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The original six students who formed New Directions, along with their teacher Will.

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Will Schuester

"From the top!"

Potrayed By: Matthew Morrison

A High School Spanish, later history, teacher who takes over the Glee club (New Directions) and becomes a mentor to the Ragtag Bunch of Misfits. He was married to Terri; that marriage ended when she faked a pregnancy; he then married his true love, Emma. Will is a tenor who uses a lower voice to rap with, but is stronger with the higher pitches of his range.

  • Aesop Amnesia: How many times has Will learned to give solos out equally? He never seems to learn that part of the reason Rachel is such a drama queen is because he keeps giving her solos!
  • Berserk Button: Will has admittedly put up with a lot of crap from other people, including his wife. But when he finds out that his wife was faking her pregnancy, he just fucking blows up...
  • Betty and Veronica: An interesting case, as if we analyze the case closely he could be considered to the Betty or the Veronica to Ken, who would become the opposing force depending on what you consider Will to be.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Will is beyond furious when he confronts Terri about her fake pregnancy.
  • Camp Straight: A mild case. Shelby Corcoran wonders if he's gay, and a few other characters have teased him for his interest in show tunes.
  • Catch Phrase: "From the top!"
  • Chick Magnet: Female characters hit on him regularly. Weaponized by Will in "Funk".
  • Cool Shades: Well, Emma thinks so.
  • Cool Teacher
  • Deadpan Snarker: Could have his moments of this, like in "Funk" when Sue rails on him about humiliating her:

Will: Well gee Sue, I wonder where I learned how to do that.

  • Deuteragonist
  • Did Not Get the Girl: Subverted. Emma and Carl are Amicably Divorced now, and Will and Emma live together as of Season 3.
  • Drowning My Sorrows: After Emma marries Carl.
  • Foe Yay: Will and Bryan Ryan, in "Dream On". Will and Sue, canonically, in "Funk".
  • George Jetson Job Security: Despite being a public school teacher and thus presumably unionized, he apparently has this, as Sue fires him while he's on sick leave.
  • High School Sweethearts: Will and Terri are a not – so – happy version of this.
  • Hot Teacher: This is what happens when you are both Estrogen Brigade Bait and a Chick Magnet.
  • Informed Ability: How much Spanish Will actually knows and can speak, which is strange, considering he's the Spanish teacher at McKinley. To be fair it was never stated that he's a good Spanish teacher.
    • In the episode "The Spanish Teacher", it turns out he doesn't know much at all, and only took the position because it was the only one available.
  • Innocent Cohabitation: In "Home", this is what happens between Will and April during her stay at his house, even if Sue later tried to twist it for her own purposes.
  • It's the Journey That Counts: Will states this in the aptly named "Journey" to New Directions just as they are preparing to go out and perform at Regionals.
  • Karma Houdini: Will completely gets away with planting marijuana in Finn's locker to force him to join the team in the pilot.
  • Kick the Son of a Bitch: We know Sue is a bad person, but intentionally leading her on for the sole sake of breaking her heart? Damn Will, that's cold.
  • Love Dodecahedron: Terri-Will, Holly-Will, Shelby-Will, Emma-Will, Carl-Emma, Ken-Emma...
  • Love Hurts: During his confrontation with Terri, Will tears up.
  • Manipulative Bastard: For such a Nice Guy, Schue really is capable of pulling off some underhanded deeds.
  • Mistaken for Racist: Part of Sue's campaign against Will is to get all of the minority kids into her own section of the glee club.
  • Mr. Fanservice: There's quite the number of comments on YouTube videos of his "Don't Stand So Close To Me"/"Young Girl" mash-up about how cute/sexy Will is.
  • No Accounting for Taste: Will and Terri.
  • Odd Friendship: With Coach Bieste.
  • Ominous Latin Chanting: "O Fortuna" is used to hilarious effect during the Will vs. Sue scenes in Episode 7.
  • Only Sane Man: ...most of the time. And similarly, Only Sane Employee.
  • Out-of-Character Moment: Will's furious reaction to finding out about the faked pregnancy. It’s precisely how far that is from his usual personality that makes it so chilling.
    • And smashing the Cheerio's trophy when Sue tries to house it in the chorus room. He probably would have preferred to smash it over Sue's head if he could have gotten away with it.
    • His eerily calm "You dropped your trophy, Sue" just makes that moment even more frightening.
  • Out of Focus: In Season 3, possibly in response to the fandoms' response to his storylines in the second season.
  • Papa Wolf: A subtle one, but in "Funk", after Will stops the guys from Glee getting revenge on Vocal Adrenaline for their horrible treatment of Rachel. Kurt demands to know if Will is letting Vocal Adrenaline get away with it. Will, face cold and in Tranquil Fury mode, answers "no", and proceeds to call Jesse with Rachel’s phone. Will invites Vocal Adrenaline to see New Directions perform, which they do (blasting a funk number out of the park). Lesson learned? Do not go after one of Will's Glee kids.
  • Parental Substitute: It appears as if Will is shaping up to be a father-figure for Finn, considering his father died when he was just a baby. Finn outright confirms this in the Season 1 finale.
  • Poke the Poodle: On his way out of Sue's office after she steals all the gifts for the homeless children, he unhangs her telephone.
  • Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Will is very, very white, his favorite song is "Bust a Move", he raps "Gold Digger", likes Poison, and breakdances.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure
  • Rousing Speech: In "Journey", Will gives a rather emotional one the New Directions shortly after they learn that Sue would be one of the four judges at Regionals, stating that as a group they have grown and changed so much, and for the better and that no matter what happens in the future, he believes and loves them too much to let them fall at the wayside
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Arguable, but the Fandom universally places Will as the Sensitive Man to Ken’s Manly Man and being the Sensitive Man seems to be one of the main reasons for Emma’s attraction to Will.
  • Ship Tease: In "Funk", they really tease the hell out of the Will and Sue ship. Their dance to "Sing, Sing, Sing" was kind of adorable, too.
  • So Proud of You: One could argue that Will is always proud of his "children", as seen in his facial expressions every episode. However, quite possibly the two most touching instances of this are in "Sectionals" and in "Journey".
  • Team Mom: Schue is a rare male example.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Not noticing that something strange is going on with Terri's pregnancy? Come on. But in Episode 12, he finally clues in.
  • Took a Level in Badass: All of Episode 12. Will finally confronts Terri about her fake pregnancy, rips her fake baby bump off, stops taking her bullshit, and walks out on her, all while proving that Will can actually act. Later on, after Will endangers Glee Club's chance of going to Sectionals by sleeping on a mattress they received from a commercial spot, Will takes the bullet for the team so they can still go to Sectionals; just without him.
  • Waistcoat of Style: Santana thinks he's addicted to them.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Emma calls Will out on his "slutty" behavior - cheating on Terri with her, having April stay at his house, and making out with Shelby - in front of the entire faculty. Also the end of "The Power of Madonna", where he is angry with Kurt and Mercedes for joining the Cheerios. At some point before this episode, three of the six girls in Glee (Quinn, Santana and Brittany) were already on the Cheerios and all of the guys but Artie were on the football team. All of a sudden he has a problem with Kurt and Mercedes trying to get solos for themselves.
    • Half of his lines in "Special Education" are this, calling out the club on their selfish behavior and his own failings as a fair director.
  • Wide-Eyed Idealist: Oh, so much.
  • Worthy Opponent: Sue considers him one at the end of the first season, which is why she forces the principal to give the Glee club another year, even though they didn't place at Regionals.

Rachel Berry

"Look, I know what I'm talking about! I won my first dance competition when I was three months old!"

Portrayed By: Lea Michele

The most talented kid in the group, and she knows it. Her diva behavior makes her an outcast with most of the student body, though the Glee kids tolerate her because of what she brings to the table. Dated Finn Hudson on and off through the first four seasons, after his death, she married Jesse St. James and became the surrogate for Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson's child. Rachel claims a three-octave range (like Quinn has), though she only sings covering two, and is a true soprano who can comfortably reach the lower end of this as well as some high notes which may be falsetto though they are still strong.

  • Aesop Amnesia: Rachel will often learn that it's not all about her and that success depends on the whole club, only to go right back to trying to hog the spotlight and carry the team on her own. Her Character Development finally starts to stick after "Loser Like Me", even while still retaining some of her old diva personality.
  • Age-Inappropriate Dress:

Kurt: She manages to dress like a grandmother and a kindergartner at the same time.

