Glee Recap: Christmas Episode Brings a Wedding, a Cancer Scare, a Death and More!

Find out what happened on the Fox hit's Dec. 13 outing

By Tierney Bricker Dec 14, 2012 3:27 AMTags
GLEEFOX

What better way to spread Christmas cheer than by paying homage to Love Actually, one of the best holiday movies ever (though Sue Sylvester feels very differently)?!

That's exactly what Glee did in its Thursday outing "Glee, Actually," which followed our various gleeks as they celebrated the holidays...and spent some time in an alternate universe! Yes, Artie (Kevin McHale) finds himself in a situation straight out of It's A Wonderful Life, complete with the death of a fan-favorite character, while new couple Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Brittany (Heather Morris) decide they must live their lives to the fullest before the Mayan apocalypse and the brothers Puckerman (Mark Salling) and Jake (Jacob Artist) spend Hanukkah together. 

And, of course, Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) fans finally got the reunion they were waiting for, but did the former couple end the episode back together or just as friends? Find out now...

Though Rachel (Lea Michele) invited him to join her and her dads on "Rosie O'Donnell's gay holiday cruise," Kurt decides to spend Christmas alone in New York City. Luckily, Burt (Mike O'Malley) has different plans, surprising his son with a Christmas tree and his awesome self! The two go see a Broadway show together and grab hot chocolate, but Burt had another reason for visiting: He's learned he has prostate cancer, but has a positive outlook, unlike Kurt. "It's really scary to think that when I finally meet my destiny, you won't be around to see it," he admits. Burt promises, "I will be there." (These two together are just magic, no?)

After Kurt gives his father a NYADA hat and shirt, Burt proudly says "You are going to kick ass at that school." Burt's gift is a bit bigger and needs to be picked up at an ice rink: Blaine, who promises to keep an eye on Burt for Kurt. The duo then get their annual Christmas duet in just before midnight ("White Christmas'), before Blaine says, "Even if we're not together, we are always going to be there for each other," Blaine says. Oh these two, they make our hearts hurt in the best possibly way.

And while the two didn't end the episode as a couple, Blaine reveals that he is planning on applying to NYADA, but only if Kurt's OK with it. It seems like these two crazy kids just might make it work, but we're sure the arrival of Oliver Kieran-Jones' character will shake things up!

Engaged and Underage: Brittany, believing the world will end on Dec. 21, cashed in her savings to give her friends extravagant gifts (Trips! Cars! Fancy watches!) and starts the 2012 Mayan Apocalypse Club with fellow believer Sam (He has a whole confusing theory that's super legit because it's written on a blackboard!). Alas, the other members aren't feeling the whole "tell each other how we really feel about them" aim of the club and quit.

After Sam performs a rocking version of "Jingle Bell Rock" for Brittany, he breaks out another kind of rock: an engagement ring! Yes, the duo gets married, where Sam calls Brittany his "soul mate." It's kind of cute...in the weirdest, most hilarious way possible. Fast-forward to the couple, clearly alive, on Dec. 22, realizing the world didn't end and they are married. Ruh-roh! Luckily, they learn they aren't really married, as Coach Beiste exaggerated her qualifications.

Band of Brothers: The Puckerman holiday festivities begin with some catching up (Puck is working on a screenplay) and the beginning of a beautiful mentorship. Cue Puck and Jake together in California (Jake sat in the seat attached to Puck's motorcycle!) working it in Hollywood, which means a duet of "Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah" at the Paramount studios! Alas, they end up heading back to Lima to spend time with the families and Jake and Puck bring their moms together for an awkward dinner at Breadstix. Jake's mom is played by Aisha Tyler and apparently was the "other woman," though she didn't know he was married. "He ran out on all of us," Jake says of their father. "We're a family, a pretty messed up one, but still a family."  They all bond over calling their dad an "ass." Awww...we think?! By episode's end, Puck drops a bombshell: He's moving back to Lima! Yes, it seems Glee's original bad boy will be back full-time in the spring!

Because Artie's wheels don't have chains, he fell on the icy ramp and hit his head pretty hard.  "I'm tired of being in this damn chair," a frustrated Artie tells Finn. "I just wish I was never in that dumb chair." Cue Artie being It's a Wonderful Life-d, all black and white-style! Artie can walk—Rory (Damian McGinty) is his guardian Christmas angel!—but he's a bully, as are the rest of the Glee guys, including Finn and Sam. Even worse? Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Blaine (Darren Criss) never met, there's no glee club, Will (Matthew Morrison) is a boozehound, his wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) is still around and Emma (Jayma Mays) is off in Hawaii with Tanaka. ('Memba him?!)

"Everything's wrong," Artie tells Rory, who reveals that Artie was "the glue of glee." Artie decides to make things right and decides to perform "Feliz Navidad" for the group to convince them that they're meant to be together. Color the group decidedly unimpressed. Rory then drops an even bigger bomb: In this timeline, Quinn (Dianna Agron) dies. Thankfully, it's all just a bad dream and Artie walks up in the nurse's office with a new perspective on his life. "This chair is a part of me, it's made me who I am," he tells Finn.

The Grinch's Heart Grows: Marley's (Melissa Benoist) Christmas will be a less than merry affair as her mother Millie (Trisha Rae Stahl) says there will be no presents; all her money is going to a therapist for Marley who specializes in eating disorders. "You want to give me a gift? Sing me something, " she says and Marley obliges and performs "The First Noel," as Sue, who has Millie for the staff's Secret Santa gift exchange, watches and gets an idea: She gives Marley and her mom a Christmas tree, something they couldn't afford, as well as $800!