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Kuehn described Alice as " well @-@ intentioned , canny and sometimes lovable " , but as someone who , at 36 , never grew up , and is still dependent on her parents . Yelin said Alice is " in a state of perpetual adolescence " , and her need to " mother everyone " is " an extreme case of psychological regression or failure to thrive " . Greene wrote that Alice 's " humanitarianism is ludicrous in her world " , and described her as " so furiously at odds with herself " because she is too immature to comprehend what is happening and her actions vary from being helpful to dangerous .
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Boschman called Lessing 's narrative " ironic " because it highlights the divide between who Alice is and who she thinks she is , and her efforts to pretend there is no discrepancy . Alice refuses to acknowledge that her " maternal activities " stem from her desire to win her mother 's approval , and believing that her mother has " betrayed and abandoned " her , Alice turns to Jasper as a way to " continue to sustain her beliefs about herself and the world " . Even though Jasper takes advantage of her adoration of him by mistreating her , Alice still clings to him because her self @-@ image " vigorously qualifies her perception of [ him ] , and thus proliferates the denial and self @-@ deception " . The fact that Jasper has turned to homosexuality , which Alice dismisses as " his emotional life " , " suits her own repressed desires " . Kuehn called Alice 's obsession with the " hapless " and " repellent " Jasper " just comprehensible " , adding that she feels safe with his gayness , even though she has to endure his abuse .
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Knapp stated that while Lessing exposes self @-@ styled insurrectionists as " spoiled and immature products of the middle class " , she also derides their ineptness at affecting any meaningful change . Lessing is critical of the state which " feeds the very hand that terrorizes it " , yet she also condemns those institutions that exploits the working class and ignores the homeless . Knapp remarks that Lessing does not resolve these ambiguities , but instead highlights the failings of the state and those seeking to overthrow it . Scanlan compared Lessing 's comrades to Richard E. Rubenstein 's terrorists in his book Alchemists of Revolution : Terrorism in the Modern World . Rubenstein wrote that when " ambitious idealists " have no " creative ruling class to follow or a rebellious lower class to lead [ they ] have often taken upon themselves the burden of representative action " , which he said " is a formula for disaster " .
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= = Reception = =
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Critics have been divided on The Good Terrorist . Elizabeth Lowry highlighted this in the London Review of Books : " [ Lessing ] has been sharply criticised for the pedestrian quality of her prose , and as vigorously defended " . The Irish literary critic Denis Donoghue complained that the style of the novel is " insistently drab " , and Kuehn referred to Lessing 's text as " surprisingly bland " . Lowry noted that the English academic Clare Hanson defended the book by saying that it is " a grey and textureless novel because it ... speaks a grey and textureless language " .
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Freeman on the other hand called the book a " graceful and accomplished story " , and a " brilliant account of the types of individuals who commit terrorist acts " . Writing in the Los Angeles Times Freeman described Lessing as " one of our most valuable writers " who " has an uncanny grasp of human relationships " . In a review in the Sun @-@ Sentinel , Bonnie Gross described the novel as " rewarding reading " and Lessing 's " most accessible " book to date . She said it is the author 's " strong descriptive prose and her precise and realistic characterizations " that makes this book " remarkable " . Gross felt that while some of the male characters are not that strong , the female characters are much better developed , particularly Alice , whom she found memorable .
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Amanda Sebestyen wrote in The Women 's Review of Books that at first glance the ideas in The Good Terrorist appear deceptively simple , and the plot predictable . But she added that Lessing 's strength is her " stoic narrat [ ion ] of the daily effort of living " , which excels in the way she describes day @-@ to @-@ day life in a squat . Sebestyen also liked the book 's depiction of Alice , who " speak [ s ] to me most disquietingly about myself and my generation " . In a review in off our backs , an American feminist publication , Vickie Leonard called The Good Terrorist a " fascinating book " that is " extremely well written " with characters that are " exciting " and " realistic " . Leonard added that even though Alice is not a feminist , the book illustrates the author 's " strong admiration for women and their accomplishments " .
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Writing in The Guardian , Rogers described The Good Terrorist as " a novel in unsparing close @-@ up " that examines society through the eyes of individuals . She said it is " witty and ... angry at human stupidity and destructiveness " , and within the context of recent terrorist attacks in London , it is an example of " fiction going where factual writing cannot " . A critic in Kirkus Reviews wrote that Alice 's story is " an extraordinary tour de force — a psychological portrait that 's realistic with a vengeance " . The reviewer added that although Alice is " self @-@ deluding " and not always likeable , the novel 's strength are the characters and its depiction of political motivation .
