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The Rachel-Will Relationship, more commonly known as SchueberryWilchel, or Rill, is the very close friendship bond between teacher Will Schuester and his student Rachel Berry, both before and after she graduates. Their dynamic was briefly also a one-sided crush between Rachel and Will in a single episode, Ballad.

Overview[]

Rachel and Will often have different ideas about what is best for New Directions, especially concerning solos and song selections. This leads them to have a love/hate relationship. Rachel sometimes believes that Will is just out to ruin her life or ruin her star chances.

However, Rachel develops a quite large crush on him for most of the episode Ballad. She realizes this when they sing Endless Love together. She gave him a tie and cleaned and cooked in his house. Will is annoyed and stressed about her inappropriate behaviour and tries a variety of methods to tell her he isn't interested, such as in song, before telling her directly. She remains infatuated with him until another, mildly attractive girl, Suzy Pepper, who had previously had a crush on Will reasons with her and convinces her to get over her crush. Will and Rachel's relationship remains platonic to this day.

Episodes[]

Pilot

In the first episode, when the New Directions first rehearse Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boatthey fail miserably and Rachel storms out as Will tries to call her back. At the end of the episode, Will reveals his plans to leave McKinley, but Rachel and the rest of the group are upset as he started their inspiration. When the group sing Don't Stop Believin', Will is without a doubt proud and Rachel seems excited to see his return.

Vitamin D

After Rachel and the girls perform Halo/Walking on Sunshine, Will gives them all a big clap and cheer and high-fives all of the girls except for Rachel because she's standing away, separately, from the rest of them. When Rachel starts running out with the rest of the girls and is about to run by Will, he raises his hand to give her a high-five too, like he did for the rest of them, but she ignores it and instead throws both of her arms around him, embracing him in a quick hug. He is surprised and yells "Okay! Alright!" and chuckles a little as she runs off.

Ballad

Ballads-Glee-image

While singing Endless Love, Rachel develops a crush on Will and starts giving him novelty gifts. Will later defends Rachel from Terri while she is "using her as her own personal slave" and letting Rachel cook and clean. Suzy Pepper, who previously had a crush on Will, takls Rachel out of her crush. Rachel decides to apologies to Will, before she can do so Will tells Rachel they can't be together, and she responds, "What was I thinking?" Will tells her, "You should know that there's some boy out there who's gonna like you for everything you are, including those parts of you that even you don't like... Those are gonna be the things he likes the most."

Mattress

Will asks everyone in the club to vote for who the two team captains should be, and then everyone votes for Rachel - Will comments sarcastically that even Rachel voted for herself, but she's oblivious to any judgmental attitude. Will then speaks to Rachel alone, touching her shoulders and appealing to her ego/personality as he tells her they need a co-captain. He convinces her to find someone to work with her, and they shake hands, having made a deal.

The Power of Madonna

Will interrupts Rachel sharing with the group about how Jesse is pressuring her into sex. Rachel reveals to him that she tried talking to Miss Pillsbury about it. Will is concerned and seems pretty upset at how all the girls are resigned to feeling powerless.

Theatricality

Will calls Shelby to meet with him, because he's worried about Rachel. Will tells Shelby that Rachel's special, and has all of the best of Shelby in her: Rachel is "strong-willed, dramatic, wildly talented." But she's "fragile" and "over-emotional," too. He knows Shelby isn't as committed to being Rachel's mom as Rachel needs her to be.

Funk

Will is concerned about how Rachel is taking the break-up with Jesse, and invites her to his office. She then tells him  indirectly how he could "solve" Sue.

Journey

Will asks Rachel what it was she had to say, when they're all in the Glee classroom, right before heading to Regionals. Rachel says that they're all really glad he didn't become an accountant. Later, Rachel interrupts the kiss between Will and Emma to ask Will to please come to the auditorium.

When Will announces that the Glee Club has another year, an extremely excited Rachel runs over to him and hugs him.

