"Yes/No" is the tenth episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the fifty-fourth overall. Written by Brad Falchuk and directed by Eric Stoltz, the episode aired on Fox in the United States on January 17, 2012. It contains the revelation of an elopement, and two marriage proposals, including the proposal by Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) to Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays).
Reviews were mixed for the episode. While Will's actual proposal to Emma was received with more favor than not, the scene where Will asks Finn (Cory Monteith) to be his best man was roundly condemned: the notion that Will had no adult friends and would ask one of his students was inconceivable to many. There was acclaim for the subplot featuring Becky's (Lauren Potter) pursuit of Artie (Kevin McHale), and her mental voiceovers by Helen Mirren.
The musical performances from the episode were greeted more positively than the episode as a whole. All six numbers were released as singles, and five of them charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian Hot 100. Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 7.50 million American viewers and received a 3.1/8 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership was up from the previous episode, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas".
Plot After learning Coach Beiste eloped with her now husband Cooter Mankins, Emma (Jayma Mays) wonders whether Will (Matthew Morrison) is ever going to propose marriage. She fantasizes about their wedding, and in the fantasy sings "Wedding Bell Blues". She is mortified to discover that while fantasizing, she inadvertently and publicly asked Will to marry her, and immediately denies having done so. Emboldened nevertheless, Will gives the glee club an assignment: find the perfect song for him to use to propose to Emma.
Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Sam (Chord Overstreet) separately recount their summer relationship to their friends, singing "Summer Nights". Sam suggests to Mercedes that they get back together, but she reminds Sam she is dating Shane (LaMarcus Tinker). Sam, hoping a varsity letterman jacket will impress her, joins the only sports team still recruiting: synchronized swimming. Later, while Mercedes sings "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" with Rachel (Lea Michele), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and Santana (Naya Rivera) for Will as their proposal suggestion, she mentally pictures Sam rather than Shane, and is distressed.
Becky Jackson (Lauren Potter, with inner voiceover by Helen Mirren), decides she wants Artie (Kevin McHale) for her boyfriend, and asks him for a date. He later performs for her his idea for Will's proposal—a sexy mash-up of the songs "Moves Like Jagger" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash"—but she informs him that their date also includes dinner. The glee club fears Artie will be raising Becky's hopes, but Artie tells them he had fun on the dinner date, and that they should examine their own prejudices about people with handicaps. However, when Becky tells Artie that she wants to have sex with him, he panics and asks Sue (Jane Lynch) for advice on how to break off the relationship. She advises him to treat Becky like anyone else and tell her directly. Becky is disappointed, and is later comforted by Sue.
Will asks Finn (Cory Monteith) to be his best man, and Finn tells Will that he is considering enlisting in the army. Will has Finn meet with him and Emma, plus his mother Carole (Romy Rosemont) and stepfather Burt (Mike O'Malley), who had not known of his army plans. Finn explains that he feels an obligation to his late father to be a good man and help people. His mother reveals that she hid from him the fact that his father did not die in Iraq, but instead suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder there, was dishonorably discharged, and died in Cincinnati from a drug overdose. The news is devastating to Finn, and he, Rachel and Kurt talk about how the future no longer appears promising. Rachel sings "Without You" to Finn, and the two embrace.
Will asks Emma's parents (Don Most and Valerie Mahaffey) for their blessing to marry her, but they refuse as they doubt Emma could handle marriage and having children. Unaware of that discussion, Emma later asks Will about their progress toward marriage, and he also wonders whether she could cope with a family given her obsessive–compulsive disorder. Though distraught, Emma tells Will that her disease is a part of her: he must decide whether they should stay together. Will, realizing that he loves Emma regardless, stages a spectacular marriage proposal—aided by the glee club and synchronized swim team, who sing and perform a water ballet to "We Found Love"—which Emma tearfully accepts. Later, Finn surprises Rachel with a proposal of marriage, complete with an engagement ring, which leaves her speechless.
Production Filming began on November 29, 2011, the same day the ninth episode, which had begun shooting on November 10, wrapped up filming. Eric Stoltz directed the episode, his third this season following "The Purple Piano Project" and "Mash Off", and it was written by Glee co-creator Brad Falchuk. Morrison was questioned about Will's rumored proposal to Emma, and said, "It's the most spectacular proposal I've ever seen." He added, "All I can say is it's wet. And it involves a big dance."
Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren guest-stars in the episode, but is not seen on screen: she has recorded "several long and hilarious monologues" as the "inner voice" of a character in this episode, who turned out to be cheerleader Becky Jackson.
