Santana Lopez is a Cheerio who, with Quinn and Brittany, joins the glee club to help spy for Coach Sylvester. She can be mean-spirited and manipulative, and she loves causing trouble for the other kids.

Santana briefly dates Puck, and though she decides his poor credit score makes him unsuitable boyfriend material, she doesn't mind sexting him, even while he's with Quinn, the mother-to-be of his child. She's even jealous when Puck and Rachel share a short romance.

Santana seems eager to help Coach Sylvester bring down the glee club. She encourages Mercedes to pursue Kurt romantically in order to create chaos and hurt feelings. Hoping to both help her image and possibly boost her standing in the Cheerios, Santana relieves Finn of his virginity.

But Santana's not all bad. Dopey-but-kind fellow Cheerio Brittany is her best friend (with benefits), and they share a close bond. And even though she often acts superior toward the others, she admits to them that glee club is the best part of her day.