Glee episode "Bash" opened up on Tuesday night with Rachel (Lea Michele), Sam (Chord Overstreet), Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) walking in a candlelight vigil singing “No One Is Alone.”

Glee Recap

A neighbor of the gang was put into a coma after a hate crime beating. The four friends gather around a New York City lamppost, candles in hand with dozens of others to honor someone who very well could have been one of them. It was their neighbor’s friend, who’d been beaten up on Bleaker St. by some guys driving a pickup truck. Thankfully, he survived, but they note hate crimes are increasing in the city.

Cut from the emotional moment, Rachel is at Funny Girl rehearsal getting a pep talk from the producer. Rachel then asks him if she could push a rehearsal two hours back so that she can do her Midwinter Critique. Meanwhile, Sam is watching The Facts of Life (“the lesbian show about weed”) late at night eating a massive bowl of cereal. Mercedes (Amber Riley) comes and joins him. Sam wants to know why Mercedes broke up with him and wonders what they’re going to do about their obvious sexual chemistry. Barely a beat later, the two are making out on the couch.

At the weekly potluck dinner at Rachel’s, the NYADA students discuss their Midwinter Critiques, while Sam and Mercedes play footsie under the table. The next day, walking along the East River, Sam wants to know why their relationship has to be a secret. They have a flirty exchange that involves her image and fur coats, and then Mercedes asks him to head back to the apartment so she could have some time for herself. She then starts belting out “Natural Woman” at the carousel.

Mercedes Breaks Up With Sam

Mercedes, out to dinner with some of her backup singers, lets them know about how she’s gotten back together with her high school boyfriend – cue Sam’s entrance of doing an impression of Chris Rock imitating Chris Tucker. Sam’s whiteness is clearly supposed to be the focus of the scene, as he makes comments about the names of hip-hop artists and asks about hair weaves.

The friends loved him and his impressions, especially that of Tempestt Bledsoe. However, they warn her about dating a white guy before launching the album. They say that both black women and black men might have a problem identifying with her if she’s publicly dating a guy who’s basically “albino.” Without too much consideration, Mercedes decides that they’re right and comes home to break it off with Sam.

For their mid-winter critique, Blaine and Rachel perform “Broadway Baby” from Follies. Whoopi Goldberg aka Madame Tibideaux says they put on an excellent performance, but chastises them for deciding to do a duet – the assignment was to be a solo. Either they each perform make-up solos this week or they fail. When Rachel tries to convince Tibideaux to schedule the redo for after her Funny Girl obligations, Tibideaux asks her if she’s there to be in the spotlight or to do the work. “You don’t listen and you don’t take direction,” says Tibideaux. Rachel, ignoring her advice, quits NYADA.

Kurt Gets Beat Up

When Rachel meets Kurt for dinner later, Kurt tries to convince her to reconsider her decision. She accuses him of being too weak and too scared to not have the structure of the school. She’s taking risks, while he’s playing his career safe. After Rachel storms out of the restaurant, Kurt starts his walk home only to come across two men beating up another in an alley. Instead of walking past, Kurt runs to the guy's rescue and ends up taking a beating of his own in the process.

Sam tells Blaine about Mercedes decision to end their relationship before it ever began. The two are considering moving into their own place now, but first Blaine’s going to read him some Star Wars fan-fiction – then Blaine gets a phone call. Sam gets a call; Mercedes, Artie (Kevin McHale) and Rachel all get the same call and show up at the hospital. Kurt has a hairline fracture above his eye, but he’s going to be okay. Simultaneously curled up beside Kurt and giving his Midwinter Critique performance, Blaine sings "Not While I’m Around."

Glee Kids Growing Up

Also affected by Kurt’s beating is Mercedes, who sees that she’s being prejudicial by not dating Sam; it’s like saying she can’t be friends with someone because they’re gay. She brings Sam into the recording studio and confesses to him that she knows that she’s wrong and wants to sing about how she feels – like they used to do at McKinley – and performs Amber Riley original “Colorblind” for him.

When Kurt’s dad, Burt (Mike O'Malley), comes to town, he’s viscerally angry at his son for having put himself in the position to get beat up. The loveable dad eventually softens and just advises that next time he wants to break up a fight that he have him around. After leaving the hospital with some visible bruises upon his face, an envigorated Kurt goes to perform his Midwinter Critique. Fittingly, he chooses to perform Steven Sondheim’s “I’m Still here.”

Glee airs Tuesdays on Fox at 9/8c.

– Chelsea Regan

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