  • All Jews Are Ashkenazi: Demonstrated when Rachel lectures Quinn about Tay-Sachs syndrome and how her cousin had to get checked for it. This is despite the fact that Rachel's actor, Lea Michele, is Sephardic. Although since it was her way of forcing Quinn to come clean about the paternity of her baby, it may be debatable.
  • Alpha Bitch: She shows some characteristics of this within the confines of the club.
  • Always Someone Better: Sunshine for Rachel; Rachel for the rest of the glee club. Then, Mercedes for Rachel.
  • Ambiguously Bi: Yes. This little exchange from "Wonder-ful" gives off this sort of vibe:

Rachel: But what about the whole Brody thing?
Cassie: That was because of his abs.
Rachel: But yours are so much better

  • Ascended Meme: People referring to Rachel by her last name as "Berry", something that is an epidemic in fanfic, but only happened on the show in "Sexy" (Santana, specifically).
  • Attention Whore: She sent a prospective club member with a really good voice to a crack house so that she wouldn't upstage her, then tried to pass it off as protecting the roles of the others. Finn calls her out on this, but it's too late by the time he does because the prospective member's already been taken up by Vocal Adrenaline thanks to Sue.
  • Bad Bad Acting: "Run Joey Run." That is all.
  • Betty and Veronica: An interesting case, as she could be seen as both the Betty (the girl next door vibe in comparison to the Libby that is Quinn) and the Veronica (her overbearing and control freak personality in comparison to Quinn’s Christian upbringing) at the same time. She later becomes the Archie to Finn's Betty and both Puck and Jesse's Veronica.
  • Big "Shut Up!": Rachel gets one against Puck in "Auditions".
  • Break the Cutie: In "Funk", she suffered one hell of a breaking at the hands of her ex–boyfriend and his teammates.
  • Bunny Ears Lawyer: Is seen this way by the other New Directions at first: They think she's obnoxious and rude, but they tolerate it because of her talent. Puck says it best in "The Rhodes Not Taken":

Puck: That Rachel chick makes me want to light myself on fire, but she can sing.

  • Butt Monkey
  • Child Prodigy: In terms of music, as she both won her first dance competition at three months old and won a singing competition at eight months old.
  • Concert Kiss: After "Pretending" in "New York" with Finn, complete with Held Gaze. Subverted in that the audience isn't too pleased and barely claps, and Jesse, Blaine, and Santana all think that it was unprofessional and cost them a place at Nationals.
  • Control Freak: And how.
  • Curtains Match the Window
  • Dynamic Character: Rachel's personality has changed considerably since the beginning of the series, as she has become less cruel and full of herself (although she is still abrasive).
  • Extracurricular Enthusiast: Rachel's joined every club in the school, even ones she would normally have no business being in. Subverted in that she doesn't do it because she loves the activities, she does it to get as many photos of herself in the school yearbook as possible.
  • Fag Hag: Has all the makings of one, as illustrated by Kurt in "Blame It On The Alcohol".
  • Failed Attempt At Drama: Rachel attempting to storm out in a wheelchair, and bumping into the doorframe.
  • Generic Cuteness: She is often referred as "mildly attractive".
  • Genki Girl: Rachel always signs her name with a gold-star sticker, and wakes up every day at 6:00 for her daily exercise routine. She claims to have won her first dance competition at three months old. This is actually believable since in "Dream On" she shows Jesse a singing trophy from eight months old. Maybe it's just because she's Shelby Corcoran's daughter.
  • Genre Savvy: "I think everyone expects us to get together because you're the handsome football player and I'm the beautiful young ingenue." Or Wrong Genre Savvy, YMMV.
  • Girl Next Door
  • Has Two Daddies: Who are also an interracial couple.
  • Heel Realization: In "Duets", Rachel finally realizes that her desire to win hasn't made her as nice as she likes to think she is. She then spends the entire episode trying to do things for other people, which in one case means actively trying to lose at something.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Of sorts. After stuffing the ballot in order to help Kurt win the election and Kurt is blamed for it, she admits it so that he can avoid suspension and a mark on his permanent record. She gets them instead, as well as being banned from Sectionals that year.
  • Hollywood Dateless: For a girl who is supposedly "unpopular" and "mildly attractive", she's already dated three boys within her sophomore year, and another is very attracted to her.
  • Hollywood Tone Deaf: When she loses her voice.
  • Hot for Teacher: Rachel develops a short-lived crush on Will in Episode 10.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Rachel is the Tiny Girl to Finn's Huge Guy.
  • I Can't Believe a Guy Like You Would Notice Me: Her initial reaction to her and Jesse's first meeting. Her and Finn, to an extent.
  • I Just Want to Be Special: She explicitly tells Mr. Schuester that she's in the glee club to win popularity. To Jesse in "Bad Reputation": "I have a pathological desire to be popular." However, it should be noted that she remains in the Glee club even when it starts to become an obstacle to her popularity, so she probably has other reasons.
  • Incompatible Orientation: Let's face it, her and Blaine's relationship was doomed from the start.
  • Informed Ability: Downplayed. The way other characters line up to talk, sometimes to thin air, about how wonderful and important Rachel is no matter if her success comes at their expense would make you think Lea Michele was the only talented member of the cast. The episode that demonstrated this best was "Props", where Tina becomes frustrated that Rachel is once again singing lead while she remains stuck in the background. But after experiencing a vision in which all of the glee club members have switched roles, she explains to Rachel both the dream and her subconscious telling her that her part... is to help Rachel get whatever she wants, because by helping her, she helps the glee club. By the end of the season, Rachel is admitted into NYADA despite failing her audition and leaving Carmen Tibideaux annoyed enough by her repeated messages to say she does not deserve any special treatment, becoming a Karma Houdini in the process. However, she does still have the exceptional talent to back up these claims, and she has been willing to admit that other glee club members such as Mercedes are equal to or more talented than her.
  • Informed Flaw: The show goes on and on about how she doesn't dress well, when actually she looks quite cute in a preppy schoolgirl way. When it's decided she needs a makeover in Episode 11, to showcase her bad fashion sense she's suddenly wearing a monochromatic pantsuit that was nothing like anything her character has ever worn before. Her dressing does get a bit worse in the second half of the season. Remember that owl sweater?
    • The second season opener finally has a dress that matches the description, it looks like something made for a doll.
    • However, to some, she can look like someone who just got kicked out of an Enid Blyton illustration for looking too twee.
  • Informed Judaism: Rachel’s an interesting case, as we know that she is Jewish because of mere hints in the series. Ironically, we know less about Rachel's Judaism than Puck's.
  • The Ingenue: Rachel calls herself one. Frankly, she isn't.
  • Intoxication Ensues: See Motor Mouth below.
  • It's All About Me: Rachel has this bad. Whenever Mr. Schuester wants to have another student have the opportunity to sing a song that Rachel wants to sing so that everyone has a chance, she thinks of it as Mr. Schuester attempting to ruin her career. She's getting better than how she originally was.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold
  • Karma Houdini Warranty: Rachel's actions finally catch up to her in season 6. She loses everything: she no longer has a career in Broadway and after acting so unprofessional, there is little to no doubt that no one will hire her again, she is out of NYADA and has no chance to get in again after the way she quit, and her show was so terribad it was immediately canceled and demolished her reputation. All of these events led her to have a breakdown, and she went into hiding for months. She is then forced to leave New York and go live with her dads again... only to discover they are getting divorced and that her house is for sale. While being pushed by Mercedes to audition for another show and getting offered the leading role, on top of Carmen Tibideaux granting her permission to return to NYADA despite her warning that she would not be allowed back when she left, does threaten to undo this and make her a regular Karma Houdini again, Rachel at least learned from her mistakes and chose NYADA over immediate Broadway stardom this time around, which culminated in her winning a Tony Award.
  • Kick the Dog: Decides to get even with Finn for lying about sleeping with Santana by cheating on Finn with Puck.
  • Kissing Under the Influence: With Blaine.
  • Locked Out of the Loop:

Santana: Nobody tells you anything because A: you are a blabber mouth, and B: we all pretend to like you.

  • Lonely at the Top: Rachel says this verbatim in one of her interior monologues in Episode 12 when Finn doesn't show up for the Glee Club yearbook photo.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: More like Love Makes You Obsessive in the case with Rachel and Finn, to the point that he has admitted that he is slightly unnerved by her.
  • Meaningful Name: Her fathers named her Rachel because they were huge fans of Friends. Considering her major character trait, this makes sense.
  • Missing Mom: Initially. After Season One, not so much.
  • Motor Mouth: Particularly when she's gotten a good dose of "Vitamin D".
  • Must Make Amends: Seems to be a motivating factor for a number of her post-Heel Realization actions.
  • Never My Fault
  • Not So Different: It's surprising no one's pointed out that Rachel is exactly like the girls that bully her at school, especially after her treatment of Sunshine.
  • Official Couple: As of "Journey", the relationship between Finn and Rachel has become this. They break up in "Special Education" but get back together in "New York".
  • Operation: Jealousy: In "Mash-Up", Rachel admits that she began to date Puck because she thought it would make Finn jealous. It sort of worked, if Finn's face is anything to go by when Puck sings "Sweet Caroline" to Rachel. It works even better in "Special Education" when Rachel confesses to making out with Puck to get back at Finn for sleeping with Santana. Unfortunately, it works too well - Finn breaks up with her because she cheated on him. They weren't together when he slept with Santana. This occurs again in "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle" when she sings "Need You Now" with Puck.
  • The Prima Donna
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Rachel storms out of the Glee club constantly. Artie lampshades it by saying the more she does it, the less impact it has. To the point where nobody really reacts when she walks back in, either.
  • Seemingly-Wholesome Fifties Girl
  • Shipper on Deck: If this line in "Rumours" is anything to go by, she's one for Kurt and Blaine.

Rachel (to Kurt): Sam's cute, but he's not worth losing Blaine over.

