'Glee' Recap: 'The Spanish Teacher'
Will feels that he’s losing his skills as a teacher when his class doesn’t seem into his rendition of “La Cucaracha,” while wearing a huge sombrero and a poncho. Figgins tells him that a student complained about him and that he should clean up his act if he wants to be eligible for a tenure position.
The truth is Will can barely speak Spanish, so he goes to David Martinez’s night classes, a new character played by the one and only Ricky Martin. David is a former tooth model whose dream is to teach high school Spanish. He tells Will that one of the best ways to learn a new language is through singing.
Meanwhile, Sue is in the race for the tenure position. She wants to make more money because she is planning to have a child. She needs a sperm donor and wants Will to do it. A student complaint has also been made about Sue and the new swimming coach Roz Washington (NeNe Leakes) wants to take her place as the Cheerios coach.
David comes into the glee club to help start off this week’s lesson (to sing songs only in Spanish). Of course, Ricky Martin gets his own sexy dance number as he sings, “Sexy and I Know It” with some of the lyrics translated to Spanish. The club is in love with him and he completely outshines Will.
Sam and Mercedes go to Emma for help because Mercedes doesn’t know how to choose between Sam and Shane. Emma tells them to stop talking to each other for a week so that they can think through their real feelings without the constant communication through texting and Twitter.
Roz teaches the Cheerios some new choreography and bashes Sue and her dream of having a child. We’re used to seeing Sue put people down, but it’s especially hard to watch someone take a stab at our favorite, meanest cheerleading coach.
Rachel admits to Mercedes and Kurt that she and Finn are engaged. In the choir room Mercedes sings Gloria Estefan’s “Don’t Wanna Lose You,” while looking at Sam the entire time. Sam and the boys of New Directions sing “Bamboleo”/”Hero” and Sam also has eyes for Mercedes.
Sue admits to Emma that she wants Will to donate his sperm so that her baby will be as kind and preserving as he has always been each time she has tried to destroy his aspirations with the glee club. Emma lets her down gently and tells her that Will doesn’t want to do it.
In the boy’s locker room, Kurt brings Finn some college brochures for schools with football teams that are close to Manhattan and asks him not to marry Rachel. At first, Finn is mad, but Kurt convinces him that he shouldn’t give up on his own dreams because he doesn’t believe in himself.
Will’s frustrated and nervous about getting ready for his performance for this week’s lesson and takes it out on Emma who is trying to show him her new pamphlets with titles like “So You’re a Two-Timin’ Hoe” and “Performance Anxiety – It’s not just for teenage boys.” He tells her the pamphlets are stupid and she walks out.
Santana recruits David to sing “La Isla Bonita” in the auditorium right before Will’s performance of “A Little Less Conversation,” which is far less sexy. He’s dressed in a traditional matador costume and Mike and Brittany run around wearing bullhorns. Santana calls him out on his use of Spanish stereotypes and says he’s a horrible teacher. A horrible Spanish teacher, that is. She reminds him that he once said, “without passion, you can’t succeed.”
Emma creates a pamphlet called “Taint Misbehavin’” on the importance of washing your jock strap to prevent bacterial infection. Coach Beiste gave them to the football team and they were so successful that her husband Cooter Menkins, a football recruiter, ordered ten thousand copies for Ohio State and every team in the Big Ten ordered copies. Will looks embarrassed while Beiste congratulates her.
The Spanish night class comes to a close and Will gives David the news that Figgins is offering him the position of teaching the Spanish class at McKinley. David is overjoyed and can’t believe that, as a son of illegal immigrants, that he has come this far. Will will now take over a teaching position in the history department.
Becky confesses to Sue that she filed a complaint about her coaching. Sue admits that she already figured it out and that she wasn’t mad. As Becky says, she was “just looking out for the team,” because Sue hasn’t been as focused on the Cheerios anymore. Sue says that she will focus more on them from now on and Becky says she will be a great mom.
Mercedes and Sam run to meet each other in the hallway at the end of their week of silence. As they are about to speak, Shane walks up to walk Mercedes to lunch. She takes his hand and walk away, looking back at Sam.
Will apologizes to Emma with a candlelit dinner and some of his own pamphlets saying “So you were a jerk to your fiancé” and “Congratulations – I love you” because Figgins gave her the tenure spot. He says that he will always support her from now on because he doesn’t want to be like his first wife Terry, who never believed in him.
