The episode starts out with Brittany, who discovered that an asteroid was falling from the skies and would eventually wipe out Lima, OH. This led to a series of character interactions, as they begin wrapping up their loose ends and preparing for the last day of their lives. We quickly discover that Brittany made a mistake. What she believed to be an asteroid was in reality a dead ladybug trapped in the lens of her telescope -- and by telescope, I mean empty Pringles container. Silliness, right?
Life began returning to normal when the school was suddenly jolted by the sound of two gunshots. Kids began screaming and racing through the hallways. The glee club barricaded itself in their practice room. Brittany was cowering alone in tears in a toilet stall. For roughly one-third of the program, we had no clue what was going on. We just found ourselves witness to the terror of those trapped in the school with a potential shooter and no word from outside.
Eventually, the SWAT team arrived and told everyone it was safe to go home. Except nobody knew who fired the gun or why.
And then Sue Sylvester confessed. She told the principal that she owns a registered weapon and stores it at the school just in case. She took it out and accidentally discharged it. And she found herself fired on the spot.
It wasn't until later that we discovered through a flashback that Sue didn't fire the gun. It was her protege, Becky. Becky was afraid of graduating and leaving the safety of school. She was afraid of the world and for her future. So she snuck her dad's gun to school and accidentally fired it in Sue's office. Sue took the bullet (figuratively) for Becky to protect her from expulsion.
I'm not a terribly sentimental guy and yet I found myself sobbing towards the end of the episode. Nothing like wiping away the tears while riding an recumbent bike amongst strangers, y'know?
It's unclear whether Jane Lynch (AKA Sue Sylvester) is gone from the show for good, but my guess is that we will see more from her in the final four episodes of the season. Either way, it was an extremely good episode and one that will be remembered by fans (and me) for quite some time.