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[[File:Glee-cast_6047.jpg|frame|''Don't Stop Believin''']]
{{quote|''"
|'''Rachel Berry'''|"Pilot"}}
''Glee'' is
The musical numbers are usually given an in-universe justification with the activities of the Glee club, instead of seemingly springing fully formed from the minds of characters in normal situations, as with most musicals. [[That Reminds Me of a Song]] is in full effect here. From time to time, an individual ''does'' just break into a full-on song and dance sequence with back-up dancers and props and so forth, and it cuts from location to location mid-stream (just like a music video); based on contextual clues, these moments appear to be taking place at least partially in the individual's thoughts.
Tons of character stereotypes show up (arguably on purpose) to the point of reviving a few [[Dead Horse Trope
The series had a [[Fake Crossover]] [http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/archie-glee-crossover-sees-clash-between-riverdale-and-mckinley-1.1374719 with the Archie universe] in ''Archie Meets Glee''. It also spawned a British singing contest called ''Don't Stop Believing'' (yes, with the 'g') that [[British Brevity|lasted six episodes]] in summer 2010, was won by the only team who sang [[Barbra Streisand]], and has never been mentioned since.
Please note that ''[[The Glee Project]]'' has its own page, so don't put examples from that here.
----
{{tropelist}}
== A-B ==
* [[Aborted Arc]]: Repeatedly.
** Most notably was any Finn story lines occurring past season 4, since between season 4 and 5, [[Cory Monteith]] [[Author Existence Failure|passed away]].
** Quinn's vague threat of doing something mischievous in New York only to just get a haircut.
** The show makes a big deal out of setting up a [[Betty and Veronica]] love triangle with Sue, Coach Bieste, and Cooter, only for Bieste and Cooter to get married offscreen.
** The second half of season one built up an [[
** Sugar's lack of singing skill. It initially keeps her from getting into the New Directions, and we see a touch of it during the Troubletones' rehearsal time, but in actual performances it's never a problem. In fact, when the Troubletones are dissolved and rejoin the New Directions, she joins along with the rest of the former New Directions members, no fuss.
* [[Ascended Meme]]: In "Furt", Finn makes a speech about [[Portmanteau Couple Name|Portmanteau Couple Names]] in the school.
* [[Adaptation Displacement]]:
*
** Similarly, the versions of [[The Rocky Horror Picture Show|''Rocky Horror'']] and ''[[Grease]]'' that the club puts on are movie based, rather than the actual stage productions.
* [[Adults Are Useless]]: To an extent.
** The adults do nothing about bullying at McKinley (although this is [[Truth in Television]]), and even Will passively permits this. The school board dismisses the claim {{spoiler|of Karofsky's death threat and only give him a verbal warning}}. Strangely averted by Sue, who genuinely wants to help Kurt, but is held back by protocol, and even resigns the position of principal so that she can help him better. Not that it helps.
** Twice within the first three episodes of Season 1, everything is going to pot until the kids stop listening to the adults and take charge themselves. In fact, if you include the Disco/Push it dilemma, they're three for three.
** Will is an [[Averted Trope|aversion]], at least if you ask the members of New Directions. They even sing "My Life Would Suck Without You" in his honor. Many viewers, however, would consider that an [[Informed Attribute]] because he actually has been pretty useless when the kids needed him (Kurt being bullied, Santana's public outing, etc).
** This trope is brought up in the episode "On My Way". When Karofsky {{spoiler|tries to kill himself}} the faculty of McKinley conference in the principal's office. Among the things said, Sue says that {{spoiler|she should've seen it coming, because she was principal when he was bullying Kurt and she knew something was up}}. Will says that {{spoiler|they were all hard on Dave because they thought he'd hurt Kurt, they just didn't imagine that he'd hurt himself}}.
{{quote|'''Principal Figgins''': It wasn't our job to know.
'''Emma''': Then whose job was it?}}
** A minor example in "Dynamic Duets". The Glee Club's Nationals Trophy is stolen by the Warblers, who refuse to give it back unless Blaine rejoins them. Eventually, Blaine and Sam break into the school and take it back. Principal Figgins doesn't seem to care much that a major piece of school property was stolen and is being held for ransom - in fact, his reaction is never mentioned, nor is that of the Dalton administration.
* [[Aerith and Bob]]: Of the new characters, this is somewhat the case. You have Blaine, Rory, Sugar and Joe.
* [[Aesop Amnesia]]: All the freaking time. If someone learns a lesson, don't expect it to stick.
** A particularly stinging example is Rachel's audition for NYADA (the fictional New York Academy of the Dramatic Arts). Back when she auditioned for ''[[West Side Story]],'' Shelby suggested she perform a more vocally-trying song than originally intended, and that she'd never get anywhere without taking risks. {{spoiler|But when it's time for her big NYADA audition, she sticks to a "safe" song and even tells Kurt to do the same. Three guesses as to the outcome of said audition...}}
* [[Affably Evil]]: Sebastian has definitely acted this way this season, particularly when he told Kurt right to his face that he was going to try to seduce Blaine away from him, and then later after Blaine rejected him, when he injured Blaine's eye with a slushy filled with rock salt.
* [[Age-Inappropriate Art]]: Every so often, New Directions performs musical numbers that are '''really''' not appropriate to be taught at schools; examples include "Push It", "Toxic", the entirety of "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", and "Do You Wanna Touch Me".
