 = I Am Unicorn = 
 
 " I Am Unicorn " is the second episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee , and the forty @-@ sixth overall . The episode was written by series co @-@ creator Ryan Murphy , directed by series co @-@ creator Brad Falchuk , and first aired on September 27 , 2011 on Fox in the United States . It features the return of Shelby Corcoran ( Idina Menzel ) to the show to direct a rival glee club at William McKinley High even while New Directions , the current club , is having trouble recruiting members . Shelby also wants Quinn ( Dianna Agron ) and Puck ( Mark Salling ) , the biological parents of her adopted daughter Beth , to be a part of Beth 's life . The director of New Directions , Will Schuester ( Matthew Morrison ) sets up a " booty camp " for the less capable dancers in the club , and auditions for the school musical , West Side Story , begin . 
 The episode received mostly positive reviews , which ranged from okay to fabulous , with approval being given to the resurrection of neglected storylines from the show 's first season . One of these was the adoption of Beth , and critics were especially happy with the scene where Puck meets her , but there was widespread disdain for the explanation behind Shelby 's return , that of starting a rival glee club . There were only three musical numbers in the episode , though all three were given positive notices , with the overall favorite being Blaine 's performance of " Something 's Coming " from West Side Story at the end of the episode . All three songs were released as singles , available for download , and " Somewhere " , sung as a duet by Menzel and Lea Michele , charted on the Billboard Hot 100 . It did not chart on the Canadian Hot 100 . Upon its initial airing , this episode was viewed by 8 @.@ 60 million American viewers and garnered a 3 @.@ 7 / 10 Nielsen rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic . The total viewership and ratings for this episode were down from the previous week 's season opener , " The Purple Piano Project " . 
 
 = = Plot = = 
 
 Glee club director Will Schuester ( Matthew Morrison ) institutes a " booty camp " to hone the dancing skills of New Directions members Finn ( Cory Monteith ) , Mercedes ( Amber Riley ) , Puck ( Mark Salling ) , Kurt ( Chris Colfer ) and Blaine ( Darren Criss ) , and has Mike ( Harry Shum Jr . ) instruct them . As he is too busy to direct the upcoming school musical West Side Story , guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury ( Jayma Mays ) , football coach Shannon Beiste ( Dot @-@ Marie Jones ) and New Directions member Artie Abrams ( Kevin McHale ) take charge of it . 
 Rachel ( Lea Michele ) and Kurt audition , respectively , for the lead roles of Maria and Tony ; she performs " Somewhere " from the show , and he performs " I 'm the Greatest Star " from Funny Girl . Kurt later eavesdrops on the directors and hears them question whether he is masculine enough for the role . He re @-@ auditions and attempts to give a more masculine performance , but they are unable to suppress laughter at his acting . Kurt is also running for class president , and accepts campaign help from Brittany ( Heather Morris ) , who wants to highlight his unique character by comparing him to a unicorn . Kurt feels her proposed campaign materials highlight only his gay side , and is upset when she goes against his wishes and posts them anyway . He discusses his image problem with his father , Burt ( Mike O 'Malley ) , who recommends that he embrace his uniqueness . Kurt later changes his mind about his campaign 's approach and apologizes to Brittany , but is surprised to learn that she too has decided to run for class president . 
 Shelby Corcoran ( Idina Menzel ) — Rachel 's biological mother , the adoptive mother of Quinn ( Dianna Agron ) and Puck 's daughter Beth , and the former coach of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline — is headhunted to coach a second glee club at McKinley High financed by Sugar Motta 's ( Vanessa Lengies ) wealthy and doting father . Shelby reaches out to Rachel , Puck and Quinn . She lets Puck see Beth , but rejects Quinn 's desire to do likewise due to Quinn 's bad @-@ girl attitude , appearance and behavior . Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester ( Jane Lynch ) , who is running for Congress , convinces Quinn to feature in an anti @-@ arts video for her campaign . In it , Quinn confronts Will and blames him for her transformation into a bad girl , but Will reprimands her , reminds her of how the glee club and its members have always supported her in the past and tells her to grow up . After seeing a picture of a happy Beth and Puck , Quinn breaks down . She resumes her normal appearance , and Will and the New Directions welcome her back into the club . Puck tells Quinn he is proud of her , but Quinn reveals she is only pretending to behave in order to take Beth back from Shelby , and intends to pursue full custody . 
 To avoid competing with Kurt , Blaine auditions for a supporting role with a rendition of " Something 's Coming " , one of Tony 's songs from the show . The directors are impressed , and ask if he will read for the part of Tony instead . Kurt , who was watching from above , silently walks out of the auditorium . 
 
