What the World Needs Now (Glee)

Last updated
"What the World Needs Now"
Glee episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 6
Directed byBarbara Brown
Written by Michael Hitchcock
Featured music"I'll Never Fall in Love Again"
"Baby It's You"
"Wishin' and Hopin'"
"Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"
"Promises, Promises"
"Alfie"
"What the World Needs Now Is Love"
Production code6ARC06
Original air dateFebruary 6, 2015 (2015-02-06)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Hurt Locker, Part Two"
Next 
"Transitioning"
Glee (season 6)
List of episodes

"What the World Needs Now" is the sixth episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee , and the 114th overall. The episode was written by Michael Hitchcock, directed by Barbara Brown, and first aired on February 6, 2015 on Fox in the United States.

Contents

The episode takes place as Mercedes Jones returns to McKinley High to help Rachel Berry with New Directions, and at the same time convince her to attempt to return to New York to be on Broadway. Meanwhile, Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce prepare for their wedding as Brittany tries to repair the torn relationship between Santana and her grandmother. Special guest appearances were made by Ken Jeong and Jennifer Coolidge as Brittany's parents, Pierce Pierce and Whitney Pierce, and Ivonne Coll who reprised her role as Alma Lopez, the grandmother ("abuela") of Santana Lopez, for the first time since her only appearance on the season three episode "I Kissed a Girl".

The episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics and in the U.S., the episode was watched by 1.58 million viewers, making this episode the least watched episode of Glee during its entire series run.

Plot

Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) have awkward meetings as they realize that they are starting to feel romantic emotions for each other based on their previous encounters, but Sam also still has feelings for his former girlfriend Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley). Meanwhile, Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) discusses her wedding plans to Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) with her parents Pierce (Ken Jeong) and Whitney (Jennifer Coolidge). They reveal to her that Brittany's real father is Stephen Hawking, which explains her extreme intelligence. Rachel and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) give New Directions members Kitty Wilde (Becca Tobin), Spencer Porter (Marshall Williams), Jane Hayward (Samantha Marie Ware), Roderick (Noah Guthrie), Mason McCarthy (Billy Lewis Jr.) and Madison McCarthy (Laura Dreyfuss) (joined by New Directions alumni Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), Brittany, and Santana) their assignment to sing songs composed by Burt Bacharach, and they have brought in Mercedes to assist. Mercedes also tries to convince Rachel to pursue her relationship with Sam, while also informing her of an audition for a new show in New York that Rachel has been accepted to. However, Rachel is still scared from her previous failures and is not sure she wants to audition. Mercedes asks the male members of New Directions along with Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) to help her convince Rachel.

Brittany asks Artie to be her wedding planner and he accepts, as they agree on a theme of "heaven". As Brittany and Santana go through a wedding invitation list, Santana is hesitant about inviting her grandmother, Alma (Ivonne Coll), because Alma has disavowed Santana ever since she came out to her as lesbian (as seen in the episode "I Kissed a Girl"). Unknown to Santana, Brittany poses as a nurse for Alma and begins to make a friendship with her, telling her that she is engaged but not who her fiancée is. Brittany gets Alma to appear on her webcast show and state how important it is to have family be at a wedding. Sam tells Mercedes that he still has feelings for her, but Mercedes tells him that they will only be friends, and that he should go ahead and pursue Rachel. Rachel finally decides to go to New York and audition for the show. Brittany invites Alma to attend a performance where she reveals that Santana is her fiancée, but Alma's prejudice is too strong and she rejects their engagement, and Brittany tells her off for doing so. New Directions members, both alumni and new, along with Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), celebrate Brittany's and Santana's love.

Production

Ken Jeong and Jennifer Coolidge made guest appearances as Brittany's parents, Pierce Pierce and Whitney Pierce, and Ivonne Coll reprised her role as Alma Lopez, the grandmother of Santana Lopez. Returning recurring characters that appear in the episode include Heather Morris as Brittany Pierce, Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez, Becca Tobin as Kitty Wilde, Samantha Marie Ware as Jane Hayward, Noah Guthrie as Roderick, Marshall Williams as Spencer Porter, Billy Lewis Jr. as Mason McCarthy and Laura Dreyfuss as Madison McCarthy.

The episode features eight musical cover versions. All featured music from this episode was written and/or composed by Burt Bacharach. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Dionne Warwick was sung by Michele and Overstreet. "Baby It's You" by The Shirelles was sung by Riley with Michele, Morris, and Rivera. "Wishin' and Hopin'" by Dionne Warwick was sung by Morris, McHale, Criss, and Overstreet. "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)" by Christopher Cross was sung by Criss, McHale, Williams, Guthrie, Lewis Jr., Overstreet, and Colfer. "(They Long to Be) Close to You" by The Carpenters was sung by Overstreet. "Promises, Promises" from the musical Promises, Promises was sung by Michele. "Alfie" by Cilla Black was sung by Rivera. "What the World Needs Now Is Love" by Jackie DeShannon was sung by all the aforementioned performers and Morrison except Morris and Rivera.