* [[All Asians Are Alike]]: Seems to be a running gag with Mike and Tina. They got together at Asian Camp and in "Duets", after they started arguing, Mike says they "should go to Asian couples therapy." [[Lampshade Hanging|Tina wonders why it has to be Asian.]] Furthermore, they are able to find out that Rachel gave Sunshine directions to a crackhouse for auditions because the "Asian community is very tight-knit." Sunshine is Filipino while Mike and Tina are Chinese, two communities that generally have little in common.
** As a meta-example, Mike Chang is played by Harry Shum, Jr., a Chinese-American. His father is played by a Korean-American actor and his mother is played by a Japanese-American actress.
* [[All Gays Are Promiscuous]]: Inverted in Kurt's case; he
* [[All Guys Want Cheerleaders]]: Quinn, as head cheerleader was the most popular girl in school, when Santana took over as cheer captain she claimed that title.
* [[All Part of the Show]]: In a totally natural sense, Figgins believes that the Glee Club's vomit attack during their performance of "Tik Tok" was all special effects. In reality, New Directions was drunk off their asses.
* [[Alpha Bitch]]: It seems to be a constantly rotating spot on the show, with each example eventually vacating the spot after becoming a [[Lovable Alpha Bitch]]. It was Quinn at the beginning of the show, followed soon after by Santana for the next two seasons. Kitty was introduced to take over role in season 4 after Santana moved to New York. After Kitty came Bree in season 5, who even the former title holder thinks is a "stone cold bitch".
* [[Altar the Speed]]:
** Emma and Ken, almost, in the first season... and then Emma and Carl for real in the second season.
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* [[Auto-Tune]]: Every song to varying degrees. Including successful Broadway actresses like Lea freaking Michele. Also mentioned [[Leaning on the Fourth Wall|in-series]].
* [[The Baby Trap]]: After thinking she's pregnant and finding out it was just a hysterical pregnancy, Terri continues to claim to be pregnant to continue her failing marriage with Will. Quinn also tells Finn he's the father of her baby when in actuality Puck is really the father. And in testament to the utter ridiculousness of the show, the two manage to overlap.
* [[Backhanded Apology]]: Santana delivers a ''nasty'' one to Finn in "Mash Off"
{{quote|'''Santana:''' Hey Tubs! Can I talk to you for a second?
'''Rory:''' Hey, listen here. You can't make fun of Finn anymore.
'''Santana:''' Shut your potato hole, I'm here to apologize. ''[to Finn]'' Rachel's right, I haven't been fair to you. You're not fat. I should know, I slept with you. I mean, at some point I must have liked that you look like a taco addict who's had one too many back alley liposuctions.
'''Rory:''' Whoa.
'''Santana:''' Please stick a sock in it or ship yourself back to Scotland. I'm trying to apologize to Lumps The Clown. ''[back to Finn]'' I am sorry, Finn. I mean, really, I'm sorry that the New Directions are gonna get crushed by the Troubletones. And also sorry that you have no talent. Sorry that you sing like you're getting your prostate checked, and you dance like you've been asleep for years and someone just woke you up. Have fun riding on Rachel's coattails for the rest of your life, although, you know what, I would just watch out for her come holiday time if I were him, because if I were her, I'd stick a stent in one of those boobs and let the Finn blubber light the Hanukkah lamp for eight magical nights.}}
* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Puck and pretty much [[All Girls Want Bad Boys|every girl he flirts with]].
* [[Berserk Button]]:
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* [[Bi the Way]]: Possibly Brittany; so far, she's only identified as bi-curious.
* [[Black Best Friend]]: Mercedes to Kurt, at least after "Acafellas", and to Quinn, after "Home". Also Azimio to Karofsky {{spoiler|until "On My Way"; in the hospital, Karofsky mentions to Kurt that Azimio doesn't want to see him any more because of his sexuality}}.
* [[Black Comedy]]: Fairly common, depending on the writer. As in the third episode when the shop teacher loses both his thumbs and they get him a cake with hands on it and the legend "Two Thumbs Up!"
{{quote|'''Will:''' How do you guys answer the phone?
'''Mercedes:''' What up?
'''Artie:''' Who dis be?
'''Kurt:''' No, she's dead; this is her son.}}
* [[Black Comedy Rape]]: Brittany lost her virginity at summer camp when an "alien" came into her tent.
** How Sue blackmailed Figgins, by slipping him a roofie and then taking a picture of two of them in bed together. As Sue was in her tracksuit at this point, we don't know if anything happened or she just made Figgins ''think'' it did.
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* [[Blessed with Suck]]: One of the more interesting subtexts of the show -- Musical talent is treated as a heady mix of this and [[Cursed with Awesome]], depending on the situation. This becomes even more thought-provoking once you think of all the times the characters [[I Just Want to Be Normal|Just Want To Be Normal]].
* [[Blondes Are Evil]]: Sue, Terri, and Kendra (Terri's sister) are all played fairly straight, although with the exception of Kendra they are given redeeming qualities in varying degrees. Quinn starts out this way, but [[Heel Face Turn|changes as the series progresses]], especially after getting pregnant and later getting {{spoiler|kicked out of the Cheerios}}. Averted by Brittany, who seems genuinely sweet (possibly because she's too dumb for cruelty).
* [[Book Ends]]
** In the "Loser Like Me"/"Homecoming" two-part premiere for season 6. Near the beginning of the first episode Rachel hops into a golf-cart and is driven out of her studio. At the end of the second she hops in another one and rides it to the homecoming dance.