 = = Production = = 
 
 The episode was written by series co @-@ creator Ryan Murphy , directed by series co @-@ creator Brad Falchuk , and was filmed in five days , from August 22 , 2011 through August 26 , 2011 . Broadway star Idina Menzel returns for the first time since the first season finale " Journey to Regionals " , when her character , Shelby Corcoran , adopted Quinn 's newborn baby , named Beth . On July 15 , 2011 , it was announced that Menzel would be returning to Glee in the third season " for a major arc that could span as many as 10 @-@ 12 episodes " . Series co @-@ creator Ryan Murphy was quoted as saying , " I 'm really excited [ ... ] that Idina is joining the family again . We missed her last year and we 're happy that she is coming back . " The article also noted that her character , Shelby , would be " returning from New York to Ohio to join William McKinley High School as a new teacher " . Menzel herself said that she would " be back and forth in Glee all throughout the season " , which she was " very excited about " . Shelby 's adopted daughter is also appearing : Menzel tweeted that she was " shooting scenes with babies " . The drawing of the " Clown Pig " that Puck brings for Beth was actually drawn by Falchuk and Agron . 
 Recurring guest stars appearing in the episode include Principal Figgins ( Iqbal Theba ) , Coach Beiste ( Jones ) , cheerleader Becky Jackson ( Lauren Potter ) , student Sugar Motta ( Lengies ) and Menzel as Shelby . Second season series regular Mike O 'Malley , who plays Burt Hummel and also appears in the episode , is listed in the Fox press release as a guest star for this episode and receives a like credit in the episode itself . 
 Three singles were released from the episode : " I 'm the Greatest Star " from Funny Girl sung by Colfer , and covers of " Something 's Coming " and " Somewhere " from West Side Story — the former sung by Criss , and the latter a duet between Michele and Menzel . 
 
 = = Reception = = 
 
 
 = = = Ratings = = = 
 
 " I Am Unicorn " was first broadcast on September 27 , 2011 in the United States on Fox . It garnered a 3 @.@ 7 / 10 Nielsen rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic , and received 8 @.@ 60 million American viewers during its initial airing . It was beaten for the second week in a row in its timeslot by NCIS on CBS , which earned a 4 @.@ 2 / 12 rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic , and also by the second episode of New Girl , which follows Glee on Fox , and brought in a 4 @.@ 5 / 11 rating / share and 9 @.@ 28 million viewers . The Glee numbers were down from the previous week 's season opener , " The Purple Piano Project " , which netted a 4 @.@ 0 / 11 rating / share and 9 @.@ 21 million viewers . 
 In the United Kingdom , " I Am Unicorn " was watched on Sky1 by 995 @,@ 000 viewers , down 177 @,@ 000 from the season premiere the previous week . In Australia , the episode drew 729 @,@ 000 viewers , which made Glee the fifteenth most @-@ watched program of the night , down from the season premiere 's twelfth most @-@ watched program of the night and 760 @,@ 000 viewers in the previous week . In Canada , 1 @.@ 50 million viewers watched the episode , and it was the eighteenth most @-@ viewed show of the week , down eight slots and 28 % from the 2 @.@ 10 million who watched " The Purple Piano Project " . 
 