    • She's also one for Sam and Quinn. Justified, however, because it would mean she could be with Finn again.
  • Soapbox Sadie: Is she is supposed to be a mouthpiece for the writers or just a mouthpiece in general? Either way, her soapbox is the reason why she's an outcast.
  • Squee: Does one when she and Kurt arrive on Broadway.
  • Stalker with a Crush: She's certainly desperate enough to become this (and eventually she does for Will). That reputation precedes her: when Puck dreamed that Rachel climbed through his bedroom window, he knew it was a dream because she wouldn't be able to climb without shoes on, rather than thinking she would never do this in the first place.
  • Sweater Girl: The show even Lampshades it.

Jacob: Let those sweater puppies out of their cashmere cage!

Finn Hudson

"I have always been dubious"

Portrayed By: Cory Monteith

The Book Dumb star quarterback and football captain with Hidden Depths: he loves to sing and dance. Is best friends with Puck and is/was dating Rachel. Finn was a high baritenor with limited range, maybe an octave residing somewhere between the typical ranges of tenor and baritenor, that expanded as he got older. Cory Monteith's death lead to the death of his character early in the fifth season.

  • Achilles in His Tent: Finn temporarily pulls this on "Sectionals" after learning that the father of Quinn’s baby is really Puck.
  • All the Other Reindeer
  • Bash Brothers: With Puck, cemented in "Funk".
  • Be Careful What You Wish For: After being replaced as quarterback by Sam, he is spiteful and wishes he was the quarterback instead. Sam then dislocates his shoulder in a game, forcing Finn to play quarterback.
  • Betty and Veronica: The Betty to both Puck’s and Jesse’s Veronica.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Finn is a decent enough person to not actually partake in the terrorizing of students that his teammates did, but the second he finds out that his girlfriend's baby is really his best friend's, Puck then has to pay the consequences of Finn running after him, attacking him, proceeding to beat the living daylights out of him, and being held back by several football players, before manages to chuck a chair on his way out. This isn't the first time that Finn has let his rage come pouring out after being sufficiently provoked; other examples include getting upset over how comfortable Jesse and Rachel seem to be dancing together in "Prom Queen", forcing Quinn out of her wheelchair during the dance and starting to attack Joe when Joe tries to get him to stop after finds out that she's been lying about her recent disability to gain the sympathy vote in "Prom-asaurus", and beating Brody to a pulp after finding out that he's been sleeping around on Rachel for cash in "Feud".
  • Big Damn Heroes: In "Sectionals".
  • Big Man on Campus: Prior to his joining of Glee, that is.
  • Book Dumb: Finn is such a moron, but, damn it, he's so well-intentioned and nice.
    • As an example, he believes that the moon and New York City are "like a hundred miles apart."
    • Monteith has stated that "Finn is about as smart as rocks."
  • Broken Pedestal: "Yes/No" absolutely shatters his perceptions of his father, after finding out that he died as a drug addict.
  • Brown Eyes
  • Character Development: A rather consistent character trait of Finn's in the earlier seasons is his subtle homophobia. He insults several items in Kurt's bedroom as being "faggy" after losing his temper during an argument in "Theatricality", refuses to confront school bully Dave Karofsky during "Furt" because he's more concerned that he'll pay for it on the field and Sam will remain quarterback despite knowing that Dave's been harassing Kurt, and deliberately exploits Santana's self-loathing through using the fact that the judges didn't vote for the Warblers last year explicitly because they looked a little gay to make it so that New Directions wins against the Troubletones in "Hold On To Sixteen" considering Santana had been outed to the entire state at that time (Finn can even be seen fist-bumping Blaine and saying that they got this just before the girls on the Troubletones romantically dance with each other during their performance at Sectionals). Finn does start sticking up for Kurt more and promises to be there for him after other characters lambasted him for his stupidity during those first two instances, and although Santana does cry and give Finn a hug after he sings a slow rendition of "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" despite it being a song choice that would be nicer contextually if it didn't imply that Santana likes girls because it's fun and, by extension, a choice, the fact that his dream sequence in "Saturday Night Glee-ver" is him and Rachel dancing alongside Mike and Tina, Kurt and Blaine, and Brittany and Santana, all of these couples being as happy as him, shows that this not-hate-but-not-like of gay people seems to have at least subsided and that singing that song to Santana might have been him actually trying to say sorry in his own tone-deaf (metaphorically speaking, that is) way.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Not as bad as Brittany, but it seems his default expression is a blank stare.

Finn: I don't think any one decision makes your life. Unless you accidently invent some sort of zombie virus or something.

  • Coming of Age Story: Much of Finn's role in the plot shows him gradually growing from a naive teenager into a confident adult. Although he hasn't quite come to terms with intelligence though.
  • Concert Kiss: After "Pretending" in "New York" with Rachel, complete with Held Gaze. Subverted in that the audience isn't too pleased and barely claps, and Jesse, Blaine, and Santana all think that it was unprofessional and cost them a place at Nationals.
  • Confused Eyebrow: He raises an eyebrow in confusion on things he doesn't understand. Which is often.
  • Disappeared Dad: His father was killed in the Gulf War when he was a baby, meaning he never knew him at all, hence why he bonded with Burt so readily. Or at least, that's what Carole tells him.
  • The Ditz: Common sense isn't one of his high points. Plus, he has a VERY limited vocabulary, although he makes up for it with more emotional savvy than you'd expect from a teenage boy.
    • Still believing that he got Quinn pregnant without intercourse and his apparently genuine belief that the other athletes are going to give him and Quinn slushies rather than throwing them at the pair.
    • What about singing "You're Having my Baby" to Quinn's parents, knowing that she didn't want them to know she was pregnant?
    • One word: Drizzle.
    • Claims he wasn't at football practice because he had to take care of his mother after her prostate surgery.
    • Believed Jesus was speaking to him through a grilled cheese sandwich, prayed to it, and got all butthurt when Emma pointed out how silly that was.
    • Walking through the school's hallway in nothing but his underwear to get over his self-confidence issues.
    • His response to a blind item in the newspaper reading "Which prom queen candidate has been spending a lot of time in the closet lately?" is "That's ridiculous, Quinn's claustrophobic."
    • Prior to "Preggers", didn't know you could borrow books from the library.
    • He tells Santana to come out of the closet in the middle of a crowded hallway during "Mash Off", although he doesn't feel like he is painting a target on her back since he claims that everyone already knows and doesn't care despite being the victim of a lot of homophobic bullying as seen in "Theatricality", Kurt being forced to transfer schools for a semester because of the way he was treated, attempting to get Sam to bow out of the duet with Kurt specifically because singing a duet with another guy would paint a target on his back, and after the attack ad is released, some arrogant jock going to tell Santana that she hasn't found the right man to straighten her out and he's "just trying to make her normal". Granted, there is the scene in "Rumors" where Rachel reveals that a newspaper blind item asking who has been spending a lot of time in their closet applies to Santana. However, the niece of one of Sue's opponents in the state election for congress overhears this conversation between Finn and Santana and said opponent is about to release an attack ad that criticizes Sue for choosing a lesbian as head cheerleader, outing Santana to the entire state of Ohio.
  • Easily Forgiven: For leading Rachel on to get her to rejoin the club. He got a What the Hell, Hero? for it, but it was quickly forgotten. Also, his earlier involvement in bullying Kurt. Also, starting a chain of events that led to Santana being outed to the whole state - she slapped him for it, but in the next episode, Santana hugged Finn when he sang her a song.
  • Follow in My Footsteps: In "Yes/No", he tells Will that he wants to join the army so he could be a good man like his father was. This backfires spectacularly.
  • Freudian Excuse
  • Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: The reason Finn wanted to go on a date with both Santana and Brittany in "Hell-O".
  • Green-Eyed Monster:
    • Finn shows up at Rachel's apartment unannounced in the ending to "Makeover" and grins as if he was expecting her to be awaiting his triumphant return, despite being the one to put her on the train to New York and not getting in touch with her for four months, with that grin dropping as soon as he sees Brody. He then spends most of "The Break Up" being rattled that Rachel seems to kinda like the guy, and he does not take it well when he learns that they kissed. Rachel even calls him out on being so insecure about the whole thing, telling him that he should know that being the first boy who made her feel loved means she would have rather been with him. He also assumed that Rachel's latent tears after finding out in "Glease" that Cassandra seduced Brody while she was gone were shed for him, confessing that he didn't think she'd move on so fast despite still giving Rachel a good four months during which she had every right to move on, and he demands that Brody outright disappear from Rachel's life upon finding out that he works as a prostitute in "Feud" as opposed to just telling her the truth.
    • It's not just Brody either; this was the same reason he picked a fight with Jesse at prom when the latter was getting cozy with Rachel, despite dancing with Quinn at the moment.
  • Heroic BSOD: Finn has one of these when it's revealed to the entire school that Quinn is preggers, and blows straight out the other side when it's revealed that it's Puck's kid.
    • He has another one in "The First Time" after the recruiter from Ohio State basically tells him his football career will end in high school.
    • And another one in "Yes/No" when he finds out his father didn't die a war hero in Iraq, but a drug addict in Cincinnati.
  • Hollywood Pudgy: Apparently, seeing him in his underwear is supposed to be a bad thing.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: Finn's the Huge Guy to Rachel's Tiny Girl; a whole foot separates them.
  • Hypocrite:
    • Cheating is not okay if it's on him, but if it's with him or he's the one doing the cheating, by all means, go ahead. To elaborate: he cheated on Quinn by kissing Rachel and having an emotional affair with her, but it was somehow understandably out-shadowed by the fact that Quinn cheated on Finn by having sex with Puck, got pregnant and tried to trick Finn into thinking that the child was his. Then Rachel cheated on Finn with Puck (kissing) and Finn didn't forgive her and made her feel horrible about it, pointing that among other things it made him reminiscent the situation with Quinn. Fair enough, but who does he hook up with after breaking up with Rachel? Quinn. Also, Quinn was with Sam at the time, but Finn explicitly declared that he couldn't be bothered by this when his happiness is on stake. It's basically like one long cheat-ception.
    • He was also repulsed when Rachel used him, Jesse and Puck to boost up her image, but not long before he was willing to harass his friends for the Glee club in order to maintain his social position, and frequently expressed the opinion that there's nothing wrong with aiming to be popular.
    • In "I Kissed a Girl", it turns out that Kurt apparently won the senior class presidential election by 190 votes even though more votes have been cast than there are students. Kurt is disqualified and tells Finn and Rachel that he has lost everything and stands no chance of getting into NYADA since he is still under suspicion, but after he leaves, Rachel admits to Finn that she was the one who stuffed the ballot box because she wanted to help Kurt. Finn gets mad at her for this, urging her to come clean because he doesn't want Kurt to be suspended. However, earlier in the episode, Finn had no qualms about using the threat of suspension to blackmail Santana into having the Troubletones temporarily meet with New Directions so he can show her how they all support her.
  • Informed Ability: While Finn's singing is decent, he has the weakest and most amateur voice of the male cast. This fits with his character, who is completely new to performing, but the script has the others treating him as if he's a better singer than all the other guys, most of whom are much more polished. Lately, though, it has been acknowledged In-Universe multiple times that he is not as good a performer as the rest of the club, something he's very aware of.
    • Finn is, however, a good drummer and rather good at rapping, so he's not totally musically inept.
  • Intoxication Ensues: The entire Glee club does this to an extent while on Sudafed, but Finn is the most prominent.
  • It's All About Me: He may not be as...vocal about it as Rachel, but Finn definitely has some of this going on. He gets stroppy when his sense of entitlement isn't indulged, rarely does anything for someone else unless it benefits him in some way too, and has serious trouble processing the fact that other people can have lives that don't revolve around him and agendas that don't put him first. Except with Santana, who spells it out in terms even Finn can't miss:

Santana: For me. It's win-win for me.

  • I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Breaks up with Rachel in "Goodbye", telling her that she can't let herself be held back trying to help him and Kurt achieve their dreams while delaying her own and making her get on a train to New York.
  • Jizzed In The Hot Tub
  • Karma Houdini:
  • Kick the Dog:
    • Although he had his reasons for being angry, calling Kurt faggy was still out of line.
    • Though Santana was definitely asking for some form of retribution, outing her in the school hallway is definitely not going to help Finn with his reputation of being a homophobe.
  • A Man Is Not a Virgin: Slightly subverted in "The Power of Madonna" where he loses his virginity to Santana, but feels "empty" afterwards.
  • Miss Conception: Finn believes until "Sectionals" that he is the father of Quinn’s baby even though he has never slept with her. Why does he believe this? Because in on one of his romantic encounters with Quinn, he prematurely ejaculated into a hot tub they were both in (and both wearing bathing suits).
    • And then there's "Sexy", where he thinks cucumbers can give you AIDS.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Let's see, he's tall, athletic, kind-hearted, endearingly dumb, can sing? Oh yeah.
  • Nature Adores a Virgin: Semi-used in "The Power of Madonna". Following Sue's advice to start dating a younger man, Santana goes after Finn who is three days younger than her; she decides to take his virginity on Brittany's advice.
  • Nice Guy: Surprisingly, Finn is exceptionally kind despite having stereotypical jock written all over him at first glance.
  • Offhand Backhand: To Rachel in "Born This Way", somehow breaking her nose.
  • Operation: Jealousy: Finn said yes to having sex with Santana in "The Power of Madonna" not only because he's still a virgin, but also because he thought it would make Rachel jealous.
  • Popular Is Dumb
  • Pretty Fly for a White Guy: Justified; his rapping is arguably better than his singing.
  • Puppy Dog Eyes: Probably the reason it's hard to stay mad at his character even when he's clearly being an ass.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gets one from Santana with her attempt at an apology. He fires right back though and subsequently tells her to come out of the closet.
  • Rousing Speech: In "Sectionals". After New Directions has just learned that their songs have been stolen by their rivals, Finn states that even thought they might have been unprepared for this, what they have going for their side is that they believe in themselves.
  • Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once when Ken Tanaka makes him, Puck, Mike, and Matt choose between glee club and football, and then when he finds out that Puck is the father of Quinn's baby.
  • Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: Finn’s the Sensitive Guy to Puck’s Manly Man.
  • Sex as Rite-of-Passage: Skewered. He decides to lose his virginity to Santana in a ploy to make Rachel jealous and because she says he needs to, but he regrets it and admits it was a huge mistake.
  • Sympathetic Adulterer: Before Quinn was revealed to be pregnant with Puck's child and claiming it was Finn's, Finn kissed Rachel (and vice versa after Quinn's confession). Granted, Quinn got a lot more criticism (both in-verse and and in the fandom) than Finn. Slightly justified in that Quinn having sex with Puck while dating Finn is worse than Finn just kissing Rachel while dating Quinn, but Finn did cheat on his girlfriend as well.
  • Tall, Dark and Handsome
  • Verbal Tic: Finn frequently adds "you know?" at the end of his sentences.
    • He also compulsively calls people "dude", which bites him in the ass when he uses it with Coach Beiste...
  • Vocal Evolution: While he's still one of, if not the, weakest singer in the cast, he's steadily getting better.
  • What the Hell, Hero?:
    • In "Theatricality", Burt Hummel delivers a much-needed verbal smack-down to Finn after he overhears Finn calling Kurt "faggy". Granted, Kurt wouldn't stop trying to seduce him and never accepted that Finn wasn't interested, but it was still a dickish move on Finn's part.
    • Gets another one in "Furt" when he doesn't stand up to Karofsky for Kurt.
    • In "The First Time", he cooks Rachel meat after knowing that she's been a vegan for at least three years, also makes her cake, most likely with eggs in it. Doesn't fess up when Rachel remarks that the meat "substitute" tastes like real meat.
    • In "Mash Off", he tells Santana to come out of the closet in the middle of the hallway which is overheard by a congressional candidate's niece and leads to her being outed to the whole state in smear campaign against Sue.
    • Though not completely unjustified because she had been bullying him throughout the episode.

Kurt Hummel

"They're gonna throw fruit at us! And I JUST had a facial."

Portrayed By: Chris Colfer

A Camp Gay member of the Glee club who has also been a kicker for the football team and a Cheerio. Met his future husband Blaine Anderson in Season 2, married him in Season 6. Kurt is a lyric countertenor whose voice also comfortably ranges higher to a male soprano, though his top end was cut off as he got older.

  • Accidental Athlete: Kurt turns out to be a surprisingly good kicker for the football team as long as he does the "Single Ladies" dance beforehand.
  • All the Other Reindeer: In his own words, he's the only openly gay kid in his school. It comes with the territory.
  • Awesome Moment of Crowning: Double subverted when it is revealed that he's been elected Prom Queen. It starts out as heartwrenching, but then moves back into awesome territory after he accepts it with pride.

Kurt: Eat your heart out, Kate Middleton

  • Always Second Best: Especially in Season 3. He doesn't get the role of Tony in the school's production of West Side Story, losing out to Blaine, he doesn't become Class President and loses to Brittany of all people, he doesn't get any solos at Nationals, being continuously overlooked by Will, he doesn't get in to NYADA, losing out to Rachel (who choked on her audition)...

Kurt: And I lost. I lost the election, I lost the lead in West Side Story, I can forget about New York and NYADA...

  • Because You Were Nice to Me: Essentially what sparked Kurt's attraction to Finn. Sure, he didn't do much about anything after that, but one time, Finn reprimanded Puck for pushing Kurt.
  • Berserk Button: It took a lot for Kurt to get enraged at the bullying he was receiving. On the other hand, he flies into an instant fury when his friends (Tina, then Blaine) are abused.
  • The Big Damn Kiss: With Blaine! It's definitely treated like one in real life, and for good reason.
  • Bishonen: Fulfills pretty much every criterion on that page to a T, down to the female-sounding voice, gender norm-busting, and adolescent appearance. Only thing he's missing is the sparkles.
    • For a more specific rundown of the list: Ambiguously feminine physical traits? Check. Tall(ish), lightly-muscled but slender build without facial hair? Check. Big eyes often brimming with anguish? Check. Youthful appearance and crossing of sexuality and gender boundaries? Check. Feminine voice? Check. Adolescently attractive? Check. No wonder he's so popular with the fangirls and fanboys.
  • Body Motifs: Hands are given repeated emphasis in Kurt's storylines, from wanting to hold his father's hand when he's comatose from a heart attack to considering the touch of fingertips the height of intimacy to the numerous close-up shots of him and Blaine holding hands post-Relationship Upgrade.
  • Bow Ties Are Cool: They're not the only sort of tie he wears, but he wears a lot of them, and many of them are very cool indeed (steampunk clockfaces, anyone?).
  • Breakout Character: He got much more screen time in the "back nine" after the showrunners saw fan reactions to his character and has taken a starring role in Season 2.
  • Brutal Honesty: Seems the only mode of communication he's comfortable with. It's also why he gets some of the best lines.
  • BSOD Song: "Rose's Turn".
  • Camp Gay: Despite being one of the more infamous examples of this trope from modern live-action television, Kurt comes across as something of a Deconstruction. His camp mannerisms are exactly what makes him the most frequent target of bullying at MicKinley High, which takes enough of a toll on his life that he's forced to transfer schools when Dave Karofsky's typical bullying tactics gain a Villainous Crush edge to the point that Kurt is terrified at the sight of him. Kurt was similarly terrified of losing his father's love, and he did some very questionable things to keep it. This offers up a rather simple explanation for the lack of anything resembling kissing or sex scenes until "Original Songs", since Kurt's genuine discomfort and lack of information regarding sex isn't hard to believe for someone who was the only openly-gay kid in his high school [1].

