Summary
The time has come for Sectionals, and we begin the proceedings in the choir room with New Directions contemplating substitute directors while Will is indisposed during the competition. Rachel enters and wonders why Puck rushed to Quinn's aid during yesterday's rehearsal? We see Quinn take a tumble and both Puck and Finn immediately prepare for the baby's arrival. Quinn just slipped on a puddle and is not amused. Back to present time, Rachel, claiming to be a little psychic, is slowly putting the pieces together, while the rest of ND begin to make tracks, not wanting a faceful of crazy. We see it's also because apparently, Mercedes told everyone else Puck's the true papa and they want to maintain status quo until Sectionals ends. We see a party line of Mercedes, Tina, Artie, Kurt, Brittany and Santana, all trying to figure out how to silence Rachel. And then, we get this.
Brittany: If it were, Santana and I would be dating.
...huh. Might wanna follow up on that one down the road.
Anyway, Rachel walks by for a distraction, then we resume chatter, the gist of it being to keep lips sealed for now as we hit the Title Card.
We go to Emma's office, where she tells Will she pushed the wedding back a few hours so she can chaperone ND to Sectionals. When Will accurately states Ken will flip, we cut to him doing just that, then back to Emma for the Blatant Lies. Cut to Quinn's locker and QUINN AND RACHEL HAVE A SCENE TOGETHER THIS EPISODE WILL RULE REGARDLESS OF WHAT'S TO COME. The epic starts with Rachel, again, putting everything together, asking Quinn if she had a full test panel done on her baby, saying she had a cousin whose wife got pregnant and then found out he was a carrier of Tay-Sachsnote . Subtle Rachel is subtle, as we cut to Quinn begging Puck to get a test panel done. Puck, sliding towards his Jerkass tendencies, says he has Fight Club as Will gathers everyone around to tell them Emma's taking them to Sectionals.
When ND question about a set list, Will says they're on their own, then exits. Rachel tries to flex ego, but Mercedes asserts herself, leading to Emma giving Mercedes a try, and thus leading to Mercedes getting her Dreamgirls on. Hell, even "Tinkles" Ellis was tickled to perform. Rachel is suitably humbled. Cut to her and Finn in the hallway, Finn complimenting her on putting the ego aside. Rachel sees Finn excited about Sectionals, and as we've established, if Finn gets even the slightest bit of confidence, something will always bring him back to earth. Thus, Rachel has something to tell him...
And here we come to a defining moment in the character of Finn Hudson. Up to this point, he's been shown to be pretty mellow, only really lashing out when cornered or provoked. But what we have here now is what happens when his Berserk Button is not only pressed, but shattered. Rachel told the truth, and now Puck pays the consequences, as we return from break to Finn unleashing the ol' ultraviolence on him. Will breaks it up as Finn screams for the truth and Quinn gives it to him. When Quinn confirms Puck's the father, Finn declares himself done and a chair is kicked as Quinn breaks down and Rachel stands horrified.
Cut to Quinn in the hallway. Rachel arrives and begs for forgiveness, only for Quinn to say she's not mad, all Rachel did was what Quinn didn't have the balls to do. They sit for a moment, Rachel admitting she only did it so Finn would dump Quinn and get with her; now, neither of them have him. And yet, for a moment, they have each other. Interesting. Quinn laments about hurting everyone, then dismisses Rachel. Puck arrives, saying he wants to be with Quinn and raise their child. Heart's in the right place Noah, timing sucks as Quinn says she's doing this alone.
Cut to a less than happy ND as Artie is loaded on the bus for Sectionals, and apparently ND was so rattled by what happened that they asked Jacob Ben Israel to take Finn's place. Thankfully we've had two Quinn/Rachel scenes or I've would've already subverted a Vomit Discretion Shot. Will looks on brokenly as the bus leaves. Cut to the lobby of the civic center where Sectionals are being held, Emma having signed in. According to the lineup, ND goes on last and Rachel says it's a good thing, either setting the pace or being freshest in the judges' minds. Mercedes then decides to tempt fate by saying it's good to think positive; of course, we cut to Jane Adams Academy doing "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" to say otherwise. This is where ND realizes Sue's been stealing set lists as we follow with "Proud Mary" with wheelchairs. ND sit forlornly (well, minus JBI, the dumbass) as Emma tells Will. Will immediately knows what to do, but not before confronting Sue who just happened to be walking by. After the obligatory threats, we cut to Finn in the locker room. Will arrives and Finn gets a lesson on how Being Good Sucks, after which Will leaves his car keys with the clear implication and invitation.
