Lea Michele | Glee | Season 1

"Pilot"

Former glee club star Will Schuester takes over McKinley High School's glee club in the hopes of restoring it to its former glory. He is faced with the challenge of converting a group of misfits, including fame-hungry Rachel Berry, powerhouse vocalist Mercedes Jones, flamboyant Kurt Hummel, shy Tina Cohen-Chang, and paraplegic Artie Abrams into a team of singers. When Will discovers the football quarterback Finn Hudson has a secret talent for singing, he blackmails Finn into joining the club. His friendship with colleague Ken Tanaka, the football coach, suffers when Ken discovers his crush, school guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury, has a crush on Will. Meanwhile, Will's wife Terri tells Will she is pregnant and pushes him to find a higher paying job to support his family. Will considers quitting his job and commitment to the glee club, but overhears New Directions performing "Don't Stop Believin'" so well he ends up returning, concluding he could not bear to see them win Nationals without him.

"Showmance"

The glee club must perform in front of the school for the first time in an attempt to recruit new members. The group is opposed to Will's choice of song and instead perform a provocative rendition of Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" behind Will's back. The performance is well received by the student body, but complaints from parents lead Principal Figgins to reprimand Will. Will takes a second job as a janitor and grows closer to Emma, who decides to respect that he is married and instead accepts a date with Ken. Terri discovers she is having a hysterical pregnancy, but hides the truth from Will, telling him they are having a son. Cheerleaders Santana, Brittany, and Finn's girlfriend Quinn join New Directions, recruited by coach Sue Sylvester to help bring down the club. Rachel and Finn kiss while rehearsing, but Finn chooses to return to Quinn.

"Acafellas"

Will forms an all-male a cappella group called the "Acafellas", neglecting the glee club in favor of dedicating his time to the new endeavor. After two of the Acafella members quit, Finn and his best friend Puck join. The group records an album and performs at the school PTA meeting in front of celebrity guest Josh Groban, but Will ultimately recommits to New Directions, realizing his passion is in teaching. In his absence, the club members struggle with choreography, and resist attempts at sabotage by members of the cheer squad. They briefly hire well-known choreographer Dakota Stanley, but fire him when he belittles their appearances and abilities. Mercedes harbors romantic feelings for Kurt, and is hurt when he misleads her into believing he has feelings for Rachel. Kurt later comes out as gay to Mercedes—the first time he has said it to anyone.

"Preggers"

Kurt joins the football team and admits his homosexuality to his father, Burt, who accepts him for who he is. Quinn discovers she is pregnant and tells Finn the baby is his, when the father is actually Puck. After learning of Quinn's pregnancy from Will, Terri confronts Quinn and asks questions about her prenatal care. Finn asks Will to teach the football team to dance, hoping to improve their performance and thus his chance of receiving a football scholarship. Puck, Mike Chang, and Matt Rutherford all join the glee club after the football team's win dancing to "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". This makes them a group of twelve and eligible to compete, but Sue and former glee club director Sandy Ryerson team up in an effort to bring the club down, luring away a disillusioned Rachel, who quits when Will awards a solo she wanted to Tina.

"The Rhodes Not Taken"

Will, trying to find a twelfth member in the wake of Rachel's defection to the school musical, recruits former glee club star April Rhodes, who never graduated high school. After being advised by Emma to utilize his musical talent, Finn flirts with Rachel continuously in an attempt to convince her to return, hoping having her in the club will increase his chances of gaining a music scholarship. While Finn takes Rachel bowling, they kiss briefly after Rachel bowls a strike. Although Rachel is angry when she discovers Quinn is pregnant, she ultimately rejoins the club. Will confesses to once having had a crush on April, and encourages her to sober up and pursue her dreams of performing on Broadway. The glee club performs at Invitationals, launching themselves onto the show choir competition circuit.

