Laryngitis

Season One, Episode Eighteen

First Aired

May 11, 2010

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Laryngitis is the eighteenth episode of Glee's first season and the eighteenth episode overall. It premiered on May 11, 2010.

When a sore throat affects Rachel's singing voice, she goes into panic mode and Finn takes her to the doctor in order to find out what's wrong with her, not without trying to show Rachel how much he still really likes her. Meanwhile, Kurt tries to change his personality to impress his father, and Puck makes a strategic move to elevate his social status by dating Mercedes after his Mohawk is cut off.

The episode was directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and written by Ryan Murphy.

Plot[]

In the beginning of the episode, Puck's mother notices a mole on his head and he is subsequently forced to have his Mohawk shaved off. He discovers he is no longer considered a credible bully, and also realizes that Mercedes has become popular since joining the Cheerios. He resolves to date her to seem popular again. Rachel tries to sing The Climb but lost her voice in the middle of the song.

Mercedes initially attempts to dissuade him, but after singing a duet of The Lady Is a Tramp, she warms up to him. Quinn has a talk with Mercedes and admits she's afraid of Santana's reaction to her and Puck's relationship. Puck's former girlfriend Santana is jealous, and she and Mercedes sing The Boy Is Mine. When Mercedes realizes that Puck has reverted to being a bully, she concludes that being a Cheerio isn't who she is, breaks up with him, and resigns from the squad.

Rachel suffers from tonsillitis and is afraid to have surgery, believing that her voice is her only asset. Finn, who accompanies her to her doctor's appointment, tells her, "There's like, so many awesome things about you." When she consults him on whether to have the surgery, he sarcastically says "Why don't you ask your boyfriend. Oh wait... you can't because he's not here," but he also says, "When are you going to realize that he's not into you like I am?" He tries to tell her that he loves her more than Jesse, but she doesn't listen. He then expresses his feelings by singing Jessie's Girl.

To put her fear into perspective, Finn introduces her to his friend Sean, who was paralyzed from the neck down during a football game. Rachel recovers and offers to give Sean singing lessons.

Kurt is jealous of the time his father, Burt, is spending with Finn, and attempts to emulate Burt's personality. He takes the glee club's "Voice" assignment as an opportunity to change how he is perceived. He sings John Mellencamp's Pink Houses during rehearsal. And Brittany thinks the performance was "hot" and asks if the new, straight Kurt would like to "tap this;" Kurt is the only boy in school she hasn't made out with, and a perfect record (of making out with all the boys at the school) is important to her.

Later, as they are making out on the couch, Kurt asking Brittany what boys' lips taste like? Burt walks in on them, and although he is confused by his son's change in attitude, he tries to assure Kurt that he will love him no matter who he chooses to be.

Frustrated and hurt that Burt is continuing to spend time with Finn, Kurt reverts to his former personality and sings Rose's Turn. Burt overhears his performance and reassures Kurt that, despite the difficulties, he loves him and wants him to be himself.

Rachel returns to Sean's house to give him some vocal coaching. Rachel reveals her voice is back and they start singing One, which is then also performed by New Directions.

Songs[]

Song Title	Original Artist	Performer(s)
Jessie's Girl	Rick Springfield	Finn Hudson
Lady Is a Tramp	Cast of Babes in Arms	Mercedes Jones and Noah Puckerman
The Boy Is Mine	Brandy and Monica	Mercedes Jones and Santana Lopez
Rose's Turn	Cast of Gypsy	Kurt Hummel
One	U2	New Directions with Sean Fretthold

Unreleased Songs[]

The Climb by Miley Cyrus sung by Rachel Berry.
Pink Houses by John Mellencamp sung by Kurt Hummel.

Background Songs[]

"A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme)" by Janet Seidel. Background song during Kurt's makeout session with Brittany.

Guest Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Star[]

Ashley Fink as Lauren Zizes

Absent Cast Members[]

Jessalyn Gilsig as Terri Del Monico
Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury

Trivia[]

Chris Colfer said the hardest thing to do during the episode was watch Lea Michele sing off key; he tried so hard to keep a straight face.
Zack Weinstein who guest stars as Sean said that filming his part was one of the most important 12 hours of his life.
- Zack's character was also a reflection of his own life, seeing that his injury in Glee was similar to his injury in real life.
This episode was watched by 11.57 million viewers.
This is the episode that was submitted for Chris Colfer in bid for the 2010 Emmy for Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
This episode marks the first episode where Brittany isn't wearing the Cheerios uniform, other than competitions or special events.
People on Rachel's list of who's not singing are: Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, Noah Puckerman, and Brittany. Brittany's last name isn't written as it wasn't yet said on the show and Rachel did not know it.
Sue tells Mercedes that no one quits the Cheerios. However, Mercedes will be one of five members who will eventually quit foreshadowing that Kurt, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany will quit. Up until the point of Mercedes quitting, Sue's rule was no one quits Cheerios.
- Mercedes is the first known member of the Cheerios to quit.
Finn said that since Jesse joined New Directions, Will gave him and Rachel all solos though Jesse wasn't seen performing any number in a glee club.
When Will and Rachel are talking after her performance of The Climb, you can see that Lea Michele is wearing something in her ear that will help her sing off key.
This is the first of two episodes that involves a storyline which portrays Rachel suffering from a physical condition/injury that affects or may affect her voice. The second one is Born This Way.

Mistakes[]

Puck mentions Super Mario Bros. 3 having star worlds and that no other game had them. The Star World was in fact introduced in Super Mario World and wasn't present in Super Mario Bros. 3.
The sign on the dumpster in the episode says 'Waste Managment' instead of the correct spelling 'Waste Management.'
Sean Fretthold said that Finn tried out for Glee Club, but actually Finn was forced to come, but then decided to stay on his own will.

Quotes[]

“	We all know that my job here is to look hot.	”
—Santana

“	Nobody quits the Cheerios. You either die or I kick you off.	”
—Sue

“	See, that's the problem with your generation: you're obsessed with labels. So you like show tunes. Doesn't mean you're gay. It just means you're awful.	”
—Sue to Kurt