glee s5ex_v1 inside-outside then upside down

8/22/2019 Glee s5eX_v1 Inside-Outside Then Upside Down

1/23

Glee s5eX Inside/Outside Then Upside Down

By

David J. Gertler

David J. [email protected]


2/23

SYNOPSIS

Despite the consistent push of Glee club to be the allinclusive home of the underdog, politics rears its ugly headas club members are vilified based on their interpretationof news items of the day.

A powerful, much needed lesson about listening, acceptanceand marginalization gets rudely interrupted with the news ofFinn Hudsons death. Rumors abound as to the cause andreactions of disbelief, accusation and anger fly when thecause is learned to be a self-induced drug overdose.

McKinley High students and teachers gather to pay their lastlast respects and entomb their thoughts on record for hisMother and the rest of his family.

The Glee discussion of the week is based on dealing with theassumptions we make about others.

EXT. SCHOOL (DAY)

Wade walks towards the school with her backpack, lookingover her shoulder, skittering.

WADE(Voice over.)

Being the only openly transgenderedindividual in this school isinsane, it means no chance of truecompanionship or even real

friendship - nobody feelscomfortable with me around, and howcould they? Were all still in thatawkward stage of life not knowingthe difference between conversationand flirting, constantly secondguessing ourselves with our ownopinions about what we like reallyjust forming.And everything we see or hearinfluences our decisions. If thecool kid says he likes a movie wehated, in a second were inagreement. But its not like heformed his own opinion, he probablyjust heard someone else say theyliked it. And if that wasnt badenough, Im one of the few openlyblack people in this part of Lima,Ohio. Lima, where you can getkilled by the police in your own

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(CONTINUED)


3/23

CONTINUED: 2.

WADE (contd)home if youre black. But that sortof thing is happening everywhere,isnt it? And all anyone else cansay is "get over it."

INT. CHOIR ROOM (DAY)

The glee club is discussing the outcome of a trialresembling that of George Zimmerman. Mr. Schuester is notyet in the room, neither is Wade.

KITTYHeres the deal, Id rather havethe wild kid who threw the firstpunch dead, than a guy who defendedhimself behind bars the rest of hislife.

RYDERAre you insane or just racist?Youd rather have the stalker witha gun on the streets than the kidwith a candy bar?

MARLEYWhy do you act like you were there,Ryder, all anyone knows is themedia sensation. There is no reasonto believe that he killed him onpurpose. Thats what "beyond a

reasonable doubt" is all about. Notpunishing people who might betelling the truth.

JAKEI cant believe you see it thatway.

MARLEYWhat way?

JAKEThe guy was obviously looking fortrouble and he should have justgone home instead of looking for afight.

MARLEYIf the situation were reversed andTyrone was the one who walked awayfrom the fight, Id say the same

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(CONTINUED)


4/23

CONTINUED: 3.

MARLEY (contd)thing. In the middle of a fightwhere no one had a level head, bothsides could claim self defense.

JAKE

But only one guy walked away. Thatguy should pay.

ARTIEAnd dont you think he would takeit back if possible? If he wantedto hide it, he probably could have.But he didnt. He took whateverresponsibility he could after thefact.

JAKEYou guys just dont get it because

youre not black.

WADE(At the doorway)

Im black. Im black and Im proud.

SONG SEQUENCE

Wade and Jake start a modernized version of James Browns"Im Black and Im Proud." This gets interrupted by Mr.Schuester walking in after about 40 seconds.


WILL SCHUESTERSettle down guys!

WADEI aint no guy!

WILL SCHUESTERJust settle down.

People take their seats. Will continues to talk.

WILL SCHUESTER (contd)Lets focus here people. Nowwhether or not the recent courtcase was really a race-issue ornot.

(CONTINUED)


5/23

CONTINUED: 4.

JAKEIt was.

WILL SCHUESTERAnd whether you agree with thejurys verdict or not. Songs likethat are not helping to bring

people together and get pastwhatever biases and xenophobiasthey have.

SAMXenophobias?

ARTIERacism.

