Gwyneth Addresses The Internet Haters On Glee

Usually when Glee does one of its contrived plots about Sue trying to take down New Directions for no apparent reason, we at least get a few memorable performances or witty lines. “Night of Neglect” wasn’t the worst episode this season, but it was unusually bland. It felt like the writers were concentrating on next week’s 90-minute “Born This Way” episode and realized at the last minute that they needed to cobble together a few scenes explaining why Terri Schuester cares about destroying her ex-husband’s glee club (though that’s still unclear) and why Gwyneth Paltrow won’t be in the next few episodes.

Tonight we learned about problems between Holly Holiday and Mr. Schue, but since their relationship consisted mainly of Schue talking to her on a cell phone and that Prince number, it’s hard to see why we’d care. By the end of the episode Holly decides to leave town and ends things with Will, freeing him up to pursue a relationship with Emma. Though she married Uncle Jesse, they’re getting an annulment because they never consummated their relationship. She shares this with Will since he’s aways had a totally normal, non-creepy interest in whether or not she’s a virgin.

Before Gwynnie departs (promising to return next season), she belts out an Adele song and delivers a thinly-veiled admonishment to her haters. After Sue recruits a few students to heckle New Directions during their “Night of Neglect” fundraiser, Holly pulls them aside to give them a lesson on insensitivity. They explain that they honed their craft online, to which Holly says:

I get it. We live in a culture of insults. I mean we’re constantly bombarded with these images of people who are richer than us and happier than us, and have more interesting sex than us, and it makes us feel terrible. You know, we tear them down to feel better about ourselves.

So true! Online commenters definitely mock celebrities because they’re totally jealous , not because stars often say condescending things that are simultaneously obnoxious and rife for parody.