Glee S4 Ep18 – Shooting Star

Beiste and Will: 

Besties Shannon and Will sit down to a romantic dinner – in the boy’s locker room – complete with pasta boiled in the hot tub and candles. She’s taken his week’s lesson about saying what you need to say before it’s too late and so, she’d like him to know she wants them to date, since they are both single. Will is touched but stops her in her tracks – as a matter of fact, he’s not single. He and Emma have worked things out and are dating again. Beiste is upset and runs away even as Will tries to stop her.

Later, Will shows what a good friend he is; he shows Shannon her profile on a dating site. Now others might be insulted, but Will knows his bestie and has created the perfect representation of Coach Beiste! Look, she’s already got a hit! It’s…Ken Tanaka. Former McKinley Football Coach and Emma’s ex. Um…no.

Glee Club and Gunshots:

Will brings Beiste into the choir room for today’s rehearsal. He starts the lesson and claps his hands – as a loud noise sounds outside the room. Everyone is confused – until a second sound is heard. It’s a gunshot.

Shannon and Will go into action, getting the kids to the ground and into the corners, shutting the light and locking the door. After pushing the piano towards the door and dropping the metronome, Blaine gets Artie out of his wheelchair and to the floor (it’s a stark reminder of Artie’s vulnerability in an emergency – even surrounded by people who care). The kids cry and shake, terrified. We quickly learn that Brittany is in the bathroom.

The hallways are chaos. Kids are running and screaming, trying to escape the school. Then suddenly – silence. Empty halls, dripping faucets. The terrified breathing of the New Directioners hiding in the dark. The only soundtrack is the ticking metronome in the center of the room. Will tells the kids to start texting and tweeting, but not to give away their location. The kids continue to huddle in tiny groups, audibly sobbing as Will reassures them with an “I love you guys.”

Someone runs down the hall. The locked doors rattle as if someone is trying to get in. A door slams and the kids jump. It’s terrifying.

Sam suddenly moves from the corner where he was with Unique and Ryder, crawling across the floor. Brittany’s out there, he has to get to her. Will pushes him to the ground with Artie and Blaine to keep him out of harm’s way. Blaine whispers that Tina isn’t there either…

In an abandoned locker room, a shower runs. The bathroom adjoining in shows us where Brittany is: she stands on the toilet, crying. There are many stellar performances in this episode, but Heather Morris should be singled out for doing so much without words. Her fear is palpable and heartbreaking.

Marley texts frantically as she cowers next to Kitty and Jake. Her mother is in the cafeteria and there’s only one way out. She grows more and more hysterical as her mother doesn’t respond. We cut to a buzzing phone, sitting among boiling pots and cut up food. In the corner sits Mrs. Rose, frozen and unmoving as she hides and cries.

“No one is going to hurt your mom,” Kitty whispers tearfully, trying to console Marley, “Everyone likes her.”

Marley’s distress pushes Kitty over the edge. She confesses to altering Marley’s costume’s during Grease to make her think she was fat. The two girls embrace and cry, then Kitty becomes distraught and she fights to get up. She runs across the room and ends up in Unique’s arms.

Everything is ratcheted up as the kids start to lose it. Sam jumps up and once again tries to leave the room. This time, he can’t be stopped and he pushes past Shannon and Will. But they hold onto him tightly, covering his mouth as he starts to shout. They beg him to stop, because he’s putting people’s lives in danger. “Look at them,” Will says as the kids sob and hide their faces.

Sam drops to the floor again, in shock and all the fight knocked out of him. It’s an excellent performance by Chord Overstreet.

Outside, Figgins ushers kids into waiting school buses as a frantic Tina follows him. She has to get back inside – her friends are in there. He refuses and Tina sobs as he walks away.

The scene switches as Artie begins recording Blaine. If they don’t get out of here, people need to know what happened. Blaine can’t speak and hides his face. Ryder records a tearful message to his father, thanking him for everything. Marley tells her mom about a secret hiding spot for her journal – songs she’s written that she’s never shown anyone. Jake tells his mom and Puck that he loves them. Blaine whispers for Artie to turn it off and Sam pushes the phone away.

In the bathroom, Brittany continues to hide, barely breathing as she listens to the drips of water echoing through the room. A door opens and she hears someone enter. It’s a heart-stopping moment as Brittany stops breathing as a person walks by. She leans back, resigned to being found. But it’s Mr. Shue, and when he says her name, she lets out a breath and runs into his arms. A second later, two more stall door opens and students walk out. They were also hiding in the silence.

Ryder makes a decision. He’s calling Katie. If this is his last moment, he needs to talk to her. Ryder dials her number…and a phone in the choir room rings. It’s coming from a backpack left on a chair. Everyone just stares as the ringing continues. The sound starts to freak everyone out and they beg him to hang up.

“Katie” is in Glee Club.

Will leads Brittany and the two students through the hallway. A S.W.A.T. officer waves them into the choir room as Shannon opens the door. Britt runs into Sam’s arms and suddenly the call is heard.

All Clear.

The lights come on and the students stand up. They cry and embrace each other, finally ending in a big circle, arms wrapped around each other. They exchange shaky “I love yous.” There can not be enough said for the acting in this sequence by the entire cast. The fear and stress and powerlessness are conveyed in words, sobs, breathing, and body language – it’s haunting. When Mr. Shue walks over to stop the metronome, it’s like we can all take a breath.