Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
After New Directions loses Regionals, it returns to McKinley as an underdog, with Finn trying to recruit classmates for the club. Transfer student Sam Evans is interested in singing, but the club's low social standing pushes him toward football instead. Finn and Rachel begin the year as a couple until he admits he previously slept with Santana; Rachel feels betrayed and kisses Puck, prompting Finn to end their relationship. Dave Karofsky's bullying of Kurt escalates. While spying on Dalton's Warblers, Kurt meets Blaine Anderson; after Burt marries Finn's mother Carole, making the boys stepbrothers, Kurt transfers to Dalton for safety.
At Dalton, Kurt joins the Warblers and his friendship with Blaine deepens. New Directions and the Warblers tie at Sectionals, so both advance to Regionals. Before the Regionals performance, Kurt and Blaine share their first kiss; New Directions then wins with Rachel's “Get It Right” and the group's “Loser Like Me.” Later, Santana uses Karofsky's anti-bullying group to help bring Kurt back to McKinley. At prom, Karofsky tearfully apologizes to Kurt but says he still cannot come out publicly.
For Nationals, New Directions travels to New York without two numbers written or rehearsed. Rachel encourages former rival Sunshine Corazon before Vocal Adrenaline performs, then New Directions takes the stage; Rachel and Finn kiss during the set, and the club finishes two places short of the top ten. Back in Ohio, Finn and Rachel resume their relationship, Blaine and Kurt tell each other they are in love, and Mercedes and Sam share a private handhold. Will gives up a chance to join April Rhodes's New York musical and returns to his students.