New York

**New York** is the twenty-second and final episode of *Glee*'s second season and the forty-fourth episode overall. It premiered on May 24, 2011.

As the Glee Club season settles towards the end of the year, the New Directions have finally stepped foot into New York. They prepare to write original songs but New York prys and distracts them, but eventually gives them more passion. Will struggles to decide whether to choose Broadway or the New Directions, Quinn hits rock bottom, Finn chases after Rachel once more, Rachel decides between New York and Finn, and the New Directions perform at Nationals.

The episode was written and directed by Brad Falchuk.

## Plot

As a montage of striking images of New York City wash over her to the strains of George Gershwin's *Rhapsody in Blue*, Rachel stands at the center of Times Square and takes it all in: "I made it!"

The New Directions are thrilled to have made it to the top of the show choir heap and are eager to explore the city, though Finn reminds them that they still have two original songs to write. But before they buckle down, they share a lyric from New York, New York's *New York, New York*. As they check into their hotel, Finn and Rachel discuss how Quinn is taking her breakup with Finn unexpectedly well, while Puck and Ash try to score Manhattans at the bar until Will catches them and calls an emergency group meeting. He says that they need to be locked down until they finish their new compositions before he slips away to pursue his own Broadway agenda.

After her leaves, Brittany writes *My Cup* and sings it with Artie. Puck and Quinn say the hotel room has no inspiration for them and believe they should go outside and let New York write the song for them. Everyone eventually agrees and they visit various sites in New York, singing *I Love New York/New York, New York*. Meanwhile, Will visits the theater of April's musical *Crossrhodes: The April Rhodes Story* and sings *Still Got Tonight* on the stage. The director for April's show hears Will's singing and tells him that he has the talent to make it big.

Back at the hotel, the New Directions girls and Kurt are having a pillow fight while Rachel tries to write a song for Nationals. Meanwhile the boys are discussing Finn and Rachel, telling Finn to take her out while they are in New York. Rachel eventually receives a text from Finn and meets him on Bow Bridge in Central Park. They go to Sardi's and see Patti LuPone. Rachel musters her courage to talk to her and in doing so receives praise from Ms. LuPone as she was also in a show choir when she was younger. She also makes a remark to Rachel, calling Finn "cute." After the date as Finn and Rachel walk back to the hotel, the New Directions boys follow them singing *Bella Notte*. Near the end, Finn tries to kiss Rachel but Rachel tells him that she can't.

Kurt wakes Rachel up the next day in order to have breakfast at Tiffany's. Rachel and Kurt discuss their futures; Rachel wants to go to college in New York, as does Kurt who reveals that Blaine also would be there. Rachel, however, is worried about Finn and unable to decide on what to do. To help her decide, Kurt pulls Rachel to the Gershwin Theater were *Wicked* is playing. They sneak inside and perform *For Good* together. Rachel decides what she wants.

Santana and Brittany are standing outside the bathroom trying to get Quinn to come out so that Santana can re-pencil her eyebrows back on. Once Quinn comes out, she tells them that she is going to tell Will that Rachel and Kurt keep sneaking off. Santana and Brittnay manage to convince her to not do that. Santana tells Quinn that she understands that she is upset because Finn dumped her, but that she needs to get over it so that they can concentrate on winning Nationals. Quinn then angrily tells them that she doesn't care about a stupid show choir competition. However, Santana tells her that Glee Club is something they can all be proud of. Quinn then starts to tear up and says that every girl member of the Glee Club has love except her. She then bursts into tears and Santana and Brittany immediately feel guilty for giving her a hard time because they didn't realize how much the breakup had affected Quinn. They then comfort Quinn and Santana tells her to get a new haircut because it will make her feel better. Brittany agrees with this.

The day before Nationals, Will sees Dustin Goolsby, the coach of Vocal Adrenaline, who reveals that he knows all about Will leaving to join April's show. Dustin suggests that Will doesn't tell his Glee kids or they'll lose their confidence. However, when Will returns to the hotel room he finds out that Dustin has already told them. Upon hearing this, Will proclaims that he's there to stay with them forever.