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Donoghue wrote in The New York Times that he did not care much about what happened to Alice and her comrades . He felt that Lessing presents Alice as " an unquestioned rigmarole of reactions and prejudices " , which leaves no room for any further interest . Donoghue complained that Lessing has not made up her mind on whether her characters are " the salt of the earth or its scum " . In a review in the Chicago Tribune , Kuehn felt that the work has little impact and is not memorable . He said Lessing 's real interest is character development , but complained that the characters are " trivial or two @-@ dimensional or crippled by self @-@ delusions " .
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The Good Terrorist was shortlisted for the 1985 Booker Prize , and in 1986 won the Mondello Prize and the WH Smith Literary Award . In 2007 Lessing was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for being " part of both the history of literature and living literature " . In the award ceremony speech by Swedish writer Per Wästberg , The Good Terrorist was cited as " an in @-@ depth account of the extreme leftwing squatting culture that sponges off female self @-@ sacrifice " . Following Lessing 's death in 2013 , The Guardian put The Good Terrorist in their list of the top five Lessing books . Indian writer Neel Mukherjee included the novel in his 2015 " top 10 books about revolutionaries " , also published in The Guardian .
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= = Publication history = =
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The Good Terrorist was first published in September 1985 in hardcover in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape , and in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf . The first paperback edition was published in the United Kingdom in September 1986 by Grafton . An unabridged 13 @-@ hour audio cassette edition , narrated by Nadia May , was released in the United States in April 1999 by Blackstone Audio . The novel has been translated into several other languages since its first publication in English in 1985 , including Catalan , Chinese , French , German , Italian , Spanish and Swedish .
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= Henry of Grosmont , 1st Duke of Lancaster =
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Henry of Grosmont , 1st Duke of Lancaster , 4th Earl of Leicester and Lancaster , KG ( c . 1310 – 23 March 1361 ) , also Earl of Derby , was a member of the English nobility in the 14th century , and a prominent English diplomat , politician , and soldier . The son and heir of Henry , 3rd Earl of Lancaster , and Maud Chaworth , he became one of Edward III 's most trusted captains in the early phases of the Hundred Years ' War and distinguished himself with victory in the Battle of Auberoche . He was a founding member and the second Knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348 , and in 1351 was created duke . Grosmont was also the author of the book Livre de seyntz medicines , a highly personal devotional treatise . He is remembered as one of the founders and early patrons of Corpus Christi College , Cambridge , which was established by two of the guilds of the town in 1352 .
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= = Family background and early life = =
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Grosmont 's uncle , Thomas of Lancaster , was the son and heir of Edward I 's brother Edmund Crouchback . Through his inheritance and a fortunate marriage , Thomas became the wealthiest peer in England , but constant quarrels with King Edward II led to his execution in 1322 . Having no heir , Thomas 's possessions and titles went to his younger brother Henry – Grosmont 's father . Earl Henry of Lancaster assented to the deposition of Edward II in 1327 , but did not long stay in favour with the regency of Queen Isabella and Roger Mortimer . When Edward III took personal control of the government in 1330 , relations with the Crown improved , but by this time the older Henry was already struggling with poor health and blindness .
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Little is known of Grosmont 's early years , but that he was born at Grosmont Castle in Grosmont , Monmouthshire , Wales , and that he was born c . 1310 , not around the turn of the century as previously held . According to his own memoirs , he was better at martial arts than at academic subjects , and did not learn to read until later in life . In 1330 he was knighted , and represented his father in parliament . The next year he is recorded as participating in a royal tournament at Cheapside .
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In 1333 he took part in Edward 's Scottish campaign , though it is unclear whether he was present at the great English victory at the Battle of Halidon Hill . After further service in the north , he was appointed the King 's lieutenant in Scotland in 1336 . The next year he was one of the six men Edward III promoted to the higher levels of the peerage . One of his father 's lesser titles , that of Earl of Derby , was bestowed upon Grosmont .
