New Directions (''Glee'')

"New Directions" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the one-hundred-first episode overall. Written and directed by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 25, 2014, and is the second part of a two-part anniversary episode that features the apparent end of New Directions after the club is shut down by principal Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch). Many graduates of the glee club have returned, as do special guest stars Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes and Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday. This is Melissa Benoist latest appearance on the show.

Plot

The episode opens with Holly (Gwyneth Paltrow) and April (Kristin Chenoweth) in the teacher’s lounge. Sue (Jane Lynch) enters and interrupts their gossip to insult April for being a “dwarf whore." She says that she would usually have April escorted off campus, but allows her to stay, since she seems to be friends with Holly. When April asks how they know each other, Sue and Holly tell April that they are auditioning together for The Amazing Race as “Team Gorgeous”, and flashback scenes are shown of the audition tape. Holly, attempting to use her friendship with Sue to help save the Glee Club, asks if they can incorporate music into other clubs at McKinley. Sue reluctantly agrees, but tells Holly that they only have one week to try it out.

Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) is walking down the hallways, reflecting on her options for college as other seniors around her excitedly show their acceptance letters to their friends. Via voiceover, Tina reveals she was rejected by her back-up school, Ohio State, and is still waiting to hear back from Brown University. Tina also reveals that she was adopted and applied to Mitzvah University in hopes of following her friends to NYC. Tina then enters the choir room as Rachel (Lea Michele), Sam (Chord Overstreet), and Artie (Kevin McHale) pack up the Glee Club’s trophies, which saddens Tina. Rachel and Tina share a hug as Blaine (Darren Criss) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) enter the room with the exciting news of Blaine’s acceptance into NYADA. As everyone congratulates Blaine, Sam accidentally knocks Tina out with one of the trophies, prompting another of Tina’s strange fantasies, in which she and all her friends appear in a loose parody of Friends called "Chums".

In the auditorium, Kurt and Mercedes (Amber Riley) have gathered all their friends and the current Glee Club to reminisce about old times and to try to help mend the feud between Rachel and Santana (Naya Rivera). Kurt and Mercedes perform "I Am Changing". Rachel appears to be moved during the song and glances over at Santana several times, while Santana seems impassive. Afterwards, Rachel meets Santana in the bathroom and tries to make peace between them, admitting Kurt and Mercedes’ song made her feel nostalgic and offers Santana 10 shows in Funny Girl as a peace offering. Santana declines and says she wants to perform in every show, leaving Rachel dismayed.

Meanwhile, Holly fills Will (Matthew Morrison) in on her plan to incorporate music into McKinley's other clubs. Will is hesitant, but Holly encourages Will to trust her. Dressed as Temple Grandin, Holly leads a class in a performance of Eddie Murphy’s "Party All the Time", which transitions into a club scene with everyone dressed in vintage clothing. Principal Sue, however, is not amused, having received many angry letters from the members of the Animal Husbandry Club, state and local politicians, as well as the National Autism Association, thus marking the end of Holly’s extracurricular musical experiment. Will tells Sue he understands and he and Holly leave Sue’s office. Will tells Holly he has accepted that Glee Club is over. Holly approaches Artie in the hallway and asks him to meet her with his camera equipment in the spanish room.

In the choir room, Brittany (Heather Morris) has filled the room with lilies and offers Santana two one way tickets to Lesbos Island so that they can spend so me time together. Santana, however, is still hesitant and feels that Brittany’s offer may have more to do with her wanting to escape MIT rather than her desire for them to actually be together. Santana also tells Brittany she doesn't want to give up her understudy role in Funny Girl because it is a great first step toward being rich and famous, and she doesn't want to allow Rachel to win their feud. Brittany reminds Santana that Broadway has never been her dream - so walking away from a role she doesn't really care about would be a win for her. Santana, realizing Brittany is right, thanks her for straightening her out. She leans her head against Brittany’s shoulder and the two cuddle.

Tina informs Blaine, Sam and Artie that she was rejected from Mitzvah University and therefore won’t be going to NY. Sam tells Tina that just because she hasn't gotten into college yet doesn't mean she can’t go to NY. Blaine reminds Tina that Kurt went to NY with no plan at all and it turned out really well for him, “Think of it as an adventure,” he tells her. Tina, still hesitant, says she feels like “A giant loser” with no plan. Blaine, Sam, and Artie sing an acoustic version of "Loser Like Me" to cheer her up and Tina joins in. Afterward, Blaine begs Tina to go to NY and Sam and Artie reassure her that they will all help her figure out to do when she gets to NY. Tina happily agrees.

Santana meets Rachel in the auditorium. Rachel is running lines from Funny Girl. Santana comments on Rachel’s dedication and admits that she has been sucking all the celebration from something that Rachel had been working very hard to achieve. Santana also admits that she’s “Too lazy to do 8 shows a week” and that she is withdrawing from the show. However, Santana tells Rachel that she isn't resigning as understudy to make Rachel happy, she is only doing it for herself. Pleased they can put the past unpleasantness behind them, Rachel suggests they sing one final song together in the choir room. Santana and Rachel perform "Be Okay" by Oh Honey.

