Season synopsis
Contains spoilers for this season and earlier seasons.
At the start of senior year, Quinn returns with pink hair and a punk style, falls in with the Skanks and secretly schemes to reclaim Beth. Blaine is now singing with New Directions at McKinley, continuing his romance with Kurt after their time at Dalton. Rachel and Kurt prepare applications for the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, while Santana, Mercedes and Brittany break away from New Directions to form the rival Troubletones under Shelby Corcoran. The students must decide whether they can stay together as graduation approaches.
Before Sectionals, Quinn considers reporting Shelby's affair with Puck to Principal Figgins, but Rachel persuades her not to; New Directions then beats the Troubletones, whose singers rejoin the club. Quinn turns toward Yale. Finn and Rachel bring their wedding forward. At Regionals, New Directions takes first prize, but the celebration is interrupted when Quinn is hit by a car while texting. At Nationals in Chicago, Mercedes is ill and New Directions performs first, yet the club wins the national show-choir title; NYADA dean Carmen Tibideaux watches Rachel's performance.
As the seniors graduate, their college decisions divide them: Rachel is accepted to NYADA, while Kurt is rejected, and Santana, Mike and Mercedes each make plans for different cities. Finn tells Rachel that he is joining the Army to honor his father, then takes her to the train station instead of their planned wedding and sends her to New York alone. Will and the club see Rachel off at the station. Brittany stays at McKinley after failing to earn enough credits to graduate.