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= = Service in France = =
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With the outbreak of the Hundred Years ' War in 1337 , Grosmont 's attention was turned towards France . He took part in several diplomatic missions and minor campaigns and was present at the great English victory in the naval Battle of Sluys in 1340 . Later the same year , he was required to commit himself as hostage in the Low Countries for the king 's considerable debts . He remained hostage until the next year and had to pay a large ransom for his own release . On his return he was made the king 's lieutenant in the north and stayed at Roxburgh until 1342 . The next years he spent in diplomatic negotiations in the Low Countries , Castile and Avignon .
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In 1345 Edward III was planning a major assault on France . A three @-@ pronged attack would have the Earl of Northampton attacking from Brittany , the king himself from Flanders , while Grosmont was dispatched to Aquitaine to prepare a campaign in the south . Moving rapidly through the country , he confronted the Comte d ’ Isle at Auberoche on 21 October and there achieved a victory described as " the greatest single achievement of Lancaster 's entire military career " . The ransom from the prisoners has been estimated at £ 50 @,@ 000 . The next year , while Edward was carrying out his Crécy campaign , Grosmont laid siege to , and captured , Poitiers , before returning home to England in 1347 .
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= = Duke of Lancaster = =
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In 1345 , while Grosmont was in France , his father died . The younger Henry was now Earl of Lancaster – the wealthiest and most powerful peer of the realm . After participating in the Siege of Calais in 1347 , the king honoured Lancaster by including him as a founding knight of the Order of the Garter in 1348 . A few years later , in 1351 , Edward bestowed an even greater honour on Lancaster when he created him Duke of Lancaster . The title of duke was of relatively new origin in England ; only one other ducal title existed previously .
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In addition to this , Lancaster was given palatinate status for the county of Lancashire , which entailed a separate administration independent of the crown . This grant was quite exceptional in English history ; only two other counties palatine existed : Durham , which was an ancient ecclesiastical palatinate , and Chester , which was crown property .
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It is a sign of Edward 's high regard for Lancaster that he would bestow such extensive privileges on him . The two men were second cousins through their great @-@ grandfather Henry III and practically coeval ( Edward was born in 1312 ) , so it is natural to assume that a strong sense of camaraderie existed between them . Another factor that might have influenced the king 's decision was the fact that Henry had no male heir , so the grant was made for the Earl 's lifetime only , and not intended to be hereditary .
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= = = Further prestige = = =
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Lancaster spent the 1350s intermittently campaigning and negotiating peace treaties with the French . In 1350 he was present at the naval victory at Winchelsea , where he allegedly saved the lives of the Black Prince and John of Gaunt . The years 1351 @-@ 2 he spent on crusade in Prussia . It was here that a quarrel with Otto , Duke of Brunswick , almost led to a duel between the two men , narrowly averted by the intervention of the French king , John II . In the later half of the decade campaigning in France resumed . After a chevauchée in Normandy in 1356 and the siege of Rennes in 1358 , Lancaster participated in the last great offensive of the first phase of the Hundred Years ' War : the Rheims campaign of 1359 @-@ 60 . Then he was appointed principal negotiator for the Treaty of Brétigny , where the English achieved very favourable terms .
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After returning to England in November 1360 , he fell ill early the next year , and died at Leicester Castle on 23 March . It is likely that the cause of death was the plague , which that year was making a second visitation of England . He was buried in the Church of the Annunciation of Our Lady of the Newarke , Leicester , the church which he had built within the religious and charitable institution founded by his father next to Leicester Castle , and where he had re @-@ buried his father some years previously .
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= = Private life = =
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Lancaster was married to Isabella , daughter of Henry , Lord Beaumont , in 1330 . The two had no sons , but two daughters : Maud and Blanche . While Maud was married to William I , Duke of Bavaria , Blanche married Edward III 's son John of Gaunt . Gaunt ended up inheriting Lancaster 's possessions and ducal title , but it was not until 1377 , when the dying King Edward III was largely incapacitated , that he was able to restore the palatinate rights for the county of Lancaster . When Gaunt 's son Henry of Bolingbroke usurped the crown in 1399 and became Henry IV , the vast Lancaster inheritance , including the Lordship of Bowland , was merged with the crown as the Duchy of Lancaster .