Burt: "Dude, you're gay... and you're not like Rock Hudson gay, you're really gay. You sing like Diana Ross and you dress like you own a magic chocolate factory."

  • Catch Phrase: "Mr. Schue, if I may?"
  • Character Development: In Season 1, he's catty and standoffish to all but a few, very insecure about his sexuality, and prone to manipulative scheming. Since he isn't actually good as scheming - it all comes back to bite him - he stops doing it, and in Season 2 he's more comfortable with himself, rather less haughty, and better at stating his feelings honestly. Unfortunately, he's brutally harassed for the first half of Season 2, so he's also short-tempered, irritable, and miserable. But, what with the whole Glee club rallying around him, and his romance with Blaine, he comes out happier overall. As of late Season 2, he's firm friends with people who used to bully him, and smiles more often than not.
  • Closet Key: To Karofsky. The title is neither expected nor appreciated.
  • The Confidant: Becomes this for Sam in 2x19 "Rumours" after learning by accident that Sam's family has lost their house and is living out of a motel room and a car. He helps Sam out by giving him some spare clothes and keeps the secret even under considerable duress when the WHMS rumor mill starts churning.
  • Cool Car: Has one in "Acafellas". His dad takes it away at the end of the episode.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Rachel.
  • Defrosting Ice Queen: He starts out as a haughty Deadpan Snarker, but it's a front - he just has to really trust you (or be taken off-guard) before he'll drop it.
    • Chris Colfer has actually said that Kurt's "I'm better than you" persona is really a cover for his insecurity.
  • Ditzy Genius: He is very intelligent and a fluent French speaker, but prone to moments of ditziness, such as his belief boxes have four sides or his plan to feed the doves at Burt and Carole's wedding glitter.
    • "I'm not a box. There are more than four sides to me" was more of an angry, spontaneous retort to Mr. Schuester, than an actual belief (like feeding doves glitter).
  • Dressed in Layers: His NYADA audition in 3x18, in which he starts out in a cape, tux and mask for 'Music of the Night' and then, on confirming that his auditor will be bored brainless by hearing that song for the millionth time, launches into 'Not the Boy Next Door' from The Boy From Oz instead... and on the line 'Underneath there is somebody new' rips away the tux to reveal a black blouse and skintight gold jeans.
  • Dude Looks Like a Lady: Emma describes him as looking like an eleven year-old milkmaid, and one of Sue's nicknames for him is "Ladyface". Also has a tendency to show up in women's clothing, including skirts - and not look too bad in them.

Tina: Is that a woman's sweater?
Kurt: Fashion knows no gender.

    • More than a few straight male viewers were wondering who that cute blonde girl in "Hairography" was, only to realize afterwards it was just Kurt in a wig.
    • And then there's the time he and Blaine went trick-or-treating in costume as Snooki and The Situation...
  • Easily Forgiven: Screwing with Rachel to get her to blow her chance with Finn because he's in love with him too. Finn apologizes to Kurt for using homophobic language. Kurt has yet to make apologies for sexual harassment, or for contributing to Finn's BSOD. Burt most likely forgave Finn off-screen, as he was acting on impulse when he overheard their argument.
    • Giving up his duet with Sam in 2x04 can be read as a tacit apology - for the things Finn actually merited an apology for, at least, not the overblown, offensive and actively harmful garbage Finn spewed at him in that episode.
    • Blaine, after the incredibly cold-hearted and callous way that Kurt broke off their engagement with no prior warning, which caused Blaine to enter such deep depression that he failed out of school! Considering that Kurt attended the same school, that means he had to have been ignoring Blaine pretty studiously to not notice how badly he had emotionally damaged him. Although Blaine said he'd never forgive Kurt for what he done, when next they met back in Lima, Blaine immediately forgave Kurt.
  • The Fashionista: The fact that Kurt protests being thrown into the dumpster mostly because it would mess up his Marc Jacobs fall collection really shows how much this kid cares about his fashion.

Kurt: I'm so depressed I've worn the same outfit twice this week.

  • Feminine Women Can Cook: Kurt is the only boy in the Home Economic class.
  • Flying Under the Gaydar: Twice, once in 01x04 (trying to explain to his father why he was dancing to Beyoncé) and again in 01x18 (trying to win his dad back from Finn by being the son he thinks his father always wanted). Subverted on both occasions as his dad knows exactly what's going on.
  • Foregone Conclusion: It was never a question of if Kurt would return from Dalton, it was a matter of when. He finally does in "Born This Way".
  • Freudian Slip: In "Prom Queen":

Kurt: Go with God, Satan. [handwaves] Santana.

  • Graceful Loser: In Season 3, he's really upset to lose out on the lead role in West Side Story and the class presidential race, but warmly congratulates the people who won.
  • Grease Monkey: It’s implied that for all his Camp Gay mannerisms, Kurt is actually both knowledgeable about and comfortable around cars, being the son of a mechanic, to the point that both father and son work on a car in "Wheels".
  • Have You Tried Not Being a Monster?: Subverted. Kurt's ill-fated attempt at acting straight and dating Brittany essentially served to poke holes in the tired and logically-flawed "How do you know you're gay if you've never been with the opposite sex?" argument. Burt claims he's known Kurt was gay since age three, when all he wanted for his birthday was "a pair of sensible heels."
  • He Is Not My Boyfriend: Insists (accurately, as of 2x10) that Blaine is not his boyfriend, though he is willing to admit to Mr Schue that he is attracted to Blaine. In 2x16, they get together for real.
  • He's All Grown Up: Chris Colfer was an adorable baby penguin for the first thirteen episodes. The point at which you realized what a fine young man he'd turned into varies from fan to fan. "The Power of Madonna"? "Never Been Kissed"?
  • He's Back: As of "Born this Way", Kurt Hummel is back at McKinley. In a top hat, no less.
  • Hidden Depths: Fashionable queeny soprano ... who enjoyed playing football, has read Sun Tzu, knows his way around the inside of a car, and is seriously smart.
    • During the "Funk" episode, we see his voice, which has previously remained in the high tenor range, extends to a baritone/bass with "Tear the Roof Off."
  • Hypocrite:
    • During the first season, Kurt comes out of the closet and starts to get used to living as an out gay man, and he begins to assert that he was born gay, and that he can't change who he is for someone else... but at the same time, he tries to seduce Finn, who happens to be decidedly straight. Despite his own opinion that he is who he is and that that can't change, he constantly tries to get close to Finn and keeps telling Finn that girls are all catty and troublesome and that he should go out with boys instead, causing him to question his relationship with Rachel, and literally getting him moved into Kurt's own bedroom - in other words, he tries to turn Finn gay. He made a slightly less aggressive attempt on Sam.
    • Kurt also tended to express open disdain for others and their fashion choices even as he felt that it was unfair that he himself was picked on.
    • He also tends to dismiss the idea that there is, or should be, any difference between "male" or "female" performance roles, but invariably favors female ones and becomes angry if forced to perform with the guys instead of the girls.
    • In "Blame It on the Alcohol", Kurt makes a biphobic comment when Blaine decides to go on a date with Rachel, after having shared a kiss with her during an alcohol-fueled party. He's quick to accuse others of simply having issues with him being gay when he doesn't want to own up to some of his mistakes, as he did in "Duets" after being called out on seducing Finn and not caring that his behavior was seriously inappropriate, but yet he doesn't feel the need to entertain accepting bisexual people for who they are. Blaine even compares him to Dave Karofsky and how he didn't like Kurt being proud of who he was, just to further stress the point.
  • Hypocritical Heartwarming: In "Funk", after learning about what Vocal Adrenaline did to Rachel, Kurt declares, "Mr. Schue, Rachel is one of us. We're the only ones who get to humiliate her."
  • I Just Want to Be Loved: The explanation for his schemes, basically comes out and says it in "Duets". See also Love Makes You Crazy.
  • Incompatible Orientation: Mercedes and Brittany wanting to date Kurt, and Kurt wanting to date Finn and Sam.
  • Innocently Insensitive: In "Dance with Somebody", Kurt begins texting a boy he meets at the local music store quite often soon after their encounter, but he does not tell him about Blaine. While Kurt does admit to Rachel that he wouldn't tell Blaine about it and gets defensive when Blaine finds out, his semi-embarrassment about the situation more comes from the fact that Blaine is the kind of touchy-feely person that needs his emotional needs to be met every second throughout their relationship and would become really upset if Kurt was meeting his emotional needs elsewhere. However, he seems genuinely clueless as to how this could count as cheating after Blaine accuses him of it, and it's clear from his words and his tone when he reassures Blaine about not being alone once he goes to New York that Kurt had no intention of actually ruining their relationship. It's just that, to him, Blaine had become distant recently and the fact that he used to be the only publicly gay student at school meant that he always had to fall back on an extremely active fantasy life to meet his emotional needs. Both Blaine and Rachel tell him that he should have just talked to Blaine about the rut they were in instead of letting some guy flirt with him behind Blaine's back, and it takes Burt talking about how things have become so casual between them that they haven't really acknowledged Kurt's leaving for Kurt to finally understand that this is the reason Blaine has been distant, and he attempts to make things right through singing "I Have Nothing" and scheduling a couple's counseling session with Emma.
  • It's All About Me: This could perhaps be considered Kurt's Fatal Flaw, and it is most clear in regards to his love life. After Burt tells him in "Duets" that he called Carole and got the whole story behind those homophobic comments Finn made when they were roommates, Kurt reveals that being too caught up in his ridiculous fantasies to accept that both Finn and Sam are straight and still trying to seduce them comes from feeling isolated as the only gay kid in his school. He eventually meets openly gay Blaine Anderson and soon falls in love with him, but things get complicated when a game of spin the bottle during Rachel's house party for the New Directions results in her and Blaine kissing, and Blaine subsequently wondering whether he might be bisexual. Kurt thereby denies the existence of bisexuality, telling Blaine that he admired how proud he was of who he was and how he's not happy that Blaine's tiptoeing back into the closet since he still isn't inclined to let someone he's interested in define their sexuality in a way that lessens his chances of being with them. However, Kurt did start to get better about these selfish tendencies once he and Blaine finally became an Official Couple - see "Asian F", where he brings Blaine flowers to congratulate him on getting the part that Kurt had desperately wanted.
  • "I Want" Song: Kurt’s rendition of "Rose’s Turn" in 1x18 fits under this.
  • Jerkass Facade: Heavily implied. Especially proven in "Duets", when he almost cries after Rachel says to him that there are twelve people in Glee club who loves him just the way he is and that, although he's lonely, he is not alone.
  • Lampshade Hanging: Semi-in-universe example: Chris Colfer's poem at the final Glee Live show in Dublin, delivered in-character as Kurt, lampshades practically every major statement critics have made about him.

