The Rachel Scene In Glee's Pilot That Aged Poorly
To this day, there hasn't been another television series quite like "Glee."
Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, "Glee" was a successful TV show that aired a total of six seasons, earning numerous awards nominations and wins along the way (via IMDb). The Fox series chronicled the lives of a group of outcast theatre kids trying to find their places in the world and dealing with real-life issues like bullying, teen pregnancy, and homophobia, all while regularly performing musical numbers. The kids were mentored by their teacher, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who, in turn, learned important life lessons from them.
Unfortunately, the show's over-the-top writing and intense, melodramatic characters also resulted in the creation of some scenes that haven't aged particularly well since they first aired. One such scene involves Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), a cutthroat and competitive theatre kid whose life mission is to someday appear in a show on Broadway.
Rachel reported a teacher for the wrong reason
The audience is first introduced to Rachel Berry in the pilot episode of "Glee." During the episode's opening montage, Glee club teacher Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Toblowsky) is seen putting his hand on an underage student while Rachel stares angrily from outside the door.
At first, it appears that Rachel is infuriated by the way Sandy is abusing his position of power and taking advantage of a student. We find out later that Sandy has been fired, and that it was Rachel who rightfully reported him to Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba). Rachel is even seen sobbing and recounting the "horror" of what she saw, but it all turns out to be a performance. Indeed, it is revealed that Rachel reports Sandy, not for the sake of doing the right thing, but because she wants the solo in the school musical.
Rachel's plot is seemingly foiled, however, when Will Schuester takes over as the head of Glee club and all talk of a school musical comes to an end.