‘Glee’ Recap: Kurt Battles Insecurity to Declare ‘I Am Unicorn’

Season 3, Episode 2 of 'Glee' -- dubbed 'I Am Unicorn,' strangely -- gave us all that we needed in the way of the heavy plot lines and intimate character moments that we were promised, though with only three show tunes this time around. PopCrush has your recap right here.

It's time for a musical production at McKinley High, but Mr. Schue, who would normally direct, decides to step aside to focus on the always upcoming glee club competition. Instead, he calls in three trusted allies to lay out the plans for the 'West Side Story' production: Artie, who acts as student director, much to Rachel's dismay, Emma, because of her quality work on 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show' and Coach Beiste, to control the football players.

Meanwhile, Brittany tries to help Kurt campaign for class president, but she and her favorite unicorn (and the rainbows and glitter, of course) are just a bit too gay for his liking. She tells him, "A unicorn is someone who knows they're magical and isn’t afraid to show it," but he's not convinced and fights her angrily throughout most of the episode.

Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel) returns to glee to start a second glee club so that everyone -- even those denied by New Directions -- can join. It seems she has a separate agenda, however, which is to reunite herself with her birth daughter, Rachel, and bring Quinn and Puck closer to Beth, the baby they gave up for adoption.

When Sue goes looking for her star Cheerio, she finds Quinn and her new group shoving kids into toilets for their lunch money. Ever the evil-doer, she tries to get her to go hardcore revenge on Will and the 'Glee' kids by making a video denouncing the arts for Sue's own campaign for congress. Quinn, with her rebellious pink hair and black bandana, tells Mr. Schue that she will never return to glee club. To our surprise, rather than try to convince her, he gets very angry and tells her that she has always tried to sabotage glee club, and he hopes she grows up and thinks about something other than herself.

Back in focus, Will starts a boot camp for his New Directions to get them into tip-top shape to win Nationals, and even gets Finn on his feet for a dance. With 'West Side Story' on the brain, there's a tension between former Warbler Blaine and his senior boyfriend Kurt, who find themselves somewhat pitted against each other for the lead role of Tony.

While Rachel is rehearsing in the auditorium, her birth mother storms in and puts a halt to the number she's working on. She suggests 'Somewhere' for Rachel to audition, telling her, "you will never become a star or get the lead if you play it safe." Her birth daughter takes her advice and with a backing band, performs the 'West Side Story' tune, solo at first but then joined by the Broadway styling of her mother later in the song.

In an effort to see the baby he gave up, Puck goes to Shelby's house uninvited and while he's there, Beth wakes up, so he's able to see her for the first time. Sweetly, he gives her a picture of a clown pig that he drew for her, and Shelby even lets him hold her. That, mixed with his growing maturity, prompts him to say he'll do anything to be in her life and begs for a chance, making for the sweetest 'Glee' moment so far this season. (Yeah, we know it's only the second episode!) After he leaves, he makes it his goal to convince Quinn to clean up her act for their daughter.

As planned, Kurt auditions for the male lead, Tony, singing Barbra Streisand's 'I'm the Greatest Star' from 'Funny Girl,' complete with a set and scaffolding to climb on, which he did gayly. Artie seemed to love the number, but back in the casting room, Beiste revealed that she doesn't believe the girly actor could portray a street guy and says she wants a Tony who "excited her lady parts." Sadly, even Artie agrees that he's a little too delicate to play the part.

After overhearing their conversation, Kurt goes back to audition again, this time with Rachel as his lady and armed with Act 3, Scene 5 (It was the nightingale, and not the lark) from Shakespeare's 'Romeo & Juliet.'

In another part of the school, Quinn goes to talk to Shelby, who tries to convince her that she did the right thing for her daughter and to stop punishing herself. The former cheerleader, former glee club star begs to see her daughter, but her new mom doesn't think she's quite ready and shows her a photo instead -- of Puck holding her.

Kurt's growing frustration with his super gayness incites him to talk to his dad, Burt, for advice. Like a good father, he offers up the best wordage of the whole episode, telling his son, "You know what they call a unicorn without a horn? A freaking horse."

While Finn and Will debate whether or not the football star can dance, they're distracted by the entrance of a so-fresh-and-so-clean Quinn, sporting fresh blonde locks and a perfectly clean white dress. We find out very quickly that beneath her exterior was still a dirty devil -- she dropped a bombshell on Puck (and us viewers) and revealed that she's only putting on a face to regain full custody of baby Beth.

Despite his wishes, Brittany hangs the unicorn posters in the hallway, and, well, everywhere, which really makes him insecure. Satana tells her best friend that she thinks she's a genius and she is a unicorn in her own way.

By the end of the episode, Kurt decides to own his inner unicorn and hangs new posters. When he runs into Brittany to tell her the happy news, she says that she has to "believe in her own magic" and has decided to run for class president as well.

Blaine closed out tonight's 'I Am Unicorn' episode with a lead-worthy performance of the 'West Side Story' track 'Something’s Coming,' winning over the judges and impressing his boyfriend, who was watching from the wings. Artie points out that while the Warbler star was auditioning for the sub role of Bernardo, he'd make a great Tony. Without revealing which hopeful got which part, 'Glee' faded into the credits, leaving things open-ended for next week's 'Asian F' episode.