WILL SCHUESTERIts more than racism, its fearand distancing yourself from things

strange to you, specifically peopleof other nationalities, culturesand religions. And that song, whilenot explicitly, promotesseparations and xenophobia. Itsimportant to be proud of youruniqueness. But at times likethese, the best thing to do is tocome together in those things thatunite us.Your assignment for the week is tofind songs that focus on ourdifferences for the purposes ofuniting us. Only one singer hastruly been ridiculed for being bothblack and white, and hes the onewho taught us best that it doesntmatter which one we are.

SONG SEQUENCE

The whole Glee club does a full version of Michael Jacksons"It Doesnt Matter If Youre Black or White."

INT. LOFT (DAY)

Rachel is getting warmed up dancing.

RACHEL(Voice over.)

The thought of being an understudy,a stand in, a nobody name in the

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(CONTINUED)


6/23

CONTINUED: 5.

RACHEL (contd)back of playbill is as repulsive tome as being announced under thename "many more" at an awardsceremony. Some people will know youmattered but to most, youre just a

waste of ink to take up room on thepage.However, in this one circumstance,Ill make an exception. Not becauseits for the iconic role of FannyBrice, second fiddle is secondfiddle whether its in the backyardor in Carnegie Hall. Its becausethe actor who plays Fanny Briceduring the week goes to Boston onthe weekends, and that means that8pm Friday and 2 and 8pm onSaturday is all about me. Well,

mostly about me, I do have to sharethose spots with the an alternateunderstudy.Nevertheless, three times every twoweeks, I get to play the role I wasmade to play, and since theyre onweekends, friends from out of towncan actually come see me. And thisweek, Finn is coming for the firsttime.

KURT(Arrived some time before and

was talking to Rachel.)Rachel! Have you heard a singlething I said?

RACHELIm sorry, I was -

KURTYou were in your own worldmonologuing again.

RACHELCan you blame me? Hey hows Blainedoing.

KURTIm not quite ready to talk aboutthat.

(CONTINUED)


7/23

CONTINUED: 6.

RACHELI get it.

KURTAt least when you and Finn tried toget married you were dating. We

werent even together. It wasntfair of him. But I guess maybe Ihad been sending mixed signals. Youknow, when Im with him, I want tobe with him. But I know that forright now, thats just notrealistic. I just know that Illhave to be the one to start thingsup again - if hes available whenIm ready. Do you think I did thewrong thing? Should we have livedin a perpetual engagement withoutany plan to actually get married?

That seems fake, dont you think?

RACHELIll let you know my thoughts whenyoure ready to talk about it.

KURTSorry, I guess Ive been rambling.Im sure youve felt the same way,we all have, never knowing for sureif hurting someone else was theright thing to do for the moment,especially if it hurt you too.

RACHELIve been there.

KURTAnyway, when is my brother landing?

RACHELActually, he got in late lastnight, but I told him that Icouldnt meet with him until afterclass and that hed probably have aball at FAO Schwartz.

KURTWhere an adult can be a kid.


8/23

7.

INT. SCHOOL HALLWAY (DAY)

Kitty, Sugar and Joe are standing by the lockers talking.

SUGARThis weeks assignment is so lame.

Were in Glee club, lets find somemusic that moves your hips, notsome hippie folk songs about Kum bayayaing.

JOEDo you even know the words tokumbaya? Or are you just quick todismiss any song not currently onthe hit charts as not worth yourtime.

KITTY

I hate myself for saying this, butI gotta agree with Sugar on this.No one cares what the lyrics are ifthe song doesnt sound right.

JAKE(walks up)

Thats kind of the point, isnt it?God, youre shallow. What you justsaid is that you dont care howgreat the content if somethingisnt packaged the way you like.Im going to have to go Martin

Luther King on you here and say yougotta stop judging by the color ofthe skin, and start checking thecontent of the character.But I guess when all you have ispretty package, you have to hopenobody wants to look beyond thesurface.

KITTYWhy do you have to make everythingabout race? I was talking aboutmusic. So hows that for ignoringthe content?

JAKEAre you really so naive that youactually dont get it?

(CONTINUED)


9/23

CONTINUED: 8.

MARLEY(walks up)

Jake.

JAKEAnd you, I dont know, I thought we

were on the same team.

MARLEYWe are, but we have to discussthings together. I thought aboutit, I understand how you feel. Idont think anyone here thinksTyrone should have died-

KITTYIm okay with it.

