Season 2, Ep 20 - Prom Queen
With only days left before prom, the anticipation among the student body begins to hit a fevered pitch. In Figgins’ office the Principal breaks the news to Will and Sue that his favorite band (Air Supply) has declined the invitation to perform at the school dance; despite Sue’s objections, Figgins tells Will he wants New Directions to provide the musical entertainment. In the choir room Will tells the kids the latest news; he adds that the students will take turns performing, affording all the gleeks ample time to dance with their dates. While the announcement is uplifting for some, others (including the dateless Mercedes and Artie) find no solace in the news. Later Rachel (who is also dateless) suggests to Mercedes that they attend the prom together; Mercedes admits all she wants from the prom is to be told she looks beautiful, and dance with a hot guy. While the prospect almost seems worse than the alternative, she agrees. At Breadstix Kurt asks Blaine to be his date at the prom; despite Blaine’s initial apprehension (stemming from an anti-gay incident at his old school), he agrees. Rachel and Mercedes approach Sam, and propose that the three of them all go to the prom together. Considering his financial woes Sam initially declines, but the girls convince him that their “prom on a budget” plan is actually quite feasible, and will be a lot of fun.
When Kurt tells the girls that Blaine will be his date for the prom, Santana offers that the “Bully Whips” (the Guardian Angel-esque squad she and Karofsky started ostensibly to make Kurt feel safer at school but in reality is just a ploy to secure her more Prom Queen Votes) serve as his pre-prom “security detail.” In the auditorium Rachel rehearses a song for the prom. She begins to sing Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep,” and is stunned when her former boyfriend Jesse St. James shows up to join in the song. The two continue their duet; while they sing the emotionally charged song, it seems as though all of Rachel’s old feelings for Jesse are still very strong. Afterwards he explains that he was kicked out of college: apparently the only classes he attended were the show-choir classes. He says he regrets the way their relationship ended, and says he has returned to see her. He asks: “What are you doing for prom?”
Finn confronts Rachel; he has heard about Jesse’s return (and that he will be her date for prom), and says he doesn’t trust the former Vocal Adrenaline star. Rachel counters that his concerns are out of line, and (despite Finn’s assertion that he still cares about her) asks him to be as supportive of her as she has been of him and Quinn “even though I’m dying inside every day about it.” In a Home-Ec classroom Artie arrives to serenade Brittany: hopefully he can convince her to forgive him and be his prom date. Artie sings Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely” with great effect: the song is heartfelt and touching. The song finished, Brittany says she hasn’t changed her mind (she’s still hurt by him calling her “stupid”), and reiterates her plan to go to the prom solo (so she can dance with everyone else’s dates). At the Hummel home Kurt models his eveningwear for Blaine, Finn, and Burt; while Kurt is proud of his plaid kilt tuxedo ¾ and Finn thinks it rocks (“like a gay Braveheart”) ¾ Burt seems apprehensive, and worries that his son will be inviting trouble by drawing too much attention to himself. Blaine seems to agree with Burt’s assessment but Kurt will not be dissuaded: “the prom is about joy, not fear.”
The next day Bully Whip Dave Karofsky escorts Kurt through the halls to his next class; Kurt notes that lately he has been garnering less unwanted attention than normal. While Dave attributes Kurt’s ease to the safety afforded him by the Bully Whips, Kurt wonders if maybe the other students just no longer care about him and his differences. Kurt comments that he can see how miserable Dave is perpetrating the lie about his own sexuality, and tries to encourage the jock to finally “come out.” While Dave is clearly not ready to take the next step, he breaks down in tears as he confesses how badly he feels about the way he treated Kurt in the past. Kurt seems genuinely touched by Dave’s words, and accepts the apology. Prom night has arrived. Quinn finishes getting ready, and ¾ with dreams of her imminent crowning in her head ¾ gets picked up by Finn, who comments: “you really are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.” Meanwhile the “prom on a budget” gang (now joined by Jesse) sits at Breadstix; Jesse regales Rachel and the others with his latest idea of combining “the two things I’m great at: show choir and destroying the competition” to open a studio where he could work as a show-choir consultant. While Mercedes wonders if there is a large enough market to sustain such a business, Rachel offers that Mr. Schuester would “hire you in a heartbeat.” The festive mood is disrupted when Finn and Quinn pass by; Finn seizes the opportunity to dig at Jesse, and reminds Rachel of her new/old boyfriend’s duplicitous history. While Jesse remains affable, there is clearly no love lost between the two young men. In the gymnasium the prom is rocking: Puck, Artie, and Sam sing Rebecca Black’s “Friday,” and everyone is in full-on party mode.
