Disclaimer: 1,000 words of overly serious, ridiculous headcanon nonsense. 

Glee, as a rule, tends to highlight how unique and individual every member of New Directions is, particularly by putting them against rival groups of mindless clones headed by a Charismatic Leader of sorts. First it was Sue and Quinn leading the cheerios, with their uniforms and perfect ponytails. Then it was Jesse St James leading Vocal Adrenaline, which I think were actually referred to as soulless automatons at one point. Now, if only because the writers are creatures of habit, the Warblers and Sebastian are filling this roll.

When first introduced, the Warblers already seemed to have this dynamic with Blaine as the Charismatic Leader. However, they were not villainous. The environment of Dalton was safe, if somewhat stifling. Blaine was kind and helpful, never wanting any animosity between the two groups. I have no reason to believe that he manipulated his way into the Warblers’ hearts and minds. I think he fell into the roll naturally.

The Dalton Academy Warblers is a very old group with lots of rules and traditions, but they are easy to change when a new member comes in. Lots of people like to think that while Kurt felt awkward around them in the beginning, his influence helped them to lighten up. Kurt’s performance style was difficult to except at first, but by the time Kurt sings Blackbird, they welcome it with open arms. They liked Kurt, and were sad to see him go.

Now look at how they think of Kurt versus how they think of Blaine. Kurt was a talented member of the group that brought in new ideas and songs. Blaine was their darling golden boy. They practically worshipped him. If they were sad lose Kurt, losing Blaine must have been absolutely devastating. A hole was cut into the Warblers, leaving them vulnerable.

People who get sucked into cult-like groups are not necessarily stupid sheep looking for someone to tell them what to do. They are just as intelligent as anyone else, and just like anyone else, they have moments of vulnerability. They fuck up, lose their jobs, their SO dumps them, what have you. This vulnerability is what cult leaders look for in potential members and once they see it, they will hold out a helping hand. For a real life example, I once saw an ad for Scientology with a tagline like “If we can reach the moon, why can’t you get control of your life?” The line is specifically aimed at people in vulnerable positions looking for help.

When Blaine leaves, the Warblers are vulnerable and definitely would like some help. An ambitious person could easily fill that whole and turn the group into something he wants it to be. It’s here that Sebastian steps in. He’s a talented, handsome, worldly guy that always seems to be making an effort to impress (“Oh, Blaine, I used to live in Paris and drink fancy alcohol with my coffee. Look at me Blaine, I’m implying that I fuck random guys in gay bars. See how mature and sexually experienced I am, Blaine?”). It’s easy to believe he pulled that same shit on the Warblers, this time with great success.

From the very beginning, Sebastian seems to have wanted a leadership roll within the Warblers. He first tries to accomplish this by not only getting Blaine as his new beaux, but back to Dalton. Had this been accomplished, Sebastian would’ve been a fucking hero to the Warblers. But this doesn’t work. Sebastian must come up with a new plan, and this time he hits them where it hurts.

Considering his comments to Kurt and Santana, Sebastian goes for (what he thinks is) the kill. He takes jabs Kurt’s future prospects, his masculinity, and his relationship with Blaine, hitting right on target when it comes to Kurt’s worries. Later, he takes a pretty fucking racist turn when it comes to Santana, but idk if that affected her as much as much as his hurting Blaine did. With this, I believe that he played into the Warblers worries, resentments, and fears to get them to turn against Blaine and Kurt.

“Blaine abandoned them,” he could say, “for some dumb guy on a rival team for shit’s sake. What happened to loyalty? What happened to once a Warbler, always a Warbler? And Kurt? The guy comes out of nowhere, spies on you, loses you Regionals, and takes away your best man? Who the fuck do New Directions think they are?”

The Warblers get swept up in all the anger, the excitement. Finally, they are unified in something other than missing Blaine and Sebastian is the one who did it. There isn’t a council anymore, but a captain. How did that happen (I know that this is probably just another Glee continuity fuck up, but this is my ridiculous headcanon and you can stfu)? Perhaps Sebastian pointed out how it’s a pointless bureaucracy that gets nothing done. The Warblers need a singular leader! Let’s put it to a vote!

The Nude Erections want to meet up in a parking garage for a sing off? Sure, we’ll show them who’s boss. We’ll show them that we don’t fucking need Blaine and is precious boyfriend. Oh, and maybe will throw in a slushie for good measure. What? It’s just a slushie. It’s harmless.

Except the slushie isn’t harmless. Nick looks back as Sebastian leads them away, and the seeds of doubt are planted. Santana demands to see them, saying that Blaine needs surgery and thinks Sebastian put something in the drink? Well… uh, Sebastian wants to take care of this alone. We should go.

Are they done yet? Is she still yelling at him? C’mon, he didn’t-

“Rock Salt.”

A nervous silence falls over the group. No one wants to say the obvious, no one wants to ruin the first big momentum they’ve had in ages. Are Santana’s comments even true? We can’t turn in one of our own, right? 

New Directions show them what’s what on stage. Look at them, they’re having fun and their not hurting anyone. What? I like this song. Hasn’t Sebastian been an asshole lately? Fuck this, I want to go on stage.

One by one, they fly away. And Sebastian is alone.

What this says for the future, I don’t know. But I’m excited to see how the Warblers handle Sebastian. Maybe it’ll be all after school special, with Sebastian learning that lying and manipulating is not the way to make real friends. Maybe Sebastian will work his way to the top again. Maybe they’ll abandon him altogether.