New York - Part 1 of 3 - Lovers

Episode Synopsis: New Directions traveled to New York for Nationals, but they hadn't even written their original songs for the competition yet. Finn asked Rachel out on a big romantic NYC date, but she wouldn't kiss him because she wants to move to New York after graduation next year with Kurt and Blaine. Schue told the kids he's not moving to New York to be on Broadway, Quinn got a haircut and Rachel made up with Sunshine. Everyone performed well at Nationals, but Finn kissed Rachel on stage and it lost them the competition. They returned to Ohio with a twelfth place trophy, but that's OK because Kurt and Blaine said "I love you", Rachel and Finn got back together and Mercedes and Sam are secretly dating. Besides, they can always win Nationals next year. And that's what you missed on Glee!

Let’s face it - the Glee kids may have been at Nationals, but the season finale was all about the romantic entanglements. Especially on-again/off-again couple Rachel and Finn.

I absolutely adore the first outfit Rachel wore in New York. The striped coat, sadly, is vintage which means it will never end up in my closet. But I do own the very same yellow wedge shoes she wore, and I’m in love with them.

It was the perfect outfit for a wannabe starlet to wear in New York - bright, fun and adorable. Underneath the coat she wore a basic top and skirt, but I love how the outfit looks paired with the red tights. Finn, however, was not really dressed to impress.

Really, Finn? Plaid again? Luckily, the boy stepped it up to take Rachel on a super-romantic classic New York City rom-com date. The tie is a bit skinny for my taste, but the kid cleans up well.

Rachel looked beautiful for the date as well, in a gauzy romantic dress with a cute bow belt.

At dinner, Rachel added a gorgeous fur stole to her look. Not many high school students could pull that off.

She looked lovely to meet her idol, though. I couldn’t get a good look at the blue dress Rachel had on back at the hotel, but it looked pretty.

Rachel had more than one guy vying for her heart while she was in New York, though. Jesse St. Jerk showed up as well. Here he is, being a jerk.

[ed.note: More like Jesse St. Dreamy. xo. l-a]

Nice skinny scarf, Jesse. Not. Look, I’m sure Jonathan Groff is very nice, and he has lovely hair. But I hate this character. The thing is, neither Finn nor Jesse are really meant to share a future with Rachel. No, that honor goes to Kurt. I can totally see Rachel, Kurt and Blaine all sharing a tiny apartment in New York, studying theater and trying to make it. I mean, as romantic as Rachel’s New York date with Finn was, it didn’t even come close to matching the chemistry of her Gay Best Friend date with Kurt. First, he surprised her in bed.

Some people thought this was creepy. I thought it was adorable. How could you find someone wearing those shoes to be creepy? Rachel and Kurt had breakfast at Tiffany's, and then snuck into the theater where Wicked was playing and belted out a classic Rachel/Kurt duet. Sorry Finn, but Rachel and Kurt have more chemistry together in their little fingers than you.

I love how both Rachel and Kurt looked on their outing. Her dress was fantastic. And thank goodness Kurt stepped it up, because earlier in the episode I was worried that the New York air has messed with his fashion sense. I mean, what was this?

When Tina is dressed better than Kurt, you know there’s a problem. But for realsies, Tina, good job on wearing more than one color. Now wipe that frown off your face. Kurt also donned this weird, brown number while he was in New York.

I’m sorry, what? What is that? Are you a boy scout? Did you come to New York prepared? What is going on?

Luckily, Kurt got some fashion sense knocked back into him before he returned home to his one true love, Blaine.

Mint pants and a pea coat? That’s the Kurt I know and love. Not so sure about the shoes, though. As for Blaine, it’s always nice to see him in something other than a Dalton Academy uniform, and he looked dashing. And even if Kurt and Blaine hadn’t looked so cute, seeing my favorite couple say "I love you" for the first time would have been enough to make me squeal.

While Kurt and Blaine were confessing their love for one another, another romance was brewing. A secret romance!

Squeal! While I wished both Sam and Mercedes had dressed a little more formally for their secret coffee date, I am delighted to learn of their romance. At least Mercedes was rocking some zebra-striped jeans. Sam looks like he just came from the gym, but he’s homeless so he gets a pass. Plus, they’re holding hands! Squeal some more!

The kids weren’t the only ones caught up in romantic entanglements during Nationals - Mr. Schue was too. He was stuck in a love triangle with the glamour of the stage and the love of his job. Here he is, looking like a tourist in NYC.

Then he hit the stage to get a feel for what life would be like as the male lead in Cross Rhodes.

Oh come on, that’s the face of a star if I’ve ever seen one. The shirt is kind of whatevs, though.

Later, Schue met up with his nemesis. He should have worn something more intimidating.

We learned a lesson in this scene. It’s that evil choir directors wear stiff looking leather jackets, and nice ones wear light blue shirts.

Schue changed into a more disheveled look to tell his kids that he wasn’t going to stay in New York and do Broadway.

Not much to see there, folks. Just a plaid shirt and a wrinkled looking blazer. Luckily, Schue cleaned up well for Nationals.

I’m not sure what I love more - how handsome he looks in his suit, or the ridiculous facial expressions on both Schue and Kurt. No, actually I’m sure - the facial expressions are better.

Once back in Ohio, Schue was still dressing to impress in a classic shirt/tie/sweater combo. He turned his back on Broadway and has been reunited with his real love, Emma. The worst thing about the season finale was that we were deprived of Emma Pillsbury and her fantastic fashions. (Seriously, shouldn’t she have come along to New York as a female chaperone? She could have prevented that pillow fight.) In the one shot we got of her, you couldn’t even really see what she was wearing. I feel cheated.