MARLEY

- Or that the man who killed himshould have gotten away with it.But I would like to actually talkwith you, away from everyone else,and I want you to hear the verylittle bit of difference that Ithink separates our points of view.


Students are seated, Will is ready to begin.

WILL SCHUESTERCome on guys, give me something.There are so many songs out there.Like it or not, good songs impactthe way we feel: how we see theworld around us. And if all you canfind are songs that divide us,where does that leave your entiregeneration?

BLAINEMr. Schue, I love just about everykind of music - from the rhythms ofBig Band to the solid intensity putout by some of todays greatestmusicians. And theres nothingwrong with a "Ballad of Ira Hayes"or anything like that, but the typeof song youre looking for is justtoo preachy and flat.

(CONTINUED)


10/23

CONTINUED: 9.

JAKEActually, Mr. Schuster, if I couldgive it another shot, Marley and Ihave something to share. You allcan join in if you want, its thatkind of song.

SONG SEQUENCE

Marley and Jake and the club do a modified mash up of"People are People" and "Why Cant We Be Friends"

INT. HUMMEL HOME (DAY)

Burt and Carole are relaxing in front of the TV with popcornin front of them. Apologies for the obvious imminentrealization foreshadowing.

BURTSo what do you say, Carole? I thinkthis is the best chicken parmigianaIve every made.

CAROLEComplements to the chef, but Ithink he already knows.

BURTNot bad, not bad at all. (smiles)

Phone rings. The musical intro to Simon & Garfunkels"Richard Cory" begins slowly as the next sequence of scenesplay.

INT. LOFT (DAY)

Phone rings, Kurt picks up.

KURTHello.

Pause.

BURT(Heard. Struggling to speak.)

Is Rachel around? Put me onspeaker, I need to speak to youboth.

Kurt motions to Rachel.

(CONTINUED)


11/23

CONTINUED: 10.

KURTShes right here, dad. What is it?

RACHEL(Happy, then concerned.)

Hey Mr. Hummel! ... Is everything

okay?

Voices are not heard, the music plays slowly anddeliberately. Rachel is aghast, disbelieving, falling to thefloor. Kurt confused starts yelling at the phone.

INT. MR. SCHUESTERS OFFICE (DAY)

Behind Mr. Schuester, a dapper picture of Finn is seen.(Ideally that picture should be in as many episodes aspossible.) Mr. Schuester picks up the phone, and stands upviolently, looks at the picture and begins singing from "He

had everything a man could want" and through the rest of thelyrics.

INT. HUMMEL HOME (DAY)

Carole is sitting on the floor, knees up with her head inher knees. Burt is sitting next to her, trying to figure outwhere to put his arm and and looking away and up, shakinghis head.

INT. QUINNS APARTMENT (DAY)

Quinn gets the door. Santana is there they speak for amoment and Quinn falls into Santanas arms.

EXT. CAFE (DAY)

Noah Puckerman sees a call from his brother Jake, picks itup. After a second and a startled look, he gets up, putscash down on the table, hails and gets in a cab.

INT. TEACHERS LUNCHROOM (DAY)

Will, Emma, Figgins and Coach Beiste are gathered aroundlooking down at the table. Other teachers are with them,standing.


12/23

11.

INT. HOTEL ROOM (DAY)

Police are talking with Kurt. Rachel, there, is speechlessand avoids eye contact. A body is seen being pushed away ona stretcher.


WILL SCHUESTER... I wish that I could be [withyou] Cory..

14 seconds of silence.

WILL SCHUESTER (contd)Can anyone tell me why they think Isang that song? What does itconvey?

TINAIts a great song, but what does ithave to do with racism?

ARTIEI think the reason he sang it wasbecause of, well, you know.

RYDERWhat?

ARTIE

Finn.

RYDERWhat about Finn?

BLAINEUhh, how to say. Finns dead.

SAMCome on guys, get off it. Whats upwith Finn? Is he okay.

JAKEHes really dead guys. Really....Unreal.

RYDERWhat the hell?

(CONTINUED)


13/23

CONTINUED: 12.

WILL SCHUESTERGuys, the song is about how nomatter how amazing people seem tobe doing on the outside, you ...just never know whats really goingon on the inside. Never.

KITTYSo I guess it was about prejudicesafter all.

