Glee-Ful Highlights From Episode "Rumours"

The title of this week's episode of Glee may refer to the Fleetwood Mac album that inspires the songs, but it also perfectly sums up the theme of the night. McKinley overdoses on the gossip this week, thanks to Brittany's new web talk show and Sue's revival of the school newspaper. Not only are the New Directions involved in the mudslinging — they're at the forefront of all of the hearsay.
Some of the rumors turn out to be true, while others are just made up, but in the end the whole club learns a lesson in how easy the truth can be manipulated to hurt others. Since all of the back-and-forth is reminiscent of the turmoil Fleetwood Mac went through while making their album Rumours, the club pays homage to the band by only using songs from that record. Let's talk about what worked and what didn't when you read more.

• First thing's first: we must discuss the wonder that is Fondue For Two. Showcasing Brittany's new talk show is a brilliant way to open the episode; I loved every second from Mercedes's criticism of the melted cheese to Lord Tubbington's Atkins diet.
• Brittany's gossip show is only a precursor to a much bigger animal: Sue decides to bring back the school newspaper, The Muckracker, as part of her latest evil scheme to get Will out of McKinley and create chaos for the glee club. She sets her minions out to dig up (or make up) dirt, and it's only a matter of time before Santana is flagged as a lesbian and Quinn is accused of cheating on Finn with Sam.
• When Artie confronts Brittany about the Santana rumor, Brittany deflects it by saying that her relationship with Santana doesn't count as cheating. Artie's pretty cute about his paranoia, saying that he can't compete with someone who can give Brittany more . . . until he gets so frustrated that he calls Brittany stupid for defending Santana. Poor Brittany takes off in tears, but it kicks off my favorite number of the evening: Artie sings "Never Going Back Again" while the rest of the guys follow with guitars. Not only does Artie sound great, but it's a creative and different performance (especially since Will and April's "Dreams" is kind of a snooze fest).