| "Big Brother" | |
|---|---|
| Glee episode | |
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| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Eric Stoltz |
| Written by | Michael Hitchcock |
| Featured music |
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| Production code | 3ARC15 |
| Original air date | April 10, 2012 |
| Guest appearances | |
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"Big Brother" is the fifteenth episode and spring premiere of the third season of the American musical television series Glee, and the fifty-ninth overall. Written by Michael Hitchcock and directed by Eric Stoltz, the episode first aired on Fox in the United States on April 10, 2012. It features the introduction of special guest star Matt Bomer as Blaine Anderson's (Darren Criss) elder brother Cooper, and the revelation of how badly injured Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) had been in the automobile accident that had ended the previous episode, "On My Way".
The episode received mixed to positive reviews, and most critics praised Bomer's performance as the elder Anderson brother. Reviewers were divided in their opinions of how Quinn's storyline played out, though with her in a wheelchair, there were a number of favorable comments about her scenes with Artie, who acted as her wheelchair mentor. Their two songs together were given a mixed response and did not chart; by contrast, "Somebody That I Used to Know", performed by Bomer and Criss, was given an enthusiastic reception, and sold 152,000 digital copies in the US in its first week. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 ahead of the other Bomer and Criss duet, a mashup of "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio". These two songs, along with "Fighter", a Criss solo, charted on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100.
Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 6.76 million American viewers and received a 2.7/8 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The total viewership was down significantly from the winter finale, "On My Way", which had been broadcast seven weeks previously.