New York - Part 2 of 3 - Friends

Outside of the main love stories, the New Directions kids were looking hot in New York City.

I love how colorful everyone is. Mercedes is rocking the purple, Brittany looks delightful in her green jacket and blue hat, and Santana looks smokin’ hot in her green dress and yellow cropped jacket. And Artie...well, we just won’t talk about Artie. Instead, let's look at Santana again.

Smokin’. Hot.

I wish New York had inspired Lauren to do something a little different, but she’s still dressing in far too many layers.

Lauren looks much better in dresses, she should wear them more often. But hey, look! New York, the city known for housing people who love to wear black, even inspired Tina to throw on a color.

Sure, it’s a little shapeless. But it’s green!

The only questionable one here is Quinn. While the ankle boots she insists on wearing are less horrific than usual, the jacket appears to be made of plastic orange trash bags.

Oh man, it still smells like garbage, doesn’t it? Poor Quinn. At least the dress itself was super pretty.

Later, Santana and Brittany helped Quinn overcome an emotional meltdown by suggesting a haircut. Major missed opportunity there - had they suggested some therapeutic shoe shopping, they might have been able to convince her to buy something other than ankle boots.

Love all the outfits there. Especially Brittany’s possum scarf.

But let’s get real - the whole Get a Haircut So You Can Get Over Finn! thing was just an excuse to introduce us to Dianna Agron’s awesome new bob. I didn’t think it was possible, but she looks even prettier.

So. Damn. Pretty. (That’s a shot of Dianna Agron from her blog, as proof of how great the haircut is.)

Brittany had some great style moments in New York as well. I loved this outfit.

I hate that high-waisted pants are a trend, because almost no one looks good in them. But if I had a butt like Brittany’s, I’d probably be rocking them too. I love the suspenders and the scarf.

Brittany’s songwriting outfit wasn’t as desirable, but still one of those completely unique Brittany S. Pierce looks. It takes a special girl to pull off short-shorts, boots and two pairs of socks.

Unfortunately, no one else in the glee club seemed to up their style for the big Nationals trip. Here are Tina, Mercedes and Mike, all looking very...ordinary.

Mike looks kind of cute in his vest and t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up, but Tina? Why does she insist on dressing like Wednesday Addams? Where do you even find something that ugly?

The rest of the boys also delivered more of the same. An ugly sweater vest for Artie, a ratty-looking hoodie for Finn.

With Kurt obviously taking first place by a landslide, Mike is the second best dressed dude in glee club.

I mean, he has on a tie. Look at what Puck wore.

A T-shirt and jeans! Oh no, I might die from shock. I’m so used to seeing him in a tux.

Samesies for Sam, but we’ve already deemed that he gets a pass since all his clothes came from Finn.

I wish the boys had dressed up in matching suits when they went to serenade Rachel and Finn, but instead they wore their normal clothes.

After facing a crushing defeat at Nationals, the gang returned to Ohio. As you can see by the voodoo doll she’s holding, Santana was angriest of all.

Of course, Brittany managed to talk some sense into her. Who can’t be charmed by a girl wearing that bizarre combination of prints? Of course, I was even happier to discover that Brittany was actually wearing a jumpsuit of sorts.

Everyone looks good here, except for Quinn’s feet.

New York - Part 3 of 3 - Competitors

We all know that singing does not win a glee club the Nationals title...fashion does! OK no, not really. In fact, not sharing a passionate kiss on stage is what wins you Nationals.

Nice work, Finchel.

If Nationals were judged solely on the fashion, it would have been hard to come up with a winner. Sure, these white dresses are nice...

...but not if you’re going to be getting’ down to Usher. It was just wrong.

Meanwhile, the Vocal Adrenaline dresses were a bit too Toddlers in Tiaras for my taste.

The dresses the girls in New Directions wore were gorgeous, but the big problem (you know, other than that kiss) was footwear. I think Quinn picked it out.

Black grandma shoes and ankle socks? Really? I did a quick Google Images search for "dancing shoes", and nowhere did I see this. It’s really time for the Glee costume department to get over this supposed trend and buy some real damn shoes.

See? Pretty from the shins up. Little House on the Prairie from the ankles down.

At least the boys looked good.

The shoes, the ties, the insane look of excitement on Kurt’s face...all perfect.

Unfortunately, our beloved New Directions only scored twelfth place at Nationals. You could blame the kiss, you could blame the choir’s lack of preparation and focus, you could blame the original songs...I’m choosing to blame the shoes.

It’s been fun, folks! See you next season!

Mini-Recap: New York

Here's what you missed on Glee: New York, New York is a hell of a town and the Glee kids agree: they did their best to fit in every NYC cliché they could. Although, it's hard to argue with breakfast at Tiffany's with Kurt. Sadly, a Nationals win wasn't meant to be. But Kurt and Brittany saw the upside: it was a pretty good year for New Directions and we get another year of glee club. 

Song of the Night: I will always pick the Broadway number. Two kids from Ohio singing Wicked on Broadway?

Brittany Bon Mots:  My cup, my cup, sayin what's up to my cup, my cup.

I heart Kurt: "Whereas I'm spending my summer composing Pip Pip Hooray, the broadway musical about Pippa Middleton."

Track suit count: 0! It was, sadly, a Sue-less episode.

Best Outfit: That coat! Oh Rachel's rainbow coat was to die for.

Tune in on Friday when Jill has the last recap of the season.