It's the moment we've all been waiting for. New Directions has landed..In New York! It's taken them two years but they've finally made it to Nationals in New York City. While Schue is off being a crappy teacher and chaperon fulfilling his Broadway dreams or whatver, he locks the kids in their hotel rooms to work on their songs for the competition. While their being cooped us brings us the gem My Cup in which Brittany sings about..a cup (or is she ;) I can't help but notice the lyrics that were edited out.) Yeah right Schue. They're in New York City for the first time. Cue the sightseeing singalongs! The kids take on the city singing to an odd mashup of New York, New York, I Love New York. I almost didn't recognize the song at first. The biggest stand out for me was the cast prancing around a fountain. I kept worrying Artie would roll right into the water.
Schue's shining (and I say this generously) moment of the night has him singing Still Got Tonight on a Broadway stage. Even if as an Idol fan I should love it because Kris Allen had a hand in it, I'm not feelin it. It feels almost like product placement for Matthew Morrison's album. Schue is still hiding this from the kids and he gets an unpleasant surprise when Dustin meets him at the bar. Dustin plays nice for about 5 minutes but then tells the kids Schue's real intentions while being in New York. Schue doesn't want their focus to be ruined so he tells them he won't be leaving them. I kept waiting for the moment when he'd tell them the truth but he never does. So, what was the point then?
The boys encourage Finn to address the "Jewish Elephant in the room" and ask Rachel out on a date. Super romantic and cheesy. I love it. The cheesier the better. This is New York after all. Finn and Rachel get all dolled up and go for a romantic stroll around Central Park while the guys walk behind them singing Bella Note. Apparently no one can see them. Trippy. They have dinner where Rachel encounters Broadway royalty and meets Patti Lupone. Finn leans in for a kiss from Rachel but she refuses and leaves. Good for you girl! Rachel and Kurt have some rare BFF scenes together. It's one of the first times I'm loving Kurt this season. Make him nice all the time! They have breakfast at Tiffany's where Rachel announces plans to move to New York for college. Kurt is all set to go with her. Yay! I smell a spin off! Or at least a season four without a crappy new cast. Get on it Ryan Murphy! The two of them sneak into the famed theater that houses Wicked and perform a duet of For Good.
Quinn has a moment of pure CRAZY this episode. Has a bit of a screaming match with Santana and Brittany over Finn. Then she gets a bob haircut and everything is all better. What? What happened to her big plans? Disappointed. Is she going to have a breakdown soon or what? It seems imminent. And it would make a great storyline.
It's time for the competition. First up is an all girls choir singing Usher's Yeah. Eek. This is horrible. Rachel goes to the bathroom and finds Charice throwing up. Oh, hello there Charice. She's so nervous she wants to be deported. Rachel encourages her to make up for sending her to a crackhouse. I'm not sure that makes them even. But it works on Sunshine's confidence and she kicks butt with Vocal Adrenaline once more by singing As Long As You're There.
It's time for New Directions. They sing next with a duet between Rachel and Finn called Pretending. Finn confronts Rachel before they start about not having feelings for him but she says he's wrong. She loves him but she loves her dream more. They sing and it's lovely and all but it ends with them kissing. The crowd is stunned because apparently they've never seen anyone kiss before and no one claps. Jesse (who shows up halfway through) asks Schue if it was scripted. They launch into their second song (Light Up The World) and it's much better than the first. Applause all around. Jesse tells off Finn for being unprofessional on stage. In his opinion, the judges will agree. It turns out Jesse is right. New Directions does not make the top 10. They go back home to Ohio without the glory they had hoped for.
Back home, after everyone is through freezing out Finn and Rachel for costing them the championship, it seems as if everyone is declaring their love. While Kurt tells Blaine all about his trip, Blaine just stares at him and tells him he loves him. Kurt loves him too! Brittany and Santana love each other! And what's this? Samcedes is actually happening? Season 3 could be very interesting.
Funniest Quotes of the Night:
Dustin: Your kids look like they haven't been baked properly.
Puck: One of those romantic comedies where you grow a vagina if you watch it all the way through.
