Glee: The Substitute

Now THIS is the Glee I know and love!

I was, at first, a little nervous about the Gwyneth Paltrow episode. Not because she doesn’t have the singing chops; I knew she did. I mean, I saw that movie Duets and I even enjoyed her duet (gasp! I know! Who am I right now?). No, I was nervous because usually when there’s a guest star, the episode is too theme-y for me (See: Madonna and Britney Spears) and not meaty enough for me. But, alas, I embraced this episode fully and I hope that Paltrow’s Holly Holiday will become more than just a one-time appearance. 

The best thing about Holly was – and not to downplay the fact that she talks in Spanish about Lindsay Lohan and rehab or that she wants to take her students on a field trip to Taco Bell – the fact that she called out the out-sick Mr. Schuester for keeping the music OLD AND DATED. 

And there’s a tater tot ban! This is thanks to acting principal, Sue Sylvester. Awesome. Oh Sue, whose idol is Richard Nixon. I wonder if he would wave broccoli and say things like “when I showed this to Brittany, she whimpered and thought I cut down a small tree where a family of gummy people lived.” So, Mercedes fights the tot ban…because, as Kurt tells her, she’s substituting food for love and Kurt for a boyfriend. Which just made me so depressingly sad. 

This is exactly how I like Mr. Schue. Sick and in bed and likable and hallucinating his musical numbers instead of overstepping personal boundaries and kissing everyone he works with and saying things like, “Come on guys, there’s gotta be a journey song we haven’t done!” hahaha. And crazy crazy Terri is back to nurse Will back to health. Creepy and amazing all rolled into one. 

BEST NUMBER? “Singin’ in the Rain/Umbrella mashup” Holy awesome. 

BEST LINE? Sue’s “I suggest selling yourself on Craigslist under the heading of ‘Men seeking Men with butt chins.” Hahahaha. 

BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN ON GLEE?