 = = = Critical reception = = = 
 
 Reviewers generally received this episode positively , though some , like IGN 's Robert Canning , thought it was merely " okay " ; he gave it a score of 6 @.@ 5 out of 10 , and Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times said she " felt vaguely underwhelmed " and that the episode " lacked emotional resonance " . In contrast , The A.V. Club 's Todd VanDerWerff gave the episode a " B " , and called it " a marked improvement over the season premiere " , and complimented the way it " gave nearly all of the storylines an emotional core " . Anthony Benigno of The Faster Times characterized it as " one of the tightest , best @-@ made , most well @-@ acted , and entertaining hours " from Glee in a very long time , and BuddyTV 's John Kubicek said that it was " quintessential Glee " and that " the show is once again a magical , fabulous unicorn . " Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle was " charmed " , " moved " , and " excited for what 's to come . " 
 The reappearance of storylines left dangling at the end of the first season was noted with approval by Samantha Urban of The Dallas Morning News and VanDerWerff , who both mentioned not only the big one about Quinn and Puck and baby Beth but also Artie 's love of directing , and variously added Rachel and Shelby , and movement on the Will and Emma relationship . The fact that Shelby had been hired to form a second glee club at McKinley , however , was greeted with derision by both reviewers — Urban called it " mind @-@ bogglingly idiotic " — and others as well . Reiter found the idea incomprehensible , and Vanity Fair 's Brett Berk wrote , " Given Will 's ongoing struggles to fill his own crooning baker 's dozen , this is about as realistic a plan as Michele Bachmann starting a rival chapter of PFLAG at Liberty University . " Vicki Hyman of The Star @-@ Ledger characterized the notion of " Shelby deciding to give up a burgeoning Broadway career because she was missing her daughter grow up " to take a part @-@ time job in Lima as " ridiculous " , and the whole scenario as " more than a little bizarre " . 
 The effect of Shelby 's advent on Puck evoked the most praise . Benigno called the segment where Puck meets Beth " the best scene of this very young season " , The Hollywood Reporter 's Lesley Goldberg said it was a " top moment " , and Abby West of Entertainment Weekly dubbed it " the sweetest scene of the night " . VanDerWerff also called it " very sweet " and expressed hope that " the show will come up with something for him to do after mostly relegating him to weird comic relief last season . " The effect of her return on Quinn was greeted with less enthusiasm . Reiter was " not thrilled " by the possibility of a custody battle between Quinn and Shelby and called Quinn 's plan " half @-@ baked " , and Canning dismissed it as " clichéd drama " . Kubicek expressed interest in seeing " where this goes " , and VanDerWerff noted that Quinn has been " grieving giving up her child all this time and she didn 't even know it " , and characterized it as a " fairly powerful storyline " . 
 Critics were divided on Kurt 's storyline as he faced being perceived primarily as gay both when auditioning and when running for class president . VanDerWerff said it was " the most consistent " storyline , and Canning called it " the most familiar story " , but also described Kurt as " by far the most interesting and most layered " character , his stories " delivering the most emotional connections " , and this episode 's installments " entertaining territory " . Kubicek stated that there were " tons " of wonderful " Kurt moments " in the episode . Benigno called Kurt learning to embrace his gayness yet again on the show " kind of awkward " , and Hyman asked " Was this Kurt Accepts He 's Special 3 @.@ 0 or 4 @.@ 0 ? I can 't keep track . " Votta summed up Kurt 's audition quandary : " Kurt is fighting typecasting , and while the ninjitsu , fingerless gloves and climbing routine might have been an attempt to butch it up , instead Kurt played right into expectations with the over @-@ the @-@ top Funny Girl piece . " His attempt to rescue the situation by reauditioning via performing a Romeo and Juliet scene with Rachel evoked laughter from the three directors and Rachel herself , but as Votta points out , Kurt was " not actually being bad as Romeo " . Jayma Mays , who plays Emma , one of the directors in that scene , stated in an interview that she thought Kurt was " good " . Kurt finding himself in competition with Blaine was also touched on , but several reviewers were unhappy with the revelation that Blaine was not a senior like Kurt , as had been implied in the previous season . VanDerWerff wrote that Blaine " seems to have simultaneously gotten younger and had a complete personality transplant over the summer " , Votta noted " the continuity @-@ bending plot point that he 's somehow a Junior and not a Senior like his boyfriend " , and Urban allowed her exasperation to show : " Oh really , Glee ? Blaine 's a junior ? Blaine 's younger than Kurt ? Fine . FINE . " MTV 's Jim Cantiello went into rhyme to express his dismay : " It 's hard to keep my bearings straight / And oh , how it makes my heart ache / Kurt and Blaine were gonna move to New York together / But now they 'll have to wait " , referring to a scene in the " New York " episode where Kurt discussed the planned move with Rachel . 
 Goldberg was pleased that having Brittany volunteer to run Kurt 's campaign included an acknowledgment that he " went through hell " the previous year , and praised " Brittany logic " in general . Respers France loved that Brittany , in helping Kurt find his magical inner unicorn , was able to find her own . Reiter enjoyed the " delicious dose of Brittany @-@ isms " , which she called " the best part " of the episode , and Kubicek said that there were " tons of wonderful " Brittany moments . For Hyman , the " one sit @-@ up @-@ and @-@ take @-@ notice moment " was the confrontation between Will and Quinn where he told her to grow up . Respers France thought " Sue Sylvester 's attempt to use Quinn against the glee club was hilarious " , but VanDerWerff was unhappy with Quinn being coopted into " Sue ’ s ridiculous run for Congress " . Reiter wrote that it was " hard to muster much sympathy for Quinn " in the episode given the scene with Quinn and The Skanks : " Flushing someone 's head in a public toilet , threatening to cut them , and shaking them down for their lunch money are orders of magnitude more chilling than the face @-@ full @-@ of @-@ slushy bullying we 're used to seeing . " 
 