** In the first episode Rachel says "being a part of something special makes you special". Years later, in the final episode, she amends this to "something is special because you're a part of it".
** The first episode closes with the hand-raise of all the kids of the glee club (at that time a measly six) in their red outfits in the auditorium, the final episode does the same but this time there are all the dozens of cast members.
** The first filmed shot for the show was [[Cory Monteith]]'s face, so was the last via the "Finn Hudson Memorial Auditorium" sign.
** In Season Five, when the glee club temporarily ends, all the glee kids appear in the auditorium to sing to Will in the approximate order they joined the club in, making this part a literal book-ended mirror for the original glee club.
* [[Both Sides Have a Point]]: In "On My Way", prayers are offered during a God Squad meeting once news of Dave Karofsky's {{spoiler|attempted suicide by hanging}} comes out, but Quinn denounces his actions as selfish and then says that she doesn't know what would drive her to the edge. This is bad timing, because Kurt arrives and, [[It's All My Fault|due to his guilt over ignoring Dave's repeated phone calls that week]] on top of [[Rant-Inducing Slight|minor comments often being enough for him to release his built-up rage]], asserts that Quinn's pregnancy and completely reinventing herself as a bad girl doesn't come anywhere close to the [[Gayngst|problems {{spoiler|being gay}} presents you with in life]] - not realizing or caring that she was disowned, her status as head cheerleader slipped to the point that she had slushes thrown in her face just like the other glee club members, Sue removed her from the cheerleading squad because of her pregnancy, and that Finn dumping her [[Kick the Dog|right after a ''funeral'' because he realized how much he loved someone else during that funeral]] caused her to ask why she can't find love and why her dreams can't come true and admit that she just wants somebody to love her. The most Dave struggled with up to that point was {{spoiler|being bullied by his teammates in the locker room after being outed and also being mercilessly attacked online}}, and [[What the Hell, Hero?|Quinn rebuffs Kurt for making such a comparison]] until he cuts her off, dropping the subject altogether after realizing that she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. Quinn hasn't quite gotten a handle on [[It's All About Me|caring about people other than herself though]], and tells him that she finds it hard to imagine being in a position in which she'd consider {{spoiler|taking her own life}}; Kurt then makes a valid point that no one can be in exactly the same position as someone else and [[No Sympathy|she shouldn't write Dave off just because he isn't as strong as she is]].
* [[Bowdlerize]]: The ''Rocky Horror Picture Show'' is butchered both in-universe and out.
* [[Break the Cutie]]:
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** While the Aesop in "Blame it on the Alcohol" was good, the kids most likely threw up onstage not because they were drunk but because what they drank contained [[Gargle Blaster|various remnants of Rachel's dads' liquor cabinet, kool-aid]], [[Squick|cough syrup, and crumbled up oreos]]. Many believe the episode to be a [[Spoof Aesop]] that's been [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|thinly disguised to appease the network.]]
** Another one in "Blame it on the Alcohol": Kurt says that bisexuality is a myth used by people who are afraid of being "totally gay," and Blaine calls him out on it. In the end, Blaine realizes that he isn't actually bi because he has no chemistry with Rachel. So bisexuality isn't a shield to hide your gayness, it's just brought on by drunkeness!
** Many of Quinn's storylines appear to be this—she creates the "Glist" to regain her popularity or something even though she knows exactly how it feels to be teased and ostracized, as she was when she was pregnant. And then in "Born This Way," it's revealed she {{spoiler|used to be overweight and "ugly" and was mocked for it, so [[I Just Want to Be Beautiful|she lost weight, got a nose job,]] [[Do Not Call Me "Paul"|and changed her name]]}}. Instead of learning from this how it feels to be bullied, she instead bullies others for exactly those same shallow reasons. And when Lauren reveals the truth about her to the school to hurt her chances for prom queen, they [[Completely Missing the Point|completely miss the point]] and suddenly love her because she was once "one of them." Never mind the fact that she's now beautiful and a heinous bitch. And this is in the episode about embracing your imperfections.
** There seems to even be one in-story in "Born This Way". The word Will writes on the board is acceptance and then tells the kids to make t-shirts about things that make them different and special that they should embrace because they can't change, and most of the kids do that but Will tells Emma that her shirt should have been about her OCD, and while she does need to admit that she's OCD, it's not something that she should just accept because it can be changed and in Emma's case it really needs to change because her OCD is having severe effects on her ability to live her life.
* [[Brutal Honesty]]: In "Unicorn", Kurt is feeling insecure about his masculinity, after learning he may not be a shoo-in for the lead in ''[[West Side Story]]'' as he previously though, and goes to his dad for advice. Burt, on the other hand, tells his son he's probably one of the most least masculine boys ever, but manages to turn this speech into a [[Crowning Moment of Heartwarming]].
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* [[The Bus Came Back]]: For Jesse, Sunshine, and April at different points in Season 2, as well as Shelby in Season Three. The bus was also nice enough to stop and bring back Sam Evans in Season 3 - just in time for Sectionals no less!
* [[But Not Too Gay]]:
** An early criticism of the show is that Rachel talked about her dads a lot but we never actually got to meet them. Their appearance in the third season finally put this to rest.