Britney/Brittany

Will leaves his dentist appointment with Carl and sees Rachel sitting in the waiting room. He asks her if she's all set or if she needs him to stay with her or something. She explains that she's fine because she's been taking herbal anti-anxiety pills and reading the unauthorized biography of Britney Spears to stay calm. Rachel then asks Will if he's okay, or if he had a cavity or something. She spots the candy Carl prescribes and asks Will about it, perplexed. He tells her he's fine, then hands Rachel a piece of candy and wishes her luck with her appointment. Back in the Glee classroom, now that Rachel has a new "Britney" look, Will asks her about it. He pays close attention to her answer about how it's a good thing to feel beautiful and sexy and dress that way to reflect it, and even shoots a half-smile at her.

The Substitute

Rachel goes to Will's house, wearing a mask and informs him that Holly might take his job. Later on in the episode, Rachel is one of the New Direction members who tries to get Will his job back. During this, Rachel says that Mr. Schuester is the best thing to happen to this school.

A Very Glee Christmas

Rachel and Will are walking down the hallway near the end of the episode. She says, "Now that you're divorced and Miss Pillsbury married another guy, I guess that means you'll be spending Christmas Eve alone." She tells him she knows how painful being alone is and invites Will to spend Christmas with her and her dads, but he passes on the offer and tells her there's nothing wrong with being alone. At the end of the episode, Rachel is the first of his students he sees emerge from his kitchen. She is carrying cookies, smiles at him, and tells him "No one should be alone on Christmas, Mr. Schuester," and he smiles back and watches and she happily decorates his tree for him with the rest of the club.

Original Song

Will presents Rachel with her Glee Club MVP award at the end of the episode. It's a sweet scene where he seems to kiss her cheek, or at least side-hug her.

Nationals

Rachel is one of the ones to present Will with his teacher of the year award. In her speech she admits that she couldn't have done it without him. The two also share a hug during We Are the Champions.

Goodbye

When Rachel is leaving for New York, Will is there along with the New Directions members and Emma, while Rachel and Finn sing Roots Before Branches. He also gives Rachel a hug before she gets onto the train.

The New Rachel

Rachel and Will don't interact, but when he finds out that Tina, Blaine, and Brittany are competing to be the new Rachel and that Wade is a new competition, he tells everyone to stop the competition. He explains that just because they lost Rachel after she graduated with the seniors, doesn't mean that there are worse voices here and promises he will find new voices to replace those lost members.

The Break-Up

In The Break-Up, once again, they do not interact. When Finn comes back to McKinley, seeking Will's assistance, Will asks Finn if he has visited Rachel as she is very worried about him, implying that Will has been communicating with Rachel. Finn then cries about Rachel and Will comforts him.

Glee, Actually

In Artie's dream, since Will never started the Glee Club, Rachel never got to join and therefore never had the chance to perform. This also means that she never realized and mastered her full talent and wasn't ready to make performing a career in the real world. Because of this, she started working in the school library after graduating instead of NYADA.

I Do

Rachel returns to McKinley for a visit, but also because she is going to Will and Emma's wedding. Before the wedding, Finn has trouble finding a song to sing as Will's best man and Rachel chimes in saying that she could help him out and the two of them would perform a duet. At the wedding, Rachel is sitting up at the very front of the church, and during Getting Married Today, Will personally comes up and gives her a hug.

Wonder-ful

Rachel calls Will and tells him about her Funny Girl audition and callback. She says that she couldn't do it without him. She also thanked him. He seems very proud and happy for her. Will, inspired by Rachel's success, challenges the Glee Club to sing Stevie Wonder songs and informs them of her news.

The Quarterback

Large

Will is seen watching Rachel as she performs Make You Feel My Love. Later on, Rachel comes to the choir room and asks if Will was okay. She confesses to Will that she had her future figured out, though she doesn't know how she feels about her current situation. She tells Will that she wanted to have a future with Finn and live happily ever after, and that Finn knew about all of this. She takes out a plaque with Finn's photo on it with his quote, "The show must go...all over the place...or something," and hangs it up on the wall in the choir room. Rachel and Will share a hug in the choir room, which was cut from the episode.

New Directions Rachel appears in the video that the former and current New Directions made for his future son, saying emotional words about Will. Later, they perform Don't Stop Believin' with the rest of the old and new New Directions on the auditorium.

