Summary
When the glee club is left out of the school yearbook, Rachel has the club members cast in a local mattress commercial in an attempt to raise their social status. The team is paid in mattresses which, if it became known, would revoke its amateur status and render it ineligible to compete at Sectionals. Will discovers Terri has been lying to him about being pregnant, and walks out on her. He spends a night at the school using one of the mattresses, which bars him from participating in Sectionals. He steps down as club director so the team remains eligible to compete. He remains undecided over whether to end his marriage, and Emma and Ken schedule their wedding for the same day as Sectionals.
Smile everyone.
Next Time: The first trip to Sectionals, and we'll find out whether New Directions can survive without their fearless leader.
Songs
- "Smile" by Lily Allen, performed by Finn and Rachel
- "When You're Smiling" by Louis Armstrong, performed by Rachel
- "Jump" by Van Halen, performed by New Directions
- "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin, performed by New Directions
Tropes appearing in the episode include:
- Blatant Lies: Terri's pregnancy charade, and a direct example when Will finds her tummy pillow. She tells him it's for "trying on maternity clothes."
- Continuity Nod: In the "Jump" number on mattress-trampolines the dancing involves lots of jumps and flips, even by Artie. The only dancer not to do any is Quinn, the choreographers clearly taking into account that the character is pregnant even though they don't regularly, who only lies on a mattress up front.
- Domestic Abuse: Will's response to Terri's ongoing emotional abuse can almost be read this way. It's quite frightening, because Will has been mild-mannered up to this point.
- Harsher in Hindsight: An in-universe example. Kurt describes defaced yearbook photos along with the fates of previous Glee members.
- Picture Day: An inversion. No one in Glee wants to be in the yearbook, except Rachel, who joins as many clubs as possible.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: "You know what? I don't think I wanna be a Cheerio after all. I don't want to be on a team where I only appear to belong. I'd rather be part of a club that's proud to have me like Glee club." Quinn, we salute you! Sue needed to hear that!