"Vitamin D"

Believing the glee club members are becoming complacent ahead of Sectionals, Will pits the girls against the boys for a mash-up competition. Sue renews her resolve to destroy the glee club, and she tells Terri that Emma has romantic feelings for Will. Determined to stay close to her husband, Terri takes a job as the school nurse despite having no medical qualifications. With encouragement from Terri, Ken proposes to Emma, who reluctantly accepts. Terri also gives the glee club pseudoephedrine tablets to enhance their mash-up performances. Rachel and Finn feel guilty and confess, resulting in the competition being nullified, Terri being fired, and Sue being appointed co-director of the glee club. Realizing how much her life is changing due to her pregnancy, Quinn agrees to let Terri secretly adopt her baby, enabling Terri to continue faking her pregnancy.

"Throwdown"

Will and Sue clash over the running of the glee club; Sue tries to tear the club apart by turning the students against each other, suggesting Will has been neglecting the needs of the minority students. Will retaliates by failing all of Sue's cheerleaders in Spanish class. When school reporter Jacob Ben Israel learns Quinn is pregnant, Rachel attempts to keep him from breaking the news to the rest of the school, but Sue forces him to run the story. The glee club members stage a walkout over Will and Sue's incessant arguing, and rally to support Quinn when the rest of the school learns of her pregnancy. Sue ultimately steps down as co-director. Meanwhile, Terri blackmails her obstetrician into faking a sonogram using Quinn's ultrasound DVD, reinforcing her deception to Will that she is still pregnant.

"Mash-Up"

Will attempts to create a mash-up wedding song for Emma and Ken. Ken becomes increasingly jealous of Emma's feelings for Will and tries to force the football-playing New Directions members to quit the glee club, but ultimately relents. Realizing that he has strong feelings for Emma, Will tells Emma and Ken that he will not be able to create their mash-up. Finn and Quinn find they are no longer considered popular by the rest of the student body. Rachel and Puck date briefly, but break up as they have feelings for Finn and Quinn respectively. Sue has a brief romance with local news anchor Rod Remington and temporarily makes amends with Will, until she discovers Rod is cheating on her. Returning to form, Sue removes Quinn from the cheerleading squad because of her pregnancy.

"Wheels"

The glee club holds a bake sale to raise money for a wheelchair-accessible bus so Artie can travel with them to Sectionals. Quinn struggles with the medical expenses incurred by her pregnancy and threatens to break up with Finn if he cannot pay her ultrasound bill. Sue accepts a student with Down syndrome onto the cheerleading squad and pays the school to build new wheelchair ramps, leading Will to question her motives. It is revealed Sue has an older sister who has Down syndrome. Kurt and Rachel compete for a solo performance, but Kurt sabotages his own performance when his father receives harassing phone calls about his sexuality. Artie and Tina go on a date and share a kiss, but Artie feels betrayed when Tina admits she has been faking her own disability, a speech impediment, since sixth grade.

"Ballad"

The glee club members are split into pairs to sing ballads to one another. Rachel is paired with Will and develops a crush on him. Will struggles to let Rachel down gently, recalling the last student he turned down almost died after eating the world's hottest pepper in her grief. Rachel realizes her feelings for Will reflect her concerns about her own self-worth and apologizes for her behavior. Kurt advises Finn to sing his ballad to his unborn daughter; Finn's mother, Carole, deduces that Quinn is pregnant after finding Finn singing to a sonogram video. Quinn is disowned and evicted from the family home by her father after he learns she is pregnant, leading her to move in with Finn and his mother. Puck reveals to Mercedes he is the father of Quinn's baby, and Mercedes advises him to leave Quinn alone.

"Hairography"

New Directions meets their Sectionals competition – Jane Addams Girls Choir for girls recently released from juvenile detention, and the Haverbrook Deaf Choir. Sue gives the New Directions' set list for Sectionals to the competing clubs in order to damage the glee club's chance of progressing to Regionals. Kurt gives Rachel a bad makeover, trying to sabotage her attempts at attracting Finn. Quinn reconsiders having her baby adopted, giving Puck a chance to prove he would be a good father. They successfully baby-sit for Terri's triplet nephews together, but Quinn later learns Puck spent the evening sexting Santana. She recommits to the idea of adoption, believing her daughter deserves a better father.

