Brittany (and Santana and Britney) Against the Music
Up until now, Brittany has been a supporting character on Glee, albeit one who gets all the good lines that aren’t given to Sue Sylvester. (See also: “Did you know that dolphins are just gay sharks?”) But she broke out big time in “Britney/Brittany,” where we learned that being named Brittany S. Pierce imbued Glee’s dimmest lightbulb with a bit of animosity towards her almost-nametwin. She also got to show off her killer dance skills— Heather Morris backed up Beyoncé during her “ Single Ladies” tour—while singing “Slave 4 U” in a variety of notable Britney outfits and, in this clip, recreating the “ Me Against the Music” video with faithful Cheerios companion Santana stepping in for Madonna, and Ms. Spears herself in a cameo at the end.
John Stamos Arrives, Drills, Romances
Once the disappointment of not getting to hear the dulcet tones of Uncle Jesse’s Elvis-esque singing voice subsided, it became clear John Stamos is a great addition to the Glee ensemble. Stamos plays a suave dentist dating the adorably neurotic Emma (Jayma Mays), much to the consternation of Will (Matthew Morrison). Despite the rivalry, the two guys shared a fun scene that laid the groundwork for plenty of drama in upcoming episodes. Episodes that will hopefully see Stamos singing…
Don’t You Know Rachel Still Believes?
Doing a shot-for-shot remake of a music video is old news in Gleeville after last year’s untouchable “ Vogue” tribute starring Sue Sylvester. So while the Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) remake of " …Baby One More Time" wasn’t visually groundbreaking, it did capture the show’s distinctive sound and made an old pop song sound fresh again. Plus, hey, shout out to David After Dentist!
Go, Team, Go!
Think only girls can do Britney justice? Think again! Artie (Kevin McHale) rocked “Stronger” in a fantasy sequence featuring him joining the football team. His dream quickly turned prophetic, as Coach Beiste finally agreed to allow him to join the team as a human battering ram.
“Toxic” Causes a Sex Riot
In an effort to loosen up, Mr. Schue joined the kids for a saucy rendition of “Toxic” that caused what Coach Sylvester called a “Britney Spears sex riot.” This wasn’t, of course, the first time New Directions got a little too wild for Sue’s taste. Last year, she called their similarly sextastic rendition of “ Push It” “the most offensive thing I've seen in twenty years of teaching, and that includes an elementary school production of Hair.” Spoilsport!
Scary Sue is Back!
It was a little disturbing—almost unnatural—when Glee decided to have Sue and Will play nice for the start of the season. Thank goodness that’s over. By the end of the episode, Sue was back to her usual cantankerous self, insulting Will and telling a terrifying story about Hubert Humphrey and Ladybird Johnson. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Shannon Donnelly is a video editor at The Daily Beast. Previously, she interned at Gawker and Overlook Press, edited the 2007 edition of Inside New York, and graduated from Columbia University. You can read more of her writing here.