Season 2, Ep 2 - Britney/ Brittany
Will starts the day’s class by extolling the virtues of yet another easy-listening crooner: Christopher Cross. This is, of course, met by groans by the kids. Kurt suggests that they perform a Britney Spears number for the fall homecoming assembly, especially since there’s a burgeoning Facebook campaign that has swelled to 5 members. Everyone immediately jumps on the bandwagon, but Will insists that she’s not a good role model, and puts his foot down. Brittany is relieved: she’s lived in Britney Spears’ shadow her entire life. They even share the same name (sort of: Brittany S. Pierce).
Emma thinks that Will is too uptight, and should consider the Britney tribute. He thinks this is surprising coming from her, seeing as how everything on her desk is at a perfect right angle. She notes that Carl is helping her be more spontaneous. Will bristles at this. Carl is Emma's new boyfriend, who also happens to be the hottest dentist most people have ever come across (he hears that all time). Emma notes that she’s been trying to get the principal to agree to have Carl lecture the students on the finer points of proper oral hygiene. Operating on the old adage that you should keep your enemies closer, Will invites Carl to address the Glee club. After issuing a dire warning regarding the dangers of filthy plaque buildup, Carl passes out purple pills that you chew on to find out where you have plaque build up. It turns out that Brittany, Rachel, and Artie have absolutely disgusting mouths, so appointments with Carl are immediately scheduled for each.
Brittany is first in the hot seat, and because she has 28 cavities (as a result of foregoing tooth brushing for Dr. Pepper mouth rinses), Carl is forced to put her under. Carl plays a little Britney Spears while he works, causing Brittany to have a nitrous-oxide-fueled fantasy where she dances and performs the hit single, “I’m a Slave 4 U.” This liberating experience makes her realize that she’s actually more talented than the other Britney could ever hope to be, and she demands all of the featured Glee Club solos from here on out. After Santana finds out about Dr. Carl's magic gas, she and Brittany return for a tandem appointment to indulge in another Britney performance… with a cameo from Britney herself.
Meanwhile, Finn confesses to Rachel that he’s not sure how he feels about not being on the football team anymore. Rachel’s actually glad that she no longer has to compete with anything else for his adoration, and she likes being the only thing that makes him happy. Finn doesn’t like the sound of that, but lets it go. Rachel’s next in the dentist’s chair, and has her own Britney moment, performing “Hit Me Baby One More Time.”
Will lands in Carl’s seat, and the tension between the two is palpable. Unable to take the awkward chit-chat, Carl implores Will to come clean, bro to bro. Will admits to still having feelings for Emma, but agrees to back off unless she starts to lean his way. Then all bets are off. Carl diagnoses Will as a teeth grinder, and tells him that he needs to relax and cut loose. In fact, that’s probably why he and Emma didn’t work out: there isn’t an impulsive bone between them.
After an ill-fated attempt at being impulsive (buying the same corvette as Carl), Will decides that a safer and more fiscally responsible way to show Emma that he’s changed is to perform a Britney Spears song at the homecoming rally. Everyone is ecstatic… especially Rachel, who has been liberated by her Britney experience. She has taken to dressing like Britney, and notes that she finally feels pretty. Sue gets wind of this, and warns Will that Britney Spears is a gateway drug to sexual deviance, but Will has made his decision. Moreover, he plans on performing with New Directions. The resulting performance of “Toxic” triggers what Sue deems a sex riot amongst the assembled students, forcing her to pull a fire alarm to evacuate the building.
Sue clearly overreacted, but Will knows that performing that song with the kids was inappropriate, and tells Emma as much. She tells him that she only wanted him to relax, not to stop being himself. He counters that being himself wasn’t good enough for her, for which she has no reply.
Things come to a head between Finn and Rachel after he rejoins the football team. She can’t trust that he won’t stray again now that he’s regained his popularity. She thinks that their relationship only works if they’re both losers. She gives him an ultimatum: her or the team. In the end, however, she realizes that attempting to control him was wrong. It’s just that she’s never been this happy, and was so afraid that it would end. So they don’t both have to be losers, they just both have to be free to make their own choices.
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