At Nationals, Rachel sees Sunshine in the bathroom after hearing her throwing up. Sunshine reveals she's nervous and asks why Rachel is so mean and hateful towards her when she thought that the New Directions were a group where everyone was safe. Rachel reveals that she felt threatened by Sunshine's talent. Sunshine tells Rachel that she's heading to the Philippine Embassy to have her green card revoked and plans on returning home since she believes it's the only way she can escape Vocal Adrenaline. Rachel, however, tells her to reconsider and perform since she has a gift, finally settling their rivalry.

Will and Dustin meet at the souvenir stand. Dustin explains that he sends shirts to every team they beat at Nationals. Will purchases a shirt, telling Dustin that when New Directions wins, he should expect a shirt from them.

As Singaz Wit Attitude performs *Yeah!*, various members from New Directions comment on their talents. The second team to perform is Vocal Adrenaline, but Sunshine is nervous and can't stand to sing. Rachel gives her a thumbs up and Sunshine gains her confidence and sings *As Long As You're There* while the rest of Vocal Adrenaline dance behind her.

New Directions get ready to perform backstage. Before they perform, Rachel congratulates Finn on the song he wrote and Finn reveals that he loves Rachel. She tells Finn she loves him, but wants to focus on her dreams. Rachel and Finn perform *Pretending* while Jesse appears and sits next to Will saying he couldn't stay away. Will asks him if he's here for New Directions or Rachel, to which Jesse doesn't reply. After the song, Finn and Rachel are so overcome by emotion that they kiss on stage, to which the audience responds in silence. Jesse asks Will if the kiss was scripted, who confirms it wasn't.

After a few moments pass, Will starts clapping and the audience join him tentatively. New Directions then perform *Light Up the World*. They receive a standing ovation after their performance.

Outside the theater the New Directions group together wondering how they did. Rachel and Finn talk about the kiss, with Finn calling it "the kiss of the century." Jesse comes over and angrily tells Finn that their "unprofessional" kiss will cost them Nationals then compliments Rachel. Kurt reveals that the results are posted. The Top 10 move on to the final round. Will bravely agrees to check the list and sees that Vocal Adrenaline placed in the Top 10. The New Directions, however, are not on the list, meaning they do not proceed to the next round. Everyone shares a moment of silence and sadness.

Back in Lima, Kurt tells Blaine that when they got back to the hotel that Santana lost it. However Kurt isn't upset, as he's had a "pretty good year." Blaine watches Kurt the whole time with a smitten look on his face when he finishes speaking, he tells Kurt for the first time that he loves him. Kurt looks at him, surprise, after her finishes taking a drink he says "I love you, too." Ash and Sam then come up to Kurt and Blaine to say hello before joining the queue. Ash asks "Do you think they know?" to which Sam replies, "No, but I don't know why we have to keep this a secret." Ash then tells him that they don't have to keep it a secret forever and that she just doesn't want to rub their new relationship in Puck's face. She then quickly looks around to make sure no one is watching them before leaning up and kissing him.

At McKinley, Brittany and Santana discuss the future. Santana, who believes that Finn and Rachel's kiss cost them Nationals, shows Brittany a voodoo doll of Rachel. When asked why she isn't upset, Brittany says that the Glee Club is her family and that she wants to stay with them forever. She then tells Santana that she loves her more than she's ever loved anyone in the world, and because of that, "anything can happen." They share an intense hug and Santana tells Brittany that she is her best friend. Elsewhere in the school, Emma congratulates Will on coming 12th, even hanging a banner. Will thanks her and is humoured by the banter.

