How Glee became unbearable in 10 uneasy steps - Part 7: Sue "Sybil" Sylvester..

Character.

It's how you feel about a role. How that person carries themselves. Their moral standpoint. Their actions, whether consistent or evolving through the course of a piece, whether it be a movie, play, or TV serial.

Then there's Sue Sylvester.

Like Dick Cheney's buckshot on a rich friends face, The writing of Jane Lynch's Sue on Glee is so scattershot that it's a study on what to do if you feel like giving your audience whiplash.

In the opening episodes of the show, Sue Sylvester was the sole nemesis for the glee club, and for teacher Mr. Shue. Written purely as an exaggerated stereotype of a loud, bullying, and conniving coach, Jane Lynch's comic timing scored so well that at times Sue was more revered than the Glee-sters themselves. Like most of the breakout Glee stars like Heather Morris, Max Adler, and Ashley Fink, Sylvester was originally cast as a temporary storyline character, but expanded from fan reaction, culminating in Lynch's Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in 2010. Her one-liners were among the most quoted on the show, and her cartoonish bad-assery was a great counterpoint to the intended underdog feeling of the rest of the cast.

And then.

I can understand the need to gradually soften Sue's character through the course of the show. Even in the overblown world that is Glee, no one could continue that level of crazy, and even so would eventually wear down the audience. And I think giving her touches about her backlife, like her disabled sister and her mentorship of Becky, accomplishes that (though the treatment of Becky as a purely malicious lackey turned me off that character until recently).

However preceding to yo-yo Sue between fits of evil (like trying to dissemble the Glee club from within after they tried to help her through her post-loss depression) and 180 degree saintliness (her volunteering at the kids shelter, her acting all concerned over Kurt's bullying even though she's carried out things 10 times more heinous) gives the show whiplash over what Sue will be appearing this week. One week she's promising to never try to sabotage the Glee club again after they sing at her sister's funeral, and the next she's trying to completely defund the whole school arts program. She's supposed to be sympathetic to the domestic abuse on Coach Beiste, but does so while continuing to berate her for her looks ("John Goodman"?) and her weight (the "tent" dress offer).

And that comes back to character. Either Sue should remain the cartoonish plotter she began as being (with maybe a flash of goodness appearing), or show her evolving to become an ally. Going back and forth between these two (even within the same episode at times) Does nothing but turn the audience off from Sue and turn passive (it's the only way to cope with all the plot inconsistencies out there). It's like they're writing three different Sues, and you don't know what you're going to get at any time. And this isn't Sybil.

My suggestion? If the writers want to evolve a more passionate Sue, fine. Create different antagonists for the Glee club and use Sue as an ally against them. But please, don't think we can't suspend our character view week to week depending on who's writing the episode and what punchline plot gimmick they're going for. Otherwise, report to detention.

Next up: McKinley's "black hole" of character assassination.