Later, Rachel brings the tempo down with her touching performance of Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts”; it is a romantic and clearly personal song for her. Sam approaches Mercedes; he tells her she looks beautiful, and asks her to dance. While Quinn dances in Finn’s arms, she can’t help but notice Finn and Rachel looking at each other during the song. Wallflowers Kurt and Blaine stand on the sidelines watching everyone else dancing; they’re not quite ready to join in the fun themselves. Blaine performs the Twelve’s remix of Black Kids’ “Not Going to Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance.” While everyone is seriously getting their groove on, Finn can’t stop watching Rachel and Jesse dancing; when he sees what he perceives as Jesse getting a little too grabby with Rachel, he intervenes. Finn confronts Jesse in the middle of the dance floor; the two begin shoving each other. Sue approaches just in time to see Finn take a swing at (but miss) Jesse; Sue ejects both boys from the dance. Quinn, watching her dreams of the Prom Queen title slip away, stares daggers at Rachel. Later, Figgins announces the winners of the prom crowns: Dave Karofsky has been elected Prom King. Santana thinks her title is in the bag, but she and the others are dumbstruck when the Principal states that “with an overwhelming number of write-in votes,” the 2011 Prom Queen is Kurt. Everyone looks around in stunned silence; Kurt runs out of the gym as Blaine chases after him.
In the immediate aftermath of the surprising election results, Kurt races down the halls in tears. He tells Blaine he feels humiliated: he thought he was finally being accepted by his classmates, but now he knows their hate was just being kept hidden until they could “say it out loud… by secret ballot.” A tearful Quinn runs into the Girls’ bathroom followed by Rachel; while Rachel tries to offer words of solace, the wrathful former Cheerio blames Rachel (who everyone knows Finn is still in love with) for her defeat. She slaps Rachel hard across the face, but instantly regrets her action and apologizes. Meanwhile Brittany tries to comfort Santana, who wonders if she will ever find acceptance: “just because I hate everyone does that mean they have to hate me too?” Despite Kurt, Quinn, and Santana each reaching for desperate measures to overcome their embarrassment, cooler heads prevail: with Blaine’s help Kurt decides that rather that running away, he will accept his crown and show the others “what dignity and honor looks like”; Rachel convinces Quinn that despite all her fears she is a lot more than just a pretty face, and is someone who deserves to be proud of all she’s accomplished in the past year; and a surprisingly wise Brittany encourages the self-loathing Santana to “embrace all the awesomeness that you are” adding: “I believe in you.” Kurt walks bravely back into the gym; it is an awkward moment as Figgins presents him with his Queen’s crown and scepter, but Kurt seems to ease the tension when he glibly states: “Eat your heart out Kate Middleton.” Buoyed by the accepting reaction from the crowd, Kurt approaches Karofsky for the King and Queen’s traditional first dance; in a sotto voice Kurt tells Dave “now’s your moment.” He encourages Dave to seize the chance to “come out…make a difference,” but Karofsky replies simply: “I can’t.” He walks away leaving Kurt standing alone in the middle of the dance floor. As the band plays, Mercedes and Santana begin to sing Abba’s “Dancing Queen.” Blaine walks up to Kurt, and asks him to dance; Kurt gladly accepts. One by one the other kids join the couple on the dance floor. Artie spots Brittany: she motions for him to come closer; when he does she sits on his lap, and they too begin to dance.
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