WILL SCHUESTERI guess, but thats not the point.Who knows how long Finn has beenstruggling with this?

SAMIt seems like everyone else knowsmore about this than me, but what

happened?

Noah Puckerman quickly enters the room.

NOAHI came as quickly as I heard.

WILL SCHUESTERYou!

Mr. Schuester grabs Noah by the shirt and throws him againstthe wall.

WILL SCHUESTER (contd)What do you know about this? Howlong has it been going on for?

NOAHMr. Schue, I dont know anything.

Members of the Glee club slowly approach Mr. Schuester.

WILL SCHUESTERStop lying to me! You think thatsomething like this happens to himand you never impacted hisbehavior? Where did he get it from?

NOAHHow should I know? He had it in NewYork! You think he brought in on aplane with him?

(CONTINUED)


14/23

CONTINUED: 13.

WILL SCHUESTERSo you guys did get high together,didnt you?

NOAHWe didnt!

WILL SCHUESTER(calmly)

Noah, I am at my breaking pointhere, if you dont tell meeverything you know, God help me.

NOAHAll weve ever done together is alittle weed. It was college, everyone was doing it. It was no bigdeal.

WILL SCHUESTERYou think its no big deal?! Youstart with marijuana and you golooking for the next thing, thebigger high.

Noah pushes Mr. Schuester away from him.

NOAHAnd maybe this is all your fault.Didnt you manipulate him to jointhe stupid Glee club by plantingsome of Mr. Ryersons stash in his

locker?

WILL SCHUESTERI didnt...

NOAHYou didnt think anyone knew. Ifigured it out right away, but Ididnt need to blackmail you thenand Im too mature now. Maybe youplanted the idea in his head. Thinkabout it.

Noah turns and leaves.


15/23

14.

INT. CLASS ROOM (DAY)

JACOB BEN ISRAELHello. To Finns family. His lovedones. Rachel. My name is Jacob BenIsrael. Im a little awkward, I

know that. I started blogging andjoined the school newspaper becauseinitially it was the only way Icould speak to people. People wouldlook away when they saw me coming.But Finn was different. He was niceto me. Even when I didnt deserveit. Im taking out my camera onelast time so you will always knowhow people felt about Finn. How hegave everyone dignity. Even me.

INT. HALLWAY (DAY)

Jacob Ben Israel is handing people the microphone.

ARTIEWhen I was a freshman, only acouple weeks into school, some kidson the football team had locked mein a porta-pottie and were going toflip it over. He came and helped meout. He did. He helped me over andover again since then, but that dayhe saved me. Stood up for what was

right. Its hard to say his name inthis context. Just thinking abouthis face and everything he did forme, it makes it more real. And itjust cant be.

EXT. STAIRS (DAY)

BECKYFinn never made me feel like Iwasnt as good as everyone else.Only him and Coach Sue ever made mefeel that way. I didnt want him todie. Even if he probably wasntgoing to marry me.


16/23

15.

INT. FIGGINS OFFICE (DAY)

FIGGINSFinn Hudson. He always kept you onyour toes. Its rare that we see astudent not just so improved in his

studies, but with such a fire. Tocome back and teach with us. Hewould have been a great teacher.Not because he knew more, notbecause he had methods. Because hehad heart. Thats something youcant learn in books, but itssomething that he taught everyonewho knew him.

INT. LOCKER ROOM (DAY)

COACH BEISTEI gotta admit, when I first metFinn, he was as impetuous as swarmof flies on a horses ass. Ithought he was making fun of me, ofmy football team, of my being acoach. I learned that every time Ithought he was making fun of me, itwas really him being secure in hisconvictions and me being insecure.He wasnt putting up Glee clubfliers in the locker room to makefun of me being a female coach, he

was doing it because in his mindGlee club and football were justtwo things he loved equally in hislife. He pushed to have Artie jointhe team because even though Icouldnt see how a kid in awheelchair belonged on a footballteam, he could.He always gave everyone the benefitof the doubt in a way that was somuch more mature than anything, butso many others would just dismissit as naive.

INT. HALLWAY (DAY)

QUINNWhat do you want me to say? Younever forget your first love. Andyou never forgive yourself for the

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


17/23

CONTINUED: 16.