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We know more about Lancaster 's character than of most of his contemporaries through his memoirs , the Livre de seyntz medicines ( Book of the Holy Doctors ) . This book is a highly personal treatise on matters of religion and piety , but it also contains details of historical interest . It , among other things , revealed that Lancaster , at the age of 44 when he wrote the book in 1354 , suffered from gout . The book is primarily a devotional work though ; it is organized around seven wounds which Henry claims to have , representing the seven sins . Lancaster confesses to his sins , explains various real and mythical medical remedies in terms of their theological symbolism , and exhorts the reader to greater morality .
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= = Ancestors = =
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= I Am Unicorn =
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" I Am Unicorn " is the second episode of the third season of the American musical television series Glee , and the forty @-@ sixth overall . The episode was written by series co @-@ creator Ryan Murphy , directed by series co @-@ creator Brad Falchuk , and first aired on September 27 , 2011 on Fox in the United States . It features the return of Shelby Corcoran ( Idina Menzel ) to the show to direct a rival glee club at William McKinley High even while New Directions , the current club , is having trouble recruiting members . Shelby also wants Quinn ( Dianna Agron ) and Puck ( Mark Salling ) , the biological parents of her adopted daughter Beth , to be a part of Beth 's life . The director of New Directions , Will Schuester ( Matthew Morrison ) sets up a " booty camp " for the less capable dancers in the club , and auditions for the school musical , West Side Story , begin .
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The episode received mostly positive reviews , which ranged from okay to fabulous , with approval being given to the resurrection of neglected storylines from the show 's first season . One of these was the adoption of Beth , and critics were especially happy with the scene where Puck meets her , but there was widespread disdain for the explanation behind Shelby 's return , that of starting a rival glee club . There were only three musical numbers in the episode , though all three were given positive notices , with the overall favorite being Blaine 's performance of " Something 's Coming " from West Side Story at the end of the episode . All three songs were released as singles , available for download , and " Somewhere " , sung as a duet by Menzel and Lea Michele , charted on the Billboard Hot 100 . It did not chart on the Canadian Hot 100 . Upon its initial airing , this episode was viewed by 8 @.@ 60 million American viewers and garnered a 3 @.@ 7 / 10 Nielsen rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic . The total viewership and ratings for this episode were down from the previous week 's season opener , " The Purple Piano Project " .
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= = Plot = =
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Glee club director Will Schuester ( Matthew Morrison ) institutes a " booty camp " to hone the dancing skills of New Directions members Finn ( Cory Monteith ) , Mercedes ( Amber Riley ) , Puck ( Mark Salling ) , Kurt ( Chris Colfer ) and Blaine ( Darren Criss ) , and has Mike ( Harry Shum Jr . ) instruct them . As he is too busy to direct the upcoming school musical West Side Story , guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury ( Jayma Mays ) , football coach Shannon Beiste ( Dot @-@ Marie Jones ) and New Directions member Artie Abrams ( Kevin McHale ) take charge of it .
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Rachel ( Lea Michele ) and Kurt audition , respectively , for the lead roles of Maria and Tony ; she performs " Somewhere " from the show , and he performs " I 'm the Greatest Star " from Funny Girl . Kurt later eavesdrops on the directors and hears them question whether he is masculine enough for the role . He re @-@ auditions and attempts to give a more masculine performance , but they are unable to suppress laughter at his acting . Kurt is also running for class president , and accepts campaign help from Brittany ( Heather Morris ) , who wants to highlight his unique character by comparing him to a unicorn . Kurt feels her proposed campaign materials highlight only his gay side , and is upset when she goes against his wishes and posts them anyway . He discusses his image problem with his father , Burt ( Mike O 'Malley ) , who recommends that he embrace his uniqueness . Kurt later changes his mind about his campaign 's approach and apologizes to Brittany , but is surprised to learn that she too has decided to run for class president .
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Shelby Corcoran ( Idina Menzel ) — Rachel 's biological mother , the adoptive mother of Quinn ( Dianna Agron ) and Puck 's daughter Beth , and the former coach of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline — is headhunted to coach a second glee club at McKinley High financed by Sugar Motta 's ( Vanessa Lengies ) wealthy and doting father . Shelby reaches out to Rachel , Puck and Quinn . She lets Puck see Beth , but rejects Quinn 's desire to do likewise due to Quinn 's bad @-@ girl attitude , appearance and behavior . Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester ( Jane Lynch ) , who is running for Congress , convinces Quinn to feature in an anti @-@ arts video for her campaign . In it , Quinn confronts Will and blames him for her transformation into a bad girl , but Will reprimands her , reminds her of how the glee club and its members have always supported her in the past and tells her to grow up . After seeing a picture of a happy Beth and Puck , Quinn breaks down . She resumes her normal appearance , and Will and the New Directions welcome her back into the club . Puck tells Quinn he is proud of her , but Quinn reveals she is only pretending to behave in order to take Beth back from Shelby , and intends to pursue full custody .
