Liam Cook

"You've got it all worked out, huh? What's that like?"

-Liam, S1 E3, Coming Out of My Cage.

Liam Cook is a main character in Glee: NDNG. He is a sophomore, at the start of Season 1. He's autistic, with an enthusiasm for musicals, so, when Beth Corcoran restarted the New Directions, he jumped at the chance. As of the end of Pilot, he was a member.

Early Life
Liam's parents have always been protective of him, especially since his autism diagnosis, at the age of six. He turned to his sister for everything, because he felt suffocated by his parents' overprotective tendencies. He wanted to be treated like the other children, and be allowed to live his life.

Season 1
By Pilot, Liam's sister has moved out of the family home, leaving Liam to handle his parents on his own. He's allowed some more independence, but not as much as most other sophomores. He's in a relationship with Aubri Johnson, from the track team. They're considered a curious pairing, but they're very much in love.

Liam is first seen eating his lunch in Ivan Pierce's classroom, with his headphones on. A regular occurrence. When Valerie Lopez-Pierce enters, Ivan tells her about the Glee Club, and Liam overhears, and is immediately curious. Ivan said he planned to tell Liam, because of his love of theatre. Liam asks plenty of questions, before running off to tell Aubri.

He's next seen at the audition, where he arrives late, and panics. He soon nervously starts What Do I Need With Love. Once he gets into it, he impresses everyone, especially Aubri.

In Edge, Liam joins the group's performance of You Can't Stop the Beat. He's one of the few members who's content with the group's status quo. When September Puckerman expresses her wish to sing a traditionally male song, Liam is displeased by the idea, insisting that the tradition shouldn't change. He grows increasingly distressed, and is comforted by Damien Russo, as Aubri watches.

He's particularly impressed by September's performance of Corner of the Sky, but his opinion doesn't change. Aubri pleads with him to explain his reasoning, but Liam insists that no one would understand.

After rehearsals, Liam's left alone with September. He apologises for how he came across, and decides to explain everything. He tells her that he believes everything should stay a certain way. Theatre is the only constant in his life, and he wants it to stay how it is. September starts to sway him, but they're interrupted by a call from his mother, so Liam has to make a hasty exit.

Before Liam and Jude Moody's performance of What You Own, September claims that she and Logan Abrams planned to do the same song. Liam's thrilled that she knows Rent. He readily agrees to a showdown. Damien watches, intently, as he performs. When the competition is tied, Liam says that September and Logan deserve the win. After the rehearsal, Damien congratulates Liam, and can't stop staring at him.

Liam is delighted when Aubri decides to officially join the club. He joins the performance of Holiday.

In Coming Out of My Cage, Liam and Aubri mess around in Math class, leading to her drawing a heart on his arm.

Magnolia Berry throws a slushy in his face, and Aubri's outraged, though neither of them know the culprit. Liam, stressed and distracted by the feeling of it, rejects her offer of help, and retreats to the bathroom, where he sings Lifeboat to himself, as he washes his hair. Damien finds him, and is quck to help him, and offer him a hoodie. Damien flirts, and leaves Liam with an awkward erection. He sings Totally Fucked, and performs it with the club. Aubri is concerned and confused When Liam sees Damien watching, he reaffirms his love for her, but, in the dream sequence during My Junk, he's stuck between the two, being constantly spun around.

Liam goes to Damien's, to return his hoodie, and is concerned by his living conditions, but easily distracted by the flirting. They kiss, but Liam's quick to pull away, when he sees the fading heart on his arm, so they talk as friends.

It is evident that Liam's relationship dilemma is taking it's toll on him in Popular, when he struggles to stay awake and focused in Ivan's class, and forgets his homework. Ivan notices, concerned by Liam's inability to answer a theatre-related question, and asks afterwards if he can help, but Liam keeps it to himself.

Later, in the halls, Aubri cheks if he's okay, whilst he watches Damien. To convince her (and himself) that their relationship is perfect, Liam asks Aubri to draw another heart on his arm, and agrees to spend the evening with her. He bites back a smile, while Damien's talking to cheer coach Isabel Stanton. When Aubri tries to get him away from Damien, he says that he still has to get a book from his locker. (The one that Isabel is backing Damien into at that very moment.) Aubri's less than thrilled.

In Music class, Music teacher Alfie Winstanley notices Liam doing his Maths homework. However, in an attempt to catch him out with a trick question, for not paying attention, he's impressed by Liam's knowledge, and genuine enthusiasm. When a class member calls him a nerd, Alfie pointedly praises him, which perks him up considerably.

Liam's seen in Art class, once again half-asleep, occasionally being nudged by Aubri.

Later, Liam's thrilled to see Alfie coming to observe the club.

Liam packs up, hastily, after rehearsal, as soon as the bell rings, to avoid Damien's attempts to have a conversation with him about the events at the end of the episode before. He apologizes, and rushes off to class, before Damien can ask him anything.

In Invitationals, Liam is seen watching Damien in cheer rehearsal from a distance. Ophelia points this out to Damien which leads to him telling her everything that has happened between them.

Later, Liam is late to meet Aubri due to struggling with Math homework. She expresses concern that he has been distant, but Liam does his best to reassure her of his love. The two happily catch up, making each other laugh, until Liam gets distracted by Damien, causing Aubri to sing Pretending. She then proposes a dinner date, which Liam postpones until the following day.

When Quentin Talley is working hard on the setlist at lunch, Liam brings him a sandwich and offers his help and reassurance. When Damien comes along with others to help too, he asks Liam why he's been avoiding him. Liam explains that he's struggling to resist him despite being happy with Aubri, but that eventually he will feel ready to be friends.

Before the Invitationals performance, Liam feels nervous so Jude Moody gives him a hug. During the performance he sings a solo in the Seasons of Love section of the medley.

Personality
Liam tends to be quietly sarcastic, with a good sense of humour, if not slightly self-deprecating. He likes to escape from the world, through music, and could talk about musicals for hours, to anyone who's willing to listen. He's a straight-A student in English and Music, his two favourite classes.

At the beginning of Season 1, he's incredibly averse to change, but, over time, he learns to cope with it, and realises that change doesn't always have to be a bad thing.

Style/Appearance
Liam has only just managed to convince his mother to let him pick his own clothes, and he milks it for all it's worth. Ripped jeans, beat up Vans, and 'edgy' t-shirts, by her standards, though they're mostly for rock musicals. He's rarely seen without a pair of headphones around his neck.

Trivia

 * Liam's favourite musical is Rent, and his dream role is Mark Cohen.
 * He was the only character whose full audition was shown, in the Pilot, and thus the second person to sing a full song, in the entire show, Logan Abrams being the first.