| "The Rhodes Not Taken" | |
|---|---|
| Glee episode | |
 | |
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
| Directed by | John Scott |
| Written by | Ian Brennan |
| Featured music | "Don't Stop Believin'" "Maybe This Time" "Cabaret" "Alone" "Last Name" "Somebody to Love" |
| Production code | 1ARC04 |
| Original air date | September 30, 2009 |
| Guest appearances | |
| |
"The Rhodes Not Taken" is the fifth episode of the American television series Glee. It premiered on the Fox network on September 30, 2009 and was written by series co-creator Ian Brennan and directed by John Scott. The episode features glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) recruiting former star April Rhodes (Kristin Chenoweth), hoping to improve the club's chances in the wake of Rachel’s (Lea Michele) defection to the school musical. Finn (Cory Monteith) flirts with Rachel in an attempt to convince her to return, and although Rachel is angry when she discovers Finn's girlfriend is pregnant, she ultimately rejoins the club.
Special guest star Kristin Chenoweth played April, and performed on three of the episode's six musical tracks. Studio recordings of four of the songs performed in the episode were released as singles, available for digital download, and two appear on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1.
The episode was watched by 7.32 million U.S. viewers. It received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Chenoweth's appearance and the performance of Queen cover "Somebody to Love" in particular receiving praise. Raymund Flandez for The Wall Street Journal, Mike Hale of the New York Times and Denise Martin for the Los Angeles Times all deemed "Somebody to Love" the show's best musical number since the staging of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" in the pilot episode.