Plot
After the grief of last time, we have a welcome return... okay, almost welcome return to regular business, which starts with New Directions puttering about as Will arrives with the Nationals opponents.note The relevant one is Fort Wayne's Throat Explosion, and we can tell it's relevant when we see Tina have a crawling freakout. Seems they're to serve as the direct threat, and we'll say now that ND has a right to be scared, as we get an example of them performing, pretty much serving as a cross between Vocal Adrenaline (intensity and drive) and ND (outsiders and misfits). Now, Blaine says TE's like a bunch of Lady Gaga's while ND is a bunch of Katy Perry's. Will calls that a strength, saying there are those who are wild, those who are innocent, and it's the mix of both that will spell out a win. Tina, Kitty, and Unique declare themselves Gaga's, while Will decides to reach up the rectum and pull out the assignment, the "Gaga"'s will sing Katy and vice versa. ND ponders as we hit the Title Card.Diner. Kurt is five minutes late putting up fliers for his new band. Dani overhears and is intrigued, Kurt wanting her and Pezberry to spare him open auditions, but Rachel is hesitant, in addition to still grieving over Finn, she's putting all her energy towards Funny Girl. We of course know she'll join. In the meantime, Dantana agree to join, Santana insisting they have a say in who also joins. Cut to Sam at his locker as clearly temporary love interest Nurse Penny arrives, revealing Hidden Depths by showing a temp tattoo and her love for Skrillex. Huh. The jist of this is that Sam is too vanilla, a True Jackson VP poster confirming it. After Trouty fanbois a little too much, he tries to ask Penny out, but the overall lameness drives her away, claiming an ex is taking her to a Nine Inch Nails concert. Sam, who in any other episode would go right for the Johnny Cash version of "Hurt", simply sighs as we see him lament to Blaine, saying Penny's like a Katy, but is secretly a Gaga. Blaine says if Penny is brought in to see the Gaga's sing Katy, she'll fall for him. Right. Sam exults as we pan over to Kitty and Artie, Artie upset that the assignment is sorts keeping them apart, needing reassurance that Kitty still likes. Kitty responds with a kiss to confirm that she does, however the mood is broken by a raspberry from the other Ms. Jackson, saying she had him first. Right. Cut to a [NYADA] studio for auditions for Kurt's band; as you'd expect, no one arrives to audition for a band that has no name, despite the suggestion of "Apocalypsticks", which is admittedly clever. However, soon enough one arrives, naming himself "Starchild". And here's where we have the other bit of stuntcasting, in the form of American Idol Season 8 Runner-Up Adam Lambert, dressed in your basic Steampunk. After Kurt cattily runs down the outfit like he has room to talk, Starchild, real name Elliot, prepares to "Marry The Night".note Afterwards, Kurt, strictly on Elliot's outfit alone, rejects him. Kurt, you're an idiot.