Opening Night

Will goes to New York to see Rachel in her opening night of the Funny Girl musical on Broadway. But when he is visiting her on backstage just before the show starts, he gets a call from Emma who tells him that their son is about to be born. Rachel smiles and encourages him to rush to Lima. Later, while Rachel is reading the reviews of her successful debut on the show with her friends, she gets a call from Mr. Schue who tells her he is happier than ever and that everything is fine, later revealing that his son is named Daniel Finn Schuester.

Loser Like Me

Rachel sneaks into a Vocal Adrenaline rehearsal, where she sees the group perform Dance the Night Away, and later meets Will. He tries to comfort Rachel by trying to downplay her faliure and reassuring her about her talent, but she is still inconsolable. Will tells him how is his life now he is coaching their eternally rival Glee Club and explains his reasons, which makes Rachel look upset. However, things get less uptight as they continue their conversation. Will gives her a speech about using difficulties imposed by life to empower and do new and amazing things. Rachel's still sad.

Later, Will arranges a meeting with Rachel, Blaine, Sam and LeRoy in order to watch That's so Rachel and realize it wasn't that bad. Although the show proves to be pretty bad, Will stays positive and tries to highlight the good things. He tells her people will not judge her for her faliure but for what she did to overcome it. This encourages her to make a request at the Lima School District to get the Glee Club back.

Rachel's office
Rachel is getting comfortable at her (formerly Will's and Finn's) new office, when Mr. Schue arrives. He tells her he always thought Finn would be occupying her place. Rachel plans being there for "just a couple of months" before getting back to the game as she tells Will. He gives her his iconic flier which reads "Priority #1: Help the Kids," and advises Rachel to start recruiting people for the recently reinstated Glee Club. Before leaving, Will tells Rachel that he thinks she will like being back at home.

Homecoming

Rachel is seen at Will's apartment, when she has reunited with him along with Blaine, Sam, and Kurt to have dinner and set up their playing rules as rival directors. She tells them she was slushied and Will says that he's sorry for her. She and Kurt tell Will they are not sure about whether they're co-directors or not yet. Will and Rachel along with the rest of the group encourage Blaine to give Jane a shot at the Warblers.

Will doesn't appear for the rest of the episode, but he's mentioned by Kurt while talking to Rachel, suggesting her to try a different approach as a director than Mr. Shue's. At the Choir Room, Rachel explains the old gang that Will be their competition at Sectionals. Later, she tells Roderick he is the kind of person Will started the Glee Club for in the first place. At the end of the episode, Rachel tells Kurt that she wonders how Mr. Schue managed to bring all of them together and help them become better people.

The Hurt Locker, Part One

Will-Rachel-THLP1b
Rachel meets Will in the McKinley auditorium and sees that Vocal Adrenaline is getting ready for the Invitationals. Rachel asks Will how does it feel to be a visitor, and he says he's glad that they actually aren't under so much pressure. As Rachel seems to be implying that she wants his team to underperform so that the New Directions don't feel so powerless, Will looks reluctant. But when Rachel reminds him of how much McKinley has done for his life, he changes his mind. They don't realize they have been spied by Sue.

Later, Sam tries to steal Will's mail, under hypnosis by Sue. At first Will doesn't understand what is happening, but then Sam says that he was sent by Rachel, and Will feels let down. This leads him to change his plans and try with all his effort to beat the New Directions.

In the auditorium, Vocal Adrenaline perform at Invitationals. Rachel is very worried and doesn't understand what has happened as Will looks at her appearing very self-satisfied.

The Hurt Locker, Part Two

In the auditorium, Rachel approaches Will after Sue announces the latest rules for the invitationals. She reproaches him for not following the deal they had done, but Will denies having even agreed anything. He says the New Directions will have to beat Vocal Adrenaline on their own.

Will-Rachel-THLP2
Will and Rachel meet once again right before New Directions' performance. Will tries to explain his attitude but Rachel apologizes to him. She says Will was right and she totally crossed the line. Rachel tells him he taught her to be devoted to her hids. Will asks Rachel how her students are doing and she replies that they are fine but she is so nervous she wants the moment to end. Will disagrees and advises Rachel to enjoy the first steps. As they continue talking they find out that was Sue who put them against each other, and he also tells Rachel to treasure people like Sue since "a good nemesis only makes you better." Will wishes her luck and leaves while Rachel smiles.

