Duets

**Duets** is the fourth episode of Season Two and the twenty-sixth episode overall. It premiered on October 12, 2010.

When Puck is sent to juvenile detention, Sam is introduced to the New Directions as a replacement. Will Schuester Will also introduces a duets assignment to the Glee Club, offering a meal at Breadstix for the winning team. Kurt has his eye on Sam as his duet partner, but Finn tries to prevent them from being partners, thinking back to Kurt's crush on him the year before. Finn and Rachel plan to throw the competition so that Sam can have a shot at winning. Mike has difficulty singing as Tina assists him to create an entertaining duet.

The episode was directed by Eric Stoltz and was written by Ian Brennan.

## Plot

Will sets a duet assignment, offering a meal at Breadstix for the winning duo. He announces that Puck has been sent to juvenile detention for stealing his mother's car and driving it through a convenience store window, then driving away with an ATM in tow. He then introduces new member, Sam. Kurt suspects that Sam is gay, a certain clue being his dyed hair which Kurt can spot a mile away, and asks him to be his duet partner. Though Sam agrees, club co-captain Finn talks them out of partnering up, fearing that Sam will be subject to bullying for having a male partner. Kurt ignores him at first as he is still angry with Finn for his homophobic comments in Theatricality, the twentieth episode of Season One. After talking to Burt, who agrees with Finn, Kurt decides to break his partnership with Sam. Finn sings *Don't Go Breaking My Heart* with Rachel, who suggests letting Sam win the competition to boost club morale, make him feel like a winner which will ensure he stays in the group and thereby increase their chance of winning at Nationals.

Brittany and Santana make out on Brittany's bed, but when Brittany suggests they sing Melissa Etheridge's *Come to My Window* together, Santana then refuses and trivialises their relationship. Santana believes her best chance of winning is by partnering with Mercedes, and together they sing *River Deep, Mountain High* by Ike & Tina Turner. Attempting to make Santana jealous, Brittany pairs up with Artie, who rejects his ex-girlfriend Tina when she asks him to duet with her. Kurt sings *Le Jazz Hot* by himself, after choosing not to sing with his previous duet partner Sam, stating that when you're different and special, it sometimes means that you're on your own. His outstanding performance gains him a standing ovation from his peers.

Tina and her new boyfriend Mike duet on *Sing!* from *A Chorus Line*. Artie loses his virginity to Brittany, but is later informed by a very jealous Santana that Brittany was using him for his voice and dissolves their partnership. Brittany apologises, but Artie does not accept the apology and declines Brittany's invitation to Breadstix, so she sadly goes alone.

When Sam has a slushie thrown in his face by bullies, Ash helps him to clean up. He asks her why she is in Glee Club and she says that the club were there for her last year and that they are her family. Later, he asks her to be his partner for the duet competition. He tries to kiss her when they're looking into each others eyes intensely. Ash panics and runs off, telling him she can't do the duet. She sings *What You Waiting For?* as she runs away. Finding Finn she tells him to help Sam find a new duet partner because she isn't doing it. Finn and Rachel connivingly persuade Quinn to be Sam's new partner.

Rachel and Finn, dressed as a schoolgirl and a priest, respectively, in an intentionally offensive move, performs *With You I'm Born Again*, hoping to damage their own chance of winning the competition. Sam and Quinn sing *Lucky*. All of the club members vote for themselves, except Finn and Rachel, who vote for Sam and Quinn, ensuring that they win the competition. Over dinner at Breadstix, they form a friendship, and Quinn tells Sam that he should pay, as that is the proper thing for a gentleman to do on what has become their first date.

