Season 2, Ep 21 - Funeral
Will introduces Jesse St. James as New Directions’ new “show choir
consultant”; while the announcement is immediately met with disapproval (most
notably by Finn, who thinks Jesse has ulterior motives) Will tries to allay
their fears by assuring them that Jesse is just consulting; Mr. Shue will make
all final decisions. Jesse says their first order of business will be
determining who among the Gleeks is the most talented singer, and therefore
will get the teams’ only solo; he and Mr. Shue announce that auditions will be
held to fill the coveted spot.
With the help of Terri (aka Honey Badger) and Howard Bamboo (aka Panda
Express), Sue hacks into Principal Figgins’ e-mail and changes New Directions’
airplane tickets so that instead of going to New York they will be flown to
Tripoli. In the hallway Will is approached by Becky Jackson and her mother;
after telling him Sue has fired Becky from Cheerios, the young Downs Syndrome
sufferer asks if she can join New Directions. While Will is obviously
sympathetic to the girl’s plight, he breaks the news that the school year is
almost at an end: while there is currently no place for Becky in the club, he
encourages her to join next year. Infuriated, Will confronts Sue about her
latest evil deed: Why did she do it? Sue replies that she kicked Becky off of
the cheer-squad because “she reminds her of my sister” Jean; she adds quite
bluntly that Jean (also a Downs sufferer) died
yesterday. The news hits Will like a ton of bricks; he tries to offer comfort
but Sue is in no mood. Rachel signs up to audition for the soloist spot;
Santana, Kurt, and Mercedes are also on the list.
In Will’s apartment Emma helps him prepare for the trip to New York by going
through his closet (which is filled primarily with sweater-vests) to pick what
clothes he should keep, what he should take with him to New York, and what he
should discard. Apparently Will has decided that after Nationals he will help
April Rhodes open her Broadway show; believing the show will probably close
after one performance, he has yet to inform anyone (except Emma) of his
decision to remain in NYC. Finn and Kurt show up at Sue’s office, and having
each suffered through the loss of a parent, offer their condolences. Sue
confesses that she doesn’t know how to cope with Jean’s death: she can’t deal
with clearing her sister’s belongings out of the nursing home, and refuses to
plan the funeral. Later, Finn and Kurt address the Glee Club: The Gleeks need
to help Sue say a proper goodbye to her sister; not so much for Sue but for
Jean, who (like them) “was an outsider and an underdog her whole life.” Jesse
scoffs at the thought of the club spending their valuable time planning a
funeral while they should be focusing on Nationals, but Finn puts his foot
down: “We’re doing this.” Rachel seems impressed by Finn’s leadership.
In the auditorium Will and Jesse prepare for the soloist auditions; while Will
still hasn’t embraced the thought of judging his students, Jesse (who took a
course at UCLA in “judging for reality TV shows”) thinks it’s a “crucial part
of the process.” First up is Santana, who sings Amy Winehouse’s “Back to
Black”; the song is highly emotional and very well sung. While Will thinks the
song was “fantastic,” Jesse is less-than-enthusiastic about the performance.
Next up is Kurt, who sings “Some People” from Gypsy; while he too
handles his song with grace and energy, Jesse’s feedback is nothing but
critical. Next up is Mercedes, who sings a full-on rock/soul version of Otis
Redding’s “Try a Little Tenderness”; while Will is almost speechless with
praise (“wow…just wow”) Jesse again finds a way to turn what should be an
otherwise proud moment for the singer into a reason for self-doubt and
disappointment. Finally Rachel takes the stage, and sings “My Man” from Funny
Girl; even Kurt (who sits in the back of the auditorium with Santana and
Mercedes) can’t help but be floored by the performance. After Jesse praises the
song as “amazing,” Santana voices her opinion that the entire audition process
has been rigged. Will reminds them that he (not Jesse) will make the final
decision about the winner, and says he’ll reveal the results in a couple of
days. At the nursing home Kurt and Finn help Sue collect Jean’s belongings;
amidst all of her things they find a video tape of Willy Wonka & the
Chocolate Factory which Sue says her sister used to watch “at least three
times a week.” While Sue is still overwhelmed with emotion, she tries to cover
with her typically callous repartee; after noting that her sister’s things are
just “things” (“and her things are not going to bring her back”), she instructs
the boys to throw everything (except a single stuffed animal) in a dumpster. As
they are leaving Kurt asks the Coach why -- in light of her evident disdain for
them -- she is letting them plan Jean’s service. Sue replies that her sister
didn’t have many friends, and she was afraid no one would show up at the
funeral: at least with the Glee Club there Jean would “get a full house.”