 = = = Music and performances = = = 
 
 The episode 's musical performances were well received by most reviewers . All three were Broadway songs , two from West Side Story and one from Funny Girl — the concentration on show tunes disappointed Reiter , and Canning felt they were all " too bland " , but others were happy with the selections including Hankinson who said he was " loving the Broadway @-@ bend to these first two episodes " , and added , " all three of tonight 's numbers were hands @-@ down fantastic . " 
 The duet of " Somewhere " featuring Rachel and Shelby was generally complimented . Both Benigno and Rae Votta of Billboard compared it favorably to their previous duet , Lady Gaga 's " Poker Face " , from season one . Benigno gave the performance a " B + " , while Michael Slezak of TVLine gave it an " A − " and praised their " powerful , evocative voices " . Rolling Stone 's Erica Futterman was not impressed , and characterized it as " Lite FM snooze that does nothing to showcase these Broadway belters in a new and exciting way " . Amy Lee of The Huffington Post called it " pretty bland " , and said it was " getting annoying " that Rachel " sings every song as if she 's Barbra Streisand " . The Wall Street Journal 's Raymund Flandez , however , called the duet " pitch @-@ perfect " and " so sublime it makes you catch your breath " . 
 Kurt 's choice of " I 'm the Greatest Star " to audition for the role of Tony — the one song not from West Side Story — drew comment : Benigno ascribed it to Kurt 's " ability to make a talented ass of himself " , while Slezak was of the opinion that Kurt was " way too savvy , and way too hungry for the role " for that kind of misstep . Despite these plot @-@ related issues , both reviewers gave the performance an " A " , and Benigno noted both that " he nails it " and " last half of the song is a singing clinic . " VanDerWerff was not fond of the reliance on " gimmicky staging " , though Futterman called it " an impressive physical performance " , Votta stated that " Kurt sounds flawless and the performance is captivating " and Flandez complimented his " captivating high notes after high notes " , and added , " He 's a star unicorn , and he knows it . " Lisa Respers France of CNN wrote that Kurt " was amazing singing Streisand , and for the first time I realized that he really is as big a star as Rachel . " 
 Blaine 's rendition of " Something 's Coming " was the most enthusiastically welcomed . It was the favorite number of Lee , VanDerWerff and Futterman ; Lee said it was " the best song " , and added , " he 's kinetic , impassioned and generally delightful as Blaine @-@ playing @-@ Tony . " VanDerWerff was even more complimentary with " by far the best performance " , and Futterman called it " the winning musical number of the episode " . Both Slezak and Benigno gave it a " B + " , and the former complimented Criss 's " breathless charm and boyish enthusiasm " , while the latter maintained that the actor is " at his best when he 's doing goofy pop numbers with kind of an off @-@ beat twist " . West gave the song an " A − " , and said " Blaine just knows how to own the stage and your TV screen " , while both Votta and Respers France wrote that he was the " perfect Tony " . 
 
 = = = Chart history = = = 
 
 One of the three cover versions released as singles debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 , and none charted on the Canadian Hot 100 or in England or Australia . The duet version of " Somewhere " appeared at number seventy @-@ five , the fourth time the song charted in the Hot 100 . By contrast , " Something 's Coming " , the episode 's other song from West Side Story , has never appeared in the Hot 100 , and failed to chart there again . 
 
 