After the break, we're in Sue's office... with Bree... wearing caution tape. Yeah, have we mention that Glee lived on Reality Is Unrealistic? No? Hmm. Yes, Sue's new head bitch arrives in a classic Gaga "outfit", Becky understandably stunned. Sue's in the spirit as well, wearing a standard Gaga headpiece which she of course spins into something else entirely.note Anyway, Bree's in the tape in order to cause the latent Puckerman genes, specifically the ones that call out to Cheerios!, to assert themselves and in turn take Jake away from Marley. Sue of course trashes the entire episode concept because Sue, lamenting over choosing pop archetypes. Then she reveals she took saline solution because Murphy. Cut to everyone's favorite future Supercinnamon roll telling Jake there's a Julie Andrews film festival for them to see. Jake, having had more Breadstix than is healthy, and having see more movies than Siskel/Ebert/Roper combined, wants to shake up the routine, but keeps getting more of the same, eventually deeming Marley a Katy. Marley insists she can be a Gaga, but when they leave it's clear Marley's starting to get anxious. Cut to the auditorium where Sam, tapping into his latent Finn traits, tries to assume control of the assignment due to Penny making him feel small. He calls upon the omnipresent [McKinley] extras to build sets for the performance, the rest of ND wondering if all those months being ridden by a Rainbow Bicorn finally sapped whatever little intelligence he had left. No one's even trying to come up with an idea, Marley offering a token one involving sparklers. Sam then channels Will on one of his tantrums, handing out sheet music and saying this isn't a glee performance, but one in front of the whole school. Right. ND are taken aback by Trout's insanity as we cut to more insanity, as Sam actually tries to get Becky to help New Directions. Becky. As in Sue's personal minion. Guess how this plays out. Go on, guess. Nope, slight subversion, as Becky agrees in exchange for Trouty closing lips. Fair trade. Cut to Bushwick, where Rachel correctly lambasts Kurt for not accepting Elliot into his group. Turns out Kurt wants mainstream acceptance and uniformity as a byproduct of Rachel getting Funny Girl and Santana getting a commercial. Rachel says his individuality is his strength. Kurt ponders as we cut to Marley, who we should add is wearing Rachel-esq kneesocks to reinforce that she's her minus the overall ambitions, and Jake discussing plans, Jake still hoping for something different, when A NEW CHALLENGER APPEARS. Bree arrive to snark and annoy, but also to ask Jake to choreograph a routine for the Cheerios!. Jake, not knowing a trap when he sees it, agrees, after Marley encourages him, also not knowing a trap when she sees it. And it's at this point the gleeks begin to put it all together, specifically a Foregone Conclusion that won't bode well for the future Kryptonian. Cut to Will reminding us he's still a history teacher, when the PA cues up, Sue offering morning announcements that Crosses the Line Twice, while Becky, in another Gaga outfit, commands all to open nearby laptops revealing Sam, in a facemask, employing reverse psychology to get people to the auditorium for the Gaga performance. Right. Of course, there is one person he cares about seeing the video, and sure enough we cut to the nurse's office, where the lady in question is perplexed. Sam tries again, but it's still not enough. However, eventually he does manage to convince Penny to come see the performance, if only to get him to go away. Which explains last season if you think about it.
After the break, we see the ND women minus Marley go over ideas for the Katy performance. We then see Jake there, a fellow Gaga, who after five hours of nothing, leaves to help the Cheerios!. Kitty, cottoning on to Bree's play, calls her vile, which is something coming from her. Unique gives Marley the heads up as we cut to her warning Marley in person. Marley of course is undaunted and for the love of Finn could this be any more telegraphed? Cut to Jake and Bree "rehearsing" and Marley sees it, declaring that she won't change who she is and Jake can accept her as is or not. Cut to the stage for a performance so abstract there's no room for "Applause". Hell, we find Stoner Brett there as well, and even he can't decipher this. Amidst the elements we find Marley in a standard Katy outfit; clearly this juxtaposition won't stand, as afterwards, Marley is lambasted for not wearing a bikini. We remind you at this point that she still has latent issues stemming from her bulimia, so therefore, Ryder/Sam/Blaine/Artie, you're all idiots. Marley reiterates that she won't change for anybody... and thus Will suspends her for the rest of the week. Will, you're an idiot. Jake, in the audience, sits stunned as we go to break.
We return to the ND women arguing over their performance. Unique, who wanted to break tigers out of a zoo Lima doesn't even have, offers a backup: Jake in tiger makeup. Yes. Tina actually suggests something decent, namely no theatrics, just the music. Cut to the diner where Kurt is serving a customer who is Elliot in regular garb. We get backstory; Jersey Boy, loves Broadway, took the train when he could etc. He wants to be in an indy band, and has no problem ditching the theatrics. Kurt of course has a change of heart and Elliot is in as we cut to Sam asking Nurse Penny about the performance. She then reveals that she pretends to enjoy hard music because she likes the bad boys, until they steal hearts and everything else. She reveals she's a Katy, he reveals he's a Katy and then as you'd imagine, swallows her. Because clearly we needed to see that.
