Listening to the original Don't Go Breaking My Heart and it's kind of funny to me how Finn and Rachel thought they were so good they were gonna sweep everyone else in the duets contest.
Don't get me wrong, they were good. DGBMH is actually my favorite duet of theirs. BUT, it wasn't the stellar performance they thought it was. Especially compared to Mercedes & Santana and Mike & Tina. Finn's vocals lack and he couldn't make up for it by putting on a good show like Mike did by dancing. Even Kurt had a more interesting concept than they did.
I think it really speaks to both their arrogance. They assumed they would blow everyone else out of the water, underestimating their teammates and overestimating themselves. That Sam and Quinn absolutely needed their help to win, that Sam would just abandon ship without their interference. Sure, Rachel has a justifiable reason for her ego, but it's always been so interesting to me how Finn perceives himself.
He sees himself as not only the leader, but such a necessary star part of the team. So much so that he lashes out whenever that image is threatened. In season 2 when Will decides Sam and Quinn will get the duet for sectionals, Finn says that making others feel included shouldn't matter when it comes to wanting to win the game. But he admits to putting less effort once Will puts more spotlight in Jesse in season 1 and treats Blaine like garbage in season 3 because he's jealous of his talent.
Honestly, I wish they would have explored Finn's ego more instead of trying so hard to make him into the nice golden boy. It would have made him a more interesting character imo. Then trying so hard to hammer that image in while having him continuously be shitty just made him inconsistent and irritating