** More prominent in earlier seasons, mostly due to network restrictions. In season two, Kurt and Blaine have their first kiss and it's precisely the kind of hot, full-on whopper you'd expect any teenage boy to plant on the person he's crazy about. In season three however, both Kurt and Blaine and Santana and Brittany barely show any affection on screen. As mentioned above, Santana and Brittany took over a dozen episodes from becoming an official couple and sharing their first on-screen kiss. It became especially obvious when they titled an episode "I Kissed A Girl" and there were no girls kissing. It was such an issue that there was a massive [[Internet Backdraft]], compelling the writers to finally let the whole thing become a minor plot point in "Heart" when they got in trouble for sharing a peck in the hallway, while straight couple Finn and Rachel could make out all over the place with no consequence.
** In "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", Kurt and Blaine refer to each other as holiday roommates in the holiday special for the local PBS station that Artie has been asked to direct; however, Santana and Brittany get to hold hands and snuggle.
** Season Four was pretty much the same, but there was at least an excuse considering all the show's couples were broken up. There were still a couple aversions of this trope however, most prominently in the episode "I Do", which had Kurt and Blaine having a full-on make out session in the car. In general, in seasons three and four, gay couples would only kiss if it was a [[Very Special Episode]].
** Season Five finally started to avert the trope for real. In the first two episodes of the season, Kurt and Blaine share duets, get engaged in the most over the top proposal ever, share two passionate kisses, and Santana also gets a new girlfriend that she flirts with and kisses on screen. Once Blaine moves in with Kurt mid-season, the trope is practically non-existent. They cuddle in bed, duet, dance, share steamy and casual kisses, have realistic arguments, and their very active sex life becomes somewhat of a running joke. And when Brittany comes back later in the season, she and Santana get back together with a passionate kiss.
** Season Six also averted the trope. Brittany and Santana share sweet moments cuddling in bed, kissing, sharing loving duets, and getting engaged in a simple proposal. Kurt and Blaine, while not even dating, share a very steamy kiss and their break up is a main plot point. Later in the season, both couples got married in a double wedding, which of course included kisses, dances, duets, and declarations of love.
* [[Butt Monkey]]: The whole Glee club. Rachel, however, is probably the biggest one for frequently being insulted and picked on ''within the Glee club''. And yes, it's [[Played for Laughs]].
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** Increasingly, the show treats Will and Finn this way — particularly, other characters stand around gushing about how talented, good-hearted, and attractive they both are. The latter outing Santana in "Mash Off" may have been framed as a [[Kick the Dog]] moment for him and we're clearly supposed to feel sorry for Santana ("I haven't even told my parents yet!"), but [[Depending on the Writer|whoever wrote the subsequent episode]] "I Kissed a Girl" must have heavily favored Finn since he suffered no consequences other than her slapping him. Even his gay stepbrother, and raised-by-gay-dads girlfriend, don't say anything, and in the following episode it seems that everyone is convinced that Finn did the ''right thing''. This is further escalated in Season 4, where ''after calling Sue's baby a retard'', Will decides to put him in charge of New Directions while Will is in Washington DC.
** Other characters constantly talk up Blaine as a talented, attractive dreamboat, especially in Season 3.
**
▲** To Rachel's credit, she does have enough personality and talent to back up the claims. Marley Rose, on the other hand, makes you think everyone is on some sort of drug considering that everyone talks up about how amazing she is. Yet she is as thick as two short planks, gets everything with no effort, Sue - yes, Sue - cannot say a bad thing about her, is made to be uber-special within the Glee club for no reason, has the personality of a wet blanket, a complete waste of screen-time, and has two guys chasing after for no reason other that she is pretty.
* [[The Cheerleader]]: Between them Quinn, Santana and Brittany pretty much cover all aspects of the trope , though no one character is the trope trifecta of stupid, bitchy and slutty. The offscreen Cheerios seem to fit the [[Brainless Beauty]] side of the trope if their test scores are any indication ("I have in my hand a Spanish quiz in which one of your Cheerios misspelled her name & answered every question with a drawing of a sombrero!").
* [[Chekhov's Classroom]]: Early in "A Night of Neglect", Holly is teaching Brittany and Artie's history class about Hermaphrodite Nazi Sympathizers. Guess what the final category is in the Academic Decathalon?
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** The previous episode where she was outed carried the Aesop of "Don't out people against their will," but this too was lacking. First, Santana was an [[Alpha Bitch]] who had spent the entire episode bullying Finn, so she was hardly the most sympathetic victim. Second, the outing happened after she was once again making fun of him, at which point he responded, "So when are you going to come out? Everybody knows you have feelings for Brittany..." Finn didn't make a scene nor was he spreading this fact to everybody; he had angrily said the one thing he knew would unnerve her after he grew tired of her insults. Though he did say it loudly in a crowded hallway, it was technically ''someone else'', an unnamed girl looking over her shoulder, who overheard the conversation and told her uncle, who was running for state representative against cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester. He ran a smear ad claiming that Sue was "harboring an open lesbian" on the cheerleading team, and ''that'' was the moment Santana was outed. As you can see, the situation was a little more complicated than "Finn outed Santana," and yet that formed the basis of the next episode. And at no point in ''the entire series'' did Santana ever apologize to anyone for being such a bitch.
** Another example would be "Shooting Star", where they had a school shooting... but the gun going off was entirely accidental and didn't hurt anyone, and a teacher covered for the student at fault. So there were no actual consequences for the student who brought a gun to school and caused gunshots and terrified the entire student body and faculty. Many reviews of the episode claimed the message was lost by the end, or it was a failure, or it could've been much better, etc.
