Throwdown

Throwdown is the seventh episode of Glee's first season and the seventh episode overall. It premiered on October 14, 2009.
 * episode = Throwdown
 * image = Episode 7.PNG
 * season = One
 * number = Seven
 * aired = October 14, 2009
 * previous = Vitamin D
 * next = Mash-Up}}

To cause dissent amongst the glee club, new co-director Sue Sylvester forces the students to compete against each other, but the real showdown happens when she and Will get called into Principal Figgins' office. Meanwhile, the kids rally to support Quinn after some shocking news is revealed, and Terri must deal with Will's desire to see their unborn baby, as she is not really pregnant.

The episode was directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Brad Falchuk.

Plot
The episode begins in the auditorium. Will and Sue are engaged in a heated argument that's so intense, they're even arguing in their voiceovers.

It began when Will and Sue were brought into Principal Figgins' office to talk about the current status of the Glee Club. They lie to him and say that things are going smoothly, and a suspicious Figgins warns them not to curry favor from the kids or try to pit the kids against each other. While they both say they agree, they are both shown doing the exact opposite. Will is trying to gain popularity by letting the kids do what they want, while Sue tries to tear them apart by interrogating Quinn, who reveals that the minority students are feeling unappreciated. Although Figgins seems pleased with Will and Sue's team unity at the end of the meeting, it's very clear that Will and Sue are at odds and threaten to take each other down.

A nervous Quinn and Finn are at the OB/GYN to check out the sonograms for their baby, where the obstetrician reveals that they are having a girl. Finn leaves the room to talk to Will where they discuss the baby's future, in which Finn believes that Quinn's mind about adoption may change and laments that he feels helpless.

Rachel is paid a visit by gossip blogger Jacob Ben Israel, who reveals that he's working on a piece on Quinn about her pregnancy. Rachel initially denies this claim, but gives in and asks Jacob what it will take for him to not run the story.

Will and Sue are in the choir room, flipping a coin to decide who will choose the opening number first. After having gotten a special trick coin from a joke shop, Sue wins the flip and specifically calls out the minority students—Santana, Tina, Mike, Mercedes, and Matt along with Artie, because he is handicapped, and Kurt, because he is gay—to make a special, elite Glee Club: Sue's Kids. Will is obviously not pleased with this idea.

Terri is talking on the phone with her sister, Kendra, about vaccination shots when Will hangs up the phone. Will is frustrated that he feels powerless at school and at home and mentions that he is going to their next ultrasound appointment, much to Terri's dismay.

Finn and Rachel are talking in the hallways about Rachel's deal with Jacob. Finn is extremely appreciative of Rachel's sacrifice and promises to make it up to her before going to class. Just then, Jacob walks up from behind Rachel, demanding another pair of Rachel's panties as the ones she originally gave him still had the tag on them.

In the choir room, Sue's Kids are all talking amongst themselves when Sue walks in with sheet music of Hate on Me by Jill Scott, which is well received by the group, and encourages the group to do what they want with the performance. Will watches from outside the choir room as the kids perform and confronts Sue, accusing her of undermining him in front of the Glee Club. Sue then admits that she is trying to sabotage the Glee Club and says that she will win this battle.

At his apartment, Will is grading test papers when Terri comes by to offer him a beer. Terri admits that she has been a bad wife in the late and says that she doesn't want them to be like Kendra's marriage. She then offers some advice for Will's school troubles against Sue by saying that he needs to fight back.

At the next Cheerios practice, Sue is being interviewed by a journalist for a cheerleading magazine when she notices that her all Cheerios, apart from Quinn, Brittany, and Santana, are missing from practice. When she asks where they are, Quinn responds that they are not academically eligible because Will flunked them from Spanish.

Angered, Sue pulls Will into Figgins' office to report him for "jeopardizing" her Cheerios' future with "that dying language." However, Will points out that 95% of her Cheerios should've flunked Spanish and asserts that he's not letting them slide by anymore. Figgins takes Will's side and tells Sue that there will be no free passes. When she realizes that she will not get her way, Sue angrily storms out of the room in a rage.

In Will's Spanish class, Finn passes a note to Quinn while they're taking a test, stating that he has come up with a name for the baby: Drizzle. Quinn tells him that they're not naming the baby anything and admonishes him for being insensitive to her feelings. Finn argues that he wishes Quinn were more like Rachel, as she stuck up for him and Quinn with Jacob. Quinn questions Rachel's motives and warns Finn not to cheat on her with Rachel.

The Glee Club gathers in the choir room to sing Ride wit Me together, stating that they miss hanging around each other. Sue's Kids leave the room as Will arrives, and Rachel mentions that she doesn't like how things have been. Will says that is exactly what Sue wants them to think. He then gives them sheet music to No Air, in which Finn and Rachel take the lead in. After the performance, under Sue's orders, Quinn mentions to Puck and Brittany that Will doesn't like minorities, leading them to defect to Sue's Kids.

Terri is looking desperately through her drawer and finds her pregnancy pad, just as Will gets home. Terri notices that Will has gotten more forceful when he orders her to take care of dinner on nights when she's home first. Will mentions that her advice worked, and he feels more in control than ever. He also mentions that he made an appointment for Terri's obstetrician, Dr. Wu, leaving Terri worried.

Will angrily confronts Sue in the teachers' lounge about taking Puck and Brittany from his group. Sue then makes a deal that if he gives her back her Cheerios, she'll give him back his kids. Will refuses.

Terri and Kendra go to see Dr. Wu at the OB/GYN to try to blackmail him into going along with their plan to fool Will when he and Terri come in for their sonogram test. After several failed attempts, Kendra finally gets Dr. Wu to comply.