Meanwhile, Rachel and Finn discuss their relationship in the library. They each think that everyone hates them. Rachel asks Finn if kissing her was worth it, to which he responds, "Yeah." She also agrees with him. Rachel then tells Finn that when she graduates she's going to college in New York. But Finn points out that graduation is still a year away and they have time. They kiss, signigying they are back together, and then head to the final Glee Club meeting of the year together, where everyone is waiting for them. Will shows the group the tiny trophy they won which receives a large mock ovation from the group. They all cheer and hug as the camera focuses out of the choir room, the episode and the season comes to an end.

## Cast

### Special Guest Stars

* Jonathan Groff as Jesse St. James
* Cheyenne Jackson as Dustin Goolsby

### Guest Stars

* Charice as Sunshine Corazon
* Mike Starr as Usher
* Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang
* Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans
* Darren Criss as Blaine Anderson

### Co-Stars

* Sue Jean Kin as Clerk
* Michael Mandell as Mo
* Stacey Sargeant as Barmaid
* Don Stephenson as Hotel Manager

## Trivia

* A majority of this episode was shot on location in New York City. The cast and crew were even welcomed with open arms by Mayor Michael Bloomberg himself. The only scene taking place in New York not shot on location was when Will sings *Still Got Tonight*, which was shot in an abandoned theater in San Francisco.
* Matthew became the first cast member to perform a song from his own album.
* Partial details on the Will and Emma scene were revealed, the scene confirmed that they are both in fact single and that Emma is in fact getting better with some hinted "Hot Action" (assumed to be a kiss)
* According to pre-release images, Carole had some part in the New York scenes. However, she did not appear in the final cut of the episode. Her scenes may have also been cut.
* Second Glee competiton where the judges are not introduced (first was in Special Education)
* This is the most expensive episode, costing $6 million.
* Quinn yelling "I don't care about some stupid show choir competition" foreshadows the events of The Purple Piano Project, where she quits the New Directions
* During the Brittany/Santana scene, when they hug and Santana says, "You're my best friend," and Brittany says, "Me too," the original line was, "Mine too, and no matter what happens always will be."
* At the very beginning, while the camera was sweeping around Times Square, there's a playbill of *How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying* with Daniel Radcliffe. Darren Criss made his Broadway debut in *How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying* on Jan. 3rd, 2012, and his picture replaced that sign at that time.
* As the camera sweeps around Times Square a billboard for *Catch Me If You Can* is seen in the background. Matthew Morrison auditioned for the lead role in this musical, with the role ultimately going to Aaron Tveit, who was also one of the final choices for the role of Finn Hudson but was ultimately rejected by Ryan Murphy for being too good looking. Tveit was asked back for a later season but had to decline as he was busy filming *Les Miserables*. Lea Michele also auditioned for the role of Eponine in the same film.
* In this season finale, as well as the season one finale, there are similar scenes of all New Directions members (somber) in a room with pizza.
* This episode marks the last appearance of Dustin Goolsby and Sunshine Corazon on Glee.
* Quinn, Mike and Tina were the only members in New Directions to not have a solo in any song in this episode.
* This is the first and only time Mercedes doesn't sing in a competition while she's part of the club.
* The flowery top that Santana wears during the bathroom scene with Quinn and Brittany is the same top Naya Rivera wore at the Season 4 photoshoot.
* This is the last episode to credit Mike O'Malley as a series regular. From the next episode onwards he becomes a guest star again.
* This is the last episode to credit Darren Criss and Harry Shum Jr. as guest stars. From the next episode onwards they become series regulars/
* This is the last episode to credit Jessalyn Gilsig as a series regular. In Season Four and Season Six she becomes a guest star.
* This was Lea Michele's favourite episode of the whole show to shoot.
* The top ten list at Nationals included the following teams:
	+ Portland Scale Blazers
	+ Vocal Adrenaline
	+ The Waffletoots
	+ Singaz Wit Attitude
	+ Jefferson City Airplane
	+ Twelve Steps
	+ Vocal Chords
	+ Soundsplosion
	+ Teenage Scream
	+ Vocal Extreme