** There's also ''Glee'''s harmful portrayal of eating disorders in season 4. [http://proud2bme.org/node/510 As Catherine Weingarten says], "Marley was convinced to become bulimic to avoid becoming like her [morbidly obese] mother. The mean girl Kitty easily convinces Marley that in order to play the part of “Sandy” in ''Grease'' she has to look a certain way. Marley does not even seem to understand that Kitty is getting her to experiment with dangerous eating disorder behavior. So Marley becomes fully bulimic and later even passes out during sectionals, which prompts everyone in Glee club to hate her. There is so much misinformation here about how one gets an eating disorder and the seriousness of eating disorders. It is common for people to not fully understand what an eating disorder is and only know about them through sensationalist tabloids or TV shows. Now ''Glee'' is adding itself to the list of shows spreading harmful and untrue information about eating disorders. ''Glee'' makes eating disorders seem campy and not very serious. We are supposed to be annoyed by Marley and not even care when she passes out at sectionals." There is also Liana Rosenman who wrote, "It is really dangerous [for ''Glee''] not to include a public service announcement of the dangers of eating disorders." and "Marley has an eating disorder for two days and then magically recovers. That is far from the truth. I struggled with anorexia for five years." [https://web.archive.org/web/20100209065204/http://http/://haveuheard.net/2012/11/glees-eating-disorders-sucks/ Other people have published similar sentiments]: "One topic ''Glee'' has failed horribly at covering is eating disorders. Eating disorders are often life threatening and last night's episode of ''Glee'' made it nothing short of a joke."
** Coach Beiste coming out as female-to-male transgender and beginning the transition process was supposed to carry the message that you're never too old to come out and live openly and happily. The show was trying to cash in on growing transgender visibility in the media, but Beiste was ''already'' popular with transgender/genderqueer viewers for being a masculine, cisgender, straight woman who is upfront about her feelings and insecurities, since she proved that gender expression isn't always cut-and-dry. Making her trans actually made her ''less'' interesting a character, since it carried the implication that ''all'' tomboyish women secretly want to be men.
* [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]]:
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** Everyone (with the exception of Mercedes) already knows Kurt is gay before he actually comes out. He even pretends to be straight in "Laryngitis" in hopes that his dad will like him more, and fools pretty much no one except, of course, [[The Ditz|Brittany]].
** Santana's got one, too.
* [[Compressed Vice]]: In "The Power of Madonna", the boys are suddenly shown mistreating the girls in various ways in order to set up the feminist message of the episode. This is incredibly jarring because, for instance, Artie is shown being rude and misogynistic to Tina, even though he has never displayed this attitude before.
* [[Concert Kiss]]: {{spoiler|Finn and Rachel at the end of "Pretending", complete with [[Held Gaze]]. Subverted in that the audience didn't seem too pleased, and all the other New Directions members seem to be of the opinion that it cost them a place at Nationals}}.
* [[Continuity Nod]]:
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{{quote|'''Santana''': {{spoiler|You really need to be more careful with your leering}}.
'''Karofsky''': {{spoiler|I was just checking out what kind of jeans he was wearing}}.
'''Santana''': {{spoiler|Like that's any less gay}}}}
* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]:
** [[Sarcasm Mode|Shockingly]], Sue: "I sold my house to a nice young couple and salted the earth in the backyard so that nothing could grow there for 100 years. Know why I did that? Because they tried to get me to pay their closing costs."
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'''Brittany''': Miss Sylvester says I'm not at liberty to say.}}
* [[I'll Pretend I Didn't Hear That]]: In "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", the guy hiring Artie as a director calls Artie "a modern day Tiny Tim." When he draws an offended look from Artie, he says "I'm sorry. Tiny Tim could walk." Artie's response is "In the spirit of Christmas, I'll pretend you never said that."
* [[I'm a Man, I Can't Help It
** Puck rather pathetically tries to invoke this trope upon Quinn confirming that he got a sext from Santana after grabbing his phone, and he doesn't even try to hide his wandering eyes. Quinn is ''not'' pleased.
{{quote|'''Puck:''' I'm sorry. I tried to resist Santana. I did. But I'm young. And girls have this power over me. But hey, it's all good.
'''Quinn:''' It's definitely NOT all good. I thought you wanted to be with me.
'''Puck:''' I do. Like A LOT! But you haven't given it up to me since the night I knocked you up and, baby, I'm a dude. I have needs.
'''Quinn:''' You expect to raise a baby with me and text dirty messages to every other girl at this school if I don't give it up to you everyday?
'''Puck:''' No! Just the hot girls. Look, I'm gonna be a good dad, but I'm not gonna stop being me to do it.}}
** Rod says something similar to Sue after she catches him with Andrea.
** In "Tested", Sam uses this as an excuse for being angry at Mercedes for not wanting to sleep with him just yet.
* [[Implausible Deniability]]: Sue in "Sectionals". Being Sue, she takes it to [[Refuge in Audacity]] levels.
* [[Incompatible Orientation]]:
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* [[Lyrical Dissonance]]: Frequently with ''Glee''.
== M-
* [[Magic Feather]]: The "magic comb" Artie gives to Brittany. You comb your hair with it and you can't lose.
* [[Mama Bear]]: Sue, surprisingly enough, for Becky and to a lesser extent Kurt.
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* [[Once a Season]]: The sixth episode of every season is a mash-off competition. In the first two seasons, it was boys vs. girls ("Vitamin D" and "Never Been Kissed"), and in the third, it was New Directions vs. The Troubletones ("Mash Off").
* [[One-Gender School]]: Dalton Academy and its sister school, Crawford Country Day.