The cast and crew did location filming at Venice High School on December 6, 2011. The school is where exterior locations for the movie musical Grease were filmed. Several members of the cast tweeted photos, as did students from the high school. Vanessa Lengies, who plays Sugar Motta, retweeted a student's photo of herself with some of the students, telling the student, "thanks for letting us borrow your school!"
This episode is the last in Damian McGinty's seven-episode prize from his victory in The Glee Project, but he will be continuing in the role of Rory Flanagan beyond the initial seven. Other recurring guest stars who are appearing in the episode include glee club members Sam Evans (Overstreet) and Sugar Motta (Lengies), cheerleader Becky Jackson (Potter), football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones), Kurt's and Finn's married parents Burt Hummel (O'Malley) and Carole Hudson-Hummel (Rosemont), Emma's parents Rose and Rusty Pillsbury (Valerie Mahaffey and Don Most, respectively), football player Shane Tinsley (Tinker) and hockey player Rick Nelson (Rock Anthony). With Sam joining the synchronized swim team, actors were to be cast for the team coach and three swimmers, all of whom "have the potential to become recurring", though only two swimmers received co-starring credits in the episode. The swim team coach, Roz Washington, a bronze-medal Olympian, is being played by reality show personality NeNe Leakes.
The episode features six performances, including a mash-up of the songs "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon 5 featuring Christina Aguilera and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones sung by McHale, "We Found Love" by Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris sung by Michele and Rivera, and "Summer Nights" from the musical Grease with lead vocals by Overstreet and Riley. Michele sings "Without You" by David Guetta featuring Usher, and she, Riley, Rivera and Ushkowitz perform a rendition of the Roberta Flack cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". The 5th Dimension's cover of "Wedding Bell Blues" is performed by Mays with backing vocals by Jones and Lynch.
Reception
Ratings "Yes/No" was first broadcast on January 17, 2012 in the United States on Fox. It received a 3.1/8 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, and attracted 7.50 million American viewers during its initial airing, an increase from the 3.0/8 rating/share and 7.13 million viewers of the previous episode, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", which was broadcast on December 13, 2011. In Canada, 1.61 million viewers watched the episode on the same day as its American premiere. It was the twelfth most-viewed show of the week, up one slot and 10% from the 1.46 million viewers who watched "Extraordinary Merry Christmas" five weeks earlier.Canadian viewership data: "Yes/No": "Extraordinary Merry Christmas":
In the United Kingdom, "Yes/No" first aired on March 1, 2012, and was watched on Sky 1 by 805,000 viewers. It was the first new episode broadcast in the UK in two and a half months, and viewership was down over 15% from "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", which attracted 952,000 viewers when it aired on December 15, 2011.UK viewership data: "Yes/No": "Extraordinary Merry Christmas": In Australia, "Yes/No" was broadcast on February 17, 2012. It was watched by 556,000 viewers, which made Glee the eleventh most-watched program of the night, up from fifteenth the week before. The viewership was up over 15% from the previous episode, "Extraordinary Merry Christmas", which was seen by 481,000 viewers.Australian viewership data: "Yes/No": "Extraordinary Merry Christmas":
Critical reception "Yes/No" received mixed reviews from critics. Robert Canning of IGN gave it a "good" rating of 7 out of 10, and noted "hit and miss musical performances, random quirky and funny bits, and storytelling choices that kind of sort of work". TVLine Michael Slezak was more enthusiastic, and said it was the "best episode" of the third season; he credited both Helen Mirren and "some righteous plot development that stays true to core characters". Jen Chaney of The Washington Post commented that Glee had "returned to its frequent habit of dropping plot twists on us that come out of nowhere", and MTV's Kevin P. Sullivan wrote that the episode's "promising bright spots couldn't escape from under the weight of the show's typical mistakes".
Reviewers were unhappy with most of the marriage storyline that involved Will, though they seemed satisfied with Emma's portion of it. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club said Will acted like a "jackass" throughout and called the storyline "so pathetic and sad", words echoed by Entertainment Weekly Joseph Brannigan Lynch, who wrote, "When Schue told New Directions, 'You guys are my family,' I was a little sad for him and a lotta sad for his parents." John Kubicek of BuddyTV proclaimed, "Will desperately needs to make some grown-up friends", a sentiment echoed by HuffPost TV Crystal Bell. Lynch was critical of the scene where Will tells Emma they cannot marry because of her illness: he felt "using the phrase 'it's hopeless' in reference to her mental disorder" was too extreme. To James Poniewozik of Time, the episode showed "how the series has squandered the opportunity to make Will into a person".