So following Madonna, Britney, Gaga and Michael Jackson, now we have a Whitney-centric episode. Any more gay icons Glee care to pay tribute too?

Another themed episode seems promising though, particularly with a back catalogue as strong as the late Ms Houston’s. The opening acapella version of ‘How Will I Know’ with Mercedes, Kurt, Rachel and Santana also sets the camp mood for the episode, which Glee used to do so well, so hopes are high.

Luckily for us, the camp continues throughout the episode with some fantastic musical guilty pleasures. Brittany and Santana’s HI-NRG version of ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ is ‘gleefully’ reminiscent of the unadulterated fun of the first season, while Rachel and Santana’s undeniably grin-inducing breakneck speed take of ‘So Emotional’ is even better. The brief storyline with Rachel and Santana’s deciding to be friends better late than never is also strangely heartwarming.

Emma picks up a key role again, still with a slightly cringey performance but her great one liners remain intact, including “It was tough saying goodbye to the teachers and my *friend*”, “if this is another Rihanna song in the pool… I have to take pictures this time” and “is this about S-E-X?” However, Emma and Will’s wedding isn’t the most intriguing of storylines (even Will just wants to get it over with now), their relationship having been dragging on our screens for most of the season, but it’s touching and poignant to see Will worried that the kids won’t come to his wedding. As much of a wet drip the man constantly is, the relationship between him and the Glee club seems established and real after three seasons.

Kurt and Blaine’s romance was getting a bit stale, so it’s good to see the arrival of a new (and much better suited) love interest, Chandler. However, it seems like this may have been written off as soon as it began, with Blaine accusing Kurt of cheating and performing an infuriatingly self-righteous version of ‘It’s Not Right (But It’s Okay)’, which is the least fun the episode has and somehow makes his already wooden character even more dislikable. Inevitably there’s an emotional reconciliation for the couple, in which Blaine redeems himself somewhat, but it would be a shame if the excitable Chandler did not make a reappearance.

Kurt and Burt’s touching scene followed by Kurt singing ‘I Have Nothing’ is the climax, however, and by far the best moment of the series for Gleeks that have been aching to hear Chris Colfer do a solo again. The relationship between Kurt and his father really has been the most significant and uplifting in a show with such a huge gay following, and to see Burt opening up about how much he will miss his son is nothing short of heartbreaking.

Elsewhere, Quinn’s wheelchair storyline remains preposterous and depressing, not helped by her love interest, the Christian guy with the dreadlocks (he’s called Joe apparently, thanks Wikipedia). Their rendition of ‘Saving All My Love For You’ stops the episode dead. Joe’s struggle between Christianity and his sexual urges may perhaps resonate with some young religious viewers, however.

Overall, although the storylines are shooting out at all angles as the show struggles to tie up all loose ends, Dance with Somebody has a strong mix of the great musical and emotional moments that made Glee’s first year so iconic, giving us one of the best episodes of Season 3 so far.

Airs at 9pm on Thursday 26th April 2012 on Sky1.

> Buy the Seasons 1-2 boxset on Amazon.

> Order the Season 3 boxset on Amazon.

What did you think of the episode? Let us know below…