* [[One-Scene Wonder]]: Many fans are already clamoring for the return of Bryan Ryan, a one-episode character played by [[Neil Patrick Harris]]. Does this really surprise anyone? [[Neil Patrick Harris]] + [[Joss Whedon]] = [[
** More like a One Episode Wonder, but The Papas Berry, as played by [[Jeff Goldblum]] and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Pure gold from start to finish and by ''God'' they cast those roles well!
* [[One Steve Limit]]:
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** In "Britney/Brittany", Emma's new boyfriend mentions that he shook up his dull life by impulsively buying a convertible at his local Chevy dealership. Not long after, Will "impulsively" buys the exact same model, and in case you can't identify cars by sight, the camera helpfully stays fixed on the Corvette logo for several seconds. Guess what sports car appears during the very next commercial break?
* [[Prom Is for Straight Kids]]: Discussed, as Blaine is reluctant to go because of a bad incident during a Sadie Hawkins dance at his former school. But it's averted (mostly) as Kurt and Blaine seemingly go without a hitch and Brittany can be seen dancing with a girl at one point.
* [[Protagonist-Centered Morality]]:
** Much of the drama in Finn and Rachel's relationship has shades of this trope, mostly in regards to the former. In the pilot, Finn admits that he doesn't want to be the guy that just drives around throwing eggs at people, and Rachel replies in a manner that suggests he used to do it to her, but this is [[Played for Laughs]]. In "Funk", [[Romantic False Lead|Jesse]] does the exact same thing after luring her to the parking lot, but this is more of an attempt to [[Derailing Love Interests|divert viewer sympathy away from him and drive Rachel back into Finn's arms]]. Much more angst is centered around Quinn telling Finn that he's the father of her child [[Your Cheating Heart|despite the actual father being ''Puck'']], [[Sympathetic Adulterer|but Finn is still portrayed sympathetically despite kissing Rachel during a private rehearsal in "Showmance", the fact that he was still dating Quinn at the time going completely ignored]]. He promptly dumps Rachel in "Special Education" after she confessed that she took Puck back to her place to [[Operation: Jealousy|make out]] [[Disproportionate Retribution|in order to make him feel as bad as she did]], telling her she should have known how sensitive he'd be to cheating after what happened with Quinn and that he never thought she'd make him feel humiliated, but he [[Hypocrite|doesn't seem to care about how sensitive Rachel is about honesty being something that's needed in a relationship]] - after he laughs at Santana's remark about Rachel dressing like one of the bait girls in ''[[To Catch a Predator]]'' and she looks at Finn to question why he didn't defend her, he tells her that Santana has a point and that [[Ironic Echo|he's just trying to be honest]]. The list just goes on and on and on and on...
** This is one of the reasons some critics found the bullying storyline which begun in "Never Been Kissed" inherently flawed, as the show had previously treated bullying in a light-hearted manner. To elaborate: Dave Karofsky is revealed to be a closeted homosexual and these feelings cause him a lot of difficulties and confusion, something that Kurt and Blaine try to get him to come to terms with. However, Karofsky denies that anything happened and soon returns to bullying Kurt, which includes threatening to kill him if Kurt reveals his closeted homosexuality. It's clear that the show treats Karofsky's bullying seriously and his [[Villainous Crush]] does not frame him in a positive light just because he is putting himself through confusion and torture being closeted. The issue arises when the show does just that with Santana Lopez's bullying. In "Sexy", she tearfully confesses to Brittany that she is love with her and wants to be with her, but is also afraid of being bullied and ostracized for coming out as a lesbian. She too continues to be a bitch even after the truth [[Incredibly Lame Pun|comes out]] despite Brittany encouraging her to be true to herself, but she nonetheless still insists that Santana is not a bad person and defends her - it gets especially egregious in "Pot o' Gold" where Brittany's response to Finn merely telling her that leprechauns are not real and that she is being stupid is to tell him that such talk "is bullying and [she] won't accept it" as Santana stands ''right next to her''.▼
** This trope often occurs in scenes involving Santana and Brittany, as the first season introduced them as sidekicks to [[Alpha Bitch|Quinn]] that assisted her in being unrepentantly and unremittingly villainous. Quinn ended up [[Character Development|becoming a better person]] when fans started feeling sympathetic to what she was going through, whereas Santana and Brittany [[Ensemble Darkhorse|gained a throng of fans]] that instead embraced their [[Deadpan Snarker|incredibly snarky]] one-liners. This lead to their bullying being dialed [[Up To Eleven]], with varying results:
▲***
*** In "Rumors", a blind item in the McKinley paper talks about a prom queen candidate "spending a lot of time in the closet" after Brittany casually confirms a rumor about Santana playing for the other team on her new internet talk show... meaning it's not much of a blind item at all. [[The Ditz|Brittany]] claims [[Bait and Switch|she was referring to the fact that Santana used to be on the Cheerios and now is in New Directions]], but the fact that her guests already ''knew'' this and had nothing to gain from spreading that gossip around the school makes this out to be [[Blatant Lies]]. This is treated as not being that big a deal, and [[Easily Forgiven|Santana holds it against her for all of ten seconds before dropping the subject altogether]]. In "Mash Off", Finn tells Santana to come out of the closet in the school hallway and [["The Reason You Suck" Speech|calls her a coward for constantly tearing others down while not accepting herself and her relationship with Brittany]]. Finn claims everyone knows and doesn't care, but the fact that one of Sue's opponents releases an attack ad criticizing her for choosing a lesbian as head cheerleader ''just'' after his niece tells him about the conversation between Santana and Finn, and that some douchey sophomore named Josh tries to seduce Santana to "make her normal" after seeing it, makes this claim seem like [[Blatant Lies]]. However, [[Metaphorically True|Finn's claim does still ring true to a certain degree]]; gossip is not of much use for a serious political campaign since information is more credible if it's from a specific source, and Josh would just dismiss simple gossip that seriously acknowledges a relationship between two women since [[Cure Your Gays|being gay is just some silly fantasy to be corrected and doesn't actually exist]] in the minds of men like him, but a commercial on TV is presumably strong enough to get over the same threshold that hearing it from the source does. Considering that Finn is made to look like the bad guy in this glee club competition storyline - be it through treating Blaine like shit, failing to stand up for Rory, or [[Beware the Nice Ones|losing his temper blasting Brittany's simple, goofy belief system]] - this is framed as him [[Kick the Dog|succumbing to his less nice and less responsible side]] once more, and Santana holds it against him to the point that she [[Armor-Piercing Slap|slaps him in the face]].
