Born This Way (Episode)

**Born This Way** is the eighteenth episode of *Glee's* second season and the fortieth episode overall. It premiered on April 26, 2011.

As Nationals approaches, Rachel's nose injury causes her to consider nose reconstruction. This brings the rest of the group's insecurities to the surface, and Will decides to take matters into his own hands and make it an assignment to sing about loving yourself despite your insecurities and flaws. Meanwhile, Santana hatches a plan to get Brittany back that involves getting Kurt to come back to McKinley, but the only person standing in the way is Karofsky.

The episode was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Brad Falchuk.

## Plot

During dance rehearsals for the upcoming Nationals competition Finn breaks Rachel's nose, caused by his confident, but bad, dancing. The doctor confirms this and recommends elective rhinoplasty, and Rachel considers modelling her nose after Quinn's seemingly perfect nose. Quinn seems unfazed about this, looking excited and saying that more people should ask to do this. The two perform a mash-up of *I Feel Pretty/Unpretty*. Rachel and Quinn look upset by the end of the song.

Both Finn and Puck oppose Rachel's planned transformation. Puck tries to help her accept her noase as part of her Jewish heritage and recruits Kurt Hummel, who convince her to look to her idol Barbra Streisand - someone who famously refused to succumn to pressure to surgically alter her nose. The three of them join the rest of the New Directions and a mall flash mob in performing Duck Sauce's "Barbra Streisand." In the end, Rachel decides against going through with the surgery.

[SOMETHING ABOUT ASH TAKING SAM OUT FOR HIS BIRTHDAY AND THEY PERFORM *People Like Us*]

Santana uses Rachel's broken nose as a launching point to highlight the other group members' flaws. Aiming to help them achieve self-acceptance, Will urges them to embrace their perceived flaws by printing them on T-shirts to be worn during a group performance of *Born This Way*. He also encourages Emma to confront her OCD. She visits a therapist and admits to feeling ashamed of her condition. Though she is initially reluctant to be medicated, her therapist attempts to convince her that she can be helped and prescribes a low-dose SSRI, which Emma takes, before emblazoning a T-shirt with "OCD".

Santana plans to run for Prom Queen in the hope that she can win the love of her best friend, Brittany. Already suspicious that something is up with Dave Karofsky after hearing him arguing with Kurt and Blaine over "the truth" in A Night of Neglect, she realizes he is also in the closet about his sexuality, and they make a deal to become each other's beards. Santana also devises a plan to get Kurt to return to McKinley, both to bolster the group's chance at Nationals, but also to boost her popularity in order to become Prom Queen. She claims to have rehabiliated Karofsky and together they begin an anti-bullying scene called the Bully-Whips. Karofsky issues an apology to Kurt at a group meeting.

Once Kurt transfers back to McKinley, everyone in the Glee Club warmly welcomes him. Kurt's boyfriend, Blaine, serenades him with a rendition of Keane's *Somewhere Only We Know*, backed by The Warblers, during which Kurt shares a few goodbye with the other Warblers. Once the song finishes Kurt and Blaine share a loving hug and Kurt whispers "I'm never saying goodbye to you." Blaine walks off, looking back at Kurt as he is surrounded by his old friends with a smile on his face. Upon his re-entry to New Directions, Kurt gives a solo performance of *As If We Never Said Goodbye*.

Brittany tries to help Santana embrace her lesbian identity and prints her a misspelled T-shirt reading "Lebanese." Santana refuses to join in with the Gaga performance but wears the T-shirt. The episode closes with the club embracing their identities and performing *Born This Way*, while Santana and Karofky watch from the audience. They all wear the T-shirts reflecting the traits they have learned to accept about themselves.

## Cast

### Guest Stars

* Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins
* Daniel Roebuck as Paul Karofsky
* George Wyner as Nose Doctor
* Kathleen Quinlan as Dr. Shane
* Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang
* Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans
* Darren Criss asBlaine Anderson
* Max Adler as Dave Karofsky
* James Earl III as Azimio Adams

### Co-Stars

* Dominic Barnes as Trent
* Riker Lynch as Jeff
* Titus Makin Jr. as David
* Eddy Martin as Thad
* Curt Mega as Nick Duval
* Telly Leung as Wes
* Danielle MacDonald as Girl #1
* Sabrena No'mani as Girl #2
* Kate Brochu as Girl #3
* Ryan Heinke as Stoner Brett

## Trivia

* This episode had 8.62 million viewers, making it the least watched epsiode of the season
* This is the longest episode of Glee with 24 minutes extra screen time than usual
* This episode contains the only duet to date featuring Quinn and Rachel, despite them having one of the more prominent relationships throughout the show
* This is the fifth episode which has the same name as a song featured in it (first was Home, the second was Dream On, the third was Silly Love Songs and the fourth was Blame It on the Alcohol)
* This is the second eighteenth episode of a season that involves a storyline which portrays Rachel suffering from a physical condition/injury that affects or may affect her voice. The first one is Laryngitis
* The custom made T-shirts:
	+ Artie - "Four Eyes"
	+ Ash - "Freckles"
	+ Brittany - "I'm With Stoopid" (Upwards Arrow)
	+ Emma - "OCD" (Originally "Ginger")
	+ Finn - "Can't Dance"
	+ Kurt - "Likes Boys"
	+ Mercedes - "No Weave!"
	+ Mike - "Can't Sing"
	+ Puck - "I'm With Stupid" (Downwards Arrow)
	+ Quinn - "Lucy Caboosey"
	+ Rachel - "Nose"
	+ Sam - "Trouty Mouth"
	+ Santana - "Bitch" (Hers) "Lebanese" (Brittany's for her)
	+ Tina - "Brown Eyes"
	+ Will - "Butt Chin"