Puck (Mark Salling) and Quinn (Dianna Agron) then perform "Just Give Me a Reason" and announce to the Glee Club that they have decided to give a relationship a try, even though they will be long distance. Quinn acknowledges that it will be tough, but tells Puck she would rather do hard with him than easy with someone else. Everyone applaudes as they share a kiss and Will announces that they have just performed the final song in the choir room.

Later, Will enters his office to discover a note asking him to come to the auditorium. Holly and the Glee Club have made a video for Will and his unborn child about how much he has meant to them as a teacher and a man. The video ends with Rachel coming out on stage to lead into a performance of "Don't Stop Believin'". Will is visibly moved and soon the rest of the Glee Club and alumni members join in as well. After the song, the Glee Club members share in a group hug while April and Holly watch from the auditorium entrance and congratulate themselves for a job well done. Back in the choir room, the current members of New Directions are gathered before the graduation ceremony. Unique (Alex Newell asks Kitty (Becca Tobin) if she will acknowledge her in the hallways now that the Glee Club is over. Kitty says she will and jokes about how someone has to tell Unique when her shoes don't match her purse. Jake (Jacob Artist) is still feeling disbelief that Sue has won her long run mission to disband the Glee Club. Marley (Melissa Benoist) disagrees and says although Sue has disbanded the club, she cannot take away their friendship. Ryder (Blake Jenner) points out how Glee Club has helped all of them become better people. The last remaining members of the Glee Club have one final moment of reminiscing and a group hug before heading to the graduation ceremony.

Artie, Blaine, Becky, Brittany, Sam and Tina all graduate with their fellow senior class. Tina says she cannot go to NY after all because she got a phone call from Brown University and she has been accepted for the fall semester. Blaine, Sam and Artie hug and congratulate Tina. After the graduation ceremony, Santana meets Brittany in the bathroom and says she does want to go away with Brittany, but also wants them to return together to NY after their trip is over. Brittany agrees and the two share a hug. Back in the choir room, Will meets Sue. Sue admits that Will's work in the Glee Club helped change many kids lives - and his own - for the better, and says she will miss the fighting between them. Sue reveals she got Will an interview at Carmel High for the position of Glee Club director for Vocal Adrenaline. Will is hesitant, but Sue argues that Will needs to be doing what he is passionate about - teaching Glee Club - and he could do many good things with the healthy budget that Vocal Adrenaline has. Sue leaves Will alone in the choir room to decide on how to proceed. With memories of the Glee Club flooding through his mind, Will turns out the lights and leaves the choir room for the last time.

Production

Series co-creator Brad Falchuk wrote and directed this episode.^[1] The first part of the two-parter had been directed by Paris Barclay, and written by Falchuk along with the other two co-creators, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.^[2]

The show made a list of thirty songs that had previously been performed on the show, and invited fans to vote on which ones should appear in the 100th episode in a promotion called "Gleek's Choice" that was run at the end of November 2013.^[3] At least ten of these, which were not immediately announced, were set to be featured in this episode, though not necessarily sung by the same artists as before.^[3] The list of thirteen songs that was eventually released in late February 2014 for what turned out to be a two-part 100th episode contained eight songs from the original thirty-song list, not ten.^[4]

One of those songs is Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", which was filmed on February 24, 2014, the day that the 100th episode was celebrated on set.^[5]

A number of former main characters on the show have returned for this two-part episode. These include Yale student Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron), MIT student Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris), Airman Noah "Puck" Puckerman (Mark Salling), UCLA student and aspiring singer Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), and Joffrey Ballet School student Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr.).^[6]

Two characters played by special guest stars return as well: April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth), who went to Broadway to star in an original musical that won at least one Tony award, and substitute teacher Holly Holliday (Gwyneth Paltrow).^[6] A recurring character in this episode is cheerleader Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter).^[6]

An album, Glee: The Music, Celebrating 100 Episodes was released with thirteen songs on it, featuring music from both this episode and the previous one (its first part). The full album was released on March 25, 2014, and includes the six songs from this episode. Two of these songs are new covers of songs that have previously appeared on Glee: the original song "Loser Like Me" performed by Darren Criss, Kevin McHale, Chord Overstreet and Jenna Ushkowitz; and a new version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" that features Lea Michele, Morrison, Criss, Chris Colfer, McHale and Ushkowitz. The remaining four songs are new to the show: Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time" sung by Paltrow; Oh Honey's "Be Okay" performed by Michele and Naya Rivera; "I Am Changing" from the musical Dreamgirls featuring Colfer and Riley; and Pink featuring Nate Ruess's "Just Give Me a Reason" sung by Salling and Agron.^[4][7] A seventh song, Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", which was to be sung by Chenoweth and Morrison, was cut from the episode, although it is included on the album.

References

External links

• "New Directions" on IMDb
• "New Directions" at TV.com