We return from break to see the respecting directors of JAA and Haverbrook at the snack table. Emma arrives to confront the both of them, saying if they believed in their kids, they wouldn't cheat. Cut to Haverbrook doing the Bootstrapped Theme and this sets Rachel off, calling for a meeting. Kurt accuses Brittany and Santana of giving Sue the set list, turns out Brit-Brit knew not what she had done. Santana then admits she likes being a member of ND and wouldn't fuck it up. Rachel offer suggestions, Mercedes says she should have the solo, Rachel of course coming prepared for such contingency. We follow that up with the expected 11th-Hour Ranger, as Finn arrives, song in hand. He calls upon the dancers for a routine, then lays down a Will-esque peptalk, calling upon inner belief. After dismissing JBI (who, surprise surprise, was only in it to get into Rachel, dear god), he makes it clear to Puck and Quinn that nothing is forgiven, before warning Rachel not to screw up.
Now it's New Directions time to shine. We start with Rachel belting out the Streisand, followed by some Stones (seems Finn took some of Will's words literally), all the while Will hears and weeps. To be fair, this was arguably the cast's best performance to this point. In the Judges Room, the judges (your basic Dumb Blonde beauty pageant runner up, Ohio's Vice Comptroller and paid cynic, Rod Remington), kvetch about Haverbook and why they're there et al, as ND eavesdrop. JAA director Hitchens arrives to own up to getting the set list, but the decision has been made.
Will's house. Will is getting dressed for Ken and Emma's wedding, and seriously, why is Terri still there. Terri claims responsibility; going to therapy and what not. Will has none of it though, dismissing her as we cut to the dilapidated setup for the wedding of the second. Will arrives to an empty setup, Ken pulled a runner. Emma finally admits her feelings for Will, but is so distraught at hurting Ken that she tendered her resignation to Figgins; when Will says he left Terri, Emma rejects, not wanting to be a rebound.
Fortunately, not all things in Will's life are bad. Cut to Figgins' office, where it seems JAA and Haverbrook owned up to getting the set list from Sue. Figgins, knowing full well this will not end well for him, suspends Sue. In addition, Figgins went to the governing board of Ohio and cleared everything up, giving Will his job back. In the hallway, we see Sue declare Will a Worthy Opponent, then swear swift and brutal revenge upon her return.
We enter the business end of our party in yonder choir room, where it seems ND has a surprise for Will, namely a 1st Place trophy. And we will tell you now, without getting too specific, that future events will reveal Murphy's tendency to... subvert expectations. So we enjoy the victories while we can. Will mentions Vocal Adrenaline as their primary competition for Regionals, so ND has to be twice as good. Rachel then announces a gift for Will, namely, a serenade. Thusly, we get the Clarkson set to a mashup of the best performances thus far.
However, we cut to one last piece of business. In the midst of the performance, we get shots of Emma packing up, Will finding the empty office, then her, and a Big Damn Kiss ensues to wrap things up.
Fortunately, Glee itself didn't wrap up here. See, all these loose ends were tied up because on the chance FOX axed the show after the initial order, Murphy wanted an end to the story. As these recaps are being done years after the fact, you can figure out the outcome. In fact, not only did the show get a full 22-episode season, but it got a second and third based on this initial 13. Therefore, gleeks, the Journey continues...
Next Time: We say hello to one of Lea Michele's former Spring Awakening co-stars.
Songs
- "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls, performed by Mercedes (with a Reprise from the Jane Addams Academy).
- "Proud Mary" by Creedence Clearwater Revival (Ike and Tina Turner version), performed by The Jane Addams Academy
- "Don't Stop Believing", performed by Haverbrook School for the Deaf
- "Don't Rain On My Parade" from Funny Girl, performed by Rachel Berry and New Directions
- "You Can't Always Get What You Want" by The Rolling Stones, performed by New Directions
- "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson, performed by New Directions
Tropes appearing in the episode include:
- Big Damn Heroes: Finn steps up when the club is in trouble.
- Call-Back: "My Life Would Suck Without You" features most of the dance routines the club has performed to date.
- Happy Ending: Albeit temporary. The club wins, Will kisses Emma, and the club will be okay for the rest of the year.
- Implausible Deniability: Sue denies having anything to do with the leaked set lists.
- Informed Flaw: The club is described as not very rehearsed, despite performing better than most people would with several weeks of rehearsal.
- Inspirationally Disadvantaged: The school for the deaf, despite the blonde judge's criticism of their performance as "honking."
- Series Fauxnale: As the last episode produced as part of the Front 13, Back 9 most of the storylines reach a point that could have worked as a conclusion and the Glee Club narrowly wins Sectionals.
