Season 5, Episode 4: A Katy or a Gaga
Ownership of Glee: FOX, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk
= = =
Will claps his hands.
"All right, big week, guys. Come on. Gather round. I have here in my hand... Drumroll, please... A secret list of the show choirs that we will be in competition with at Nationals in six weeks." Will tells his students.
"Ooh..." is the reply of some.
"Yes. Okay, let's see what we've got. We got the Rust-Belters from Pittsburgh, the Thunder Showcats from Gainesville, and finally, from Fort Wayne, Throat Explosion." Will announces.
"No! Why, God?!" Tina groans.
"Uh, what? Throat Explosion?" Violet gapes.
"That's a joke, right?" Will asks.
"Anything but. They're the new supergroup the Show Choir Underground's been buzzing about." Charlie says.
"Their budgets for costume, makeup, hair alone are astronomical. You guys have read that Malcolm Gladwell book, Outliers, right? So, Gladwell says you can't possibly master anything unless you've spent 10,000 hours practicing it. So students can't even join Throat Explosion without proving they've logged in 10,000 hours of show choir rehearsal." Tina explains.
Violet nods. "They don't even go to class. They just perform, every minute of every day. They live their art. They know no boundaries. They're constantly pushing the envelope, living and performing on the edge. They're like mini Lady Gagas."
"We're so screwed... they're not like Vocal Adrenaline, who were unfeeling Borg robots. They're total outsiders and misfits, which used to be our niche." Artie comments.
"We can't compete with Throat Explosion anymore at that level because we lost our biggest Gaga when Kurt graduated last year." Blaine remarks.
"Look around, we're a room full of, like, Katy Perrys now." Tina comments.
"Oh, you best check your spectrum, Queen T, because orange is the new black, and Unique is the new Gaga." Unique says.
"Well, not Marley... she's a Katy Perry." Jake states.
"So is Sam, so is Blaine. I'm a Katy Perry and I'm proud of it." Artie states.
"Uh, the truth is, Tina, we're a potent mix of Katy Perrys and Lady Gagas in here. But it's not a liability... it's the way we're gonna beat Throat Explosion. Some of us in here are, you know, ambi-edge." Will says.
"Ambi-edge? You just made that up." Violet tells him.
"Uh, some of us are more, you know, wholesome, innocent, romantic, all-American girl-and boy-next-door types. Uh, who in here would describe themselves as a Gaga?" Will asks.
Jake, Kitty, Tina, Unique, Violet and Charlie's hands go up.
Will nods. "Okay, great. And the rest of you are Katys?"
"Is there a third option?" Sam asks.
"We're gonna mix it up a little bit. We're turning our weaknesses into our strengths. This week, the Katys will get their Gaga on and the Gagas will bring the Katy. Throat Explosion does their one thing very, very well, but we need to be able to do both, impeccably, or else we're not gonna have a chance in hell of winning Nationals this year." Will claims.
Violet looks at her fellow Gagas. "You heard Mr. Shue. Let's go get our Katy on!"
= = =
All the Katys in glee club perform Lady Gaga's 'Applause.'
[Applause by Blaine, Sam, Artie, Marley, and Ryder]
Violet glances to Charlie, who looks equally as confused. They still clap for the performance.
"What happened to the seashell bikini?" Sam asks Marley.
Marley shrugs. "I wasn't comfortable."
"Well, get over yourself... you think I'm just comfortable up here with no shirt on?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, you probably are." Marley answers.
"Well, I'm not exactly loving this giant white thing that keeps getting caught in my wheels." Artie comments.
"Yeah, and I look like Siegfried and Roy, and I still did it." Ryder says.
"It was the assignment." Blaine states.
"Okay, I'm sorry, you guys, but I am who I am, and I'm not gonna change that for any number or any guy." Marley says.
"Marley, we're all trying to win a championship here, as a team, but you put your personal agenda above that. I'm sorry, but... you're suspended for the rest of the week." Will says.
Violet gapes. "He can't do that." She tells Charlie.
"Are you freaking kidding me?" Charlie says softly.
Violet gives her teacher a pissed off look.
He can't suspend Marley for speaking her mind!
= = =
Violet walks into Will's office. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Shue?"
Will nods. "Please take a seat." He says. Violet sits.
Will sighs. "I saw the look you had on your face when I suspended Marley. I know that look. You don't agree with my decision."