Accompanying the music from this episode, the EP Glee: The Music, What the World Needs Now was released on February 6, 2015.

Reception

Ratings

The episode was watched by 1.58 million viewers and received a 0.5 rating/2 share in the adult 18-49 demographic, marking this episode the least watched and lowest rated episode of the entire series run. [1]

Critical response

Lauren Hoffman from Vulture thought "the performances themselves are pretty flat", but later commented "it feels like a few short weeks from now, even after we've said good-bye to these characters, they'll still exist on each other's couches, laughing and singing in a happy heap." [2] Christopher Rogers from Hollywood Life believed that "Rachel found the mojo she was missing and used it to take charge of her life." [3] The A.V. Club 's Brandon Nowalk stated in his review "The episode sneaks up on you, until finally you realize this is the most energized anyone in the cast has been in years." [4] Miranda Wicker from TV Fanatic believed that "Mercedes gave the final season the best subtitle it could possibly have when she noted that this, rehabilitating a defunct glee club, was a step on The Rachel Berry Rebuilding Project. That's really what this season has become, and hey, I don't mind." [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santana Lopez</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Santana Lopez is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character was portrayed by Naya Rivera, and has appeared in Glee from its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Santana was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan. Introduced as a minor antagonist and a sidekick to Quinn Fabray in the first episode of Glee, Santana's role grew over the course of the show's first season. In the second season, Rivera was promoted to a series regular, and Santana was given more high-profile storylines, such as the development of her romantic feelings for her best friend Brittany Pierce, and the subsequent realization that she is a lesbian. Rivera, who was vocally supportive of the love story between her and Morris' character, received widespread praise for her portrayal of Santana, as well as for her for vocal work in numerous songs performed as part of the show's central glee club, New Directions.

"New Directions" is the thirteenth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the one-hundred-first episode overall. Written and directed by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 25, 2014, and is the second part of a two-part anniversary episode that features the apparent end of New Directions after the club is shut down by principal Sue Sylvester. Many graduates of the glee club have returned, as have special guest stars Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes and Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday. This is the last appearance of Paltrow, Chenoweth, and Melissa Benoist on the series, although Benoist is still credited as a series regular throughout the remainder of the season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Evans</span> Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Sam Evans is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet, and appeared on Glee starting with the second season premiere episode entitled "Audition", first broadcast on September 21, 2010. Sam is a transfer student to William McKinley High School who becomes a member of the football team, as well as a member of the glee club, New Directions. In his first episode, Sam performs Travie McCoy's "Billionaire" with some of the guys in the glee club, but does not show up for tryouts due to the low social status of the club's members. He later joins, nonetheless.

Brittany Pierce Fictional character from the Fox series Glee

Brittany Susan Pierce is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Heather Morris, and first appeared in the show's second episode, "Showmance". Brittany was developed by Glee creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan. In Glee, Brittany is a ditzy cheerleader, or "Cheerio", for the fictional William McKinley High School, and a member of the school's glee club led by Will Schuester. Morris was originally hired to teach Beyoncé's "Single Ladies" dance to the Glee cast. At that time, the series was looking for a third cheerleader, and Morris landed the role. Morris was upgraded to a series regular in the series' second season, in which Brittany is given a larger storyline, solos and dance routines to perform.

"Britney 2.0" is the second episode of the fourth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the sixty-eighth episode overall. Written by Brad Falchuk and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, it aired on Fox in the United States on September 20, 2012, and features Glee's second episode dedicated to the music of Britney Spears. This episode features the New Directions attempting to cheer up a depressed Brittany Pierce with Britney Spears songs. Special guest star Kate Hudson returns as Rachel's dance instructor, Cassandra July.

"Thanksgiving" is the eighth episode of the fourth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the seventy-fourth episode overall. Written by Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner, and directed by Bradley Buecker, it aired on Fox in the United States on November 29, 2012. The episode features the return of many of the New Directions graduates to help in coaching the current glee club for Sectionals competition, which takes place on Thanksgiving, and the reappearance of special guest star Sarah Jessica Parker as Isabelle Wright, Kurt's boss in New York City.

"Diva" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the seventy-ninth episode overall. Written by co-creator Brad Falchuk and directed by Paris Barclay, it aired on Fox in the United States on February 7, 2013. Paris Barclay was nominated at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for this episode.

"Girls On Film" is the fifteenth episode of the fourth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the eighty-first episode overall. Written by Michael Hitchcock and directed by co-creator Ian Brennan, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 7, 2013, and features the 500th musical number filmed by Glee since its inception.