QUINN (contd)mistakes you made. Whenever I sawFinn and he was settled and happy,I looked back at our chaotic timetogether and thought, I helped himget there. But whenever things

werent going right, and for nowand forevermore Ill wonder how ourrelationship set him on the path heended up on. How all those stupid,immature, mistakes somehow led him- caused him - to this. Ive notmet a better man since him, andsomehow with him so nice, thethought burns me how poorly Itreated him.

EXT. FIELD (DAY)

SUEYoure going to want to put thatcamera away, Jacob.

JACOB BEN ISRAELIm getting peoples thoughts andmemories of Finn.

SUEMy thoughts, you dont want tohear.

JACOB BEN ISRAELPeople need to express what theyrethinking. Emotions about death,theyre natural, and you have tolet them out.

SUEThanks for the pick me up Jacob,you might need a marker, because Ihave a feeling youre going to domore editing on this than turningAmerican History X PG.You want to know what I think ofFinn. You think that because he isdead I should forget the ways hefrustrated me? That he was pompous,even as a Sophomore? That Ive seenhim express his real feelings, whenin anger- thats the only time mostpeople even get real?Well I could forget all that,

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(CONTINUED)


18/23

CONTINUED: 17.

SUE (contd)because thats not what killed him,was it? And it wasnt that he wasnice and friendly, which isprobably what everyone else isspewing. He didnt stand up for

someone being beaten and take onein their place.That would have been admirable. Idbe singing his praises. For a manwho is willing to give up his lifefor injustices, Id say, rename theschool.But that wasnt it was it? Hekilled himself, everyone knows it,but no one wants to talk about it."My Girl" wouldnt have been thesame feel-good after-school specialit was if the kid died sniffing

cocaine instead of bee stings.People are so sensitive and at thesame time, so damn jaded.If you, and I mean every person whomight ever hear my voice, celebratethe hedonistic suicide of FinnHudson, is that anything more thana huge lie? Put him on a pedestal,if you want. Encourage drug use.Amy Winehouse said no no no torehab and where is she?But for me, every time his name ismentioned, I will take it as an

obligation to remind people of hishorrible decision. Like a childmolester - nobody should care aboutanything else - drug addicts shouldbe put on a list, have to register,and go door to door and tell people"Hi, Im an addict and Im movingin down the block."There is only one way Finns deathshould be remembered and that isfor other kids who are strugglingwith drugs or other addictions -and adults too - they can take itas a warning. Consider themselvesas their own hit man, ready tostrike as soon as theyre alone.And if you are the friend of anaddict, make sure he or she spendsas little time alone as possible.Like a child near a swimming pool.Dont leave them alone for a

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


19/23

CONTINUED: 18.

SUE (contd)

second.How does that work for you, Jacob?

JACOB BEN ISRAELDont you have any sympathy for

people who love him?

SUEIm not happy that hes dead. Idont think his actions other thanthe ones associated with drugs weredeserving of death. Of course Ihave no sympathy for the people wholove him. Where were they? How canyou consider someone your bestfriend and not know he has aproblem like this? I know whatabsentee parenting looks like, and

you dont have to be thousands ofmiles away to qualify.

INT. FUNERAL HOME (DAY)

Rachel, Kurt, Burt and Carole are together in a small roomwaiting for the director to come in. Rachel still lookscatatonic.

BURTHeres what I dont get. Well thereare so many things about this

situation that befuddle me, but howcould we have not known any ofthis. We all know him, none of usknew him to do anything more thanhave a drink every now and then.Where did he even get the stuff?How come not one of us knows howlong this has been going on?Rachel, did you guys even havesecrets?

KURTShes not spoken for two days dad,Im pretty sure she doesnt knowanything.

BURTShes gotta talk some time. Someonehad to know something, hints,speculations, something.

(CONTINUED)


20/23

CONTINUED: 19.

RACHELI knew.

CAROLERachel, dear, what do you mean,you knew? What did you know? How

come you didnt tell anyone?

RACHELAfter last summer, after hisdischarge from the army, he came toNew York. In between, he told me,he met some people along the waygot involved in stuff and he wasgoing to quit. I told him to tellme if he ever used again. I toldhim I wanted to know every time. Iwouldnt be mad, I just wanted toknow. I caught him one other time,

I called and he admitted he washigh. When he came down he promisedme hed go to rehab and that hewould tell me if he ever eventhought about using. That was twoweeks ago.