What the World Needs Now

They don't directly interact onscreen in this episode, but they both speak to Santana before the performance of What the World Needs Now, during which Rachel is seen at Will's house with some of the other Alumni and the members of New Directions.

Transitioning

Will has gone for a walk with Emma and Daniel when they suddenly come across Rachel and Blaine, who claim to have been egged by some Vocal Adrenaline members. This leads Will to decide to dedicate the week to teach his team about tolerance.

At the end of the episode, Rachel, Kurt, and Will reunite one more time in the choir room. Will tells shares with them his and Emma's plans for the future and tells them he has found his place in the world, referring to McKinley. They talk about the New Directions and Will asks them if the kids have any personal problems. When they say they don't know, Will says they should because one day they could be their bests friends.

Child Star

Rachel-Will-6x09
Rachel and Will are in charge of the Glee Club this week since Kurt is on honeymoon with Blaine. They sit next to one another during the performance of Lose My Breath and both seem a little surprised and uncomfortable. They are told to do everything that Myron says. When he asks the New Directions to perform at his Bar Mitzvah, Will and Rachel are reluctant, but Sue accepts for them.

Later in the teacher's lounge Rachel and Will are trying to come up with ideas for the party. Rachel suggests doing Broadway, but when Will asks if the New Directions kids even like it, Rachel says she doesn't know because they are quiet. Will attributes this to the talkative nature of Rachel, and she is a bit hurt but this gets away quickly. Will then suggests getting to know them better and giving them the chance to choose.

In the choir room, Rachel and Will announce the assignment for this week, which is to perform the songs they like at the Bar Mitzvah, encouraging the kids to do the best they can. Later they are seen having lunch together again with Sheldon and Sam, at the Bar Mitzvah rehearsals and at the party, where they perform Break Free with the New Directions and some of the other staff of McKinley.

By the end of the episode, Will and Rachel are in their office, on the point of getting started another Glee Club lesson. Rachel is happy because with Myron and Alistair they only lack 4 members to compete at Sectionals. They talk about how they changed each other and Will says how proud he is of the person Rachel has become and how grateful he is of them being co-workers. They share a hug.

Smiling, the two watch the New Directions' performance of Cool Kids, clearly closer than ever.

The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester

Rachel and Will with Blaine and Kurt try to come to terms with the Warblers and the New Directions as they have a hard time working together. It is decided that they must find a common look for all of them.

Later, Rachel along with her co-workers and the glee club kids watch the performance of The Final Countdown in shock, which makes Rachel think that Will and Sue have gone crazy.

By the end of the episode, all of the New Directions co-directors have a reunion to decide how to face the new challenges they have. Will states that his greatest accomplishments are his students, among which Rachel is present.

We Built This Glee Club

NOOOOOO
Rachel announced that the glee club received some mysterious packages, which makes Will are a little suspicious. They turn out to contain explosive glitter. Will realises that just in time to save Rachel from the blast.

They sit next to one another during Sectionals. They are shown surprised by Vocal Adrenaline's performance, specially when they see the props they are using.

The glee club reunites once again in the choir room for possibly the last Show Circle ever. Will lets Rachel talk this time as he considers that all of them are there because of her. Rachel gives an emotional speech where she thanks everyone for all that they have done for her.

They both stand next to each other during the awards, and they share a tight hug when the New Directions are announced as winners. Back in the choir room, Will speaks this time, congratulating everyone for their hard work and saying goodbye to the three ex-members and now ex-co-directors of the club Rachel, Kurt, and Blaine as they head back to New York. Will says that they will be with them in spirit, no matter what happens. As suggested by Kitty, everyone puts the old trophies back into the case and Rachel and Mr. Schue share another hug, while everyone applauds.

2009

Will-Rachel-2009
This episode takes place back in time six years, in 2009.

Rachel tells Kurt that "the cool Spanish teacher who looks like an older Justin Timberlake" will be coaching the new glee club.

Later, when the club is beginning, Rachel asks to be the first solo, but Will insists it is going to Artie, and she'll have her turn soon. Before long, Mercedes and Rachel are fighting over the Sandy part in a song and Will feels like it's his fault that he's caused in-fighting between them. Will's wife, Terri, suggests he give it to whichever person is the most pathetic.

