- Coach Sylvester tries to sabatoge the New Directions' trip to New York. The Glee Club performs songs at a funeral. Finn has bad news for Quinn.
- Multiple former winer Jesse St. James has been hired as consultant to prepare for the nationals. He gets Will to organize soloist auditions, at which he tries to undermine everybody's confidence before applauding Rachel. Meanwhile Fin and Kurt, who each lost a parent, volunteer to help boxing and insist the choir must perform at the funeral of arch-enemy Sue's beloved, utterly different sister Jean Sylvester.—KGF Vissers
- New Directions continues to strategize their set list for Nationals with a little help from Jessie St. James. Meanwhile, an unexpected loss rocks the world of one of McKinley's own.—Fox Publicity
- Open one week before nationals. Will (Matthew Morrison) tells New Directions that Jesse (Jonathan Groff) has been hired as a consultant. Jesse rips Finn's talent and says instead of a duet with him and Rachel (Lea Michele), they should instead just build the entire show around the best performer. There will be auditions to determine who will be that featured soloist.
A fuming Sue (Jane Lynch) has Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) help her sabotage the glee club's plane tickets to nationals in New York City. By hacking Figgins' email account they route the kids through Libya, despite Terri's warning that this could get them killed.
Becky (Lauren Potter) and her mother Donna (Kari Coleman) come to see Will. Sue has kicked Becky out of Cheerios for no reason and she would like to join New Directions. Will feels terrible, but says it's too late in the season. He invites her to join the club next school year.
An angry Will goes to Sue and complains about booting Becky, one of her most loyal Cheerios. Sue says she did it because Becky reminds her of her sister Jean, who died the previous day. She came down with pneumonia one week earlier and died in her sleep two nights ago.
It looks as if Rachel, Santana (Naya Rivera), Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Mercedes (Amber Riley) have signed up for the tryouts. Finn isn't interested, telling Rachel that Jesse's critique of him has killed his confidence.
Emma (Jayma Mays) helps Will pack, both for nationals and his trip to Broadway which will begin almost immediately afterwards. He fully expects the show to close during the summer so he doesn't expect it to take him away from school for very long. To avoid a loss of focus, he isn't telling the kids anything before nationals.
Kurt and Finn bring Sue flowers. Given that both have lost parents, they feel a sense of connection. Sue is having trouble processing Jean's death and doesn't know how she can go back into the home or plan a funeral. Sue also doesn't know why Jean died and she is still alive.
Finn wants the glee club to help plan Jean's service and sing at the funeral. Jesse thinks it's a terrible idea so close to nationals. Finn takes a leadership role and says "we're doing this."
Will stops Sue in the hall and says the club is honored to be able to help. She says she only agreed because Kurt and Finn agreed to help her go through Jean's things. She wants the unpaid labor.
Santana is the first soloist to perform for Will and Jesse. Jesse tells Will he took a college on reality show judging and is full prepared to give "blistering and unhelpful" criticism. Santana performs Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black." Will loved it but Jesse doesn't think she captured the emotion.
Kurt auditions next, doing a rendition of "Some People" from Gypsy (1962). Afterwards, Jesse points out the song was meant to be sung by a woman. He doesn't think Kurt lived up to the greats who have sung it in the past.
Kurt is furious about Jesse's critique. Rachel defends him.
Mercedes is next on the stage. She sings "Try A Little Tenderness." Will loves it, calling it "amazing." Jesse follows that up by saying Mercedes isn't a star (despite having a great voice), pointing out she didn't practice and had no choreography. Jesse doesn't think she's ready for the demands coming with getting the solo.
Rachel says she's going to perform Barbara Streisand's closing number from Funny Girl (1968), "My Man." Jesse asks if, in her head, she's singing to anyone in particular. She says she isn't. A few seconds into the performance Santana, Kurt and Mercedes arrive to listen. Kurt gives her a standing ovation. Jesse calls it "brilliant." Santana thinks the process is rigged. Will says that he's the one who will make the final call. He will let them know on Friday.
Kurt and Finn go through some of Jean's stuff with Sue. Sue tells them to throw out everything besides a stuffed animal. They try to talk her out of it, but she rips the two of them and tells the to toss it all in a dumpster. She says the only reason she let them play at the funeral is she was worried nobody would show.
The funeral home ends up being completely filled. Will tells Sue as they walk in her sister "touched a lot of people." They ended up designing the home in a theme after Jean's favorite movie. Sue calls it "lovely." Sue takes the podium. She breaks down while reading. Will helps her finish the statement. The words speak to Sue's connection to her sister and being inspired by who Jean was. Finn stands up and says "This was Jean's favorite song." The Glee kids perform "Pure Imagination" from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). Sue takes will's hand during the song and we see home video of Jean with Sue. Sue tells the kids "thank you."
In the parking lot afterwards, Quinn (Dianna Agron) tells Finn he did a great job with the funeral. He responds by saying he's breaking up with her. He says he can't fix what happened last year. He doesn't feel the same kind of connection with her that Sue talked about having with her sister. Quinn says she'll wait until his Rachel "confusion" ends but he says it's over. She leaves the car. He stares at Rachel.
Will and Jesse discuss who should get the solo. Will is uncomfortable with making the choice at all, but Jesse assures him if they pick Rachel beating Vocal Adrenaline is "in the bag."
Becky comes to see Sue. She wants to turn in her pom-poms and megaphone. Sue says she made a mistake kicking her off the team and wants her to be the team captain next year. Sue asks for a hug before Becky leaves.
Sue sits with Will in the faculty lounge. She tells him good luck at nationals. After what he did for Jean, she realizes he has a pure heart, just like her sister. Starting that day, she will no longer be going after the glee club, instead focusing on a run at a Congressional House seat. She admit to re-routing their plan to Libya as Terri walks in.
Terri got an airline to donate first class tickets for the trip to nationals. She tells Will she's moving to Miami for a new job. They agree they both loved each other at one point and have no regrets. Emma walks by and Will tells her the trip to Broadway "isn't forever." She says she hopes that it is, he deserves it. She kisses him and walks away trying to hold back tears.
Jesse tells Rachel she's going to be the featured soloist at nationals. She asks how he knows. He says "I was very involved in the decision." Finn walks in the back of the auditorium holding a tulip for Rachel just as Jesse says she means more to him than fame and they kiss. But instead of a set list, the blackboard has notice of an urgent glee meeting.
Will says he's changed his mind. He thinks the team is best when they work as a team -- original songs sung by the whole group. Jesse thinks this means they are going to lose. Will says whatever happens will happen as a team. Finn thanks Quinn for not quitting the club. She says if she quit her "big plans for New York" would have been ruined. He asks her what she's talking about. Quinn says: "You'll see."
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