Season 4, Episode 7:  Dynamic Duets

Ownership of Glee:  FOX, Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk

= = =

Violet's standing in the choir room when a good majority of the glee club — dressed as superheroes — run into the choir room.

"Someone took our Nationals trophy and left that laptop in its place." She says, pointing to the laptop.

"Who leaves a laptop?" Artie asks.

"Someone rich, someone who wanted to send us a message." Brittany offers.

"I got this." Blaine says and presses the play button on a video.

There's a pixelated face holding the Nationals trophy. The person speaks with a distorted voice.

"Greetings, New Directions! You have been living as national champions on borrowed time, and that ends now. We have your trophy. Soon we'll have your title as well. The great reckoning is at hand... Sectionals. Your move."

Violet immediately recognizes who stole the the trophy.

The Dalton Academy Warblers.

= = =

Finn smiles as he walks into the choir room. "Okay, guys, sit down. We got a lot of work to do today."

There's indistinct chatter.

"No, seriously, come on, I mean it, sit down." Finn says.

People are still talking.

Violet stands next to Finn. "Hey! Close your pie holes and sit your asses down before I kick them!"

They all shut up and sit down.

Finn smiles. "Thanks. Okay, so the first order of business today is to welcome the newest members to the glee club... Ryder and Kitty."

There's cheering and applause.

Tina looks confused. "Wait, don't we all get to vote on her or something?"

"Well, Tina, Kitty was fantastic in Grease." Finn remarks.

"In spite of my god-awful part." Kitty comments.

"Besides, we're under the gun. We... we have to go to Sectionals next week and we needed a few more members." Finn answers.

Tina rolls her eyes.

"Tina, not now." Violet warns.

Finn looks a bit lost. "Uh, look, where was I? Sectionals, yes. Here's the game plan. Broke the marker. Where does Mr. Shue keep the other markers? Uh... Screw it. Uh... The theme is "Foreigner." We're gonna sing songs by Foreigner in foreign languages, wearing all the costumes of the world's nations."

"Wait, seriously, that's your idea?" Artie asks.

Finn nods. "Yeah."

"Kiki, what do you think?" Brittany asks into her phone.

"I think I'm alive and you're the machine." Kiki answers.

Blaine sighs. "Finn, times have changed. We're national champions now, which means we have to exceed all expectations, so if that's your best idea, I... I don't think we stand a chance." He says and starts to leave the choir room.

"Wait, where are you going?" Finn asks b

"I'm going to get our trophy back from the Warblers... the one you haven't even noticed is missing." Blaine answers shortly.

Violet knows that Blaine's been torn up about his and Charlie's breakup, but he's being very snappy.

= = =

The next day, Finn smiles. "Okay. So, I-I get it... my first idea was pretty bad. Worse than funk. Worse than "Night of Neglect." So... I decided to try something new... "Dynamic... Duets." This is gonna be a lot more fun, and it focuses on something you guys actually like:  Superheroes."

"Oh, so wait... are we all gonna have to wear costumes?" Marley asks.

"And who exactly are you supposed to be?" Artie asks. "The Bulge, who makes gym socks disappear?"

"Please don't melt us with your bulge." Brittany begs.

"Well, I am... the almighty Treble Clef, Uniter of Glee Clubs." Finn says.

"Jesus is the only real almighty superhero." Kitty remarks.

"Amen." Joe says.

"Nobody asked you." Kitty retorts.

"Come on, guys, let's hear him out." Ryder says.

Finn nods. "Thanks." He says. He then sighs.

"Look at the Avengers. Individually, they all have amazing powers, but... as a team, they cannot be stopped. Right now, we're a bunch of individuals with great powers and talents, but... we're not a team. Some of you even have mortal enemies in this very room, allowing the Dark Side to turn us against each other, when we should be focused on the Warblers." Finn explains.

"Nightbird is handling the missing trophy." Tina informs.

"Great." Finn says.

"Thank you, Nightbird." Brittany says.

"Jake will pair up with Ryder, Unique and Violet will pair up and Marley will join Kitty
to perform the duets. The rest of you, start preparing to fight an epic battle against the forces of evil at Sectionals." Finn instructs.

The New Directions start cheering and whooping.