CAROLEBut how come you didnt tellanyone?

RACHELYou know how hard it must have been

for him to tell me, I couldntbetray his trust and I believed Iwas doing everything that could bedone. He didnt show himself to beirresponsible. He never even got aDUI.

BURTNo, youre right. You cant hold anintervention because he tried stuffonce or twice and regretted it.Weve all had an experimentalstage.

CAROLEWere not all dead! Maybe having anexploration stage shouldnt be soencouraged. This is not goinghiking and spraining your ankle.There is no value in these drugsexcept to dope and kill our

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


21/23

CONTINUED: 20.

CAROLE (contd)children and friends. My husband.My son. Is it me? Is it the army?

Knocking at the door, Will enters.

WILL SCHUESTERIf you guys are ready, their aboutready to start, but take your time.

BURT(As they walk out, quietly toKurt)

Another thing I dont get is why hewas in a hotel when hed been withyou guys all week.

KURTDad, he landed in NY hours before

he was found.

INT. FUNERAL CHAPEL (DAY)

EXT. GRAVEYARD (DAY)

SONG SEQUENCE

Rachel reprises, "On my own" from Les Miserables. As thecamera pans scenes from eulogies and burial.

EXT. GRAVEYARD (DAY)

Silence as people begin to retract. One by one people comeup to Rachel and Carole offering condolences and fondmemories.


Ensemble is present.

WILL SCHUESTERI didnt get a chance to publiclytalk about Finn. He wasnt myfiance and he wasnt my son,although at times it felt like hewas. He was a very dear person tome. He- he often reminded me ofmyself. I really hoped, no,

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


22/23

CONTINUED: 21.

WILL SCHUESTER (contd)expected that given a few years,Finn would be where I was fouryears ago. Mentoring someone who hejust couldnt help seeing as areflection of himself. I think at

this point were all in a numbstage, we all have no words, butour heads wont stop screaming. Imgoing to turn the floor over toyour class president who hassomething to say, Blaine.

BLAINEThank you Mr. Schue. You said itbest, there is nothing I canpossibly say as a reaction. Finnwas amazing, we all know it. But asyour class president, Ive already

spoken to Principal Figgins aboutthe inadequate addiction awarenessprograms at this school. We haveMs. Pillsbury and shes amazing,but you kind of have to know to go.Im looking to turn every studentin this school into aself-appointed mandated reporter.That means that if you suspectanyone, even someone you dontknow, of dealing or using, evenjust once. You take responsibilityto report it to a teacher or Ms.

Pillsbury who can intervene.

WILL SCHUESTERThank you, Blaine.

BLAINEOne more thing. I love all of youin this room. And I know some ofyou have chosen being hated overdoing the wrong thing. We shouldalways choose that. Given thechoice, Id rather have you alivehating me than die loving me.

Blaine steps aside. Burt speaks from his place.

BURTHey everyone, most of you know me.If not, Im your local Congressmanand Im also Finns step-dad. Imspeaking to local officials and

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)


23/23

CONTINUED: 22.

BURT (contd)other members of congress to followin Blaines idea of mass reporting.Everyones afraid of how theylllook for doing the right thing. Theidea is that your friend or

neighbor is not hurting anyone withwhat they do in private. Well, Ithink you all can see how true thatis. Im not going to ask you toraise your hand if you feel hurt,like someone was stolen from you,now that Finn is no longer with us.I know its true for most of us. Weall have those people we cantfathom losing for stupid reasons.Finn knew that, Im sure he reallydid. But I think the thing we needto remember is that we all are that

person that would hurt hundreds ofpeople by taking our own life,whether accidentally or just out ofsheer stupidity. People areimportant to you, but we forget weare important to other people.

David Karofsky arrives at the door.

DAVIDKurt, I just heard. Im so sorry.

David and Kurt hug, Burt puts his hand on Davids shoulder.

SONG SEQUENCE

"We shall overcome." Sung as a group, characters leave thesong one by one leaving Burt, Kurt, Rachel, Carole and Willleft. The other four leave Will, who goes to his office andhangs the picture of Finn in a more prominent place.

glee s5ex_v1 inside-outside then upside down

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