Inside the funeral home Sue discovers the parlor (which has been decorated to
look like a scene from “Willy Wonka” complete with candy toadstools and a
chocolate fountain) full of mourners; Will says Jean was very well loved by
many in the nursing home. Sue appears to be honestly touched by the Glee
Clubbers attempt “to capture…the joy of (Jean’s) life rather than the sadness
of her death.” Sue steps up, and begins to eulogize her sister but is overcome
by emotions; after a moment Will steps up by her side, and finishes reading the
touching and heartfelt words Sue has written about her sister and the bonds
they shared. When he is finished there isn’t a dry eye in the house; the Glee
Club rises, and takes up positions around the coffin. Noting that it was Jean’s
favorite, the kids begin to sing the Willy Wonka song “Pure Imagination.” As
Sue begins to cry, Will takes her hand; the song over, she tells the kids
“thank you.” In the parking lot Quinn gets into Finn’s truck; he wipes a tear
from his eye, and tells her they need to break up. While Quinn initially blames
Finn’s lingering feelings for Rachel, he counters that Rachel has nothing to do
with it. He says that after listening to Sue describe the connection she shared
with her sister, he’s realized he should share a similar bond with his
girlfriend… and he doesn’t feel any connection to Quinn at all. She begins to
cry, and exits the truck.
In Will’s office he and Jesse prepare to announce the club’s soloist, but
despite Jesse’s reassurances, Will is still uncomfortable about picking one kid
over the others; he also doesn’t like the infighting the competition is
causing. Becky shows up at Sue’s office to turn in her pom-pons and bullhorn.
Sue apologizes for firing her, and says next year she will be the captain of
the Cheerios; Becky is overjoyed, and the two share a long and emotional
embrace. Sue finds Will in the teachers’ lounge; she thanks him for the
outpouring of support he and his students have shown in spite of her ongoing
war against them. She tells him (that like Jean) he has a “pure heart,” and
says he has been a good friend. She promises that she will no longer try to
destroy the Glee Club, and shocks him when she says that ¾ having been spurred
on by the rising health-care costs and cuts in disability payments her sister
encountered in the last year of her life ¾ she has decided to run for a seat in
Congress. Will is understandably taken aback, but is pleased to hear Sue add:
“my reign of Glee-related terror is over.” All that being said, Sue confesses
that “in a fit of pique” she rerouted the kids’ airplane to Libya. Will’s
shock is doubled as Terri arrives, and says that thanks to a particularly
stringent (albeit false) complaint to American Airlines, she has managed to
secure the kids free first-class passage to and from New York. She adds that thanks to a
promotion at Sheets N’ Things, she will be relocating to Miami to head up a new store; they hug, and
say their goodbyes. Emma catches up to Will in the halls; he notices she is
wearing one of his discarded sweater-vests. While she is still saddened by his
impending departure from McKinley, she encourages him to “follow this dream as
far as it will take you,” adding: “you’ve given so much for so long… now it’s
your turn.” She kisses him on the cheek; as she walks away she begins to cry.
Jesse finds Rachel alone in the auditorium; he tells her she will be the
featured soloist at Nationals, though his statement is less of a guarantee than
it is an educated guess. Rachel is ecstatic; she and Jesse share a tender kiss.
As the two leave, Finn ¾ who entered unseen and witnessed the kiss ¾ stands at
the back of the theater; he holds a single tulip, and considers what he’s
observed. Meanwhile Jesse and Rachel rush through the halls and make their way
to the bulletin board; both are shocked to see that as opposed to announcing
the winning soloist, the posted sheet of paper reads: “Urgent Meeting Today.
Choir Room 3:30.” In the choir room Will tells the Gleeks (and Jesse) he’s
decided against picking any one soloist, and says New Directions will go back
“to what got us here… original songs sung by the entire Club.” Despite Jesse’s
assertion that the decision will cost them their victory, Will states:
“Whatever we do, we’re going to do it together.” As the class disperses, Finn
thanks Quinn for not quitting the Glee Club in the wake of their break-up; she
counters that if she had quit it would have ruined her “big plans” for New
York. He asks her “What plans?” to which the smiling Quinn replies: “You’ll
see.”
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