Kurt: I swear to God, I'm gonna punch the next person who calls me a stereotype.

  • Like Parent, Like Spouse: It's not a nice thought, but Finn does have noticeable similarities in personality and interests to Kurt's father, as evidenced by how well they get along at the end of "Home".
    • Increasingly averted in Season Two, as Blaine has little in common with Burt besides liking college football. It seems the only real characteristic Kurt's love interests need to share with his father are kindness and genuine acceptance.
  • Love Makes You Crazy: Hoo boy.
  • Magical Queer: Subverted. Sure, Kurt seems like the helpful gay pal, giving our hetero hero and heroine relationship advice and even an attention-drawing makeover, but the only attention the 'makeover' was designed to draw was looks of horror from Finn and the 'advice' was tailored to try and turn Finn off women completely and become more receptive to a, shall we say, Grecian style of romance.
  • Manic Pixie Dream Boy: To Blaine, most notably in the skits of the Glee Live tour. Between the bouncing and the posing and the squeeing, he comes off as a cross between this and Draco Malfoy.
  • Man in a Kilt: His prom outfit.
  • Manipulative Bastard: He's not exactly Princess Azula or even Princess Diana in terms of effectiveness and subtlety, but see Magical Queer above and Stalker With A Crush below for some of the head games he's pulled.
  • Missing Mom
  • Mistaken for Cheating: With Sam in "Rumours".
  • Moe: Extremely, and his enormous Puppy Dog Eyes don't hurt. Though depending on the episode he sometimes enters "Moe Blob" territory.
  • N-Word Privileges: Does not like being called "lady" or anything similar, unless it's himself or a close friend: e.g. Kurt's "I bring a glass of warm milk to Finn every night just so that we can have a little lady-chat" in "Sue Sylvester Shuffle", and Rachel's "Ladies, we have a problem" to Kurt and Mercedes in "Audition", which he rolls his eyes indignantly at (remember that at the time, Rachel and Kurt had yet to really become friends).
  • New Transfer Student: He stays in Dalton from "Furt" all the way to "Born This Way".
  • Nice Hat: He has a penchant for interesting headgear choices, such as fedoras and Banzai bandannas, and in the season 1 finale, a sailor hat. A little unexpected since boys are normally not allowed to wear hats in school. In "Grilled Cheesus", he goes to Mercedes' church when she says he can wear one.

Kurt: Oh Mercedes, you had me at "fabulous hat."

  • Not So Different: Blaine points out that Kurt's biphobia makes him similar to Karofsky in his bigotry.
  • Odd Friendship:
    • As of "Journey", Kurt and Quinn seem to have started this, possibly thanks to the fact that they both have a close mutual friend, Mercedes.
    • Another one is Kurt and Brittany (before she "dated" him), hanging out with him and doing the "Single Ladies" dance despite being a Cheerio and Kurt being in Glee.
    • He and Rachel seem to be heading in this direction as well. Although their friendship is only odd in the context of the show, where they hated each other for a long time. Otherwise, it makes sense for them to be friends: they have the most similar taste in music, and as the daughter of gay parents, Rachel can probably understand Kurt's situation a little better than their other classmates can. Cemented in "Born This Way" with the Flashmob scene.
  • Out-of-Character Moment: In "Blame It on the Alcohol", Rachel throws a party for the glee club students where almost everyone gets drunk and shares a long kiss with Blaine during a game of spin the bottle, leading her to ask him out on a date. Blaine says yes and then tells Kurt he might be confused about his sexuality, which Kurt is very much not happy about. This seems to be due to Kurt having fallen hard for Blaine and being afraid of losing him to someone else considering that it happened before in "Silly Love Songs", but when Blaine suggests he's bi, it all of a sudden becomes an issue of Kurt being biphobic. Blaine takes notice of the fact that this causes Kurt to have more in common with an actual villain that drove him out because he didn't like Kurt for who he was and says that he's trying to find himself, so for Kurt to rag on him for that, he didn't think that's who Kurt was. Keep in mind that Kurt has never before this point shown any signs of prejudice against bisexuals and that this flaw totally vanishes after the episode concludes - Brittany once let it slip that she has sex with Santana during a party line that Kurt participated in and then told him that she has made out with every guy in the school, but that doesn't put a stop to their Odd Friendship and it still goes strong even after these biphobic traits were temporarily imposed on Kurt.
  • Platonic Life Partners: His friendship with Mercedes, which is one of the most heartwarming things about the show.
  • Puppy Dog Eyes: Possibly even worse than Finn's, they're huge and blue and possibly the primary reason you love him even when you want to slap him. For an excellent example, just watch him persuading Ms. Holliday to teach Glee club in "Substitute".
  • Rant-Inducing Slight:
    • Kurt really doesn't take it well when Blaine suggests that he could be bi after kissing Rachel while drunk, telling him that bisexuality is just a term used by people who are afraid of being seen as totally gay. This sudden outburst more comes from Kurt himself being afraid that Blaine might define his sexuality in a way that could lessen their chances of getting together however, and Blaine does not hesitate to call him out on his insensitivity.
    • Kurt blames himself for ignoring Dave's repeated phone calls in "On My Way" after the guy attempts suicide by hanging, devastated, so hearing Quinn denounce his actions as selfish and say that she doesn't know what would drive her to the edge was all it took for those built-up feelings to be released. Kurt brings up a good point that she shouldn't judge him in such a harsh and reductive manner because no one can be in exactly the same position as someone else, but it's also clear that he's lashing out when he asserts that Quinn getting knocked up and completely reinventing herself as a bad girl doesn't come anywhere close to the problems being gay presents you with in life simply because the world never stopped loving her and she was going to Yale - completely forgetting that Quinn's father kicked her out of the family home after learning she was pregnant, that her status as head cheerleader slipped to the point that she had slushes thrown in her face by other students just like the other glee club members, and that Sue removed Quinn from the cheerleading squad because of her pregnancy. He further states that Quinn doesn't know what it is like to truly suffer through the despair and self-loathing with which Dave struggled, even though he handled those feelings through continuing to make Kurt's life a living hell while Quinn handled similar feelings through merely finding a brand new image for herself after Santana suggested a haircut to make her feel better, interrupting Quinn's attempt to rebuff him for making such a comparison.
  • Real Men Wear Pink: Reversed. he's the Camp Gay who plays football and fixes cars.
  • Relationship Upgrade: With Blaine as of "Original Song", And The Fangirls Rejoiced, and Squeed.
  • Spoiled Sweet: Sure, he has his dad wrapped around his little finger... but said dad otherwise works hard to keep him down-to-earth, and despite Kurt's immense capacity for cattiness, he's never approached the kind of casual cruelty that character like Quinn, Santana or Puck find normal.
  • Stalker with a Crush: Even though his love for Finn was doomed from the start, it hasn't stopped him from doing some rather creepy things in an effort to get close to him. Some of his schemes include manipulating Finn into exposing Quinn's pregnancy to her parents, tricking Rachel into dressing like a "sad clown hooker", and setting up his dad with Finn's mom with the goal that they'll combine households so he and Finn can share a bedroom.
  • Stuffed Into a Trashcan: Tossed into dumpsters all the time in the first season.
  • Suspiciously Specific Denial: He certainly did not steal Sue's "Physical" video from her locked file cabinet when she sent him to get her hormone injection before Cheerios practice.
  • Taking the Bullet: In the first season, Finn rejoins the football team and in order to prove his loyalty to them, is told he must give a slushie facial to either Kurt or one of his friends. He's hesitating because he "knows how particular Kurt is about what products go on his face." Kurt's response is to grab the Slushie out of Finn's hand and splash on his own face:

Kurt: That's called taking one for the team. Would any of your football buddies do that for you?

