Throwdown (Glee)

"Throwdown" is the seventh episode of the American television series Glee. The episode premiered on the Fox network on October 14, 2009. It was directed by series creator Ryan Murphy and written by Brad Falchuk. The episode includes a clash between glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) when she is named co-director of the glee club. As Sue tries to divide the club by turning the students against Will, his wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig) blackmails her OB/GYN into colluding with her over her fake pregnancy.

The episode features covers of five songs. Studio recordings of four of the songs performed were released as singles, available for digital download, and were also included on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1. "Throwdown" was watched by 7.65 million US viewers and received mixed reviews from critics. The pregnancy storyline was criticized by both Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly and Shawna Malcom of the Los Angeles Times. Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal was unimpressed by Quinn's solo performance of The Supremes' "You Keep Me Hangin' On", though the group performance of "Keep Holding On" was generally better received by reviewers. Lynch as Sue in particular was widely praised, with Flandez and Zap2it's Liz Pardue both writing that Lynch gave an Emmy-worthy performance.