Glee Season 2 Episode 17 Preview: A Night of Neglect

A Night Of Neglect is the seventeenth episode of Glee of season two, and the thirty-ninth episode overall. It aired on April 19, 2011.


Full Recap

Nationals are around the corner and New Directions needs to fundraise to make the trip possible. They need a total of $5,000 and even though they were supposed to have the Cheerios budget, Sue has hidden the cash in an off-shore account. Mr. Schue suggests that the group sells saltwater taffy, just like his glee club did back when he was in high school. No one seems to be on board, especially Santana who was slushied after winning regionals. Mike Chang is irked by the team's lack of drive. He thinks that the glee club doesn't know what it means to put in hard work in order to accomplish a goal. He explained to the glee club that the Academic Decathalon team, The Brainiacs, had put in lots of hard work and were able to win their competition. They also lack the money to get to their next round of competition. Mr. Schue decides that part of the taffy sales should go to help the Brainiacs.

Sue calls together the League of Evil – a group of people who have a grudge against Mr. Schue. The group is comprised of Dustin Goolsby, the coach of Vocal Adranline, Sandy Ryerson, and Terri. Sue is concerned that should glee actually win Nationals, that Will would become the new reigning champion at WMHS. Sue uses her new league to try and undermine the glee club.

Will continues to date Holly Holiday, though they are taking their relationship slowly. She suggests to Will that the glee club throw a fundraiser benefit instead of selling taffy. The idea is much more glam and Hollywood than selling candy. He loves the idea – the glee club will sing and the theme will be "A Night of Neglect."

Sue's first task is to break up Will and Holly. She gives this assignment to Dustin while Sandy is starting a new club at school dedicated to heckling. While Rachel and the rest of glee debate what songs to sing they meet again with Sunshine Corazon. Sunshine wants to perform in the benefit only because she supports the Academic Decathalon – not because she wants to spy on New Directions. She also offers to have all of her Twitter followers, all 600, attend the benefit. This would provide a huge boost in tickets sold. Sunshine sings "All by Myself" for the glee club and everyone is blown away. Rachel is still convinced that Sunshine is there as a spy but she calms down a bit when Mercedes gives up the finale spot. Lauren is tired of Mercedes always coming in second to Rachel and demands that she receive the respect that she deserves. She also decides to make herself Mercedes' manager.

Emma confides to Will that her marriage with Carl is over. He's gone and asked for an annulment. Holly sees the two in their moment of bonding and she is concerned. Finn and Quinn decide that Rachel is best suited to be the head of talent relations for the fundraiser. Mercedes' diva demands are escalating beyond control. Mercedes says that she will let Sunshine perform the final number and Rachel can take the penultimate spot, but only if Mercedes' feet are never allowed to touch the ground.

Dustin Goolsby approaches Holly Holiday after a class. He bluntly flirts with Holly and Will is angered by this. He tries to smooth things out with Holly by practicing their benefit duet but Holly steps out because she needs to clear her head.

Kurt and Blaine head over to WMHS for the benefit but they have a run in with Dave Karofsky. Dave starts in on the pair again, using homophobic slurs against them and Blaine almost starts a fight with him. Santana shows up in time to break it up but Kurt has almost let out the truth about Karofsky's sexuality. Karovsky, who had slushied Santana, begins insulting her but she fends him off with some trash talk. Neither Sunshine, nor her followers show up for the benefit but the show must go on and they sing for their small audience. Tina sings Lykke Li's "I Follow Rivers" but since the heckling club is in the audience, their boos chased Tina off the stage in tears. 

They send Quinn into the audience to pass out favors encouraging people to vote for Quinn for prom queen. The saltwater taffy, also included in the favors, dries out the hecklers' tongues during Mike Chang's dance. The taffy is beginning to run out and Will tells the glee club they just need to be too good for the hecklers to insult. However, Mercedes has a diva moment and leaves the building.

Holly has a word with the hecklers. She's impressed by their skills but she suggests that they should try cheering instead of booing. The hecklers got the message but decide to leave instead. Rachel goes out in the rain to try and talk to Mercedes. During their talk, she admits to Mercedes that she would rather have the spotlight than for anyone to like her. If Mercedes wants the finale, she needs to come in and take it for herself. Holly sings "Turning Tables" by Adele. This seems to have deeper meaning concerning Will and Emma. Sue decides that Sandy is a terrible super-villain and after the heckling club had left, she has Sandy complete the mission his club could not. He must crush the spirits of New Directions. Mercedes decides to come back and she has a demand. She requires that the rest of New Direction go into the audience for her final number. Rachel is moved by the song and so is Sandy. Rachel concedes that Mercedes' song would indeed be the final number.

Holly goes to talk to Will. She's been offered a job in Cleveland teaching French and she'll be leaving Lima. Will questions her feelings for him and she tells him that she laid it out for him in her song. She's happy that Will holds the record for longest relationship with her but she knows that he's still in love with Emma.

Will finds Sandy in glee's practice room. He had been so moved by Mercedes' song that he offers to pay for New Directions' entire trip to Nationals with his marijuana money. Sue is disgusted by the failure of her League of Evil. Her hopes like with Terri the "Honey Badger" for the ultimate revenge.