  • Transparent Closet: But as far as Mercedes is concerned, it may as well have been made of lead until he comes out to her. He has also mentioned he has only come out to her and his father. In "Laryngitis", pretty much no one is fooled by his "straight boy" charade except the dim-witted Brittany, who takes it as an opportunity to add him to her list of boys she's kissed.
  • Uke: Not a clear-cut example, but he's more this than The Twink, especially in his scenes with Blaine where aspects of the trope are intentionally played up. In contrast to the most standard manifestations however, it's Kurt who's pursuing Blaine rather than the other way around.
  • Unlimited Wardrobe: Burt can apparently afford to buy all his son's designer clothes. Mechanics make decent money, and that's when they don't own their own store like Burt does--the Hummels aren't hurting for money.
    • It's actually stated in supplemental materials (like the Season 1 Volume 2 DVD) that Kurt doesn't wear designer clothes, but rather sews and tailors his own hand-me-downs and thrift store pieces to resemble designer outfits.
    • This is confirmed in "Prom Queen" when Kurt states that he made his (extremely professional-looking) prom outfit himself. In order to make that outfit to that standard, he'd have to have had a lot of practice on other garments.
  • Viewer Gender Confusion: In-universe. Emma also said that he looked like an eleven-year old Milkmaid, and Sam mistook Kurt's voice for Faith Hill's.
  • Virginity Makes You Stupid: Discussed in 2x15. Kurt pretty much doesn't want to know about sex, preferring to romanticize it completely. This is rather justified by the fact that he's always been discouraged from acting on his feelings for other boys, but Blaine worries that with this attitude, Kurt's first time will end up being the exact "lecherous predator seduces helpless naif" scenario that is a staple of this trope. Still, it's worth it for Kurt's thoughts on gay porn:

Kurt: I've tried watching those movies, but I just get horribly depressed because they were all kids once and they all had mothers and what would their mothers say? And why would you get a tattoo there?

  • What the Hell, Hero?: In the second season, Kurt gets called out by his father for his inappropriate behavior towards Finn.
    • Also when he openly states his belief that there are no such thing as Bisexuals. This promptly gets him called out by everyone for the fact that he often plays the "Homophobia-Card", yet seems to think he is allowed to get away with biphobic comments. Blaine even compares him to Karofsky and his bigotry. However, this was one of many cases of Kurt's It's All About Me mentality overriding his alleged principles. At the time he was romantically interested in Blaine, and Blaine was the one questioning whether he himself might be bisexual and attracted to Rachel. As was the case with Finn, Kurt wasn't inclined to let somebody else that he was interested in define their own sexuality in a way that might lessen his chances of getting with them.
  • Wimpification: Interesting semi-in universe example. Several of the images in this article from Entertainment Weekly portray Kurt as looking rather demure towards and much shorter than Blaine. However, Kurt is much more acerbic on the actual show, and Chris Colfer is significantly taller than Darren Criss in real life.

Mercedes Jones

"Oh, hell to the nah! Look, I'm not down with this background singing nonsense!, I'm Beyoncé, I ain't no Kelly Rowland!"

Portrayed By: Amber Riley

A brassy, Sassy Black Girl in the Glee club. It appeared her main job is to soulfully belt out the last twenty seconds of the group numbers. Her strong voice and diva tendencies sometimes put her at odds with Rachel, especially since the latter gets more leads. Mercedes has the highest voice on the show, being a soprano with a range that can reach notes both below the typical towards a contralto and up into the highest notes of young sopranos, though it is not clear if she could sing at her lowest and highest at the same time or if her voice changed as she got older. If she can sing both notes at the same age, then she has a range almost identical to Quinn's except Mercedes' misses off the octave at the lower end where Quinn is more comfortable singing, and is most comfortable singing higher herself, though they also prefer similar styles.

  • Betty and Veronica: She could be considered the Betty to Santana’s Veronica in their competition for Puck.
  • Beware the Nice Ones: Mercedes is a loyal friend to Kurt, and has Quinn stay with her when pregnant, but when Kurt said he didn't want to date her, she smashed his car's windshield.
  • Big Beautiful Woman: Her performance of "Sweet Transvestite" finally shows off her sexy side.
  • Big Eater: Becomes this in "The Substitute".
  • Brilliant but Lazy: Touched upon near the end of Season 2 and brought to a head in Season 3. She has an excellent voice, and many people have said she's as good as, if not better than, Rachel (including Rachel). However, she rarely practices and is often late to rehearsals, fakes stomach pains, shows less camaraderie, and still feels entitled for lead roles solely on her talent. By "Asian F", she quits the Glee Club and joins Shelby's group out of anger and spite.
  • Catch Phrase: "Hell to the no!" In "Original Song", she writes a song about it.
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Easily Forgiven: Mercedes throws a brick through the windshield of Kurt's new car. It does provide the dramatic impetus for her to sing an awesome rendition of "Bust Your Windows", though.
  • Face Heel Turn: In "Asian F". Her bad attitude towards Mr. Schuester and the rest of the club, along with her rage at not getting Maria in West Side Story, cause her to quit and join Shelby's new club.
    • Friendly Enemy: Later episodes showed her as not being antagonistic towards the New Directions though.
    • Heel Face Turn: The Troubletones' loss at Sectionals and Will's promise to feature Mercedes and Santana in New Directions brought her back to the club.
  • Fag Hag: For Kurt, as lampshaded by Sue: "Future center square Kurt Hummel and his brassy hag, Mercedes."
  • The Fashionista: Not as much as Kurt, but she has some level of it.
  • Foe Yay: With Santana in "Duets".
  • Green-Eyed Monster: She is very envious of all the attention the club gives Rachel.
  • Ham-to-Ham Combat: Her "diva-off" with Rachel could be considered this.
  • Hard Work Hardly Works: Most of the time. This is shown to be a problem in Season 3, though.
  • Huge Guy, Tiny Girl: With Shane in Season Three.
  • I Just Want to Be Loved: The main reason she believed Kurt liked her, and why she dated Puck. She cites this as her reason for not going to prom because she's dateless, too.
  • Imagined Innuendo: Mercedes suspects that Kurt is gay... at least until the cheerleaders tell her he likes her. Then she interprets every time they hang out as a date. Unfortunately, her first instincts were correct.
  • Incompatible Orientation: Mercedes and Kurt.
  • Les Yay: With Quinn, to the point where Mercedes invites her to live with her. Not to mention that when Quinn goes into labor in "Journey", she wants Mercedes in the room with her.
    • The aforementioned Diva-off with Rachel can come across as this, especially when you remember that the original version of the song is about a lesbian couple arguing.
  • Like Brother and Sister: Mercedes and Kurt have this kind of friendship, as they are extremely close and one of the show's most heartwarming friendships.
  • Looking for Love In All the Wrong Places: First Kurt, then Puck.
  • Love Makes You Dumb: She gets a big crush on Kurt, which makes her oblivious to his obvious homosexuality until he spells it out for her.
  • Meat-O-Vision: Mercedes suffers from this in "Home".
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: As awesome as her performance of "Beautiful" was, it caused a journalist to scrap his expose on Sue as a total bitch and heap undeserved praises on her instead.
  • Odd Friendship: With Quinn, who even requests that Mercedes be in the room with her while she's giving birth.
  • Pair the Spares: As of "New York", with Sam, who gives her a hug after "Light Up the World" and is seen going with her on a date at the Lima Bean later, despite the fact that they previously hadn't interacted much before "Prom Queen". Their relationship is fleshed out more in Season 3.
  • Platonic Life Partners: Her friendship with Kurt.
  • The Prima Donna: Flanderized in "Night of Neglect", but in general, she is a diva and proud of it.
  • "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives one to Rachel in "Asian F", which has been a long time in coming.
  • Sassy Black Woman: As mentioned above.
  • Sesquipedalian Smith
  • Staying with Friends: In "Funk", Mercedes offers to let Quinn stay at her house as long as she needs to after Quinn's father had coldly kicked her out.
  • Technician vs. Performer: The Performer to Rachel's Technician; Mercedes relies on a boatload of natural talent and not so much on rehearsal.
  • Token Minority: She seems to be a walking stereotype, despite her saying being a proud black woman isn't all she is. Although the back nine gave her a bit of character development with some I Just Want to Be Loved story lines.
  • Token Shipping: With Shane.

Artie Abrams

"I may be in a wheelchair, but I'm still a guy."

Portrayed By: Kevin McHale

A wheelchair-bound member of New Directions. Is also in the Jazz Band and in the AV Club. After his graduation in Season 5, he goes on to attend film school in New York. Artie is a tenor, who can also access higher notes like Kurt, but raps and sings at a lower register than him most of the time.

