Dream On - Season 1, Ep 19
Will's former high-school nemesis (guest star Neil Patrick Harris) causes trouble for the Club; Rachel struggles with a life-long personal issue; and Artie's dreams take him on an adventure in this episode directed by Emmy-winner Joss Whedon.
Will arrives at Principal Figgins' office to meet new school-board member Bryan Ryan; he has come to evaluate which programs will fall under the budgetary axe, and has set his sights on Glee Club. As it turns out, Will and Bryan are well acquainted: they were show-choir rivals when both attended McKinley together. Since then Bryan has apparently had a change of heart regarding show choir: he thinks it is a waste of time that will only lead to disappointment for those involved. In the choir room Bryan addresses the Glee kids. He tells them to write their biggest dreams on a sheet of paper. He takes Artie's, and throws it in the trash saying their dreams will never happen: "showbiz dreams are the most unrealistic of all." Bryan turns his attention to Will, and uses him as an example of one whose dream never worked out. Fed up, Will tells Bryan to leave.
Tina and Artie talk: she pulled his paper from the trashcan, and knows his dream is to be a dancer. Regardless of his belief that he will never walk again (let alone dance), she asks him to do a dance number with her for the week's assignment. In the ballet room Rachel rehearses some moves: Jesse, just returned from his Spring Break, watches. They reconcile. She confesses that her real dream is to learn something about her mother; he encourages her, and offers to help. Tina and Artie rehearse a tap dance (he has taps on his wheels), but he is dissatisfied. He tries to walk using crutches, but falls; he is frustrated and angry, and asks to be left alone. Will invites Bryan for a beer so he can try and convince him he's wrong about cutting the Glee Club.
After doing some research, Rachel tells Jesse her tenuous theory that her mother is probably Broadway legend Patty LuPone (or possibly Bernadette Peters). Jesse offers to help her do a real investigation: "like CSI-real"; she says her fathers have file-boxes full of stuff about her in the basement. At the bar Will and Bryan reminisce about high school; apparently Bryan's "one that got away" is Will's soon-to-be-ex-wife Terri. The talk turns to the Glee Club; Will says it is about "expressing yourself to yourself." Bryan breaks down, and confesses he really misses music and singing; he cannot stand his life. With a little prodding from Will, he and Bryan sing a duet of Billy Joel's "Piano Man"; Will tells Bryan he is auditioning for a local production of Les Miserables, and encourages Bryan to audition too.
The next day Tina tells Artie she's done some research into his spinal injury: despite all his doctors saying he'll never walk again, she has found some promising news in the field of stem-cell research. Her point: he shouldn't give up on his dreams; they kiss. At her home, Rachel and Jesse bring some boxes up from the basement, and begin to look through them. When Rachel isn't looking Jesse pulls a cassette tape from his pocket, and "discovers" it in a box; the writing on the cassette reads: "From Mother to Daughter." He tries to pressure her into playing the tape, but she isn't ready to hear it. In the Community Center auditorium, Will and Bryan prepare for their auditions. Their competitive natures get the best of them (Bryan co-opts Will's audition song choice), and they end up auditioning together by singing a duet of Aerosmith's "Dream On."
In the mall Artie buys a pair of tap shoes. He daydreams that he can walk, and joined by a flash-mob sings and dances to Men Without Hats' "Safety Dance." Bryan tells Sue he has had a change-of-heart about cutting Glee Club; his reintroduction to performing has softened his original stance, and he has decided to cut half the Cheerios' budget instead. They butt heads before heading to Sue's "secret room" to have "anger sex."
Jesse sits in a car with Vocal Adrenaline coach Shelby Corcoran; he says Rachel refuses to listen to the tape. Shelby who it seems is Rachel's birth mother says she agreed not to contact Rachel before her eighteenth birthday; the only way she can reunite with her daughter is if Rachel comes to her. She adds that giving up Rachel is her only regret; once Rachel hears the tape, she won't be able to sleep until she finds her mother. Jesse says he agreed to seduce Rachel because he thought it would be a good acting exercise, but now he's starting to really like her; he doesn't want her to be hurt. Shelby tells Jesse to get Rachel to listen to the tape… and then he can return to Vocal Adrenaline as planned. Artie goes to Emma's office to talk to her about his dream of walking again. He talks about all the new therapies that are being developed for his condition, but Emma is perhaps too honest when she points out that while some theoretical progress is being made, a cure for his spinal injury is realistically at least a decade away from being realized. Artie rolls out dejected; he leaves all his research materials behind. In the choir room Bryan tells the kids he has "siphoned off" half the Cheerios' budget, and has bought them matching "New Directions" jackets and other performance materials. Sue walks in and congratulates Will on winning the lead in "Les Mis"; she also gleefully points out that Bryan was cast as a one-word-speaking ensemble member. A stunned Bryan is disconsolate; he takes his jackets back and storms out, adding that he's cutting the program.
Will meets up with Bryan at rehearsal. He tries to remind Bryan how important show choir is (and was) to high-school outcasts and misfits. When that fails, he offers to drop out of the play if Bryan saves the Glee Club; Bryan agrees. Rachel finds Jesse in her bedroom; he plays the tape. It is Shelby singing "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables; the song evolves into a mother/daughter duet. Artie tells Tina she deserves a better dance partner than him. He says he's realized he will never be a dancer, and that it's okay; he will focus on the dreams he can make come true. She asks him if he will still sing the song; he will. Will tells the kids the Glee Club is safe; he tells them about dropping out of the play so Bryan could take over, and explains that he is trading his one dream for the chance that all thirteen of them may find theirs. Tina performs her "breakout." While she dances her tap number with new partner Mike Chang, Artie sings a soulful and melancholy rendition of the standard "Dream a Little Dream of Me."
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