Rachel comes up to Will to ask for information about the progress of finding a potential male lead, and without letting him talk, she presents him with with two lists made by herself: one of said male leads, and another of the reasons why she should get the first solo. This conversation is interrupted by Puck, who throws a slushie to Rachel's face. Will shows concern for Rachel, who then explains that everybody hates her, convincing will that she is the most pathetic and therefore should get the lead. Later in Glee Club, it's shown that Will has indeed given the female solo of You're the One That I Want to Rachel.

Rachel approaches Terri in Sheets-N-Things while she is pretending to work. Rachel tries to convince her to persuade Will to take over the glee club again, but Terri is already determined to not let that happen.

Will does end up sticking with the glee club and his teaching job, partially due to him watching the performance of Don't Stop Believin' that Rachel leads, with Finn's help in a duet. This was an exact replica of the scene that ended the actual Pilot episode.


Dreams Come True

Will-Rachel-finale2
Rachel, Blaine and Kurt are seen at the beginning of the episode escorting Will while he is getting ready to learn the winner of 2015 Nationals. Will explains he is very nervous, but Rachel reassures him saying that it doesn't seem so for her. They get out of the room and go to learn the results. It turns out that the New Directions have won Nationals. Rachel is the first of the former directors to hug Will.

In the choir room three months later, after Will explains he will no longer be coaching glee club due to his new duties as principal, he bids farewell to his students by singing Teach Your Children. Rachel is seen particularly moved by the scene.

The episode features a flash-forward to 2020 that showcases Will at his home, watching the Tonys' segment of "Best Actress in a Musical" by TV, which Rachel is nominated for. Will's house is filled with joy when his former student is announced as the winner. During Rachel's speech, she thanks several people for making this possible, but she centers her attention on Will. Rachel talks about how Will "always taught to her strengths, not her weaknesses, and picked her up when she was in a million pieces." She also says that his lessons helped her to rephrase her quote "Being a part of something special makes you special" to "Something is special because you are a part of it." Will is left totally moved.

Closing the episode (and therefore the series), Will and Rachel sing and dance to I Lived with the rest of the Glee cast, which exposes how they look in 2020.

Songs[]

Duets
Sang Together (In a Group Number)
Song Episode

Solos with

Like a Virgin The Power of Madonna Emma, Santana, Jesse, and Finn
Related Songs

Sang Together (In a Group Number)
Song Episode

Solos with

Toxic Britney/Brittany Santana, Brittany, and Tina

Related Songs

Sang Together (In a Group Number)
Song Episode

Solos with

The Scientist The Break-Up Blaine, Brittany, Kurt, Santana, Finn, and Emma

Sang Together (In a Group Number)
Song Episode

Solos with

Don't Stop Believin' New Directions Artie, Blaine, Kurt, and Tina
Related Songs

Sang Together (In a Group Number)
Song Episode

Solos with

What the World Needs Now What the World Needs Now Artie, Blaine, Kurt, Mercedes, and Sam
Break Free Child Star Myron, Sam, Sheldon, and Sue
I Lived Dreams Come True Artie, Blaine, Kurt, Mercedes, Roderick, and Sam

Trivia[]

  • Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison played Janet and Brad in a tribute to The Rocky Horror Show respectively. During the performance, they shared an on-stage kiss.
  • Lea Michele and Matthew Morrison dated in real life a couple of years before Glee started filming.
  • Both of them have a love for ballads.
  • First student/teacher relationship of the show, however it was just a one-sided crush. The second and third ones were Puck/Shelby and Cassandra/Brody and their relationships were much more intimate, and then Finn kissed Emma, and finally ,Quinn said she was dating her Yale Professor who was thinking about divorcing his wife.
  • Rachel is the only member of the Glee Club that Will has called on the phone.

Gallery[]

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Character relationship(s) displayed:
Adam
Artie
Becky
Betty
Blaine
Bree
Brittany
Brody
Burt
Cassandra
Chandler
Cooper
Dani
Dave
Elliott
Emma
Finn
Holly
Jake
Joe
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Kurt
Lauren
Mario
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Millie
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Rory
Roz
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Rachel-Will Relationship
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