  • Adorkable: Fits Artie to a T.
  • Aint No Rule: Against him joining the football team (there actually would be, but this is a comedy).
  • Alliterative Name
  • Badass Boast: "We're planning on smacking them down like the hand of God."
  • Beta Couple:
    • Arguable, but the Artie/Tina coupling could be considered the Beta Couple for Finn/Rachel, Quinn/Puck and Will/Emma and there is no doubt that, in comparison, they are a far more stable couple.
    • Kevin McHale compares Artie and Tina to Corey and Topanga from Boy Meets World saying that although they have their ups and their downs they will always be together (doesn't seem to be the case in Season 2, though).
  • Big Damn Heroes: In "Brittany/Britney", Artie parks himself between Finn and Karofsky and Azimio to stop a fight that could leave Finn both hurt and in serious trouble at school.
  • Bi the Way: While not official yet, a lot of his comments in Season Three seem to be pointing to this.
    • 3.01 -- "So handsome!" 3.02 -- his reaction to Blaine's audition. 3.12 -- "Cutest. Smile. Ever."
  • Brutal Honesty: "Well, you're irritating most of the time, but don't take that personally."
  • Deadpan Snarker
  • Disabled Snarker
  • Girl-On-Girl Is Hot: Subverted - when Artie finds out that Brittany has been cheating on him with Santana throughout their relationship, he is genuinely bothered by it. It results in them breaking up after he calls Brittany "stupid" for letting Santana manipulate her.
  • Handicapped Badass: While his disability doesn't hinder his singing talent, Artie still fits this to a T.
  • Hidden Depths: A seemingly pathetic, wheelchair-bound nerd... who plays guitar, sings, dances, raps (pretty damn well too) and engages in Def Poetry. And he still has full use of his penis.
  • Hollywood Nerd: All of the gleeks but Artie in particular.
  • I Can't Believe A Girl Like You Would Notice Me: With Brittany.
  • I Just Want to Be Normal: Part of the reason Artie is so doggone nice to everyone, he has a hard enough time trying to get people to see past the chair.
  • Limited Wardrobe: Played with, although he doesn't wear the same thing twice Artie almost always wears a button-up shirt, sweater or sweater vest and converse sneakers. Aside from various costumes for glee club I can't think of any time he's worn anything different.
  • A Man Is Not a Virgin: Subverted in Season One, though he would like you to know he has the full use of his penis.
    • And heartbreakingly played straight in "Duets", when he loses his virginity to Brittany and is devastated because it meant nothing to her and everything to him.
  • Megane
  • Nerds Are Sexy: The fans agree with Tina that Artie is just too cute for words.
  • Nice Shoes: As mentioned under Limited Wardrobe, Artie has a serious thing for Converse sneakers, despite not being able to walk the show somehow still manages to focus on them.
  • Odd Friendship: Artie and Rachel seem to have developed a subtle one, despite Rachel not believing in Artie and Artie flat-out disdaining Rachel's drama queen moments.
    • And now it seems he's forming one with Finn. It seems like Artie is taking Puck's place as Finn's best friend, since Puck's actions last season have obviously distanced the two.
    • And now he's struck up another one with Puck! Artie is really picking some odd match-ups for friends.
      • Let's just cut to the chase, Artie and everyone. He's like the Wolverine of Glee in that all of his friendships are a little odd.
  • Only Sane Man: Among the members of the Glee club, he is often the most down to earth and by far the least dramatic. This, combined with his often subtly sarcastic dialogue, makes him the best candidate among the group for the title.
  • Operation: Jealousy: Initially hangs around Brittany to make Tina jealous after she dumped him for Mike. They soon become an actual couple after the fact that they actually do like each other and aren't in it to make their ex-girlfriends jealous comes to light.
  • Pair the Spares: With both Tina and Brittany.
  • Poke the Poodle: Artie spikes the punch bowl at the prom... with lemonade.
  • Pretty Fly for a White Guy:
    • Averted. Artie actually is pretty fly (the best example so far is his part in the glee club's performance of "Push It").
    • His performance of "Can't Touch This" is possibly better than Hammer's.
    • Not to mention "The Safety Dance" in 1x19.
    • In "Throwdown", as the minority students are leaving the room after a whole group performance, Artie says "Bye, white people!"
  • The Rival: Played for Laughs, but just see the interaction between Sebastian and Artie in "Michael", especially in Bad and later in Black And White. It reeks of two rival gang leaders trying to best each other
  • Serenade Your Lover: After Brittany breaks up with him, he brings the rest of the straight guys in New Directions to her home economics class and sings Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" to her (The Cover Changes the Meaning is in play, of course).
  • Sorry, Billy, But You Just Don't Have Legs: Artie's dream of becoming a dancer. And not a wheelchair dancer.
  • Stuffed Into a Locker: Er... port-a-potty.
  • Sweater Guy: Artie almost always wears a sweater or a sweater vest.
  • Token Minority Couple: With Tina in Season 1.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: In Season 3, being a director goes seriously to his head.
  • What the Hell, Hero?: Artie to Tina, after Tina reveals she faked her stutter. He gets his own when he calls Brittany stupid. Before that, he was the only one in the school who hadn't.

Tina Cohen-Chang

"Even though I'm painfully shy and obsessed with death, I'm a really effervescent person."

Portrayed By: Jenna Ushkowitz

A goth Asian member of the Glee Club who had initially faked a stutter to avoid having to sing. Was dating Artie but dumped him for Mike, would get back with Artie in the Grand Finale. Tina is a mezzo-soprano, but usually takes the top of the range into soprano whilst Brittany takes the lower part, even though Tina has a strong alto voice and Brittany's is stronger higher.

  • Advertised Extra: Much of the time. You can definitely tell that the writers progressively lost interest in the character the further into development and production the series got, especially when other popular characters started to emerge.
  • Ambiguously Jewish: Tina might not be Ambiguously Jewish - the name might just be a tribute to the actress playing her, Jenna Ushkowitz, an Asian-American with a pretty Jewish-sounding last name. Then again, who knows?
  • Beta Couple: In the first season, the Tina/Artie coupling could be considered the Beta Couple for Finn/Rachel, Quinn/Puck and Will/Emma and there is no doubt that, in comparison, they are a far more stable couple. In the second season, it's Mike/Tina that's the most stable couple in the series - they've been together for the entire second season, with their problems being quite minor in comparison to, say, Will/Emma or Finn/Rachel.
  • Brown Eyes: It's revealed in "Born This Way" that she's rather insecure about them.
  • Character Development: Very quietly, in the background of the series, Tina has shed much of her shyness, gained a voice and considerable (if sometimes slightly shaky) confidence, and turned into a very good dancer. It's even started to earn her actual plots.
    • In fact, her whole history on the show was basically summarized during the beginning of Season 3 Episode 20 "Props", all of it ending it with, "Wasn't she the girl with the stutter?"
  • A Day in The Spotlight: Finally, in Season 3, we get an episode that gives Tina an actual plot. And it's awesome.
  • Elegant Gothic Lolita: Especially in Season 2.
  • Foot Focus: In "Prom Queen", when the girls are showing Kurt their dresses for his approval, she's the only one that's barefoot and shots of her a framed so at least one of her feet is in on-camera.
  • The Heart: Established as this in "Props", though she doesn't accept it until the end of the episode.
  • Multicolored Hair: She's often seen with streaks in her hair.
  • Obfuscating Disability: Her stuttering was an act she originally developed to avoid having to do an oral presentation.
  • One Steve Limit: Averted. She and Mike both have the last name "Chang" (hyphenated, in her case), with no indication they're related. Additionally, there's a Vocal Adrenaline member named Andrea "Cohen".
    • Lampshaded in "Extraordinarily Merry Christmas", where the Star Wars-themed opening introduces them as "Mike Chang and Tina Cohen-Chang, no relation!"
  • Perky Goth: Lampshaded in Episode 20: "Even though I'm shy and obsessed with death I have a very effervescent personality!"
  • Satellite Character: To the point where her boyfriend Mike, who literally started as an extra, ended up with more stories dedicated to him.
  • Shrinking Violet: Initially.
  • Single Woman Seeks Good Man: Tina’s romance with Artie, the most easygoing and one of the most good-natured member of the Glee Club, might have some foundations in this. There's also the fact that after Artie started insulting her outfits, she dropped him for Mike Chang.
  • Tall, Dark and Bishoujo
  • Throwing Off the Disability: In "Wheels", Tina reveals to Artie that she's been faking her stutter to avoid people, and wants to stop. Artie takes it badly.
  • Token Minority Couple: With Mike, which apparently blossomed when they were both counselors at "Asian camp". Also, it's lampshaded all the time.

Tina: Asian kiss?

  • Tsundere: In Season One, we saw mostly the dere-dere side, because Tina was so shy. In Season Two, we're getting more of the tsun-tsun. Poor Mike and Artie are not happy about it.
  • Twofer Token Minority: She's Asian and Ambiguously Jewish to boot!
    • Her having a stutter would have also qualified if she hadn't thrown it off halfway through Season 1.
  • Unlimited Wardrobe: While her clothes might not be as stylish as Kurt's, sometimes they are just as elaborate.
  • Zettai Ryouiki
  1. ↑ Note that most American public high schools have 500-1000 students
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