Glee Season 2 Episode 19 is a special extended episode, running for 90 minutes. Born This Way is a tribute to Lady Gaga’s song of the same name. Will sees his Glee Club kids struggling with body issues and self esteem. Can he help them feel better about themselves and improve their self confidence?
Glee Episodes Review
During one of New Directions practice sessions, Finn proves how bad he is at dancing and hits Rachel in the face, breaking her nose. She’s told that it could be a good time to fix her deviated septum, but Rachel is concerned that it could affect her singing voice. The doctor reassures her and tells her that it is just a myth.
Rachel shares her desire to have the surgery with the Glee Club and Will Schuester tells her that it is risky. Rachel tells him that she is happy with the way she looks but would like to have a much more demure nose, like Quinn’s. Santana gives us all a reality check by saying that everyone has something about their body that they would like to change.
Will discusses the insecurities of his students with Emma and wants them to love themselves for who they are. As Will helps Emma scrub grapes (she has OCD), he suggests she tries to resolve her OCD. She tells Will that though she may not have been born this way, this is her life and she accepts it. Her comments inspire Will who uses Lady Gaga to teach the members of the Glee Club to accept themselves.
Santana is desperate to be the prom queen and feels that this will help her to win Brittany back. The trouble is, she needs to get some help from the influential students in McKinley High to help her get the votes. She decides that the jocks would really help her and that Karovsky is the most influential and the best to have on her side. Whilst she’s having coffee with Kurt, Blaine and Mercedes she realizes that if she can convince Kurt to return to McKinley then she will be seen as a hero and get more votes.
In the auditorium, Will is teaching everyone about acceptance. Mercedes points out that they do all accept each other, but will tells her that whilst that is good, they need to accept themselves in order to be truly happy and comfortable. He’s decided they will be performing “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. Emma has helped them with the costumes and they will each be wearing a white t-shirt with a word or phrase on it of something they are either ashamed of or cannot change. Emma’s t-shirt has Ginger written on it.
Lauren is walking down the hall, eying up the prom queen tiara and is told by Puck that they aren’t real jewels. She reveals that she hasn’t had a tiara on her head since she won a pageant as a toddler. She’s started to grow since then and discovered she loved chips and no longer “looked the part”. Puck tells her he’ll help her achieve her dream.
Rachel takes Quinn along with her for her surgery because she would like a nose like Quinn’s. Rachel is hesitant about undertaking surgery and would like to see what she’ll look like afterwards before she agrees to the surgery. For their Glee Club assignment, they sign “Unpretty” together. Quinn talks to Lauren about her desire to be prom queen and tells he it could cause her to be even more of an outcast as people will think it’s a joke. Lauren defiantly tells Quinn to “bring it on”.
Over coffee, Santana tells Karovsky that she knows he is gay to which he gets very defensive. He listens though as Santana tells him that she plays for the same team and that they need to be each others beard. They will date, run for prom king and queen and be the stars of the school when they win.
Elsewhere, Finn is upset that Rachel is being helped by Quinn to change her nose. Quinn points out to Finn that they always seem to be fighting about Rachel when he is actually dating her. He points out that Mr Schuester has a point in his lesson this week on self esteem but Quinn really doesn’t seem to agree with this weeks lesson.
Rachel takes some photo’s of what she’ll look like after the nose job and shares them with the Glee Club. Tina tells Rachel that no one agrees with her on her decision and that she feels her Asian beauty now because of Rachel. Finn, much to Quinn’s annoyance and dismay, tells Rachel she’s beautiful how she is and shouldn’t do it, but Rachel has made up her mind and wants to get the nose job done.
Meanwhile, Will tells Emma that her she copped out with her Ginger t-shirt and she needs to embrace her OCD if she is going to teach the kids to accept themselves. He comes to the realization that Emma is a master of deflection and hiding her problems. Karovsky arrives, brought by Principal Figgins at the Glee Club to apologize to everyone. He gives Santana the credit for helping him to realize he was wrong and that people don’t like to be bullied. She tells them that she doesn’t think the Glee Club is complete without Kurt and so she’s rehabilitated Dave and that she’s started a new club called “The Bully Whips” to stop bullying in the halls. Karovsky says he wants to make amends with Kurt.
Quite naturally, Kurt’s dad does not believe Karovsky’s apology is genuine. Karovsky’s dad says to Mr Hummell that whilst he didn’t believe his own son at the time of the incident, he does now believe him and believes that he has changed. Kurt talks to Karovsky along and gets the truth out of him about Santana’s plan. Kurt thinks about it for a moment and agrees to return on the condition that they start a chapter of PFLAG (Parents and Friends Of Lesbians And Gays) at McKinley High. He doesn’t want Karovsky to come out, but does want him to be educated.
Puck follows Rachel in to the women’s bathroom to discuss her nose job and tells her that her nose has been passed down through the generations in her family and he wants her to give him just one hour so he can show her something.
Kurt is celebrating his return to McKinley High and is surprised when Mercedes arranges for Blaine and the Warblers to big him goodbye with the Keane song, “Somewhere Only We Know” which makes Kurt break down and cry. During Glee Club practice, Kurt performs a song.
Lauren calls Quinn Lucy as she confronts her in the hallways, wanting to speak to her in private. Lauren has been digging through Quinn’s personal record in the school office and has found out that Quinn came to McKinley High from another school, which Quinn says is no secret.
Lauren continues with the shocking news and says that her previous school had no record of a “Quinn Fabray”, but did have a “Lucy Q. Fabray” on their books. Lucy looked remarkably like Quinn, but much heavier and with a much bigger nose. It turns out Quinn stopped using her original first name because she was being called Lucy Caboosey by the other kids. Lauren has made up some posters with Quinn’s old photo’s on it and put them up across the school.
At the mall, Kurt is waiting for Rachel to arrive with Puck who tells her that in-spite of her nose, Barbara Steisand has great fame and power and that by going through with the nose job is insulting the legend that is Barbara. A flash mob dance breaks out in the mall to “Barbara Steisand”.
Emma decides she needs counseling for her OCD and goes to see someone. She spends so much time disinfecting the chair she is to sit on she has very little time to discuss her problem. The counselor tells her that she has a serious case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and it is really keeping Emma from being who she is supposed to (and wants) to be. Emma confesses to being ashamed about her problem and is prescribed a drug to help her with it. She’s scheduled to return in a week for another appointment. After a struggle with her conscience, Emma takes a dose of her medication.
Lauren’s smear campaign against Quinn backfired on her because the old school photo’s actually inspired people within the school. Quinn confesses she admires Lauren for being able to walk around and own the school without having to create a new identity.
Brittany and Santana show each other their Glee t-shirts. Brittany’s says, “I’m with Stoopid” whilst Santana’s says “Bitch”. Brittany shows Santana another t-shirt she had made which says “Lebanese” but was actually meant to say “Lesbian”. Santana turns it down and finds out that Brittany is disgusted by Santana’s new relationship with Karovsky.
Santana is still very hurt by Brittany’s rejection when she told her she loved her, but Brittany says that if she really did love her, she’d wear the t-shirt and dance with her.
Mr Schuester reveals his t-shirt which says, “Butt Chin” and Rachel shows up to tell everyone she canceled her appointment but can’t dance until her nose heals.
The Glee Club perform “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga together, though Santana isn’t performing and watches from the audience.