After the break, we get the first Katy song, a 180 from what we've seen, and that which leaves us "Wide Awake". Afterwards, a dejected Marley is at her locker as Jake arrives. He convinces her to come to his place and leave the wig on, seems he's aroused. Hmm. As Jake leaves, we see Marley immediately regret agreeing as we cut to his bed and we can see why she would be hesitant. See, as we've kinda established, Marley has never met the pleasures of the flesh, whereas Jake has had all and sundry. And while he's been the dutiful boyfriend, seems Bree's subtle overtures have cause his brain to begin the process of reverting back to its default state. Namely, wanna hump, will hump now. And when you have a girlfriend who's not really wanting to be humped... well, you can guess the state of play. Anyway, Jake's slides a hand south of the beltline, and Ms. Rose is not amused. Then Jake says the one thing you shouldn't say to a virgin, namely if he preferred, he could bed anyone. Marley, clearly not thinking, tells him to do so. And while we've spent her tenure trying to avoid doing this, in this context it must be said: for telling Jake the one thing that we know will lead to your own heartbreak... (sigh). Marley, you're an idiot. I feel dirty typing that. Jake then finds Bree, who promptly throws herself at him. We then see Jake conflicted, but ultimately the aforementioned Puckerman DNA has reasserted himself and thus we know how this ends. We will say this will have a resolution next episode.
We return from break to Bushwick and the home stretch, where more band names are suggested: Dani has the Nip Slips, Santana has Areola 51 to appease the sci-fi geeks. However, in what is not that surprising a moment if you think about it, Rachel returns from rehearsals and promptly gives the band a name: Pamela Lansbury. She then finally agrees to join the band as we cut to the choir room and ND minus Marley of course in their various costumes, Tina and Blaine saying that Throat Explosion are so confident they're doing "Applause" as their Nationals number. Ooh. Will is undeterred, saying past enemies were great, so that makes ND greater. Of course greater enemies run the school, as Sue enters to snark and, as ND are in fact wearing next to nothing, suspend for a week. This isn't an abuse of power and she is within rights to do so. However, ND is undeterred, strutting to the auditorium so we can hear them "Roar"; at the same time, we cut to Bushwick for Pamela Lansbury's first rehearsal, the members swinging on a rope that just happens to be there because yes. However, we end with Marley in the back of the auditorium, next to her being the woman who unbeknownst to her, just had the copulations with the boyfriend, Jake's look of complete Oh, Crap! roaring us out for the week.
Next Time: What happens when a subordinate blatantly defies a superior, Glee foreshadows real life events, and a girlfriend finds out the boyfriend strayed? The answer to at least one of these questions is a future superhero flexing pipes in a way that's arguably better than the original singer.
Songs
- "Marry the Night" by Lady Gaga, performed by Starchild.
- "Applause" by Lady Gaga, performed by Sam, Blaine, Artie, Ryder, and Marley
- "Wide Awake" by Katy Perry, performed by Jake, Tina, Katie, and Unique
- "Roar" by Katy Perry, performed by New Directions and Pamela Lansbury
Tropes
- A Good Name for a Rock Band: Several names are mentioned, including The Apocalipsticks, The Nip Slips, and Areola 51, before deciding on Pamela Lansbury.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Throughout the episode, Penny presents herself as loving non-mainstream music. Finally, she reveals that people have always thought she was so vanilla, she started dating bad boys.
- Anachronism Stew: The episode is supposed to take place in the spring of 2013, but they're performing songs that were released several months to a year later, specifically "Applause" (8/12/13), and "Roar" (8/10/13).
- Disproportionate Retribution: Marley's punishment for not wearing a clamshell bikini is a week's suspension from the club. Marley was not comfortable wearing such a revealing outfit; keep in mind, she's fifteen and has an eating disorder.
- Shout-Out: "I look like a gay Thunder Cat."
- Tempting Fate: When Jake says he could sleep with anyone, and Marley says "Why don't you go sleep with one of them, then?"
- Vine Swing: Most of the cast members get to try this, which kind of makes sense in the auditorium jungle set; less so in Kurt and Rachel's loft/rehearsal space.
- Whole Costume Reference: To both Gaga and Perry.
