The Substitute

**The Substitute** is the seventh episode of *Glee's* second season and the twenty-ninth episode overall. It premiered on November 16, 2010.

Gwyneth Paltrow debuts as guest star in this episode, portraying Holly Holliday, a substitute Spanish teacher who takes over the New Directions when Will gets sick. She sings three songs in this episode: one as a duet with Rachel, one as lead with the New Directions, and one as a duet with Will, with back-up from the New Directions. Jessalyn Gilsig returns for her role as Terri.

The episode was directed by Ryan Murphy and written by Ian Brennan.

## Plot

Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester is appointed acting principal of William McKinley High School after having Principal Figgins infected with the flue. Glee Club director Will Schuester is also infected and he sees the kids as if they were toddlers, meaning he has to have at least a life-threatening fever of 41°C/105.8°F fever to be hallucinating this severely, and has to take time off work to recover. He is cared for by his ex-wife Terri and the two begin to reconnect and end up sleeping together.

Will's lessons are covered by substitute teacher Holly Holliday, whose unconventional methods include discussing Lindsay Lohan in Spanish, singing *Conjunction Junction* in English, and roleplaying as Mary Todd Lincoln in History. She agrees to take over the glee club (at Kurt's urging) in Will's absence and impresses the entire club, minus co-captain Rachel Berry, with her rendition of Cee Lo Green's *Forget You* (also known as *F\*\*\* You*). She later wins over Rachel by duetting with her on *Nowadays/Hot Honey Rag* from *Chicago*. Will has a dream where he performs *Make 'Em Laugh* with Mike and wakes up in a feverish state.

Club member Kurt Hummel neglects his best friend, Mercedes Jones, in favour of his new friend, Blaine Anderson. Mercedes is offended when Kurt tries to set her up on a date with a football player on the basis that they are both black, and feels left out when she accompanies Kurt and Blaine to dinner, where conversation is dominated by gay issues and icons. When Sue begins a healthy eating initiative and declares a ban on Tater Tots, Mercedes takes a defiant stance, because she feels that it is her right to choose what she eats for lunch. She organises a student protest and fills the tailpipe of Sue's Le Car with Tots, which according to Sue, caused $17,000 worth of damage to the car.

Sue's initiative proves popular with the students' parents and her appointment as principal is made permanent. Meaning that she essentially has the power to achieve her lifelong dream of disbanding the Glee Club, which she does not do. She fires Will, who is later visited by Holly seeking advice. Holly feels out of her depth as a teacher, having enabled Mercedes' behaviour. She confesses that she originally took her work seriously until a student punched her in the face, prompting her more laid-back approach. Terri arrives while they are talking and is angered by Holly's presence. Will tells her that their reunion was a mistake and asks her to leave his apartment and never return.

Kurt confronts Mercedes, suggesting that she is substituting food for love and their friendship for a romantic relationship. Mercedes agrees to talk to Anthony, the student Kurt attempted to set her up with. As she departs, Kurt is approached by school bully Dave Karofsky, who threatens to kill him if Kurt reveals his closeted homosexuality. Kurt is terrified by this threat and is temporarily unable to move.

At the urging of the glee club members, Sue re-instates Will. Even though Sue can, seeing as she is the Principal, easily disband the Glee Club, which she has attempted to do for nearly every episode she has appeared in, she chooses not to. Will suggests a group performance of *Singing in the Rain*, but the kids aren't into it. He asks for Holly's help to modernise it, resulting in a mash-up with Rihanna's *Umbrella*.

## Cast

### Guest Stars

* Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins
* Dot-Marie Jones as Shannon Beiste
* Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang
* Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans
* Max Adler as Dave Karofsky
* Darren Criss as Blaine Anderson
* Lindsey Sims-Lewis as Cameo

### Co-Stars

* Loanne Bishop as Waitress
* Ashley Fink as Lauren Zizes
* Ryan Heinke as Stoner Brett
* Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson

## Trivia

* Gwyneth said that the *Singing in the Rain/Umbrella* performance was so fun to do. She said she felt like a kid again.
* Kevin commented that he got stuck in the wheelchair during *Singing in the Rain/Umbrella* because Lea Michele and the others made a competition out of kicking water towards him, soaking him.
* It is ironic that Kurt tells Mercedes he doesn't want another Rachel-Jesse traitor debacle with Blaine, when Blaine himself gets into the same situation with Sebastian in Season Three (when Blaine tells Sebastian they are planning on doing Michael Jackson for Regionals)
* In the episode Throwdown, Finn mentioned Gwyneth Paltrow while talking baby names with Quinn, saying how he thinks it's cool she named her baby Apple because he likes apples. In this episode, Gwyneth Paltrow appears as the substitute.
* Dominic Barnes, who currently plays Trent, also plays a student who can be seen in Holly Holliday's Spanish class.
* Lindsay Lohan is mentioned by Holly during her Spanish class. She appears as a judge in Nationals.
* Sue calls Mercedes "Jackeé" early in the episode. Jackeé Harry guest stars as a judge in City of Angels

## Navigation

**Season Two**Audition • Britney/Brittany • Grilled Cheesus • Duets • The Rocky Horror Glee Show • Never Been Kissed • **The Substitute** • Furt • Special Education • A Very Glee Christmas • The Sue Sylvester Shuffle • Silly Love Songs • Comeback • Blame It on the Alcohol • Sexy • Original Song • A Night of Neglect • Born This Way • Rumours • Prom Queen • Funeral • New York
**Season Three**The Purple Piano Project • I Am Unicorn • Asian F • Pot o' Gold • The First Time • Mash Off • I Kissed a Girl • Hold on to Sixteen • Extraordinary Merry Christmas • Yes/No • Michael • The Spanish Teacher • Heart • On My Way • Big Brother • Saturday Night Glee-ver • Dance with Somebody • Choke • Prom-asaurus • Props • Nationals • Goodbye
**Season Four**The New Rachel • Britney 2.0 • Makeover • The Break-Up • The Role You Were Born to Play • Glease • Dynamic Duets • Thanksgiving • Swan Song • Glee, Actually • Sadie Hawkins • Naked • Diva • I Do • Girls (and Boys) on Film • Feud • Guilty Pleasures • Shooting Star • Sweet Dreams • Lights Out • Wonder-ful • All or Nothing
**Season Five**Love, Love, Love • Tina in the Sky with Diamonds • The Quarterback • A Katy or A Gaga • The End of Twerk • Movin' Out • Puppet Master • Previously Unaired Christmas • Frenemies • Trio • City of Angels • 100 • New Directions • New New York • Bash • Tested • Opening Night • The Back-Up Plan • Old Dog, New Tricks • The Untitled Rachel Berry Project
**Season Six**Loser Like Me • Homecoming • Jagged Little Tapestry • The Hurt Locker, Part One • The Hurt Locker, Part Two • What the World Needs Now • Transitioning • A Wedding • Child Star • The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester • We Built This Glee Club • 2009 • Dreams Come True