Shooting Star (Glee)

A seemingly regular day at McKinley takes an unexpected and terrifying turn when an unthinkable event has lasting consequences for the school.

Glee club director Will Schuester (played by Matthew Morrison) creates a week assignment of "Last Chances" after Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) announces her beliefs that an asteroid will destroy the city, although she soon finds out that it was actually a ladybug that was on her telescope. Brittany later tells Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter) that she'll be graduating soon, and Becky becomes scared of what will happen once Brittany is gone, but Brittany tells her she will be fine if she prepares herself. Meanwhile, football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) reveals her feelings for Will, but he reveals that he has gotten back together with Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), leaving Beiste heartbroken.

Ryder Lynn (Blake Jenner) spots Katie Fitzgerald (Ginny Gardner), the girl he has been texting and that he has developed feelings for, and leads her to the choir room, where he serenades her with "Your Song", only to learn that her name is Marissa, and that she has never texted Ryder: someone else has been using Marissa's picture to pose online as "Katie". Ryder decides to find out who "Katie" is, having shared all of his secrets and fears with her, and arranges a meeting with her over text in front of the choir room the following day. Meanwhile, Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) announces his love for Brittany and serenades her with "More Than Words" in the auditorium, but she struggles with her own feelings, and instead dedicates the song to her cat, Lord Tubbington, whom she feels is being neglected by her relationship with Sam.

As the glee club gathers in the choir room, two gunshots are heard, and the school goes into lockdown, with Brittany trapped in the bathroom and Tina stranded outside because she was late. Will and Beiste try to keep the students calm, but Sam wants to go after Brittany. Kitty breaks down and admits that she altered Marley's Sandy costumes and apologizes to her, and the two embrace. Ryder calls Katie's phone, and it rings inside the choir room; Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) encourages the glee club members to record their goodbyes to their families in case they die. Meanwhile, Will leaves the students in Beiste's care and goes to bring Brittany and two other students into the choir room. However, after several hours in lockdown, the police clear the area and the students are allowed to leave.

After the police fail to find the gun, cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) announces that it belonged to her, and misfired, in order to cover up for Becky, who had stolen her father's gun and brought it to school as she was afraid of being out of school after graduating. Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) is forced to fire Sue, but Will remains convinced of her innocence. Will also creates an online dating profile for Beiste, and is surprised when one of her suitors turns out to be former football coach Ken Tanaka (Patrick Gallagher), while Sam presents Brittany with another cat, Lady Tubbington, and she finally declares her love for him as well.

Ryder goes to the choir room the following day, but "Katie" never shows up. He then returns to the auditorium and joins his friends in a performance of "Say", during which they comfort each other after the traumatic experience.

The episode was directed by co-executive producer Bradley Buecker^[1] and written by Matthew Hodgson. It is centered on McKinley High in Lima, Ohio, and the New York cast does not appear.^[2] Show co-creator Ryan Murphy described it as "the most powerful emotional Glee ever".^[3]

Prior to the episode, a warning was shown: "This episode of Glee addresses the topic of school violence. Viewer discretion is advised." This marks the first time that a parental advisory warning was used in the show.

The episode features the feline character Lord Tubbington, Brittany's cat. A video about the episode released by the show to YouTube discussed the difficulties of working with animals.^[1]

Recurring characters in this episode include McKinley High football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones), Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) and glee club members Wade "Unique" Adams (Alex Newell), Marley Rose (Melissa Benoist), Jake Puckerman (Jacob Artist), Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin) and Ryder Lynn (Blake Jenner), cheerleader Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter), Marley's mother and McKinley lunch lady Millie Rose (Trisha Rae Stahl) and Ryder's online love interest "Katie Fitzgerald", who has used the likeness of a McKinley student named Marissa (Ginny Gardner).^[4] When Ryder calls "Katie" he finds that a glee club member is the mysterious "Katie".

The three songs from the episode are all being released as singles: Extreme's "More Than Words" sung by Overstreet and Morris with New Directions, Elton John's "Your Song" performed by Jenner, and John Mayer's "Say" performed by New Directions.^[5][6][7]