= = =

Violet walks over to Unique's locker. "Hey. Do you wanna work on costumes and our song together after school?"

Unique smiles. "I would love to."

= = =

Violet walks into school the next day, wearing her superhero costume. When she walks into glee club, she gets whistles of approval from Artie and Sugar.

(I know it's the Scarlet Witch outfit from Age of Ultron, but I can technically use it since Age of Ultron wasn't released until 2015)

Finn smiles. "Wow Violet. That's awesome! Um... what-what's your superhero name?" He asks.

Violet smiles. "I'm Violet Corcoran by day. By night, I am the one and only Ember Note, because my singing will leave your heart aflame."

Finn nods in approval. "Welcome Ember Note."

Kitty rolls her eyes. "Oh please. That is the most generic costume I've ever seen."

"And you're the smallest bitch I've ever seen." Violet bites back.

Kitty doesn't have a comeback for that one.

Ryder and Jake perform 'Superman' for their assignment, but it ends up being a shoving match between the two guys.

[Superman by Ryder and Jake]

Violet smirks as she sits next to Charlie. "I'm having flashbacks to when Mercedes and Santana fought over Noah." She tells him.

Finn tries to step in. "Uh... Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, what's wrong with you guys?"

"You're not too tough now, are you?" Jake taunts Ryder.

"My goal was to bring you two together, not to have you dress up and... karate-chop each other in the face!" Finn states.

"It was a lame exercise." Ryder retorts.

"No, you know what's lame? Not winning at Sectionals. And if we don't get our act together, we're gonna lose, and then that's gonna be it. I need you two to get along." Finn tells the two boys.

"I heard you, Finn, but I don't like this guy. He's working his way through every girl at this school, and I think Marley deserves better." Ryder says.

Jake looks pissed. "You have no idea what Marley wants, or deserves."

Finn steps in between them. "Enough! Okay? Enough. Clearly, you did not take anything from my last assignment, so I'm gonna give you a new one."

"Will it also be lame?" Ryder sneers.

"Ignoring you. It's a "Kryptonite Lesson." You two think you hate each other. I think you don't understand each other. So I want you to sit in a room and tell each other your deepest fears. Only by admitting your weaknesses can you realize your strengths." Finn says.

In that moment, Violet swears that Will is talking to Jake and Ryder via Finn's body.

= = =

Violet is pulled to side by Blaine after glee club.

"Look I know you're not my biggest fan right now, but I wanted to talk to you." Blaine says.

Violet nods. "Okay. I was going to text you about how Operation:  Rescue/Recovery was going."

Blaine sighs. "Well, when I went back to Dalton, all those blazers and singing with the Warblers again..."

"Wait, wait, what, you sang with the Warblers?" Violet interrupts.

Blaine nods. "It just sort of happened. But they embraced me like I was a long-lost brother. It was like in X-Men 2, when Pyro left the X-Men to join Magneto's Brotherhood. It-it just felt right, like maybe... I belong with the Warblers."

Violet shakes her head. "Blaine no, no, no, you belong here, with us, okay? Does this have to do with Charlie?" She asks.

"Everything in this room reminds me of him. We were... a dynamic duo in here. Charlie was my anchor, Violet,  and now that he's gone, I just... I feel like I'm floating. And you, you need a team that's gonna gel." Blaine says sadly.

"Yes. Absolutely. We need a team with a lot of gel. And... you're, like, the biggest part of that. If this is about me being a bad friend the last three weeks, then I'm sorry." Violet apologizes.

Blaine sighs. "I'm sorry, Violet, but the Warblers are my birthright... and my destiny." He says and walks off.

"Blaine don't..." Violet tries. Tears fill her eyes.

She blames herself.

= = =

Marley and Kitty sing Bonnie Tyler's 'Holding Out for a Hero.'

[Holding Out for a Hero by Marley and Kitty]

After they perform, it's time for Violet and Unique's duet. They're singing 'Give It Up,' the Elizabeth Gillies and Ariana Grande version from Victorious. Unique is singing as Liz Gillies and Violet is taking the Ariana Grande part.

[Give It Up by Unique and Violet]

Everyone cheers for the two at the end. Violet and Unique hug.

Finn smiles proudly. "That was incredible. You worked so well together."

