Glee - Funk - Season 1, Ep 21
Mr. Schuester thinks he has scored the upper hand over Sue, but learns hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; and Quinn connects with her "funky" side.
The Glee kids are feeling confident about their prospects at Regionals; they note that part of their optimism is due to Vocal Adrenaline star Jesse, who has defected to their school. Rachel rushes in, and summons everyone to the auditorium… where all are shocked to see the entire Carmel High Glee Club (including Jesse) on their stage. Jesse informs Rachel he has transferred back to Carmel, and has rejoined his squad. In an attempt to psych-out their rivals, Vocal Adrenaline performs Queen's "Another One Bites The Dust." Their ploy works: Rachel and the others are suitably "funkified." Will tries to convince the kids to ignore the mind games. Sue enters the choir room and informs them that not only was she complicit with Vocal Adrenaline's mind game, but she also is planning on annexing a portion of the choir room to display the "comically large first place trophy" she plans to win at Nationals this weekend. Will's frustration with Sue continues to build. Later, Will and Terri finalize their divorce; she tells him he will always be "that sixteen-year-old boy" to her. Clearly there is a modicum of regret for both. Will talks to the kids about regrets: things in their lives that put them "in a funk"; he encourages them to not let the Vocal Adrenaline stunt get in their heads, and suggests some type of reprisal. We cut to Puck and Finn slashing the tires on all twenty-six of their rivals' booster-bought Range Rovers. Their actions fail to have the desired effect, and land them in Principal Figgins' office; they narrowly avoid expulsion by promising to make restitution for the damage.
Will meets with former Glee coach Sandy Ryerson; he tells Will "Vocal Adrenaline has a weakness": Funk. Will shares his intel with the class: Vocal Adrenaline are "soulless automatons" who have never successfully performed a funk song; he gives them their assignment for the week: find a funk song, and turn McKinley High into "Funkytown." Mercedes says she has it covered, but Quinn also wants to give it a shot: she is "full of soul and anger." Mercedes teases her: when white people try to be funky they end up with KC & the Sunshine Band; Will tells Quinn she can be the first performance of the week. Will talks with Rachel about Jesse and his sudden defection; she thinks it was always his plan to abandon her, and break her heart just before Regionals: "if you destroy the team's heart you destroy the team." Her words give Will an idea about how to deal with Sue; he arranges a meeting with the Cheerios coach during which he begins to compliment and flirt with her. He sings Chaka Khan's "Tell Me Something Good" while gyrating and continuing his musical seduction; Sue pretends to be immune to his charms but clearly they are having an effect on her.
To make money to pay for the tires, Finn and Puck take jobs at Linens & Things; their boss is Terri Shuester. Finn and Puck perform Beck's "Loser"; Terri sees a young Will when she looks at Finn. Sue writes in her journal; she confesses she has feelings for Will. He comes into her office bearing flowers and her favorite flavor of carbo-gels (Appletini), and asks her out to dinner on Wednesday ("hump-day"); she accepts.
At work Finn confides in Terri that he's having trouble with his assignment; despite her aversion to all things "Glee", she offers to help him find a song by typing the word "funk" into iTunes. The next day Quinn performs James Brown's "It's a Man's Man's World" with the assistance of the "Unwed Mothership Connection": a group made up of several other pregnant high-schoolers. The song and its message strike a chord with Mercedes. That night Sue (dressed in her track suit and a string of pearls) waits for Will to arrive for their date; he never shows. She shows up at his apartment humiliated, incensed, and appearing genuinely hurt. He lets her have it, telling her "cruelty" was the only way to get her attention: it was a taste of what she loves dishing out.
At school Will learns that Sue has been MIA for a few days; the lack of leadership has left the Cheerios lost and floundering. Kurt says that while Sue certainly doesn't need another trophy, missing Nationals will cause some of the cheerleaders to lose their scholarships; Will begins to think about the collateral damage he may have caused. In class Finn, Puck, and Mercedes sing "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch; the other kids get into the performance, but Will notes that (despite the band's name) the song is rap and not funk. Artie says that picking a wrong genre of song is just further evidence of how "clinically depressed" the group is: they are in a "deeper funk than ever." Mercedes approaches Quinn; the two reach some common ground regarding how each of them are treated (and pre-judged) by others. Mercedes offers Quinn (who is losing patience living with Puck and his judgmental mother) a room in her house. Will goes over to Sue's house; after navigating the trophy-packed halls he finds her still in bed, wallowing in self-pity. He tells her he acted out of anger; while he thought destroying her would pull him out of his funk, it just made things worse. He apologizes, and convinces her to return to school: the Cheerios need her. At school Rachel gets a phone call: it's Jesse telling her to meet him in the parking lot. Once outside Rachel is surrounded by the members of Vocal Adrenaline, who pelt her with eggs; even Jesse joins in, but not before confessing: "I loved you."
Rachel tells the others about her egging; the guys set off for a violent revenge, but Will dissuades them: "making someone else suffer doesn't make your pain go away." He has another plan; using Rachel's phone he calls Jesse, and says Vocal Adrenaline needs to meet them in the McKinley auditorium on Friday at three o'clock sharp. At his apartment Will watches TV as Sue and the Cheerios win their sixth consecutive National title thanks in part to Kurt singing a fourteen-and-a-half minute Celine Dion medley entirely in French. Sue arrives at Will's apartment bearing the "mammoth, skyscraping" championship trophy; she gives him two choices: either the trophy will be installed in the choir room as "a daily reminder of his failure as a man and an educator" or he will have to kiss her "on the lips… with tongue." Will begins to opt for the latter choice, but as the two rivals' lips grow closer Sue changes her mind and pulls away. She says Will's breath (which "stinks of mediocrity") is making her sick; the huge trophy is installed behind glass in the choir room. In the auditorium Rachel addresses the collected members of Vocal Adrenaline; she says they've decided to "truly funkify" them by showing them "the one thing we know you can't do." They perform Parliament's "Give Up The Funk"; afterwards Puck says: "see you punks at Regionals." Left stunned in their seats, Jessie turns to fellow Carmel student Imelda, noting: "They did a funk number… we've never been able to pull off a funk number." She replies: "That's because we're soulless automatons." Jessie confesses: "I'm so depressed."
Become a fan of TV3 on Facebook
,
on Twitter .