FOX's Glee ends its season by sending the New Directions to "New York" City to compete in the Nationals for show choirs. The kids are excited, and have a hard time focusing on writing their original songs for competition, instead wanting to explore the city. Finn (Cory Monteith) takes Rachel (Lea Michele) on a romantic date, only to have her reject him because she knows her future is in NYC, and doesn't think his is. Kurt (Chris Colfer) reaffirms Rachel's belief by helping her live out some dreams. Will (Matthew Morrison) makes a decision between performing on Broadway and continuing to teach at McKinley. Sadly, but not unexpectedly, the New Directions do not place high, but emotions are dwelt upon, and most characters are satisfied with the trip.
The New Directions's competition performance is exactly what it needs to be. The duet will be discussed later on, but their showpiece is "Light Up the World." It is not a perfect song, but given that the kids didn't write it until after their arrival in New York, it is good enough. What's more, there is never much expectation that they will win. This episode is about getting to the big time, while next season, when most of the star characters are seniors, they will likely take home the 1st place trophy in a triumphant swan song.
"Yeah!" is a little bit of filler, but gives some comparison point for the New Directions. It is well executed, and a pleasure to watch, even though it will not win, either. The costumes and choreography are bizarre, and bring the performance down enough that it is easy to imagine the glee kids beating them. They ultimately do not because of a lack of professionalism, but that's OK. Showing "Yeah!" gives viewers confidence the New Direction can easily conquer that level of 
song next year, and proves that not everyone at Nationals is brilliant.
"My Cup" is a goofy little number, reuniting Brittany (Heather Morris) with Artie (Kevin McHale). Far superior to Rachel's ode to a hair brush, it isn't especially catchy, but the lyrics are funny. While Brittany works better with one-liners, it's nice the writers decide to experiment with something a little more lengthy, similar to her Fondue for Two bit a couple of weeks ago.
Article comments
1 - Nancy
Will encourage Jesse? That's not what I saw. I thought he figured out the "I'm watching the performance" excuse was a crock. Jesse is most likely gone from the series. Too bad, I liked Groff's work. With any luck, though, Dustin should return. It would be nice to see a duet between Will and he.