"Teamwork! Yeah!" Artie cheers.

Brittany looks a bit concerned. "You guys, I don't smell raspberry hair gel. Does anybody know where Blaine Warbler is?"

Charlie rolls his eyes. "I don't really know nor do I really care."

Violet sighs. "Uh, well, as some of you guys might know, uh, recently, Blaine has been going through a bit of a rough time..."

Tina interrupts. "Oh, boo-hoo. Get over it. It's like a bad Lifetime movie."

"...and he's decided to finish the rest of his senior year at Dalton Academy." Violet finishes.

Finn looks shocked.

Charlie looks guilty.

"He's been taken by the Dark Side." Artie comments.

= = =

Violet waits for Blaine to come out of his geography class. "Blaine wait! Please." She says.

Blaine turns around, his eyes somewhat cold. "What do you want Violet? I'm trying to go to class."

Violet is visibly upset and is starting to cry. "Do you really think leaving us for the Warblers is going to make any of this better?" She asks.

Blaine's heart breaks hearing her sad tone. "It's the best thing for me to do. Charlie won't have to suffer and you don't have to hate me anymore."

Violet lets out a soft sob. "I don't hate you Blaine. I hate what you did, but I don't hate you. I love you. You're one of my best friends. And I know I've been a pretty crappy friend, and I'm sorry. I didn't think about how your breakup would affect you, and I feel like you wanting to transfer is my fault."

Blaine lets out a few sobs of his own. "Violet don't apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I hurt Charlie." He hiccups.

Violet hugs him. "Don't leave us Blaine. Please don't leave us." She begs.

Blaine pulls away from the hug and gives her a sad look. "I'm sorry. But I don't feel wanted in New Directions anymore."

= = =

Sam walks up to Blaine at his locker the next day. "Dude, this is part of some master plan, right? You're going back to the Warblers to gather intel for us so we can kick their ass at Sectionals."

"Sam, don't. I feel awful enough as it is." Blaine says dejectedly.

He has no idea Violet and Charlie are listening in.

"Stop, okay? You've been beating yourself up for, like, weeks since you and Charlie broke up. But going back to Dalton? You told Violet it was 'cause you feel more at home there. If you ask me, it's just another way to punish yourself. And for what? What did you do, exactly?" Sam questions.

"It was a guy that friended me on Facebook. I went over to his place because it felt like Charlie was moving on with his life and I wasn't a part of it. And I got to thinking that maybe Charlie and I weren't meant for each other. That we weren't supposed to spend the rest of our lives together. But the horrible thing is, right after I did it... I knew that we were." Blaine admits.

Violet feels Charlie squeeze her hand. She squeezes it back.

"Dude, you got to tell Charlie that." Sam tells Blaine.

"What, you think I haven't told him that? You think I haven't tried?" Blaine says in a snappy tone.

"Calm down. It's okay." Sam tries.

"No, it's not okay, Sam, 'cause I cheated on the one person that I love more than anything in this world. I hurt him, so of course he's not gonna trust me. He's never gonna forgive me." Blaine laments.

Charlie feels like a part of his heart is breaking. Did he really hurt Blaine that badly?

"Even if he doesn't, you got to forgive yourself. You got to stop... What's-what's the word when you make someone into a villain?" Sam asks.

"Villainize?" Blaine offers.

Sam nods. "Yeah, you got to stop villainizing yourself. Yeah, you hurt Charlie; that wasn't cool. So you're trying to make it right. But exiling yourself to Dalton won't fix anything."

Blaine sighs. "I just want to stop feeling like I'm a bad person."

"You're not.!You're one of the good guys. And I got a whole glee club that agrees with me." Sam tells him.

"No you don't. Charlie will never agree because he hates me now. And everyone else apart from Finn and Violet feel sorry for me." Blaine assumes.

Charlie feels like dying. He doesn't hate Blaine. He still loves Blaine.

Sam sighs. "Give me a day. One day before you pack it all up. One day... to be the hero we all know you are. And then, you know, you can... decide where you really belong."

After Sam and Blaine leave, Charlie begins to cry. Violet rubs his back. "It's okay Lee. It's okay."

Charlie bites on his lip. "This is all my fault."

