Mark Salling (attention Emmy voters) and the song choices were good, including Taylor Swift finally getting some coverage in the form of Mean, as a clever duet between Puck and Bieste. All-in-all a great episode, which definitely deserves a second and third viewing,though I'm trying to figure out how Quinn went from barely being able to take a few steps to being completely functional on her own. Grade: A
Now to Nationals. This was another great episode. At Nationals, after some fighting because tensions were so high, things calmed down. Mercedes was horribly ill at the beginning but made a miraculous recovery at the last minute, thanks to Sue and her witch doctor ways. Quinn may have struggled in practice with her still weakish legs, but pulled it together for the performance. Jesse St. James had returned and he was actually nice to Rachel. He even talked to Carmen and informed her that Rachel was the most talented person he knew. Finally, the egg incident is forgiven (mostly). He and Finn didn't even fight. New Directions was up first, the death spot as Quinn dubbed it. They were amazing, expect for their version of Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory, but their finale number was superb. Rachel sang her heart out and this time, Carmen was there to witness her awesomeness.
Vocal Adrenline was up next. Unique was having issues summing his courage, but after a pep talk from Kurt and Mercedes he made it on stage, and did a pretty good job at the songs, though I felt they lacked the heart that was dripping from New Directions.
Then came the results after some interesting reactions from the judges, which included Lindsay Lohan. She was actually good and looked good considering everything she's been rumored to have gone through and done (including the illegal drugs and painkillers). She also had some great lines, namely her one about making a comeback, just as the New Directions would have to do. Another judge was a show choir junky, but he felt bad about voting because he knew that he was ruining the dreams of some of the contestants. Perez Hilton, the last judge, wasn't fond of New Directions preferring Vocal Adrenaline.
Then came the results. Unique got the MVP award, but, after a tense moment, New Directions was named National Champions. It was a great moment. Their return to school was also wonderful. This time the slushy cups were filled with confetti and everyone seemed happy to see them. Finn won his bet he had made with the same guy that had recently beaten up Puck. He and Rachel could have a better honeymoon now. In addition, Emma finally decided it was time to have sex with Will, which she did. Sue even noticed the special glow she had the next day at school, though Emma tried to deny it.
Then Finn and Rachel were called into Principal Figgin's office where they were given the awards coming to them, and asked if they could perform again. The next day, an assembly was called to hand out the Best Teacher of the Year Award. I predicted that Mr. Schu would win, which he did. Finn and Rachel had a nice speech before hand and then the New Directions sang the appropriate We Are the Champions. It was such a wonderful moment. Next week comes the season finale, so the tears will come. This episode is one to be remembered, as it was also great, but unfortunately, that one song ruined it slightly for me. Grade: A-