Glee-Cap: Asian F

 

The episode starts off with 'booty camp' on the stage rediscovering that Santana had rejoined Glee Club, under the radar of Sue Sylvester.  Mercedes claims they the group is overworked, and Will still tries to push them even further, claiming that if they want to win, that's what needs to be done. Back at home, Will finds a stash of wedding magazines among the things in the kitchen, and Will and Emma discuss the possibility of getting married in the future. Will wants to meet her parents, to Emma's dismay.

The next scene is Mike Chang and his father, Mike Chang, Sr., and we learn that his son has received and A- (or an Asian F) in chemistry. The father blames Mike's girlfriend, Tina, for his bad grade, and says that he has to quit Glee Club to improve his grade. In the locker room, Coach Beiste tells everyone that they have to show up later on that week trained to dance, as all the football players will be in West Side Story.

Shane reassures Mercedes that he's better than Rachel Berry, no matter what anyone else says. This leads into Mercedes singing Spotlight, originally sung by Jennifer Hudson as her audition song, flanked by Brittany and Tina, with her boyfriend standing in the wings supporting her. Once she receives good reviews, she runs to her boyfriend's arms. He reassures her that she did amazingly well, and Rachel appears, seemingly jealous.

Tina meets up with Mike at his locker, where she asks Mike how his audition planning is going. He tells her that he received an A-, and might not be auditioning. Rachel is approached by Santana and Brittany, and they try to convince her to vote for Brittany for Class President, though she had already pledged her allegiance to Kurt. Brittany performs Run The World (Girls), originally sung by Beyonce,  in front of the entire school, trying to get their votes. It turns into an all girl flash mob of sorts, as many girls come from the bleachers to join in.

We return with Emma and Coach Beiste debating whether Mercedes or Rachel should have the role of Maria. Rachel is the obvious choice, bur Mercedes may be a more exciting take. There will be a Maria-off (or a callback), and they are told they will be singing "Out Here On My Own" from Fame as their callback song.

Mike is seen on the phone calling his father, apologizing for disappointing him. He hangs up and enters the dance studio in the school, practicing his moves to try to blow off some steam. His father appears, as a ghost of sorts, putting him down for wanting to be a dancer. Tina appears next, encouraging him to dance, saying that's why she fell in love with him, because of his passion for it. The scene moves to the stage, where his name is called for his audition. After almost missing it, he runs on, auditioning for the role of Riff with the song "Cool" (from West Side Story), backed by some of the football players. He receives good reviews from the judges.

Kurt presents Blaine with flowers, to celebrate his likelihood in getting Tony.

Back to 'booty camp', Will pushes everyone to do well, and Mercedes lashes out at everyone, claiming that Rachel is treated better than everyone else, and threatens to walk out on the entire thing. She breaks out into a rendition of "It's All Over" from Dreamgirls. After the song is over, we flash back to the stage, and Mercedes is seen by herself this time, the entire booty camp had left her behind.

Mike's mother finds him in the dance studio, telling him that she covered for him when he missed his Chemistry tutor, and went to the audition instead. She explains that she wants him to follow his dreams, no matter what. We find out his mother wanted to be a dancer, but her parents didn't encourage her, the way the she now encourages Mike.

Next up is the callback. A tossed coin determines that Mercedes will go first. The scene flips between Rachel and Mercedes singing the song, Rachel admits to Finn, and that Mercedes was better

Emma comes home to Will that night, with her parents already there. Will had invited them over, and Emma reveals that her parents are 'ginger supremacists'. They very clearly don't approve of their daughter's OCD, and tell Will that as a child, they would always try and restrain her. Will lashes out at them for calling their daughter a freak.

Rachel decides to run for Class President, which we learn is what she discussed with Coach Beiste. Kurt doesn't approve, claiming that she's just running for nothing, and that he's running because he can make a difference at the school.

It turns out that they double cast Maria, giving each of them 6 performances to show their stuff. Mercedes decides not to take it, letting Rachel take the part full time. Finn expects Rachel to drop from the race now that she's won the role, and when she doesn't, he admits how unsure he is about whether to vote for his girlfriend or his step-brother.

Emma prays in front of Will for her OCD to go away, and Will joins her. Will sings to her (Fix You by Coldplay) to show his empathy. The cast list goes up, and we learn that Blaine got Tony, Mike got Riff, Santana got Anita, Rachel got Maria.

Mercedes goes to Shelby's Glee Club at the end of the episode, needing to feel like she's a star somewhere.

Seems like a lot of great stuff coming up, Gleeks! November 1 is less than a month away!