Glee’s Rachel-centric episode on Tuesday night showed her Broadway debut in the revival premiere of Funny Girl – but before that – she had to make it there.

Glee Recap

In the middle of the night, Rachel (Lea Michele) has a recurring nightmare of getting called to hit the stage for the premiere and not being prepared in the slightest. The nightmare also returns Karofsky (Max Adler) and Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman), who publicly chastise her, while she’s naked, and then gets stuck in a mass of balloons. There’s also Santana (Naya Rivera) back in her Cheerio prime and Blaine (Darren Criss) in his Warblers ensemble. The dream ends on a good note, as she sings The Cardigan’s "Lovefool" in the McKinley High auditorium rocking one of her old sweaters.

As it turns out, the nightmares are the result of Rachel reading less than stellar reviews of Funny Girl previews on blogs – and some harsh words in the comments section. Thankfully, Kurt (Chris Colfer) is there to talk some sense into her, and also convinces Rachel to “unplug” for a while to avoid checking up on what people are saying about her.

Will & Sue Travel To NYC

Meanwhile, back in Lima, Sue (Jane Lynch) and Will (Matthew Morrison) are chatting through the halls of the Ohio high school. Apparently Will and Emma (Jayma Mays) were planning on going to the premiere, but now Emma is too far into her pregnancy and can’t fly; Sue is more than willing to take her plane ticket. Apparently, she’s dissed New York City a number of times on her local news segment, but she’s never been there herself, which has caused her credibility to suffer. Will says she can take the plane ticket, if she’ll also take the play ticket. Together, the teachers sing “N.Y.C.” from Annie.

Also jet setting to NYC is Tina Cohen Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), who brings her usual tact and cheerfulness to the Brooklyn loft. Not only does she humble-brag about being one of the few New Directioners to make the trip to see Rachel’s Broadway debut, she also brings up the negative comments and reviews she’s read about the Funny Girl production starring Rachel Berry. Tina’s mention of the reviews later causes Rachel to pour over them, noting everything negative she can find.

The following day, Kurt recruits the rest of them to help him steer Rachel away from the negatively and build her confidence back up. When the prospect of lifting Rachel’s spirits doesn’t look like it could get any harder, Sue Sylvester shows up at the door. Apparently, Will’s hotel room only had one bed, so she’ll be crashing with them for the weekend.

Santana Lights A Fire Under Rachel

When Santana steps out of cab looking fabulous in a black trench coat after returning from her long holiday with Brittany (Heather Morris), things look like they’re about to go from bad to worse. However, Kurt sees Santana as the perfect person to get Rachel motivated again. Once inside Rachel’s room, Santana whips out her phone and starts to read a scathing review. It’s not about Rachel; it’s about Barbra Streisand from her 1964 debut as Fanny Brice. With some added words of ego-boosting, Rachel is raring to go.

With Sue having a date with a man named Mario (Chris Parnell) she met while trying to scalp her Funny Girl ticket, Will goes to see Rachel in her dressing room. He tells her he and the rest of glee club always knew she’d be here. She knows that Finn had always believed in her too, as he’d always said she better get him a ticket to her first show – which she did. Rachel admits she’s nervous about singing “Who Are You Now?” which reminds her of her late boyfriend. Just as Will is about to offer more soothing words, he finds out via phone call that Emma’s water broke, so he has to leave. But, before he does, he tells Rachel, you’re “making my dreams come true too.”

'Funny Girl' Is A Success

Skipping ahead in Funny Girl, Rachel walks out to her mark and sings “I’m the Greatest Star,” killing it with ease. Kurt and Mercedes (Amber Riley) run backstage at intermission to let Rachel know just how incredible she’s doing. When the producer comes for a chat, he notes she’s doing amazing, but says she needs to finish even better, as her former gym teacher crushed a New York Times critic earlier. When performing “Who Are You Now” – with an assist from Sue out on her date – Rachel tears up delivering the powerful number.

After the performance, Rachel heads to a gay bar in Greenwich Village with her McKinley High School gang. The men at the bar all know who she is and claim they’ve been following Funny Girl. Then, the former glee kids burst into song with NONONO’s “Pumpin Blood.” The following day, the same longtime friends join Rachel as she heads to a newsstand to read the review in The New York Times, which is overwhelmingly possible. Sharing the news with Mr. Schue over the phone, she learns that he and Emma welcomed a baby boy they’ve named Daniel Finn Schuester.

– Chelsea Regan

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