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To avoid competing with Kurt , Blaine auditions for a supporting role with a rendition of " Something 's Coming " , one of Tony 's songs from the show . The directors are impressed , and ask if he will read for the part of Tony instead . Kurt , who was watching from above , silently walks out of the auditorium .
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= = Production = =
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The episode was written by series co @-@ creator Ryan Murphy , directed by series co @-@ creator Brad Falchuk , and was filmed in five days , from August 22 , 2011 through August 26 , 2011 . Broadway star Idina Menzel returns for the first time since the first season finale " Journey to Regionals " , when her character , Shelby Corcoran , adopted Quinn 's newborn baby , named Beth . On July 15 , 2011 , it was announced that Menzel would be returning to Glee in the third season " for a major arc that could span as many as 10 @-@ 12 episodes " . Series co @-@ creator Ryan Murphy was quoted as saying , " I 'm really excited [ ... ] that Idina is joining the family again . We missed her last year and we 're happy that she is coming back . " The article also noted that her character , Shelby , would be " returning from New York to Ohio to join William McKinley High School as a new teacher " . Menzel herself said that she would " be back and forth in Glee all throughout the season " , which she was " very excited about " . Shelby 's adopted daughter is also appearing : Menzel tweeted that she was " shooting scenes with babies " . The drawing of the " Clown Pig " that Puck brings for Beth was actually drawn by Falchuk and Agron .
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Recurring guest stars appearing in the episode include Principal Figgins ( Iqbal Theba ) , Coach Beiste ( Jones ) , cheerleader Becky Jackson ( Lauren Potter ) , student Sugar Motta ( Lengies ) and Menzel as Shelby . Second season series regular Mike O 'Malley , who plays Burt Hummel and also appears in the episode , is listed in the Fox press release as a guest star for this episode and receives a like credit in the episode itself .
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Three singles were released from the episode : " I 'm the Greatest Star " from Funny Girl sung by Colfer , and covers of " Something 's Coming " and " Somewhere " from West Side Story — the former sung by Criss , and the latter a duet between Michele and Menzel .
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= = Reception = =
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= = = Ratings = = =
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" I Am Unicorn " was first broadcast on September 27 , 2011 in the United States on Fox . It garnered a 3 @.@ 7 / 10 Nielsen rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic , and received 8 @.@ 60 million American viewers during its initial airing . It was beaten for the second week in a row in its timeslot by NCIS on CBS , which earned a 4 @.@ 2 / 12 rating / share in the 18 – 49 demographic , and also by the second episode of New Girl , which follows Glee on Fox , and brought in a 4 @.@ 5 / 11 rating / share and 9 @.@ 28 million viewers . The Glee numbers were down from the previous week 's season opener , " The Purple Piano Project " , which netted a 4 @.@ 0 / 11 rating / share and 9 @.@ 21 million viewers .
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In the United Kingdom , " I Am Unicorn " was watched on Sky1 by 995 @,@ 000 viewers , down 177 @,@ 000 from the season premiere the previous week . In Australia , the episode drew 729 @,@ 000 viewers , which made Glee the fifteenth most @-@ watched program of the night , down from the season premiere 's twelfth most @-@ watched program of the night and 760 @,@ 000 viewers in the previous week . In Canada , 1 @.@ 50 million viewers watched the episode , and it was the eighteenth most @-@ viewed show of the week , down eight slots and 28 % from the 2 @.@ 10 million who watched " The Purple Piano Project " .