"Mattress"

Will is dismayed to learn that Emma and Ken have scheduled their wedding for the same day as Sectionals. When the glee club is left out of the school yearbook, Rachel has the club members cast in a local mattress commercial in an attempt to raise their social status. After discovering a pregnancy pad in Terri's drawer, Will confronts Terri and discovers that she has been lying to him for months about her supposed pregnancy. He angrily walks out on her and spends the night at the school, sleeping on one of the mattresses given to the glee club in payment for their commercial. Sue informs Will and Figgins that the club receiving payment for the commercial revokes their amateur status, rendering them ineligible to compete at Sectionals. As he was the only one who accepted payment, Will steps down as club director so the team remains eligible to compete without his involvement.

"Sectionals"

Most of the glee club has learned that Puck is the father of Quinn's baby, but they hide the fact from Rachel, believing that she will tell Finn. Rachel nevertheless deduces Puck is the father of Quinn's baby and expresses her concerns to Finn, who confronts Puck. After Quinn tearfully admits the truth, Finn quits the glee club. Emma postpones her wedding to accompany the New Directions to Sectionals, during which the team discovers Sue's sabotage attempt when their rivals perform the songs from their setlist. Aided by Finn's return, the team puts new routines together at the last moment. They win by unanimous decision and advance on to Regionals. Sue vows revenge when she is suspended by Figgins over her attempts to sabotage the club. Ken breaks up with Emma over her feelings for Will, who leaves Terri and shares a kiss with Emma; both are happy, but uncertain of what will happen next.

"Hell-O"

Sue blackmails Figgins and returns to the school following her suspension. She enlists Santana and Brittany to seduce Finn to destroy his new relationship with Rachel. Finn breaks up with Rachel, who becomes enamoured with Jesse St. James, the lead singer of New Directions' rival, Vocal Adrenaline. The glee club concludes that Jesse is using Rachel, and threaten to expel her from the club unless she breaks up with him; Rachel later asks Jesse to keep their relationship a secret. Will and Emma attempt to begin dating, but Emma is uncomfortable kissing Will due to her mysophobia, leading Will to make out with Vocal Adrenaline's coach, Shelby Corcoran. Shelby advises Will to take some time out for himself, as he has immediately moved on to a new relationship after leaving Terri. Will and Emma ultimately decide to put their relationship on hold to deal with their separate issues.

"The Power of Madonna"

Inspired by the Cheerios and Sue paying homage to Madonna, Will looks to the musical icon to address the boys' recent misogynistic behavior. Inspired by Madonna's example, Emma tells Will that she intends to lose her virginity to him that evening. Elsewhere, Santana offers to take Finn's virginity, while Rachel and Jesse also propose to have sex. Emma and Rachel ultimately decide not to go through with it, but Finn decides to have sex with Santana, keeping it a secret from Rachel. Jesse transfers to McKinley High and joins New Directions, despite the protest of Finn and others. In an attempt to get more opportunities to shine, Kurt and Mercedes join the Cheerios, and help Sue produce a music video for "Vogue" as a school project which helps Sue become more comfortable with herself.

"Home"

Kurt fixes up his father on a date with Carole in hopes of having a regular family and get closer to Finn. His plan backfires when his father bonds with Finn over sports, leaving Kurt feeling excluded. Will rents out April Rhodes's roller rink for New Directions as a temporary practice space. Will helps April sort out her life once more, culminating in April becoming a millionaire and buying the school auditorium for the glee club. Mercedes deals with weight issues after Sue tells her to lose ten pounds for an upcoming Cheerios interview. After fainting in the cafeteria from extreme dieting, Mercedes is comforted by Quinn, who advises her to feel comfortable with who she is. At the school's pep rally, Mercedes abandons the planned routine and instead sings "Beautiful", impressing the interviewer.

"Bad Reputation"

When the "Glist" – a salacious list about the sexual exploits of the glee club members – circulates the halls of McKinley High, Will begins an investigation. He discovers Quinn to be the culprit, motivated by her distress at her loss of social status as a result of her pregnancy, but does not turn her in to Principal Figgins. Kurt, Mercedes, Artie, Tina and Brittany misbehave in an attempt to gain bad reputations, but their plans repeatedly backfire on them. Sue is mortified when a video of her rendition of Olivia Newton-John's classic "Physical" is unearthed. In an effort to end the ridicule of her colleagues, Sue tells Emma that Will has been unfaithful to her, leading Emma to publicly shame Will in the teachers' lounge. Sue ends up being contacted by Newton-John herself to produce a new music video of the song.

"Laryngitis"

Will discovers that some glee club members are faking their singing, and he assigns each club member to perform a song that best represents their feelings. Rachel panics when a sore throat affects her singing. Finn helps her to get perspective on her condition by introducing her to his friend Sean, who was paralyzed from the upper chest down during a football game. Jealous of the time Burt is spending with Finn, Kurt tries to emulate his father's masculine persona, dressing in outdoorsman gear and attempting to have a fling with Brittany. Burt reassures Kurt that he loves him for who he is. Puck dates Mercedes in a strategic move to elevate his social status, but ends up testing Mercedes' emotions in the process, causing her to break up with him and resign from the cheer squad.

"Dream On"

Will's high school nemesis, Bryan Ryan, causes trouble for the glee club, announcing his intent to cut them from the district budget. He and Will compete for a role in a local production of Les Misérables, and when Will is awarded the lead role, he gives it to Bryan to save the club. Tina gives Artie false hope that he may one day walk again, temporarily straining their relationship. With guidance from Emma, Artie begins to accept his physical condition. Rachel confides in Jesse of her lifelong dream to meet her biological mother. Jesse later meets with Shelby, who reveals herself as Rachel's biological mother, but a contractual agreement with Rachel's two fathers prevents her from meeting with her.

"Theatricality"

Will teaches the club about theatricality to help Tina through an identity crisis, leading the glee club to tribute to Lady Gaga, donning some of her famous outfits. While sneaking in on a Vocal Adrenaline practice session, Rachel realizes that Shelby is her biological mother. Neither feel an immediate mother–daughter bond; Shelby tells Rachel they should just be grateful that they have met, and the two mutually decide to maintain their distance. Burt invites Finn and Carole to move in, but Finn is reluctant to share a room with Kurt. Finn loses his temper and uses a homophobic slur against Kurt, which Burt overhears; Burt angrily tells off Finn and dismisses him from the house, even if it costs Burt his relationship with Carole. Finn and Kurt later reconcile when Finn and the glee club comes to Kurt's defense against the school bullies.

"Funk"

Will and Terri finalize their divorce. Attempting to deal with his sorrow, Will seeks revenge against Sue by seducing her and asking her on a date; he then stands her up, leaving Sue depressed and bedridden. With encouragement from a regretful Will, she leads the cheer squad to win at Nationals, and has their trophy placed in the choir room. Mercedes asks Quinn to move in with her family. The glee club learns Jesse has defected to Vocal Adrenaline, forcing Rachel to deal with her emotions as she discovers Jesse was using her to bring the club down. The glee club members are talked out of violent retaliation against Vocal Adrenaline by Will, and they instead perform "Give Up the Funk" to intimidate their rivals, who unlike New Directions have never been able to master a funk number.

"Journey to Regionals"

New Directions competes against Vocal Adrenaline and Aural Intensity at Regionals, in front of celebrity judges Olivia Newton-John, Josh Groban, Sue, and Rod Remington. Quinn's mother comes to watch the performance, and later invites Quinn to come back home, revealing that she has kicked her father out of the house. Vocal Adrenaline wins and New Directions comes last, despite unexpected support from Sue, who is able to identify with the club's underdog status after being derided by the other judges. She convinces Principal Figgins to grant the club a reprieve, and not disband them for another year. Will and Finn profess their love for Emma and Rachel respectively, although Emma reveals that she has begun dating her dentist. Quinn goes into labor and gives birth to a baby girl who is adopted by Shelby, who names the baby Beth at Puck's request.