Quinn confronts Rachel by her locker, but Rachel tries to avoid it. Quinn tells Rachel to leave her and Finn alone, and Rachel agrees to back off, but mentions to Quinn that she knows about her double agent duties with Sue and warns her that when Sue finds out about Quinn's pregnancy, she'll kick her off and she won't have anyone to support her because she aided in destroying the Glee Club, the only people who are willing to stand behind her. Quinn then goes into a performance of You Keep Me Hangin' On with the Cheerios, causing her to think hard about the decisions she's made.

The Glee Club gathers into the choir room to witness Will's Group perform No Air, but before they can even start, Sue orders her kids to leave because she finds Will's Group boring. This leads to the screaming match that was shown earlier in the episode. Finn stops the fight and tells them that they don't want to hear their petty squabble, thus leading to the entire club to storm out.

Will and Terri are at the OB/GYN and with some sneaky planning, Dr. Wu and Terri manage to fool Will into believing the sonogram they use is real and that they are having a girl. Seeing the girl on the ultrasound brings Will's to tears, and Terri asserts that she wants them to remember that they love each other during this moment, sealing it with a kiss.

Will comes by Sue's office for a talk. Sue then reveals that she's stepping down as co-director, but offers to help Will with consulting, even asking him to see their setlists before competitions. Will agrees, but is still suspicious of Sue's motives. They appear to come to an agreement for now.

Will and Sue then have a meeting with the Glee Club, and Sue reveals that she knows about Quinn's pregnancy and the story will go public on Jacob's blog. Rachel confronts Jacob, who admits that Sue found Rachel's panties in his locker and forced him to publish the story. In the hallways, Finn tries to comfort a distraught Quinn. The episode ends with the New Directions, all together, performing Keep Holding On, ending with Quinn struggling not to cry.

Unreleased Songs

 * Ride wit Me by Nelly feat. City Spud. Sung by New Directions

Background Songs

 * Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. Played several times throughout the episode, such as when Will and Sue shout at each other in slow motion, when Sue marches through the school with her sunglasses on as Will chases her and argues, when Sue finds out Will flunked most of her Cheerios, when Sue storms out of Principal Figgin's office, and when Will approaches Sue reading the paper in the teachers' lounge.

Guest Stars

 * Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins
 * Jennifer Aspen as Kendra Giardi
 * Amy Hill as Dr. Chin
 * Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez
 * Heather Morris as Brittany Pierce
 * Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang
 * Dijon Talton as Matt Rutherford
 * Kenneth Choi as Dr. Wu
 * Josh Sussman as Jacob Ben Israel

Co-Stars

 * Ethan, Aidan and Ben Freedman as Giardi Triplets
 * Jennifer Jean Snyder as Reporter

Absent Cast Member

 * Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury

Trivia

 * This is the first time where a main character is absent from an episode.
 * During the slow-motion argument at the beginning of the episode, when Will and Sue are doing voiceovers, Will acknowledges that he and Sue are arguing in their voiceovers, breaking the fourth wall.
 * When Quinn and Finn attend their ultrasound for Quinn's baby, it is stated that Quinn is ten weeks pregnant and that the baby is female. It is virtually impossible to tell the gender at ten weeks, since the genitals wouldn't even have begun to form until week fourteen at the earliest.
 * Kendra mentions that she thinks her kids became stupid from vaccination shots. This is a reference to the controversial comments made by Jenny McCarthy, in which she claimed vaccination shots were the cause of her child's autism.
 * Sue mentions that Will suffers from early stages of paranoid schizophrenia, which is a mental illness that Jane Lynch's character from Criminal Minds suffers from.
 * Finn mentions Gwyneth Paltrow in this episode. Coincidentally, Paltrow would guest star exactly one season later as substitute teacher Holly Holliday.
 * Ride wit Me was actually not a written in the script. The cast was singing it between scenes and Murphy liked it so much he added it into the scene.

Errors

 * Despite Will flunking all of the Cheerios except Quinn, Brittany, and Santana, many Cheerios are seen in their uniform and even show up for practice during You Keep Me Hangin' On.
 * During Quinn's conversation with Rachel by her locker, the angel with a hook has been moved during the scene.

Quotes
"Will: Shut up, Sue. Look at us, we're even fighting in our voice-overs!"

"Sue: Alright, everybody, listen up. When you hear your name called, cross over to my side next to this black, shiny thing. Will:It's a piano, Sue.Sue: Santana, Wheels, Gay Kid—Come on! Move it—Asian, Other Asian, Aretha, and Shaft!"

"Kendra: I wanted to remind you to tell that Quinn girl not to vaccinate in the hospital. I'm pretty sure those shots made my kids stupid. Terri: Oh, I guess I could use the vaccination money to buy the organic crib mattress. I mean, what are the chances of the baby getting polio, right?"

"Sue: This is a travesty of internation proportions. You are jeopardizing my Cheerios role as good-will ambassadors. And I have called in the president. Will: Sue, I have in my hand a Spanish quiz, in which one of your Cheerios misspelled her name. And answered every question with a drawing of a sombrero."

"Kurt: If Sue catches us mingling, we're cooked. She told me if I even talked to one of Mr. Schue's kids, that she would shave my head. And I just can't rock that look. I mean, even Justin Timberlake is growing his 'fro back."

"Rachel: Fellow glee clubbers, it would be an honor to show you how a real storm out is done. I encourage you to follow my lead."

"Sue: I can't stand the sight of kids getting emotional, unless it's from physical exhaustion."