Season 3’s penultimate pair of episodes airing together was always going to mean one hell of a lot of camp melodrama, but what we get is far more dramatic than we could’ve hoped for.

The much-hyped ‘body swap’ episode finally arrives, and although this element of Props is actually fairly brief it is entertainingly executed. Watching every character imitate another’s traits is frequently hilarious, particularly the switch between Will and Sue. (We even admired the impressive half-arsedness of just sticking Rory in a creepy ill-fitting blond wig as Sam.)

Tina getting to play Rachel is particularly heart-warming, seeing this often ignored character get a chance to shine. Her rendition of ‘Because You Loved Me’ is very impressive and an amusing comment by Sue – “Isn’t she the one that used to stutter?” – just goes to show how little the character has been focused on since Season 1.

The real powerful drama of the episode, however, comes from the inspired tough-guy/gal pairing of Coach Bieste and Puck, both of whom have been bottling up their emotions about domestic abuse and low self worth respectively. A poignant moment comes when the Glee girls discover Bieste has not moved out, giving the excuse “adult relationships are complicated” only for Mercedes to respond: “He hits you when you stay, what’s complicated about that?”

Puck comes to school in a dress in support of Glee, an obtuse but knowing sign of how much this once dumb jock has matured. As he subsequently has run-ins with his former football team friends (a mulleted brigade surely not seen in a US high school since Back to the Future), all of a sudden we are rooting for him.

The fight scene followed by confrontation with Coach Bieste catches us off guard with just how moving it is, showcasing incredible performances from both Dot-Marie Jones and Mark Salling. A later scene between Bieste and her husband in which she leaves him is further proof of this, with the episode’s most poignant line. Cooter asks Bieste, in anger, “who’s gonna love you now?” and Bieste’s triumphant response? “Me.”

Props ends with Tina and Rachel belting out a gloriously good fun rendition of ‘Flashdance… What a Feeling’ and all of a sudden we reach Nationals.

The episode begins with a few stereotypical jitters and dramatic pre-performance speeches, leaving us to unanimously drum our fingers and yell at the screen “perform already!”

The New Directions performances are entertaining yet strangely anticlimactic. Lady Gaga’s ‘Edge of Glory’ is fun, but has no real magic; missing a prominent Mercedes performance is always a mistake. Rachel singing Celine Dion’s ‘It’s All Coming Back to Me Now’ is cheesy as hell, but Lea Michele sure has some pipes on her, and you can’t help feel your heart leap when Madame Tibideaux comes in during Rachel’s number.

The final number, Meatloaf’s ‘Paradise by the Dashboard Light’, unfortunately features Finn’s cringeworthy dancing quite at the fore. It’s a busy if unexceptional number until Rachel sings, then a severely OTT outro makes it all worthwhile.

Why the previously bread and butter Vocal Adrenaline has now opted to place newcomer (and fourth place in the real life Glee Project), Unique, as their star seems a little far fetched, but watching her singing ‘Starships’ is a definite guilty pleasure. The following number makes it impossible to see Unique as anything other than a 100% female diva; a strong, supportive message to the transgender community

Following a gently amusing scene featuring banter between celebrity judges Lindsay Lohan (those lips!) and Perez Hilton, we swiftly discover New Directions have won Nationals. There is little build up to the actual (predictable) win, but the school’s acceptance of the Glee kids on their return is the real surprise, and a truly touching scene.

Closing number ‘We Are the Champions’ should be a painful disaster, but it somehow works and is a key illustration of how Glee gets away with utter cheese and still manages to suspend all cynicism.

With just one episode to go before the season concludes and teasing musical numbers like ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)’ and ‘I Was Here’, next week’s Goodbye is going to be emotional.

Airs at 8pm on Thursday 17th May 2012 on Sky1.

> Buy the Seasons 1-2 boxset on Amazon.

> Order the Season 3 boxset on Amazon.

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