Comeback (Glee)
Sue joins glee club; Sam starts a Bieber tribute band.
"Comeback" is the thirty-fifth episode of Glee overall, airing on Fox in February 2011. Written by Ryan Murphy and directed by Bradley Buecker, it follows Sue Sylvester joining the glee club to combat her depression, while Sam starts a Justin Bieber tribute band.
Quick Facts
- Series
- Glee
- Season
- 2
- Episode
- 13
- Air date
- 15 February 2011
- Production
- 2ARC13
- Writer
- Ryan Murphy
- Director
- Bradley Buecker
Facts from the source article.
Plot
After her cheerleading squad loses a competition for the first time in seven years, Sue Sylvester becomes depressed and stages an apparent suicide by overdosing on gummy vitamins. School guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury suggests she temporarily join the glee club New Directions to lift her spirits. Hoping to create discord, Sue pits members Mercedes and Rachel against one another, but a duet between the two deepens their mutual vocal respect. Club director Will Schuester takes Sue to a pediatric cancer ward, where they sing "This Little Light of Mine" with patients. Sam Evans establishes a one-man Justin Bieber tribute band called "The Justin Bieber Experience" to win over his girlfriend Quinn, whom he suspects still has feelings for ex-boyfriend Finn. Sam performs "Baby" for the glee club, exciting the other girls. Puck, Artie, and Mike are impressed and convince Sam to let them join; the foursome performs "Somebody to Love" and recreates the music video, making the girls go crazy. Quinn realizes she wants to be with Sam, but Santana convinces Sam that Quinn cheated on him, so he breaks up with Quinn and begins dating Santana. Lauren Zizes enlists Puck to help with her first glee club solo; with his assistance, she performs "I Know What Boys Like". Sue suggests the club perform "Sing" by My Chemical Romance as an anthem for Regionals. After her week with New Directions ends, Sue reveals she has become vocal coach for a rival club, Aural Intensity.
Production
In January 2011, rumors circulated that Glee was planning a Justin Bieber tribute episode similar to those for Madonna and Britney Spears. Series creator Ryan Murphy refuted the claims, stating such episodes are reserved for artists with extensive catalogs, but confirmed Bieber's music would be used as a "small plot point" in season two. Cast member Amber Riley confirmed to MTV News that "Baby" and "Somebody to Love" would be featured, and Bieber would receive a tribute similar to Lady Gaga's in "Theatricality". Prior to broadcast, Chord Overstreet and Bieber interacted on Twitter, with Bieber telling him to "kill it! The episode featured covers of "I Know What Boys Like", "Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent, "Sing", and an acoustic performance of "This Little Light of Mine". The pediatric oncology scenes were filmed at Children's Hospital Los Angeles' Center for Cancer and Blood Diseases, with eleven real patients performing alongside Matthew Morrison and Jane Lynch. Guest-star Charlene Amoia played Bailey, the pediatric ward nurse; she had worked for the series' sound department during the first season. Amoia deemed her appearance her favorite guest role due to working with the children, and was part of the "This Little Light of Mine" group number. Recurring guest cast members included Chord Overstreet as Sam, Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins, Harry Shum Jr. as Mike, and Ashley Fink as Lauren.
Reception
"Comeback" was watched by 10.53 million US viewers and attained a 4.2/12 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show of the night. It was the third most-watched scripted show of the week among adults 18–49 and placed 21st among all viewers. The episode declined by 9 percent and 1.12 million viewers from the previous episode, "Silly Love Songs". In Canada, it attained 1.75 million viewers and placed 18th in weekly rankings; in Australia, 909,000 viewers and 11th; in the UK, 2.57 million viewers and was the most-watched show on cable for the week. The episode received mixed reviews. Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle and Jenna Mullins of E! Online appreciated how it reminded them of early Glee episodes; Hankinson praised the writing and comedy. CNN's Lisa Respers France found the title apt, as Glee was "firing on all cylinders". Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone was "pleasantly surprised", and Kevin Fallon of The Atlantic commented that apart from Bieber jokes, the episode was sharply written. Other critics found it mediocre: Entertainment Weekly's Sandra Gonzalez wrote it was "a bit off", The A.V. Club's Emily VanDerWerff felt "something was missing", and Robert Canning of IGN deemed it "fine and inoffensive" but forgettable. Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times was "a little disappointed" for lack of substance. James Poniewozik of Time deemed it among his least favorite episodes for not being "bad in a memorable way".
More in Glee Season 2 Episodes
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced