Season 2, Ep 11 - The Sue Sylvester Shuffle

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Sue watches her Cheerios rehearse their routine (set to Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”) for the upcoming Nationals competition. Despite having pulled out all the stops and included fire breathing, extreme bike tricks and making the girls wear “silicone falsies,” Sue is bored by what she sees. Quinn notes that regardless of the added spectacle Sue won’t be satisfied until she figures out a way to make the routine “interesting to (her).” She has to “top herself.”

On the football field the McKinley Titans – who have already earned a spot in next week’s championship game – are seconds away from winning their last game of the regular season; in the huddle quarterback Finn congratulates his teammates for finishing at the top of their conference for the first time ever. Tensions flare between Finn and the homophobic Karofsky who continues to give Finn (and the other glee guys on the team) a hard time. During the next (and final) play Finn knows he need only take a knee to secure the win, but when Karofsky intimates he may let the other team’s imposing linebacker get a free shot at the QB, Finn’s nerves get the best of him. He fumbles the snap, leading to the other team scoring the come from behind touchdown. In the locker room the feud between the jocks and the glee kids boils over; Coach Beiste must intervene to prevent an all-out brawl. Sue meets with a man who is selling a “human cannon.” Despite the warning that the explosive device has a “seventy percent chance of catastrophic failure” if misused, Sue is buoyed by the “thirty percent chance of catastrophic success.” She buys the cannon. In the teachers’ lounge Will and Coach Beiste discuss the increased tensions between the glee and non-glee members of the football team. Noting that a victory would do wonders for the schools’ morale, Beiste says that for the Titans to win the championship game the players need to (at least) respect each other. Will thinks he may have a plan to that end. Later, the glee kids are shocked to learn that Will and Beiste are forcing Karofsky, Azimio and the other football players to participate in Glee Club for a week. Despite resistance from students on both sides, the decision stands. As a way of demonstrating what goes on in glee club, Rachel and Puck perform a duet of Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now.” It does little to bring the opposing groups closer.

On the football field Sue shows the Cheerios the cannon and announces that Brittany will serve as the human projectile; Brittany is reluctant and the test firing (resulting in the aforementioned “catastrophic failure”) does little to ease her concerns. Later, Principal Figgins meets with Sue and lays down the law: she cannot fire anyone out of the cannon without their consent. An epically irate Sue wonders if Will would be as concerned for Brittany’s safety if she wasn’t a member of “(his) stupid Glee Club.” Later a vindictive Sue confronts Will and Coach Bieste; she tells them she has successfully petitioned the Ohio Cheerleading Board to change her Regional meet to the same day as the championship game. The result is that the Titans will play without cheerleaders or a halftime show. Will suggests they have the glee kids and their new football player counterparts perform during halftime; none of the jocks like the idea but Coach Beiste reminds them that the entire point of putting them in glee is to help unite the team and the school. Finn wonders what will happen to the Cheerios who are also in the Glee Club; Will replies that the girls (Quinn, Brittany and Santana) will have to choose between the conflicting events. Mr. Schuester goes on to say their song for halftime will be “the Superbowl of pop anthems: ‘Thriller’” mashed up with the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “Heads Will Roll.” All the kids – even the football players – seem to like the idea.

In the auditorium the unlikely allies rehearse their zombified dance moves; slowly the jocks – even Karofsky - begin to show improvement. Later Will pulls Karofsky aside and offers him some words of encouragement: “If you took the energy you used bullying people and put it into this, you’d be one of most talented guys in school.” Later Quinn, Santana and Brittany try to decide between Cheerios and Glee Club; following some of Sue’s typical bullying tactics the girls hand Will their letters of resignation. Finn confronts Quinn over her defection but Sam comes to her defense; the two guys nearly come to blows but Will intervenes. Quinn takes note of Finn who seems to be growing into his leadership role both on and off the field; nevertheless she refuses to change her mind. Later Finn and the remaining glee-clubbers (all decked out in their “zombie” makeup) sing The Zombies’ “She’s Not There.” Both the jocks and the gleeks seem to be bonding until the football players are confronted by members of the McKinley hockey team who give them a taste of their own medicine and douse them with Slushees. To Karofsky and the other jocks this is the ultimate embarrassment; they tell Coach Beiste they are quitting the Glee Club. She responds that if they drop out now they will also be off the football team; the jocks are willing to make the sacrifice.

At Dalton Academy Blaine and the Warblers rehearse the Destiny’s Child song “Bills Bills Bills” featuring Kurt; afterwards Kurt confides to Blaine that despite starting his “new life” at Dalton he feels like he should be at the football game to support Finn and the others. Blaine surprises Kurt with tickets to the championship game. Back at McKinley Will and Coach Bieste break the news that they don’t have enough players to field a team; Sam thinks the Coach should relent and let Karofsky and the others back on the team but she refuses. The remaining glee girls – including Rachel, Mercedes, Tina and (former JV wrestler) Lauren – volunteer to step up and play for the Titans; despite some initial resistance from the other guys, Coach Beiste welcomes the ladies on board. In her office Sue convinces Brittany to volunteer to be shot out of the cannon.

The night of the big game Karofsky and the rest of the former football players watch from the stands in disbelief as the glee girls take their places on the gridiron. While the replacement players with their unorthodox style of passive-resistant play seem to catch their opponents off guard, the Titans are nevertheless severely outmatched. Despite a few flashes of opportunity they are down seventeen-to-nothing with time running out in the first half. Finn has an idea; he tells Sam to play quarterback for the remainder of the half and tasks Puck with convincing Karofsky and the others to perform in the halftime show. Finn runs off the field and reaches the parking lot where the Cheerios are preparing to leave for their competition; he manages to convince Quinn, Santana and Brittany (who is still seriously terrified of being shot from the cannon) to quit Cheerios and come back for the halftime show. Sue is shocked at their decision but the girls know it’s the right choice. Meanwhile in the locker room Puck confronts Karofsky, Azimio and the others; he tells them that winning the game is their ticket to greatness and that victory is within their grasp if the guys agree to play. The jocks are on board but counter that the coach won’t let them back on the team; Puck offers that if they participate in the halftime show, she will. All except Karofsky agree. Finn arrives back on the field with the girls while Puck arrives with the other guys; all are decked out in their zombie makeup. They perform the mash-up as rehearsed and it is a huge hit with the crowd; as Karofsky watches the crowd’s joyful reaction from the stands, he is conflicted about what to do. Finally he breaks into a smile and rushes onto the field to join the others. As the number reaches its climax the crowd is in a frenzy; the zombies embrace. They have united the school.

Back in the locker room the players begin to remove their makeup but Coach Beiste says there’s no time: they will finish the game – together – with their makeup on. On the field the newly unified team is finally playing as one; slowly they manage to pull the score to within three points. With less than a minute to play – and with their opponents controlling the ball - all but Finn have given up hope for a victory. Finn knows they still have a chance if they can force a fumble. As both teams take their places on the line of scrimmage Puck begins to chant “brains;” the rest of the zombified defense joins in, as does the crowd of spectators. The ploy begins to work; the opposing QB is getting freaked out. As the ball is snapped the spooked quarterback fumbles; Finn recovers the ball and runs it in for a touchdown. McKinley wins! Later we learn that the Cheerios lost their competition and Sue isn’t taking the defeat well. Finn tries to mend fences with Karofsky: he wonders if the jock will continue to be in the Glee Club but the outlook seems doubtful. Quinn approaches Finn and thanks him for “helping (her) do the right thing.” She tells him he was “amazing” on the field and says it reminded her of why she loved him. She gives him a kiss on the lips and walks away leaving him confused.

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