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= = = Critical reception = = =
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Reviewers generally received this episode positively , though some , like IGN 's Robert Canning , thought it was merely " okay " ; he gave it a score of 6 @.@ 5 out of 10 , and Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times said she " felt vaguely underwhelmed " and that the episode " lacked emotional resonance " . In contrast , The A.V. Club 's Todd VanDerWerff gave the episode a " B " , and called it " a marked improvement over the season premiere " , and complimented the way it " gave nearly all of the storylines an emotional core " . Anthony Benigno of The Faster Times characterized it as " one of the tightest , best @-@ made , most well @-@ acted , and entertaining hours " from Glee in a very long time , and BuddyTV 's John Kubicek said that it was " quintessential Glee " and that " the show is once again a magical , fabulous unicorn . " Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle was " charmed " , " moved " , and " excited for what 's to come . "
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The reappearance of storylines left dangling at the end of the first season was noted with approval by Samantha Urban of The Dallas Morning News and VanDerWerff , who both mentioned not only the big one about Quinn and Puck and baby Beth but also Artie 's love of directing , and variously added Rachel and Shelby , and movement on the Will and Emma relationship . The fact that Shelby had been hired to form a second glee club at McKinley , however , was greeted with derision by both reviewers — Urban called it " mind @-@ bogglingly idiotic " — and others as well . Reiter found the idea incomprehensible , and Vanity Fair 's Brett Berk wrote , " Given Will 's ongoing struggles to fill his own crooning baker 's dozen , this is about as realistic a plan as Michele Bachmann starting a rival chapter of PFLAG at Liberty University . " Vicki Hyman of The Star @-@ Ledger characterized the notion of " Shelby deciding to give up a burgeoning Broadway career because she was missing her daughter grow up " to take a part @-@ time job in Lima as " ridiculous " , and the whole scenario as " more than a little bizarre " .
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The effect of Shelby 's advent on Puck evoked the most praise . Benigno called the segment where Puck meets Beth " the best scene of this very young season " , The Hollywood Reporter 's Lesley Goldberg said it was a " top moment " , and Abby West of Entertainment Weekly dubbed it " the sweetest scene of the night " . VanDerWerff also called it " very sweet " and expressed hope that " the show will come up with something for him to do after mostly relegating him to weird comic relief last season . " The effect of her return on Quinn was greeted with less enthusiasm . Reiter was " not thrilled " by the possibility of a custody battle between Quinn and Shelby and called Quinn 's plan " half @-@ baked " , and Canning dismissed it as " clichéd drama " . Kubicek expressed interest in seeing " where this goes " , and VanDerWerff noted that Quinn has been " grieving giving up her child all this time and she didn 't even know it " , and characterized it as a " fairly powerful storyline " .
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Critics were divided on Kurt 's storyline as he faced being perceived primarily as gay both when auditioning and when running for class president . VanDerWerff said it was " the most consistent " storyline , and Canning called it " the most familiar story " , but also described Kurt as " by far the most interesting and most layered " character , his stories " delivering the most emotional connections " , and this episode 's installments " entertaining territory " . Kubicek stated that there were " tons " of wonderful " Kurt moments " in the episode . Benigno called Kurt learning to embrace his gayness yet again on the show " kind of awkward " , and Hyman asked " Was this Kurt Accepts He 's Special 3 @.@ 0 or 4 @.@ 0 ? I can 't keep track . " Votta summed up Kurt 's audition quandary : " Kurt is fighting typecasting , and while the ninjitsu , fingerless gloves and climbing routine might have been an attempt to butch it up , instead Kurt played right into expectations with the over @-@ the @-@ top Funny Girl piece . " His attempt to rescue the situation by reauditioning via performing a Romeo and Juliet scene with Rachel evoked laughter from the three directors and Rachel herself , but as Votta points out , Kurt was " not actually being bad as Romeo " . Jayma Mays , who plays Emma , one of the directors in that scene , stated in an interview that she thought Kurt was " good " . Kurt finding himself in competition with Blaine was also touched on , but several reviewers were unhappy with the revelation that Blaine was not a senior like Kurt , as had been implied in the previous season . VanDerWerff wrote that Blaine " seems to have simultaneously gotten younger and had a complete personality transplant over the summer " , Votta noted " the continuity @-@ bending plot point that he 's somehow a Junior and not a Senior like his boyfriend " , and Urban allowed her exasperation to show : " Oh really , Glee ? Blaine 's a junior ? Blaine 's younger than Kurt ? Fine . FINE . " MTV 's Jim Cantiello went into rhyme to express his dismay : " It 's hard to keep my bearings straight / And oh , how it makes my heart ache / Kurt and Blaine were gonna move to New York together / But now they 'll have to wait " , referring to a scene in the " New York " episode where Kurt discussed the planned move with Rachel .