= = =

Blaine smiles gently at the New Directions. "I owe all of you an apology for ever doubting McKinley's my home. You guys are my home. We've got a real fight ahead of us with the Warblers at Sectionals, but I am not worried at all. Because we've got the team, we've got the talent, and... we have, most importantly, the leader."

There's cheers and applause for Finn.

Finn smiles. "Thank you."

"That's you, Finn!" Brittany cheers.

"Go put that in the case." Violet tells their leader.

"All right, all right, all right, all right, all right. Let's start with some warm-ups, and then we can..." Finn is cut off by Sam.

"Uh, Finn, wait. Can I say something? This is for you, from all of us." Sam says.

Artie smiles. "It's a superhero utility belt cleverly disguised as a fanny pack. There's some stuff in there we thought you could use."

Finn smiles. "Ah, cool, uh... Magic markers. I could never find these. Antacid." He chuckles.

"In case you get the show choir squirts." Sam says.

Finn smiles. "Thanks." He says and then pulls out a blonde Barbie doll head.

Brittany smiles. "That's from me. You're welcome."

Blaine smiles. "That's to always remind you that you're the almighty Treble Clef, the Uniter of Glee Clubs. And the Uniter of Friends."

Finn looks touched. "Wow.!Uh... I don't know what to say. I'll never let you down. I promise. Okay, come on, huddle up. All right, let's huddle up."

Brittany squeals as they huddle up.

"Next week at Sectionals, we are gonna kick some Warblers' sorry asses." Finn states.

"Yes." Violet encourages.

"And then it's Regionals, and then it's Nationals, and then this year is gonna go down in the McKinley High record books as the greatest year the New Directions has ever seen. Onwards and upwards!" Finn says and they all put their hands in.

"Amazing!"

= = =

The New Directions perform 'Some Nights' with the group dressed in red shirts and jeans.

[Some Nights by New Directions]

At the end, Finn stands up and claps for his friends. The New Directions cheer and clap for each other.

They're definitely ready for Sectionals next week!

= = =

After the performance, Charlie sees Blaine gathering his things in the choir room.

"Hey. Whatcha doing?" Charlie asks. Blaine freezes in fear.

"Um... I'm just getting my stuff together. Going home to get some proper rest." Blaine answers.

Charlie sighs as he faces Blaine's back. "Blaine... will you please look at me?"

Blaine shakes his head. "I can't." He says tearfully. "I can't face you again."

Charlie looks sad. "You don't think I wanted to just walk out of here? I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh. So now we're talking?" Blaine asks, still not facing his ex-boyfriend.

Charlie sighs. "Blaine... we're never going to move past this if we don't talk about it. You know that."

Blaine sniffles. "You didn't want to talk to me for three weeks. Why now?"

Charlie sighs. "After hearing you talk to Sam the other day, I felt like it was my fault that you wanted to transfer." He admits.

"So you were eavesdropping." Blaine states.

"Blaine that's besides the point. I've been so miserable, and I miss you. But I'm not ready to forgive you just yet." Charlie says. Blaine turns around to find Charlie is as teary as he is.

"Blaine... I don't hate you. I hate what you did. I was mad and upset and I felt like I was betrayed by the man I love. But you want to make things right, and I see that now. Maybe one day we'll be boyfriends again... but until then, can we go back to being friends? I hate not talking to you. It makes me feel like a bad guy." Charlie reveals, tears freely flowing down his cheeks.

Blaine tries to smile, but all that comes out is a sob. "I wanna be friends again, Charlie." He hiccups.

Blaine falls to his knees, crying his heart out. Charlie kneels down next to him and hugs him, crying with his ex-boyfriend.

Violet and Finn watch from their place in the doorway.

"Should we do something?" Finn asks quietly.

Violet shakes her head. "No. This is the closure that they both need."

= = =

3025 words

Songs Mentioned/Performed
1. Superman - Jake and Ryder
2. Holding Out for a Hero - Kitty and Marley
3. Give It Up - Unique and Violet
4. Some Nights - New Directions

Whew! Who else busted out the tissues with this episode?

Next update:  Thanksgiving

2 episodes to Swan Song
3 episodes to Glee Actually
4 episodes to Sadie Hawkins