Folk stories tell us when you catch a leprechaun, he has to grant you three wishes. Brittany S. Pierce believes that after these three wishes, you have to give him your pot of gold. At least this is what she tells Rory Flanagan ("The Glee Project" co-winner Damian McGinty), the Irish exchange student living with her family. Rory is more than willing to humor Brittany’s fantasies and play the little green man; he has a very different idea of what his host-sister means when she says “pot of gold.” 

Not even a three-week hiatus can halt season three’s momentum, as “Pot O’ Gold” picked up right where “Asian F” left off. The glee club struggles to bring back the magic after Mercedes’ defection to Shelby’s all-girl choir, and Finn takes it upon himself to make sure no one follows her lead. 

(Courtesy of Fox Broadcasting Company)

He overhears a few key conversations, including Mercedes attempting to recruit Santana, who will only join if she can convince Brittany to do the same. He’s also well aware of Brittany’s leprechaun delusions, and approaches Rory for help. 

In a school where anyone different is bullied, it’s no surprise that an exchange student would fall prey to the vicious athletes, so Rory is more than willing to spy on Brittany in exchange for Finn’s empty promise of friendship. He laments his troubles fitting in, singing Kermit the Frog’s “Bein’ Green” as he walks through the halls and is stuck admiring Brittany from afar, completely unaware that she has someone else on her mind.

In an attempt to help raise New Directions morale, Blaine comes to the choir room with a new number: Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night.” The club loves it, joining Blaine in dancing around the choir room, save Santana, who is especially offended when Rachel declares they should reprise the performance at sectionals. Tired of what she calls “the Blaine and Rachel Show,” she sets the wheels of her defection in motion. 

Santana reveals her plans to Brittany during a Breadstixs date, including that she won’t leave unless her secret girlfriend also does. Brittany fears that leaving New Directions will harm her presidential campaign, but Santana is one step ahead of her. She, too, exploits Rory’s leprechaun trickery and forces him into granting her a wish: Brittany joining Shelby’s glee club. 

Santana gets her wish, and Shelby’s all-girl choir, dubbed the Troubletones, quickly proves a force to be reckoned with. They perform Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman,” a fun, jazzy number highlighting the “girl power” mantra of the group. 

Left with nothing, Rory is hopeless against the bullies until Finn steps in. He saves him from the hockey players, a true friend this time, and invites Rory to join glee club. Rory steals their hearts with “Take Care of Yourself,” the final number of the episode. With Rachel’s assertion that “he’s magical,” the false leprechaun may be enough to help restore the magic to the club.

In a briefly detrimental subplot, Sue’s congressional campaign against the arts causes the club to lose funding, just an insignificant $2,004, for their production of "West Side Story." Kurt takes it upon himself to organize the sale of advertisements in the programs, and his father Burt has something else in mind. He and the three other ad-buyers fund the musical, and Burt launches a counter-campaign against Sue as a write-in candidate. His platform? The value of the arts, of course, remembering that the arts saved his son’s life. Sue begins to fear her platform isn’t strong enough and instead changes gears, focusing on special education programs in schools, in honor of her sister Jeanie, who died late last season. 

Baby Beth also returned, as Quinn launched another, more desperate scheme to reclaim her daughter. She and Puck offer to babysit for a night, giving Shelby some much-needed personal time. Although apprehensive at first, Shelby gives in, and Quinn puts her plan into action. She plants “evidence” around the condo, planning to call Child Protective Services with the claim that Shelby is an unfit mother. Puck doesn’t stop her, but he makes it clear he doesn’t support her either. 

He chooses Shelby, though, when she passes along the word of a job opening for pool maintenance at her condo. Puck gets the job, and we get to see his heart of gold when he arrives at Shelby’s condo to tell her the good news. He sneaks through the condo to remove Quinn’s “evidence,” and croons Foreigner’s “Waiting for A Girl Like You” as a lullaby to Beth. She’s not the only one captivated by her biological father’s spell, though. Shelby finally breaks down about the difficulties of being a single parent, and Puck offers to help in any way he can. In a classic "Glee" cliffhanger, the episode ends as Shelby and Puck share a kiss. 

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