*** Most of the glee kids are less than enthused after Finn and Rachel reveal their marriage plans, and their parents go as far as to arrange for the couple to spend the night together in Rachel's room expecting that the reality of having to live together will encourage the teens to postpone their wedding. The fact that Finn drives her to a train station and tells her that he loves her too much to marry her if it means she has to give up her dreams, after Rachel decides to defer her college admission for a year to help Finn and Kurt reapply for their colleges, proves those factions all correct in being dead set against teen marriage. Although Burt ''does'' tell Kurt a story while heading to Blaine's surprise proposal about how he met his mom young and proposed to her quite early on, and even though it was hard he just wished he had more time with her before she died and asked her even sooner<ref>This talk about only having a few days when you come down to it implies that a certain real-life tragedy caused this [[Hypocrite|sudden in-universe 360]], since the news of [[Cory Monteith|Cory Monteith's]] passing came out just before the fifth season started production and caused it to be delayed a week later than originally planned.</ref> - Kurt calls off the engagement after his fantasies about what life with Blaine was going to be like fell apart and he didn't know how to deal with that.<ref>[[History Repeats|Their expectations about love as a magical remedy to their problems could remind one of Finn]] after he found out his dad suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and that plus a dishonorable discharge started a chain of events that led to him ending up in Cincinnati where he died from a drug overdose in "Yes/No", to the point where Kurt even tells him that [[What the Hell, Hero?|he believes he is considering matrimony because he has given up too early on his own dreams]].</ref> [[Earn Your Happy Ending|In the process of putting themselves back together and finding their way to each other]] before Kurt is manipulated into matrimonial commitment ''again'', he and Blaine talk in their vows about how they'd make the same choice to marry each other even if someone told them their struggle would end up in heartache. In "Jagged Little Tapestry", Kurt objects after Santana proposes marriage to Brittany and says the two are too young, but the fact that Santana later finds him and unleashes the most ''scathing'' [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] in ''Glee'' history where she also manages to insult Kurt's own brand of gayness while she's at it really shows that she's still [[Alpha Bitch|the same high school bitch]] [[Static Character|she's always been]]. [[Positive Discrimination|Kurt is framed as the wrong party who is really just against people marrying young because of his relationship with Blaine going south and the fact that Blaine has moved on a serious amount, and ''he's'' the one who has to apologize]]. Go figure.
** In "Hold onto Sixteen", Quinn is repeatedly told by Rachel that she would be doing the wrong thing by informing people of Shelby's sexual relationship with Puck, which would cause her to lose her job, prove her an unfit mother and allow Quinn to retake her child. Despite Quinn having selfish motives for wanting to reveal the affair, the fact remains that Shelby ''shouldn't'' have gotten involved with Puck, a student at the school she works at and if she had lost the job and the child as a result of this, it would have ultimately been her ''own'' fault.
* [[Put on a Bus]]: Multiple characters. Special note goes to pretty much all of the new New Directioners, with Kitty being the only one retained for the final season, although Unique does make a cameo. It makes sense, mind you, since their plot was intended to be tied to Finn's, with his death making them more or less redundant, but it doesn't make it any less jarring when they essentially disappeared, with only Marley even getting a line in the episode "New Directions."
* [[The Quarterback]]: Finn "The Quarterback" Hudson, and to a lesser extent, Sam. Finn is the well-respected quarterback, who has the loyalty of his team enough to get them to join the glee club, and with the help of Sam, Santana, and Bieste reforms them to not bully people. He was also decent enough in the beginning to not actually partake in the terrorizing of students that his teammates did, and lets them prepare for the standard bullying he approves of. Confident and truthful enough to dump his [[Alpha Bitch]] cheerleader girlfriend for one of the school "losers", and after a couple of seasons manages to regain his status. Rallies the football team, the glee club, and the school.
** [[Discussed]] in "The Hurt Locker Part Two" when Spencer wants to be starting quarterback, and Sam wants him to show he can make a stand before he'll give him the position, so gives him a [[Rousing Speech]]:
{{quote|'''Spencer:''' Well, now that Beiste is gone and you're coach, I assumed I'm gonna be starting quarterback, so I got to be ready, right?
