The Rhodes Not Taken

Season 1, Episode 5, Aired
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Episode Summary

A new face stirs things up for New Directions when April Rhodes (guest star Kristin Chenoweth) lends her voice to the show.
8.6
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Fan Episode Reviews (16)

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  • I think this is the best episode of the season.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Adam_Dicy, Sep 12, 2010 Report Abuse
    I thought the song "Alone" performed by Will and April at the bowling alley karaoke was so good, and I realized what a great talent Kristin Chenoweth really is and she could really belt out a tune, and practically stole the show at the end with the other Glee club members, it's a shame we'll have to wait til April 13, which I'll mark on my calendar, it's FOX's mistake and it's the worst they've made in a long time. Also I really hope that McKinley does good at the sectionals and Will can finally stick it to Sue Sylvester.moreless

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    3 3

  • Hard to stay focused during this one !

    6.5
    "Fair"
    By Kadodian, Sep 12, 2010 Report Abuse
    When you do a heavily eventful episode on a show which people reacted positively to, you can't have uneventful episodes like this one. This whole episode was about April and the Quinn, Finn, Rachel love triangle....boring. I liked April though, she's funny and extremely talented and her final performance was deffinately the highlight of the episode. Rachel coming back to Glee was a big whatever moment since we all knew she was coming back. This episode was uneventful, unsurprising but does a shocking good job keeping the storyline moving steadily. I did enjoy the touching speech April made about getting her standing ovation.moreless

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    0 0

  • The poorest episode so far.

    5.0
    "Mediocre"
    By pdollo21, Aug 28, 2010 Report Abuse
    So I'm only 5 episodes into this new series and have been enjoying it, until this episode.

    Chenoweth, please don't bring her back. Funny? For about 2 seconds. A good singer? I'm not really into her country screeching sounding voice. Annoying? Certainly. As they said in the show, lets leave it to the young ones.

    By far the worst songs of the series. I like the fact that the show takes modern hits and remakes them in their own style. But Liza Minelli numbers, please spare me. Maybe if Kurt sung it then it would have been funny and could have been like his coming out party. Lets leave out the ancient show tunes.

    p.s. Rachel totally outsung Chenoweth.moreless

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    6 5

  • "The Rhodes Not Taken" is the fifth episode of the American television series Glee. It premiered on the Fox network on September 30, 2009.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Tw3ntyTw3nty, Jul 10, 2010 Report Abuse
    With star Rachel Berry no longer part of the glee club, director Will Schuester worries about the team's forthcoming performance at Invitationals. He discovers that April Rhodes, a member of the club from his own high school days, never actually graduated, and convinces her to return to the glee club. Having failed to achieve her Broadway dreams, April is now an alcoholic, and goes about winning the favor of the existing club members by unconventional means, including getting Kurt (Chris Colfer) drunk and teaching Mercedes (Amber Riley) and Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) to shoplift. Guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) warns Will that April is corrupting the students. Will asks April to sober up, admitting that she was the reason he joined the glee club and that he had a crush on her in high school. The two of them sing an impromptu duet of Heart's "Alone" at the local bowling alley, and April promises to change.

    Club member Finn is concerned for his future, believing his girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron) to be pregnant with his child. Emma suggests that instead of aiming to attend college on a football scholarship, Finn utilizes his musical talent. Finn believes the club's only chance of performing well at Nationals rests with Rachel, and attempts to convince her to return to the club. He takes her bowling and tells her that he wants to spend more time with her. This, along with the fact that Rachel is unhappy with the play due to being bullied by the theater director Sandy Ryerson (Stephen Tobolowsky), leads her to relent and quit her role in the school play in favor of glee club. When Rachel discovers that Quinn is pregnant however, she is furious with Finn and quits the club once more. Following a performance of Carrie Underwood's "Last Name", April receives the standing ovation she always dreamed of, and realizes it is time to find a new dream. She leaves the club without a lead singer for their second performance, leading to Rachel stepping in and rejoining the club for an ensemble performance of Queen's "Somebody to Love".moreless

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  • Great. Again.

    8.5
    "Great"
    By FinaidMc, Jun 11, 2010 Report Abuse
    Another great episode full of musical fun! I'm really starting to love this show now that their past the "Our show is about singing misfits" stage. There was some real character developement this time with Rachel getting a little fuzzy round the edges, Finn showing he does have a sly side(rather than looking like a lost puppy, confused by all the people singing about him) and Emma is not so blinded by her love of Will that she can't see his imperfections. All that AND a drunk Kurt. What more could I ask of a Wednesday night?
    Highlight was definately April's version of Last Name. Pure genius. Kristin Chenoweth needs her own show. She was great in Pushing Daisies and is totally wasted as a guest star. Didn't know she had those lungs on her though...moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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    • Goof: In the bowling alley when Rachel kisses Finn, her hand is on his shoulder. In the immediate close-up her hand is around his neck and moves down to his shoulder. In his reaction shot, her hand is suddenly gone. Throughout the rest of the conversation, her hand goes from appearing on his shoulder to being around his neck to disappearing. Edit
    • Music featured in this episode: • "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey • "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret • "Alone" by Heart • "Last Name" by Carrie Underwood • "Somebody to Love" by Queen Edit

  • Notes

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  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Rachel: In showbusiness, when a star can't perform, her understudy steps in. I'd be happy to go in for April, if you'd let me. Mercedes: Since when are you willing to be an understudy? Rachel: Since I quit the play. Kurt: Really? Why? Rachel: I realized being a star didn't make feel as special as being your friend. If I'd let you down when you needed me the most, I'd never forgive myself. I know all the words to the song. Quinn: You don't know the choreaography. Finn: (after a long silence) Then we're going to have to give her a lot of help out there. Edit
    • Will: How come you haven't had any morning sickness? Quinn Fabray has been upchucking every 15 minutes. Terri: Really? That's a really good sign. That means the baby's not a Mongoloid. Will: Well, it it bad that you haven't been sick then? Terri: Oh, no, honey, no, no. You should ask Howard Bamboo about my Linda Blair impersonations every half hour at work. Edit
    • Finn: I'm sleeping with him. Rachel: So am I. Finn: This play is weird. Rachel: That's Mr. Ryerson's favorite line. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • Will: Do you think we can win regionals without Rachel? Emma: Remember the Jamaican bobsled team? Big long shots. Emma is making a reference to the movie Cool Runnings, released in 1993. It is based on the true story of the first Jamaican bobsled team which tries to make it to the Winter Olympics in Calgary (Canada) in 1988. Edit
    • Emma: I had them give me four decontamination showers. I believe they call that the full Silkwood. Silkwood is the 1983 Oscar-nominated film about the true story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the plutonium plant where she worked. In the film, she takes multiple chemical showers when she and several others become contaminated by radiation. Edit
    • When the Glee kids are discussing what they believe is wrong with Quinn, Puck after hearing their suspicions calls them stupid and says that they probably all thought Bert and Ernie were just roommates. Bert and Ernie are two characters from the popular children's program Sesame Street. Edit

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