Yes/No (Glee)

Plot

After learning Coach Beiste eloped with her husband Cooter Mankins, Emma wonders whether Will is ever going to propose marriage. She fantasizes about their wedding and sings "Wedding Bell Blues", but is mortified to discover she inadvertently and publicly asked Will to marry her. Emboldened, Will gives the glee club an assignment: find the perfect song for him to use to propose to Emma. Mercedes and Sam separately recount their summer relationship, singing "Summer Nights".

Sam suggests they get back together, but Mercedes reminds him she is dating Shane. Sam joins synchronized swimming to impress her. Later, while Mercedes sings "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" with Rachel, Tina, and Santana for Will's proposal, she mentally pictures Sam rather than Shane. Becky Jackson decides she wants Artie for her boyfriend and asks him for a date.

He performs a mash-up of "Moves Like Jagger" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash" for her, but she informs him their date includes dinner. The glee club fears Artie is raising Becky's hopes, but Artie tells them he had fun and they should examine their prejudices. When Becky tells Artie she wants to have sex, he panics and asks Sue for advice on how to break off the relationship. Sue advises him to tell her directly. Becky is disappointed and later comforted by Sue.

Production

Production on this episode kicked off on November 29, 2011, the very day filming wrapped on the season's ninth episode. Eric Stoltz, who had already directed "The Purple Piano Project" and "Mash Off" that season, took the helm, with co-creator Brad Falchuk handling the script. When asked about Will's rumored proposal to Emma, Matthew Morrison described it as "the most spectacular proposal I've ever seen," adding that it's "wet" and "involves a big dance."

Oscar winner Helen Mirren appears without being seen, having recorded lengthy, hilarious monologues as the inner voice of cheerleader Becky Jackson. On December 6, 2011, the crew shot at Venice High School, the same location used for exterior scenes in Grease. Cast and students alike shared photos on Twitter; Vanessa Lengies even retweeted a student's picture, thanking them for letting the crew borrow the school. This episode marks the end of Damian McGinty's seven-episode prize from winning The Glee Project, though he continued as Rory Flanagan.

Recurring guests include Sam Evans, Sugar Motta, Becky Jackson, Shannon Beiste, Burt and Carole Hummel, Emma's parents Rose and Rusty Pillsbury, Shane Tinsley, and Rick Nelson. The synchronized swim team's coach, Roz Washington—a bronze-medal Olympian—is portrayed by reality star NeNe Leakes.

Reception

"Yes/No" first broadcast on January 17, 2012 on Fox, received a 3.1/8 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic and attracted 7.50 million American viewers, an increase from the previous episode. In Canada, 1.61 million viewers watched it on the same day, making it the twelfth most-viewed show of the week. In the United Kingdom, it aired on March 1, 2012 on Sky 1 and was watched by 805,000 viewers, down over 15% from the previous episode. In Australia, it aired on February 17, 2012 and was watched by 556,000 viewers, making Glee the eleventh most-watched program of the night.

Reviews were mixed. Robert Canning of IGN gave it a "good" rating of 7 out of 10, noting "hit and miss musical performances, random quirky and funny bits, and storytelling choices that kind of sort of work." TVLine's Michael Slezak called it the "best episode" of the third season, crediting Helen Mirren and "some righteous plot development." 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."