Glee recap (1.05): "The Rhodes Not Taken"

I didn't think it was possible, but I love this show a little more each week. This week's episode guest stars Kristin Chenoweth, at whose altar I worship. And she nails it. I adore her in everything I've ever seen her in, but she's clearly having a blast with this role and gets some of the best lines of the episode. While I loved last week's episode with Kurt's fantastic coming out scene, this might be my favorite episode since the pilot.

So we start off by learning the Glee Club's first invitational is coming up. They're rehearsing "Don't Stop Believing" with Quinn singing Rachel's part, but it should be called "Don't Stop Upchucking" since she's experiencing some severe morning sickness. After she runs from the room, Kurt says, "Can we please talk about the giant elephant in the room?" One of Quinn's cheerleading cronies responds, "Your sexuality?" Kurt cuts his eyes so sharply at her I'm surprised she didn't start bleeding. He's talking about the fact that they can't compete without Rachel, but Will insists they have to move on since Rachel quit Glee.

Later, Terri and Will are in a chain restaurant that looks suspiciously like Ruby Tuesday, or at least something of that ilk. Terri is inhaling grasshopper pie at an alarming rate. Will brings up the odd fact that Terri hasn't had any morning sickness while Quinn can't seem to keep anything down. She plays it off by saying she does all her barfing at work, and Will seems to accept it, but I also notice a little suspicion starting to edge in. It's about time.

Will then recognizes their waiter as a former student of his, and learns that the guy is still in high school five years later...only now he's at their rival school where he's a sixth year senior. The school has been intentionally failing him because he's a star in Vocal Adrenaline.

Emma calls Finn in for a little guidance counseling. Will has told her in confidence about the baby, and she's trying to subtly steer him in a helpful direction. Unfortunately, subtlety is not one of Emma's strong suits. Lucky for her, Finn isn't that bright. She suggests he might have more chance of getting a music scholarship than one for sports, especially if Glee does well in competition. He fears they don't stand a chance without Rachel though.

Speaking of Rachel, she's being interviewed by the reporter for the school paper about her starring role in the school play. He tries to blackmail her into showing him her "sweater puppies" in exchange for a positive review. She refuses. Finn pops in and offers to run lines with her, somewhere dark and private. It seems Finn's decided that the best way to lure Rachel back to Glee is by seducing her. Oh, Finn...

Will manages to get a student file from Emma. It's the file of the best singer in Glee from back when Will was in high school. Her name is April Rhodes, and, just as he thought, she never graduated. There's no forwarding address, but he manages to find her online and, conveniently, she has a website. Even more conveniently, her website apparently has some sort of chat feature on which he contacts her, and she invites him over.

She answers the door of her huge, gorgeous house drunk off her ass. "So did I sleep with you?" Will stammers, "I was a freshman and you were a senior." She waits a beat. "So did I sleep with you?" When he says no, she's offers him a drink. "I just cracked open a fresh box of wine." Just then, a realtor comes in with clients, and we find out the house is for sale and April is just a squatter. Kristin nails this scene...and every scene she's in after this. LOVE HER!