Gleecap: Born This Way

May 3rd, 2011

In the words of Lady Gaga, there’s nothing wrong with loving who you are and New Directions sure learned the difficulties of this in this week’s special 90 minute episode of Glee. The episode was centered around mother monster’s hit song “Born this Way” as Mr. Schue suggested the club perform it and wear white t-shirts with their special insecurities printed right across the front. More on this later.

This all started after Rachel took a tumble at dance rehearsal and broke her nose. The doctor offered to give her a nose job to clear up a deviated septum. Rachel was unsure at first, but when he told her it could improve her vocal power she was sold. The rest of the Glee club…not so much. She took Quinn to her consultation to show the doctor the nose she wants. This lead to a Rachel/Quinn mash-up performance of “I Feel Pretty/Unpretty” for the club. After she brought in pictures of what she’ll look like with her new nose, the club couldn’t convince her against it. The only way? A Barbara-vention of course! Everyone organized a flash-mob in the mall dancing to “Barbra Streisand,” helping Rachel embrace her nose through her idol Barbara. Finally, Rachel was convinced and wore the word “Nose” on her t-shirt.

Santana’s still a closeted lesbian, but she wants to win prom queen…and Brittany. Her plan of action included Kurt’s former bully and closeted gay Karofsky. The two team up to run for prom kind and queen and not only hide their true feelings, but get Kurt back to McKinley for votes. Karofsky surprisingly agreed, and after some sweet-talking with Figgins, Kurt was back. But not before a sweet goodbye song from Blaine and the Warblers. They came to McKinley and sang an emotional “Somewhere Only We Know” for Kurt. Kurt then sang “As if We Never Said Goodbye” for his now fellow New Directions members. Kurt wore “I Like Boys” on his t-shirt.

It’s prom season at McKinley, and the competition is fiercer than you think. On top of Santana and Karofsky running, front-runners Quinn and Finn are also running. Oh, and Lauren and Puck. Surprise! It looked like a clean sweep for Quinn and Finn at this point. Lauren had to do something to win votes, not just from those who want someone relatable, but everyone. So she did some permanent record digging and found some dirt on Quinn. Turns out her real name is Lucy “Caboosie” Quinn Fabray, she changed her name and transferred from another local high school after some weight loss, and …wait for it… got a nose job! Of course, Lauren was all over this, and posted old pictures of “Lucy Caboosie” all over the school. Surprisingly, this worked in Quinn’s favour and it looks like she may win more votes because she’s relatable. Finn also showed his love for “Lucy Caboosie” by putting a picture of her in his wallet. Can I get an “awww?”

We all know Mike Chang can’t sing and Finn can’t dance, so the two performed “I’ve Gotta Be Me” together. Finn wore “Can’t Dance” on his t-shirt, while Mike wore “Can’t Sing” on his. Other great t-shirts included Mr. Schue’s “Butt Chin,” Sam’s “Trouty Mouth,” Lauren’s “Bad Attitude,” Tina’s “Brown Eyes,” Brittany’s “I’m With Stupid” pointing up at her, and Puck’s “I’m With Stupid” pointing as his, um, you know.

Last but not least, Mr. Schue thought this would be a great way for Emma to embrace her OCD and try to treat it a bit. He was disappointed when her example t-shirt said “Ginger,” since who is she kidding? That’s not her biggest insecurity. She put off help because she thought the right thing to do would be to embrace it. But in this case, it had gone a little far. She went to a therapist who prescribed her pills and yes, she popped one back. She then came to the “Born This Way” performance wearing her true special insecurity on her t-shirt: “OCD.”

Even after Brittany made a special t-shirt for Santana that said “Lebanese” (yes, she met Lesbian), Santana wouldn’t perform. She did come to the performance with Karofsky wearing the Lebanese t-shirt. If only her and Karofsky would have gotten up there, the episode would have been perfect. But until that day comes, the rest of the club will never know.

Tags: Glee, recaps