"Of course I don't agree with your decision. You're a total hypocrite Mr. Shue. You tell us to openly express ourselves in glee club, but when someone says they're uncomfortable with a costume or a song... you ice us out. It's not cool." Violet explains.
Will looks at her. "I don't understand where this attitude is coming from. I'm just trying to be a teacher here."
"No, you're afraid of the threat that is Throat Explosion, so you're recreating our Hairography assignment." Violet interjects.
"Violet, your tone is uncalled for." Will says, irritated with her behavior.
"Yeah? Well suspending Marley was uncalled for. Don't lie to me — I know why you're being so freakin' uptight." Violet announces.
"Okay. Why do you believe I'm uptight?" Will asks.
"The answer's pretty obvious. I know it's been four weeks Mr. Shue, but Finn is gone. And you're projecting your anger and frustration about Finn dying onto us." Violet answers.
Will tenses. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"So you're not the one that stole Finn's letterman jacket last week? I know you took it. And you stood there and let Puck take the fall for something he didn't do!" Violet exclaims.
"What if you're right? Huh? I don't want to accept the fact that he's gone! He was the son I never had! I can't just accept that he's gone Violet!" Will says loudly.
Violet looks at Will with teary eyes. "Well guess what? I don't want to accept it either okay? Neither does Kurt or Rachel or any of our family. Hell, he was my brother. I've been so torn up inside for the last month about this! But the fact of the matter is that Finn's gone, and there's nothing we can do about it!" Violet states loudly.
Will looks at her in shock. "The best thing we can do is lean on each other. I know how much Finn meant to you, Mr. Shue. I know how much Finn meant to this glee club, and how much we all meant to him. Have you had the chance to properly grieve, Mr. Shue? Have you taken a moment to sit down with Emma and talk to her about how you're feeling?" Violet asks.
Will looks tearful. "No. And you're right; I've been projecting my personal feelings onto you guys, and I'm sorry. I just... I don't know what to do." He admits.
"Mr. Shue, it's okay. You have Emma, you have Coach Beiste, and you have the glee club. We're all still reeling in from the hurt and the pain. But we'll get through it together because that's what we always do." Violet says as she hugs her teacher.
Will hugs her back. "When did you get so smart?" He asks.
Violet smiles. "I've been around you for four years, Mr. Shue. I tend to pick up a few nuances."
= = =
All the Gagas sing Katy Perry's 'Wide Awake.'
[Wide Awake by Charlie, Violet, Jake, Unique, Kitty and Tina]
The Gagas get well-deserved applause.
= = =
"You guys! Throat Explosion just tweeted out that they're doing "Applause" as one of their Nationals numbers!" Tina claims.
"So? Big deal. We'll just do another Lady Gaga song." Jake says.
"They're mocking us. They're saying they're so confident they're gonna win, they're even gonna give us a little head start by telling us what their set list is." Tina replies.
"Seriously! We should just forfeit now." Sam states.
"Guys, guys! Just calm down. So our completion is good, so was Vocal Adrenaline. And the Warblers." Will speaks.
Violet looks at their teacher.
"If there's anything we can learn from this week's lesson, it's that other people's greatness makes our greatness even greater. Gaga and Katy, they push each other to try harder, to get better, to be bolder. At the end of the day, all of the friendly competition between those two just means more really amazing music for all of us. I mean, I hope Throat Explosion is unstoppable, because then we know we have to be unstoppable too." Will finishes.
Violet stands up. "I agree with Mr. Shue. We've proven that we can beat the best of the best before — The Warblers, Vocal Adrenaline, Hoosierdaddies — we've just got to work together to become one unstoppable giant wall of sound."
No one says anything, but in that moment, the New Directions swear they can hear Finn talking through Violet.
= = =
The New Directions — minus the suspended Marley — sing Katy Perry's 'Roar.' They're joined by Kurtcheltana, Elliott and Dani, who are in New York.
[Roar by New Directions, Kurtcheltana, Elliott and Dani]
The New Directions smile and cheer as they finish their performance.
They're ready for Nationals!
= = =
1556 words
Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. Applause - The Katys
2. Wide Awake - The Gagas
3. Roar - New Directions, Kurtcheltana, Elliott and Dani
I don't know how to feel about this episode... thoughts??
Next update: The End of Twerk
2 episodes to Movin' Out
3 episodes to Puppet Master
4 episodes to Previously Unaired Christmas
5 episodes to Frenemies
6 episodes to Trio