Glee Season 4 Big 4 Pivotal Performance Moments!

Relationships dissolved into tears (mostly from the viewers).

As we tick down to the premiere of Glee’s 5th season (Thursday, September 26th, 9pm EST), let’s take a look back at our pick for 4 of the pivotal musical moments of Season 4 – moments of impact that changed the course of things for some of our favorite characters!

1. Relationships took a beating during season 4. At the end of the day, only two of the four big “ships” had made it through the Valley of Relationship Fire and Tears – Will and Emma got married during the final episode of the season, and Kurt and Blaine seemed close to getting back on track. But Santana and Brittany were over and done with, and unfortunately – due to the real life passing of Cory Monteith – Finchel will never have their happy ending.

We should have seen it coming – Brittany made it possible for Santana to go away to college, Blaine encouraged Kurt to follow his dreams, even after the NYADA rejection, Finn put Rachel on the train (at the end of season 3) to New York to fulfill her destiny, and Will struggled to balance his work and personal life with Emma. By the time the aptly named “The Break-Up” occurred, we were braced for the worse.

As the couples struggled with their sadness, they all wished to go “back to the start.” Some of them managed to do that, but some did not.

2. Rachel struggled some in New York – her boozy dance teacher seemed to have it in for her, her new boyfriend Brody seemed perfect until it all went terribly wrong and she even went up against her bestie and roommate Kurt in a sing-off! It was a tough road but Rachel seemed to learn some valuable lessons about who she is and what she wants. And that means a role on Broadway. In a special moment, Rachel calls upon her Glee Club roots and imagines the original New Directions (Tina, Artie, Mercedes, Kurt and Finn) backing her up as she auditions for her big break.

3. Kurt’s year was one of highs and lows. He didn’t get accepted to NYADA but he managed to land a plum job as an intern for Vogue.com. After breaking up with Blaine – and surviving a bad patch – they became friends again – and then some! He asked a boy out for coffee, joined a Glee Club and beat Rachel in Midnight Madness. His dad survived a brush with cancer. But his crowning moment of the year was a heartfelt performance for the NYADA elite, which earned him a spot at the school and the respect of his peers.

4. With their Teenage Dream romance broken by Blaine’s cheating, Kurt and Blaine struggled with their new relationship. Best friends? Occasional lovers? After a hook-up at Will and Emma’s “not” wedding, Kurt returned to New York and tried to move on. But while snowed in at the loft, movie night turned into something bigger for Kurt. He daydreamed an emotional fantasy of he and Blaine singing what would have been their wedding song…proof, perhaps, that he wasn’t quite done with thinking about “forever” with Blaine.