Glee S4 Ep19 – Sweet Dreams

He brings that lack of cheer to Glee Club as he begins his “Dreams” rehearsal. Blaine politely informs him that the group got together – sans him – and came up with a different set list. Unsurprisingly, Will doesn’t take rebellion well, not even when delivered respectfully. He goes after Sam’s “twin” shenanigans, Unique’s concern over her breasts, and Blaine’s rogue leadership in a series of barbs then storms out to get coffee. And when he gets back, they better be ready to sing his crappy song selections, by golly!

In the hallway, Will pauses in mid angry flounce to sigh and lean against the wall. Yeah. That wasn’t handled the right way.

At NYADA, Rachel is mildly terrorizing a pianist for rehearsal when Shelby appears! Seems Rachel has begun posting on Facebook as Babs herself and Shelby figured something was up. And while her own dreams changed – she’ll never be the star of Funny Girl – she loves her life raising little Beth and running Broadway Day Care (Fame for toddlers). Right now? Shelby wants to help Rachel with her audition.

Her biggest advice – don’t sing Barbra. Rachel protests, but Shelby is firm on this one. She can’t be a carbon copy. She has to be the kind of person who will put her own stamp on the role. Rachel has to show them she’s an original.

So Mom and Daughter knock out “Next To Me” by Emeli Sande, because they sound awesome together and why in the world would you bring Idina Menzel back unless she was belting a number? Exactly.

Frat party! On drums and vocals: Puck and Finn, rocking the crowd with the Beastie Boys’ “Fight For Your Right (to Party).” They are a super huge hit, elevating the party to a raucous frenzy. So big a hit, in fact, that the house president and his dudebro can’t contain their excitement. How would the dynamic duo like to join the fraternity (mid-year! no hazing!)? Like a college fever dream come true, Finn and Puck accept to much chest bumping and high fiving.

College is the best thing ever.

On a darkened stage, Blaine and Unique (he’s getting a rundown on her breast enhancement routine), and “Evan” arrive. Blaine directs “Evan” behind the curtain where Sam is, and the quick change is completed. Just in time, too, because Marley and Brad have arrived at the piano. Seems she’s written a song and she wants to hear it out loud. And sung by Blaine, Sam, and Unique – because she saw how upset they were after Mr. Schue’s outburst and she wanted to make them feel better.

“You Have More Friends Than You Know” – actually written by Mervyn Warren and Jeff Marx – reminds one of the old 80s hit “That’s What Friends Are For,” and like that song, it relies heavily on the emotional resonance of the singers. This foursome sounds lovely together so it works quite nicely. It seems entirely the type of song a nice girl writes for her equally nice friends when they need a boost and a musical hug.

The kids love the song and want to bring Marley’s talent to Mr. Schue’s attention, but as Marley points out – he doesn’t seem too interested in hearing from them. Conveniently, Will is standing in the wings, having heard both their song and conversation. Judging from his expression, he feels pretty crappy.

Back at U of Lima, Finn has stopped partying long enough to answer a call from Rachel. The formerly engaged love birds swap chit chat – he apologizes for punching Brody, she’s cool. Maybe next time he comes to assault her gigolo ex, he can stick around? It’s a date! Finn loves college and Rachel thinks that’s terrific, but hey, let’s talk about her audition! He gives her a pep talk about going back to the roots of her passion – that’s where she’ll find her magic and that’s how she’ll ace this audition.

Rachel brings the big guns to her audition – imaginary versions of real friends!

At the audition, an opera singer is trying the patience of the casting folks. Next up? Rachel Berry!

She’s singing a classic…”Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey, and the iconic Glee song. These are her roots, where she found her voice, and in the middle of the song, the lights come up behind her and Rachel’s imagination brings the original five back to life. Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina back her up with Finn on the drums and Artie on guitar – and Rachel finds her passion as she belts out the number for the now-interested producers.

When the song ends, she’s alone. And when the producer asks what got into her in the middle of the song, she talks about her friends. If they hadn’t believed in her, she wouldn’t be there, at this moment, trying to achieve her dreams. It’s a nice gift to long-time fans of the show, and a good way to move the Rachel Berry story to the next level.

Puck plays both bad influence and Yoda to Finn at college.

Finn, meantime, has lost the thread about the purpose of college. Puck finds him sleeping instead of in class – seems like the future teacher of America has missed another test. He doesn’t seem too worried, but hey, he’s late to meet a dudebro for more fun! No – Puck isn’t hearing that. Does Finn want to be a mediocre student and a crappy teacher? They can’t skate anymore – this is adulthood and they shouldn’t keep being the screw ups people assume them to be. Time to show everyone what they can do. So he’s going to stay at college and write his screenplay, while keeping on Finn to make sure he becomes the best teacher ever. They high five it out and Puck once again shows us he’s more than a sketchy haircut. Way more.