This first episode of the fifth season of Glee begins right after the win at Regionals in the fourth season’s finale. Rachel, after finding out that she may not be awarded the part that she was auditioning for, starts the Beatles tribute with Yesterday while walking past many notable New York landmarks that she and Finn visited in the finale of the second season. Foreshadowing anyone?
But before any pondering can be done there, the viewers are whisked away to Lima where the sound of cheering fills the Choir room as the Glee kids learn that not only will they be staying on a topic for more than a week (plus one for continuity), they’ll be singing the Beatles! However, Glee loses its continuity point by having Ryder in the Choir room when he had announced that he would be leaving Glee after Regionals. The viewer is left to question not only that but also question when Artie and Kitty became a couple during Drive my Car.
Back to New York where the viewers are granted a very special surprise, the sight of Rachel actually working for a living! However, before they can check to make sure they weren’t dreaming, they’re whisked back to Lima where Klaine fans get their wishes granted and Kurt gets a solo for the first time in two seasons singing the first part of Got to Get You Into My Life.
Jane Lynch has returned to Glee as Cheer Coach, or should we say Principal Sue? Glee earns its continuity point back and adds another one when they not only address why Sue left in season four but they also address the time she became principal in season two.
Kitty and Artie are hiding their relationship because Kitty needs the social capital. Why wouldn’t Artie be cool to date? He was on the football team (is he still on the team?), he’s dated a cheerleader and he’s a senior member of New Directions who’ve gone to Nationals twice and are the current National Champions which has made the Glee kids popular, so what’s changed? Anyway, the montage is shown while the two lovebirds sing Got to Hide Your Love Away.
But enough about that love story, how about one where the writers of Glee get to slam Russia’s new laws outlawing homosexuality while giving one of their characters a somewhat happy ending in the process? Yes, Blaine (after announcing that he and Kurt are back together), has decided to propose and the Glee kids are all in helping him—which drops the continuity score back down to one as season three can show a different Glee club and their belief of teen marriage.
Also, why would the competition (as Blaine enlists the help of three rival glee teams, including his former one, the Warblers) actually help a kid they’ve either never met or if said kid was the reason they got disqualified from the competition in the first place?
Tina discovers that Artie and Kitty are secretly dating and asks Artie about it. It’s a sweet gesture that allows fans to see that even if you break up (see season one for more details), you can still be friends.
But enough about that, we’ve got an awkward Rachel moment to watch where it turns out that the director of the play Rachel was auditioning for is eating lunch during her shift. Rachel takes over another waitress’s shift to try to plead her case and delivers a good rendition of Hard Day’s Night in the process. Seeing as season three shows that Rachel isn’t above stalking people to get what she wants, Glee gets a point for continuity.
Back in Lima, Will and the new cheer coach quickly learn that winning Nationals equals job security. (Also, why is Will even there? He got married at the end of last season so shouldn’t he be on his honeymoon now?)
Glee gets another continuity point when they bring up the Too Young to Be Bitter club that was mentioned in the last season and the glee boys (minus Artie because they needed four boys) decide to sing I Saw Her Standing There to Tina to cheer her up; because she’s bummed about not having a date to prom. Yes, that must be it. A girl is single and upset so she must be bummed about not having a date.
But before the show can end, Glee must provide not only a touching moment between Burt and Kurt but also a loving rendition of All You Need is Love. Blaine gets down on one knee and the rest is history. But no one actually gets married when they want to on this show so we can expect actual drama soon.
