We Built This Glee Club
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"We Built This Glee Club" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 119th overall. The episode was written by Aristotle Kousakis, directed by Joaquin Sedillo, and first aired on March 13, 2015 on Fox in the United States.
The episode takes place as the Sectionals competition takes place, with New Directions desperate to win and save their club. Rachel Berry reunites with an old friend as she must decide whether to accept a role in a new Broadway show or return to school at NYADA. Meanwhile, Sue Sylvester, who is now the new coach of Vocal Adrenaline, is apparently going all out in her efforts to defeat New Directions, but it is later revealed that Sue had other plans. The episode featured special guest star Jonathan Groff as Jesse St. James.
Plot
New Directions members Alistair (Fineas O'Connell), Jane Hayward (Samantha Marie Ware), Mason McCarthy (Billy Lewis Jr.), Madison McCarthy (Laura Dreyfuss), Myron Muskovitz (J. J. Totah), Spencer Porter (Marshall Williams), Roderick (Noah Guthrie), and Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin) and their new members from the Warblers practice a dance routine for Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss), Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), and the Warblers raise objections about the dancing ability of Roderick and Spencer and state they should both stay in the background to avoid notice, so Roderick and Spencer seek out Kitty's help to learn dancing. Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) and Rachel continue to discuss whether Rachel should accept the role she has been offered on Broadway or return to school at NYADA. As Rachel thinks it over, she is joined by Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) who tells Rachel that he has been cast as the male lead in the same Broadway show to which Rachel has been accepted. Jesse attempts to convince Rachel that she belongs on Broadway. Roderick and Spencer practice dancing, but Spencer badly sprains his ankle, and Coach Sheldon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) tries to convince Spencer not to get a cortisone shot in order to perform but Spencer is determined to get the shot.
Kurt talks with Rachel about her decision and tries to convince her that school is the right choice. Packages are delivered to New Directions that turn out to be glitter bombs and people are mysteriously vomiting from an apparent tainted water supply, as Will immediately suspects Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) who confirms the suspicions while also blowing up Will's car. Will gets revenge by masquerading as Sue's hairdresser and shaving her head bald. Sectionals begin as Sue (now with a wig) attempts to intimidate Will and Rachel. Vocal Adrenaline's performance is very elaborate with overblown set pieces and extreme stunts including human cannonballs. Rachel leads New Directions in a show circle pep talk before their set, and Spencer is about to get his cortisone shot, but Roderick has another idea. The New Directions performance focuses more on their vocals and harmonies, while Spencer is used in methods such as him swinging on a chandelier while performing the song "Chandelier" and dancing while on crutches. The judges deliberate and New Directions wins the Sectionals, with Vocal Adrenaline in second place, and newly-introduced group The Falconers in third place. After the show is over, Sue meets up with Will and states that although she has attempted to sabotage him in the past, because Will was one of the few people to stand up for her when she was exposed on television in the episode "The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester", she deliberately sabotaged Vocal Adrenaline and executed the pranks she recently pulled to help New Directions perform better. Rachel meets with Jesse and informs him that she has decided to return to NYADA and turn down the Broadway role. He is disappointed but understands her decision, and they share a kiss. New Directions says goodbye to Rachel as they place the Sectionals trophy in their trophy case then re-add all the missing trophies from their past as Sue observes with a look of satisfaction.
Production
Jonathan Groff makes a special guest star appearance as Jesse St. James. Guest actors were (in order of crediting): Max George as Clint, Becca Tobin as Kitty Wilde, Bill A. Jones as Rod Remington, Fortune Feimster as Butch Melman, Marshall Williams as Spencer Porter, Patricia Forte as Donna Landries, Billy Lewis Jr. as Mason McCarthy, Laura Dreyfuss as Madison McCarthy, Samantha Marie Ware as Jane Hayward, Noah Guthrie as Roderick, J. J. Totah as Myron Muskovitz, and Finneas O'Connell as Alistair.
The episode features seven musical cover versions. "Listen to Your Heart" by Roxette is sung by Groff and Michele. "Broken Wings" by Mr. Mister is sung by The Falconers, who are uncredited. "We Built This City" by Starship and "Mickey" by Toni Basil are sung by George with Vocal Adrenaline. "Take Me to Church" by Hozier is sung by Guthrie, Tobin, Ware, and New Directions. "Chandelier" by Sia is sung by Dreyfuss, Tobin, Ware, and New Directions. "Come Sail Away" by Styx is sung by Lewis Jr., Dreyfuss, Williams, Tobin, and New Directions. Accompanying the music from this episode, the EP Glee: The Music, We Built This Glee Club was released on March 17, 2015.[1][2] The song "Broken Wings" as performed by The Falconers was not included on this EP.
Reception
Ratings
The episode was watched by 2.02 million viewers and received a 0.7 rating/2 share in the adult 18-49 demographic.[3]
Critical response
Lauren Hoffman from Vulture gave the episode four out of five stars, and commented the episode was "a welcome return to form, like slipping under a warm, comfortable blanket."[4] Christopher Rogers from Hollywood Life wrote that "If Glee‘s trying to go out with a bang, they’re certainly accomplishing that — at least in the literal sense."[5] A.V. Club's Brandon Nowalk rated the episode a C- and stated that "a farewell tour without one last Sylvester scheme would be missing some ineffable quality vital to the genetic makeup of Glee."[6] Miranda Wicker from TV Fanatic gave the episode four out of five stars, and reminisced that "knowing that this was the last time we'll see the New Directions in competition just has me feeling a little weepy."[7]
References
- ^ "Amazon.com: Glee: The Music, We Built This Glee Club". Amazon.com.
- ^ Santilli, Mj (March 10, 2015). "Glee Season 6 Songs! Listen to Music From "We Built This Glee Club" Episode 11". mjsbigblog.com.
- ^ Bibel, Sara (March 16, 2015). "Friday Final Ratings: 'The Amazing Race', 'Cristela', 'Hawaii Five-0' & 'Blue Bloods' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers.
- ^ Hoffman, Lauren (March 14, 2015). "Glee Recap: Come Sail Away". Vulture.
- ^ Rogers, Christopher (March 13, 2015). "'Glee' Recap: Rachel & Jesse St. James Kiss After Sectionals". Hollywood Life.
- ^ Nowalk, Brandon (March 13, 2015). "Review: Glee: "We Built This Glee Club"". A. V. Club.
- ^ Wicker, Miranda (March 13, 2015). "Glee Season 6 Episode 11 Review: We Built This Glee Club". TV Fanatic.
