Feud

Feud is the sixteenth episode of Glee's fourth season and the eighty-second episode overall. It premiered on March 14, 2013.

For the first time in Glee Club history, the students give the teachers an assignment, "Feud." After Ezra reveals to Will that he lied it Emma, things get way out of hand. As this feud finds its ways to be solved, Ezra and Aria try to find a way to solve it on their own. With the feud assignment set, it starts up more feuds, between Ryder and Unique and also between Blaine and Sue. Ryder, with a new online love interest, is asked to back-off Marley as he ruined her and Jake's relationship. Unique also has problems with people identifying her as a boy while Sue is determined to force Blaine back into the Cheerios to help her win upcoming Regionals, unaware that Blaine commences a plot to end her terror at the school. In New York though, Santana gets right down to the bottom heap and digs out Brody's secret, turning out he isn't who she really thought, leading to a new feud and Kurt and Rachel making a final decision based on her actions.

The episode is directed by Bradley Buecker and written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa.

Plot
Since Ezra's revelation that he lied to Emma, a seething Will passive-aggressively berates him, while Ezra's frustration has him at the boiling point. The New Directions students force them into a lesson on famed musical feuds, demanding they perform a number about rivalry together so they can heal and reteam to lead the glee club to Nationals.



After a visit to the doctor, Rachel determines she's not pregnant, but Santana urges her to use the scare to take a deeper look at where her life's going, especially her relationship. Meanwhile, Brody's secretly working as a paid escort, trysting with clients as Rachel ponders how to deal with her feelings for him.



Sue tries to enforce a contract that would bring Blaine back to the Cheerios, but Blaine resists - although Sue's not-so-veiled threats give him pause. Meanwhile, Ryder's entered an online relationship with a mystery girl named Katie_xoxo and is sharing personal secrets, including how Unique angrily confronted him about causing a rift between Marley and Jake that's threatening the harmony within New Directions. Ryder's insistence that Unique is actually a guy doesn't help. Katie suggests Ryder settle their differences with a musical feud number.



When Ezra resists the feud lesson, Will tells Ezra that he has been a close friend to him and he can't believe he not only lied to him but is still lying to him. Now he insists Finn play along so he can kick his butt. Santana trashes Brody despite Rachel's defense, believing that Rachel is underselling herself by being with him. Sue wages a reign of terror against Blaine, prompting a challenge or a feud-off: she'll tear up his contract if he beats her in their Mariah Carey vs. Nicki Minaj showdown, but vows that he won't win.



Marley convinces Jake she doesn't have any plans to leave him for Ryder, but she's not going to give him the cold shoulder either. Ryder and Unique stage a showdown to Elton John's The Bitch Is Back and Madonna's Dress You Up, but tension persists: Unique demands that Ryder admit she's a girl before she'll shake his hand. When Ryder fails to concede, the feud endures - and Jake reminds Ryder that, in the choir room, the students are whatever they choose to be. Meanwhile, Sue perfects the art of the Nicki Minaj "out-of-nowhere" threat by terrorizing Tina.



Confronting Brody at NYADA, Santana warns him to move out of the apartment and stay away from Rachel, in a rendition of Paula Abdul's Cold Hearted. Meanwhile, Will and Finn face off, '90s boy band-style, to *NSYNC's Bye Bye Bye and Backstreet Boy's I Want It That Way. It helps work out their anger, but in the end Will's still just not ready to hug it out. Finn is hurt but understands and thanks Will for everything he's done for him. Rachel and Kurt confront Santana, embarrassed by her antics at NYADA and concerned about her threats to Brody. They insist she needs to dial it back or move out. Santana explains that she loves them and reads people better than they do, but when they persist, she caves in and leaves.



Katie_xoxo convinces Ryder that if he can believe the two of them are friendsdespite having never met in person, Unique is also allowed to perceive himself any way he chooses. Blaine kicks off his Mariah Carey-style rendition of Brenda K. Starr's I Still Believe, while Sue leads a neon-glowing, Minaj-ified Cheerio squad to Super Bass - and, shockingly, Sue is the clear victor.



Ezra and Aria are in his classroom lost over what they should do. Aria tells him that he shouldn't let his relationship come between his friendship. But he says that he can't let her go because he's in love with her. A happy Aria replies with the same thing and they kiss. Ezra pulls away saying that he knows what he needs to do.



Ryder proposes a truce to Marley, Jake and Unique, hoping to regain their trust. Unique reveals that after their sing-off, she walked home in her full "Leslie Uggams" glory but was chased by a group of popular girls who taunted her. The group promise to watch Unique's back - as do surprise eavesdroppers Jade and Beck, who rallies to Unique's defense because she wants to take the National championship. The group vows to uphold the glee club tradition of being all that you believe you can be after the senior students graduate.

Sue names Blaine co-captain of the Cheerios with Becky, explaining that she's teaching Blaine a lesson about real-world commitments by making him give his word that he's dedicated to the Cheerios. Blaine is secretly thrilled; all along, he and Sam have been working to plant him on the inside to take down Sue's reign of terror before graduation.



On an escort call, Brody's shocked to discover that his latest client is actually Santana, who leaves him in the hotel room to be confronted by Finn. Finn demands that Brody disappear from Rachel's life immediately, but Brody claims that he loves her. Finn counters that Rachel doesn't even know who Brody is - yet. The confrontation gets physical, and they trash the hotel room as they fight, with Finn landing the decisive blow and warning Brody to "stay away from his future wife."



Back at McKinley, New Directions comes back together as a team to Tegan and Sara's Closer. As Ryder explains the renewed teamwork to Katie_xoxo, he admits he feels like he's moved on from Marley. He tentatively asks if they can meet, but is disappointed when Katie_xoxo suddenly drops offline.

Songs

 * † denotes an unreleased song.

Background Songs

 * O Fortuna from Carmina Burana. Background music during Sue's tantrum in Figgins' office.

Guest Stars

 * Blake Jenner as Ryder Lynn
 * Jacob Artist as Jake Puckerman
 * Alex Newell as Unique Adams
 * Becca Tobin as Kitty Wilde
 * Dean Geyer as Brody Weston
 * Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson
 * Melissa Benoist as Marley Rose
 * Ginny Gardner as Katie

Absent Cast Members

 * Heather Morris as Brittany Pierce
 * Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones
 * Mark Salling as Noah Puckerman
 * Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang

Trivia

 * Brody was supposed to have his first released solo, El Tango de Roxanne, in Girls (and Boys) on Film. However, the whole scene and storyline was changed from that episode to Feud, and with that they also changed the song to the duet with Rachel, How to Be a Heartbreaker. Source
 * Based on the promo for the episode it's possible that two scenes were shortened; the Santana and Brody shower scene, as Brody looking out of the shower was never shown - and the Sue/Blaine feud scene where it appears Sue is showing off her Nicki Minaj look.
 * Brittany Pierce is absent for the first episode since her introduction in Showmance.
 * Last time Will sings in Season Four.
 * In this episode many real life feuds were shown:
 * Blaine/Sue based on Mariah Carey/Nicki Minaj
 * Finn/Will based on Backstreet Boys/N'Sync
 * Ryder/Unique based on Elton John/Madonna
 * Santana/Brody wasn't based on one, but it could be concluded as Paula Abdul/Cold Hearted Snakes
 * This episode got a 2.0 rating with a total of 5.37 million viewers. Source
 * This is the episode Jane Lynch submitted to the Emmy Awards in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series category, which she is now nominated in. This is her third nomination (her first being 2010, and the second in 2011; she was not nominated in 2012).
 * When Ryder mentions that they are going to be the ones in charge when the others graduate, he never mentions Joe and Sugar.

Errors

 * When Katie and Ryder are chatting, Katie says "No, it makes you insane," but it doesn't appear on the screen until later in their conversation.
 * When Katie and Ryder are chatting, Ryder types "Last question... Bare vs. Shark?" but when it appears on the screen "question" changes to "questions" and keeps changing back and forth through the scene.

Quotes
"Marley: What was I supposed to do? It's not like he took a running start. Jake: You were supposed to not let him think that it was even a possibility."

"Rachel: I'm pretty sure she just stole my conforter.

Kurt: Bitch took my pillow."

"Sue: You look absolutely adorable. And just to show that there's no animosity between us, I've decided to make you and Becky my Cheerio's Co-Captains."

"Sue: Why are you even here?

Tina: You told me to leave class...

Sue: Why don't you go find yourself a new boyfriend? I'm pretty sure Lance Bass is available."