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Goldberg was pleased that having Brittany volunteer to run Kurt 's campaign included an acknowledgment that he " went through hell " the previous year , and praised " Brittany logic " in general . Respers France loved that Brittany , in helping Kurt find his magical inner unicorn , was able to find her own . Reiter enjoyed the " delicious dose of Brittany @-@ isms " , which she called " the best part " of the episode , and Kubicek said that there were " tons of wonderful " Brittany moments . For Hyman , the " one sit @-@ up @-@ and @-@ take @-@ notice moment " was the confrontation between Will and Quinn where he told her to grow up . Respers France thought " Sue Sylvester 's attempt to use Quinn against the glee club was hilarious " , but VanDerWerff was unhappy with Quinn being coopted into " Sue ’ s ridiculous run for Congress " . Reiter wrote that it was " hard to muster much sympathy for Quinn " in the episode given the scene with Quinn and The Skanks : " Flushing someone 's head in a public toilet , threatening to cut them , and shaking them down for their lunch money are orders of magnitude more chilling than the face @-@ full @-@ of @-@ slushy bullying we 're used to seeing . "
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= = = Music and performances = = =
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The episode 's musical performances were well received by most reviewers . All three were Broadway songs , two from West Side Story and one from Funny Girl — the concentration on show tunes disappointed Reiter , and Canning felt they were all " too bland " , but others were happy with the selections including Hankinson who said he was " loving the Broadway @-@ bend to these first two episodes " , and added , " all three of tonight 's numbers were hands @-@ down fantastic . "
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The duet of " Somewhere " featuring Rachel and Shelby was generally complimented . Both Benigno and Rae Votta of Billboard compared it favorably to their previous duet , Lady Gaga 's " Poker Face " , from season one . Benigno gave the performance a " B + " , while Michael Slezak of TVLine gave it an " A − " and praised their " powerful , evocative voices " . Rolling Stone 's Erica Futterman was not impressed , and characterized it as " Lite FM snooze that does nothing to showcase these Broadway belters in a new and exciting way " . Amy Lee of The Huffington Post called it " pretty bland " , and said it was " getting annoying " that Rachel " sings every song as if she 's Barbra Streisand " . The Wall Street Journal 's Raymund Flandez , however , called the duet " pitch @-@ perfect " and " so sublime it makes you catch your breath " .
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Kurt 's choice of " I 'm the Greatest Star " to audition for the role of Tony — the one song not from West Side Story — drew comment : Benigno ascribed it to Kurt 's " ability to make a talented ass of himself " , while Slezak was of the opinion that Kurt was " way too savvy , and way too hungry for the role " for that kind of misstep . Despite these plot @-@ related issues , both reviewers gave the performance an " A " , and Benigno noted both that " he nails it " and " last half of the song is a singing clinic . " VanDerWerff was not fond of the reliance on " gimmicky staging " , though Futterman called it " an impressive physical performance " , Votta stated that " Kurt sounds flawless and the performance is captivating " and Flandez complimented his " captivating high notes after high notes " , and added , " He 's a star unicorn , and he knows it . " Lisa Respers France of CNN wrote that Kurt " was amazing singing Streisand , and for the first time I realized that he really is as big a star as Rachel . "
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Blaine 's rendition of " Something 's Coming " was the most enthusiastically welcomed . It was the favorite number of Lee , VanDerWerff and Futterman ; Lee said it was " the best song " , and added , " he 's kinetic , impassioned and generally delightful as Blaine @-@ playing @-@ Tony . " VanDerWerff was even more complimentary with " by far the best performance " , and Futterman called it " the winning musical number of the episode " . Both Slezak and Benigno gave it a " B + " , and the former complimented Criss 's " breathless charm and boyish enthusiasm " , while the latter maintained that the actor is " at his best when he 's doing goofy pop numbers with kind of an off @-@ beat twist " . West gave the song an " A − " , and said " Blaine just knows how to own the stage and your TV screen " , while both Votta and Respers France wrote that he was the " perfect Tony " .
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= = = Chart history = = =
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One of the three cover versions released as singles debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 , and none charted on the Canadian Hot 100 or in England or Australia . The duet version of " Somewhere " appeared at number seventy @-@ five , the fourth time the song charted in the Hot 100 . By contrast , " Something 's Coming " , the episode 's other song from West Side Story , has never appeared in the Hot 100 , and failed to chart there again .
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= Galentine 's Day =
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