As the scene at Breadstix ends, Brittany is by herself, nosing a meatball across a plate ala *Lady and the Tramp*. Noticing that Kurt is lonely, Rachel tells him how much the club members value him and asks him to duet with her for fun. The episode ends with them singing the famous Judy Garland/Barbra Streisand mash-up of *Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy in a content mood in front of the rest of the New Directions.*

## Cast

### Guest Stars

* Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang
* Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans
* James Earl III as Azimio Adams
* Max Adler as Dave Karofsky

### Co-Stars

* Jean Sincere as Librarian
* Jonathan Wolf as Guy

## Trivia

* *What You Waiting For?* and *Le Jazz Hot* are the only songs featured that aren't sung as duets.
* Kevin says his favourite dance was Mike Chang's in *Sing!*.
* Naya and Amber said their favourite number they've done together is *River Deep, Mountain High*.
* When Mercedes votes, she spells Santana's name as "Satan" making reference to Santana's mean nature. This is done again in Prom Queen, in which Kurt actually calls Santana "Satan" before correcting himself ("Go with God, Satan!... Santana.").
* Puck is absent in this episode, as he is in juvie.
* "Viewing Party", an episode of "The Office", which aired a month later, was centred around the characters gathering at the home of a co-worker to watch this episode; Kevin McHale had appeared on the show as a pizza boy in "Launch Party", where Michael - who at one point in "Viewing Party" states that "the invalid" is his favourite character - keeps him hostage after he refuses to honour a coupon.
* The use of the term "scissoring" - a reference to a sexual position utilised by lesbian couples - marked a first in American network television, as well as the first time such a term had been used in a series with a wide family viewership. Its utterance garnered international media attention in publications such as the UK's Daily Mail.
* Chris Colfer said that Happy Days Are Here Again/Get Happy was the hardest song he ever had to lip-sync and they kept messing up the words during filming because many sentences are repeated only with different endings.
* When Santana and Artie are talking in the cafeteria, Dominic Barnes is seen behind them as a student at WMHS. He currently portrays Trent, a member of the Dalton Academy Warblers.
* This is the third episode (after Throwdown and Home) in which two duets are sung by the same two people.
* When Brittany and Santana make out, Brittany says she wants to sing Melissa Etheridge's song, *Come to My Window*, which can be interpreted as a "coming out" song, featuring lyrics like: *I don't care what they think, I don't care what they say, what do they know about this love anyway?*

## Navigation

**Season Two**Audition • Britney/Brittany • Grilled Cheesus • **Duets** • The Rocky Horror Glee Show • Never Been Kissed • The Substitute • Furt • Special Education • A Very Glee Christmas • The Sue Sylvester Shuffle • Silly Love Songs • Comeback • Blame It on the Alcohol • Sexy • Original Song • A Night of Neglect • Born This Way • Rumours • Prom Queen • Funeral • New York
**Season Three**The Purple Piano Project • I Am Unicorn • Asian F • Pot o' Gold • The First Time • Mash Off • I Kissed a Girl • Hold on to Sixteen • Extraordinary Merry Christmas • Yes/No • Michael • The Spanish Teacher • Heart • On My Way • Big Brother • Saturday Night Glee-ver • Dance with Somebody • Choke • Prom-asaurus • Props • Nationals • Goodbye
**Season Four**The New Rachel • Britney 2.0 • Makeover • The Break-Up • The Role You Were Born to Play • Glease • Dynamic Duets • Thanksgiving • Swan Song • Glee, Actually • Sadie Hawkins • Naked • Diva • I Do • Girls (and Boys) on Film • Feud • Guilty Pleasures • Shooting Star • Sweet Dreams • Lights Out • Wonder-ful • All or Nothing
**Season Five**Love, Love, Love • Tina in the Sky with Diamonds • The Quarterback • A Katy or A Gaga • The End of Twerk • Movin' Out • Puppet Master • Previously Unaired Christmas • Frenemies • Trio • City of Angels • 100 • New Directions • New New York • Bash • Tested • Opening Night • The Back-Up Plan • Old Dog, New Tricks • The Untitled Rachel Berry Project
**Season Six**Loser Like Me • Homecoming • Jagged Little Tapestry • The Hurt Locker, Part One • The Hurt Locker, Part Two • What the World Needs Now • Transitioning • A Wedding • Child Star • The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester • We Built This Glee Club • 2009 • Dreams Come True