'''Sam:''' Yeah, um, actually, I kind of changed my mind about that. [...] You got the arm for it, but, uh, quarterbacks are leaders, not cowards. [...] Look, man. Every movement needs a leader, someone to step out in the light and say, "Hey, this is me. This is who I am, and this is what I stand for." Look, I get it, high school is tough, but you can do this, and they will lose their judgment as soon as you lose yours. I got your back here, dude — And that guy right there, Finn, was one of my best friends, and he was the quarterback here, and when he joined the glee club, it changed everything here forever. Pick up where he left off, and it'll be the best thing that's ever happened to you.}}
== R-S ==
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* [[Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism]]: Exactly where ''Glee'' falls on the scale remains up for debate. Watching the half-season "finale" (see [[Happy Ending]] above), one is hard-pressed to think the show isn't awfully idealistic. But characters like April Rhodes, and the end of "Mattress" give rise to an [[Alternative Character Interpretation|alternative series interpretation]]. There are [http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/tvshow/glee,85/ those] who believe the apparent idealism of the show masks a deep sadness. {{spoiler|The season finale seems to confirm the idea that the show falls in the middle of the scale: New Directions doesn't place at Regionals and is almost shut down by Figgins, but ends up getting another year because of Sue}}.
* [[Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness]]: Glee has jumped around on this scale, though increasingly it appears to be coming to terms with its innately goofy nature.
* [[Slut
** Emma yells at Will for being a slut. A lot of people in the show get blasted, as when Quinn deals with her pregnancy or when Sue kicks Santana off the Cheerios for getting a boob job. The second episode of the fourth season involves a musical attack on Jake for his womanizing.
** Quinn and Santana's efforts to talk Rachel out of doing a nude scene really comes off as this, as well.
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** Wes and David are simply Warblers, and possibly Blaine's friends. They've only spoken once or twice, and always about the Warblers, such as when Blaine enlisted their help to address Kurt's spying.
* [[The Three Faces of Eve]]: The three main Cheerios: Quinn (the mother), Brittany (the child), and Santana (the seductress).
* [[Timeshifted Actor]]: Eight year-old Kurt appears in flashback scenes in "Grilled Cheesus", played by young actor Adam Kolkin who bears [https://web.archive.org/web/20130621125630/http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/Adam-Kolkin_Chris-Colfer_Kolkin-Family.jpg an astonishing resemblance to Chris Colfer.]
* [[Title Drop]]:
** Done by Kurt and Beiste in "Never Been Kissed".
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* [[Underdogs Never Lose]]: Subverted.
* [[The Unfair Sex]]:
**
** In the second season, {{spoiler|a kiss from Quinn}} re-ignites Finn's feelings for her - despite Quinn spending most of their past relationship [[Why Would Anyone Take Him Back?|repeatedly telling him he's stupid, attempting to control his hobbies and activities]], and [[The Baby Trap|tricking him into raising and paying for a child that isn't even his]]. This could easily come across as [[Double Standard Abuse (Female on Male)|problematic]], especially because Quinn continues her need to be in control after she [[Your Cheating Heart|begins an affair with Finn]] [[History Repeats|despite dating Sam at the time]], because she thinks getting back with Finn will put her in a position of power. [[Subverted Trope|However]], Finn telling Quinn that her cheating hurt because it meant that she didn't love him once again paints ''him'' in a bad light as well [[Moral Myopia|because he has no problem hurting Sam in the exact same manner and nearly comes to blows with him over a newspaper blind item that pairs him and Quinn]]. Outside of Sam pointing out how Finn's [[Hypocrite|got a lot of nerve accusing him of cheating when he's the one who snuck in and stole his girl]], and a brief mention of this alleged coupling being karma, sabotaging Quinn's happy relationship later turns out to be all for naught since Finn eventually realizes how much he loves someone else during a funeral and decides to break up with Quinn [[Kick the Dog|''right after that funeral'']]. He is not held accountable for this either since it couldn't distract from the fact that Finn/Rachel had to become the [[Official Couple]] again. Quinn, on the other hand...
{{quote|'''Quinn:''' I've cheated twice in my life. The first time, I got pregnant. The second time, I got mono. [[Laser-Guided Karma|I think the universe is trying to tell me something.]]}}
** Even though Brittany cheated on Artie with Santana for months, the show presents their breakup as ''Artie's'' fault for calling her stupid because Santana had persuaded her that it wasn't cheating "if the plumbing is different". Additionally, Santana has called Brittany stupid plenty of times, and got away with it. Likewise his first relationship with Tina ended because he was a "bad boyfriend." Never mind that she cheated on him with Mike.
** The show also has an interesting variation of this trope with regards to sexuality; gay characters are forgiven, even lauded, for behavior that would be treated as villainous in others. Kurt, who seemed to seriously believe that he could change Finn's orientation despite being adamant that his homosexuality was an immutable part of who he was, hooks his father up with Finn's mother. When they prepare to move into the Hummel household, Kurt has already arranged for Finn to have to share his bedroom, which Kurt has decorated in a disturbingly date rape-y manner. Finn's frustrated and homophobic reaction is treated as worse than Kurt's clear intent to molest him. Likewise, Santana stalks Finn through the halls of the school and loudly humiliates him as part of a plan to crush his self-esteem and eliminate him as a musical rival. When he loses his temper and blurts out that she is in love with Brittany (note that he does ''not'' outright call her a lesbian), it is treated as the most horrible offence imaginable because he outed her. Santana's campaign to emotionally destroy him is completely forgotten and ''she'' is regarded as the victim.
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[[Category:Glee]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:School Club Stories]]
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