"Guilty Pleasures" is the seventeenth episode of the fourth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the eighty-third episode overall. Written by Russel Friend and Garrett Lerner and directed by Eric Stoltz, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 21, 2013. Kelley Mitchell, Jennifer Greenberg, Melissa Buell, Tym Shutchai Buacharern, Paula Jane Hamilton and Darla Albright were nominated at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series for this episode.

"All or Nothing" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the fourth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the eighty-eighth episode overall. Written by Ian Brennan and directed by Bradley Buecker, it aired on Fox in the United States on May 9, 2013. Patty Duke and Meredith Baxter make their only appearances as a lesbian couple, Jan and Liz, who were briefly considered for an ongoing storyline. Jessica Sanchez returns as Frida Romero, a powerhouse singer for a show choir competing against McKinley High's New Directions at Regionals. Meanwhile, Rachel is auditioning for a broadway role. Brittany develops an unusual attitude and gives out weird demands and Blaine reveals that he plans to propose marriage to Kurt after he meets a lesbian couple who legally marry. Brittany finally reveals she was given an acceptance into MIT and says a tearful goodbye to her friends including Santana and Sam, Ryder refuses to perform at Regionals unless a "Catfish" is revealed and Will and Emma get married in the choir room.

"Tina in the Sky with Diamonds" is the second episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the ninetieth episode overall. The episode was written and directed by series co-creator Ian Brennan and first aired on October 3, 2013 on Fox in the United States. The episode is the second of two tribute episodes to the Beatles. It features the prom, Tina Cohen-Chang runs for prom queen, the crush of Sam Evans on new school nurse, the new romance between Santana Lopez and Dani, and a surprising news for Rachel Berry about Funny Girl. Special guest star Demi Lovato makes their first appearance as Dani, a struggling artist in New York City, and Peter Facinelli returns as Rupert Campion, the Funny Girl director.

"Movin' Out" is the sixth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the ninety-fourth episode overall. It was written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by Brad Falchuk, and it aired on Fox in the United States on November 21, 2013. The episode is a tribute to the music of Billy Joel, and features seven of his songs. The episode features special guest star Tyra Banks as Bichette, the head of a modeling agency.

"Trio" is the tenth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the ninety-eighth episode overall. It aired on Fox in the United States on March 4, 2014.

"100" is the twelfth episode of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the special one-hundredth episode of the show. Written by series co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, and directed by Paris Barclay, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 18, 2014. This is a two-part episode, with the second part airing on March 25, 2014, and features the apparent end of New Directions after the club is shut down by principal Sue Sylvester. Many graduates of the glee club return, as do special guest stars Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes and Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday.

"The Untitled Rachel Berry Project" is the twentieth episode and season finale of the fifth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 108th episode overall. Written by Matthew Hodgson and directed by co-creator Brad Falchuk, it aired on Fox in the United States on May 13, 2014, and features the return of special guest star Shirley MacLaine as rich socialite June Dolloway in her second and last appearance.

Homecoming (<i>Glee</i>) 2nd episode of the 6th season of Glee

"Homecoming" is the second episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 110th overall. The episode was written by series co-creator Ryan Murphy, directed by executive producer Bradley Buecker, and first aired on January 9, 2015 on Fox in the United States along with the previous episode, "Loser Like Me", as a special two-hour premiere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagged Little Tapestry</span> 3rd episode of the sixth season of Glee

"Jagged Little Tapestry" is the third episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 111th overall. The episode was written by series co-creator Brad Falchuk, directed by Paul McCrane, and first aired on January 16, 2015, on Fox in the United States.

"Transitioning" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 115th overall. The episode was written by Matthew Hodgson, directed by Dante Di Loreto, and first aired on February 13, 2015 on Fox in the United States.

"A Wedding" is the eighth episode of the sixth season of the American musical television series Glee, and the 116th overall. The episode was written by Ross Maxwell, directed by executive producer Bradley Buecker, and first aired on February 20, 2015 on Fox in the United States.

"Dreams Come True" is the series finale of the American musical television series Glee. It is also the 13th and final episode of the show's sixth season and the 121st episode overall. Written by the show's co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan and directed by Bradley Buecker, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 20, 2015, along with the previous episode, "2009", as a special two-hour finale.

References

  1. Kondolojy, Amanda (February 9, 2015). "1-Featured Friday Final Ratings: 'Hart of Dixie', 'Dateline', 'Shark Tank' & 'Masters of Illusion' Adjusted Up; 'Cristela' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  2. Hoffman, Lauren (February 7, 2015). "Glee Recap: Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves". Vulture .
  3. Rogers, Christopher (February 6, 2015). "'Glee' Recap: Rachel Flirts With Sam & Returns To New York". Hollywood Life .
  4. Nowalk, Brandon (February 7, 2015). "Review: Glee: "What The World Needs Now"". The A.V. Club .
  5. Wicker, Miranda (February 6, 2015). "Glee Season 6 Episode 6 Review: What the World Needs Now". TV Fanatic.