"The Substitute" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the twenty-ninth episode overall. It was written by Ian Brennan, directed by Ryan Murphy, and premiered on Fox on November 16, 2010. The episode guest stars Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holliday, a substitute teacher who takes the place of glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) while he is ill. Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) causes problems as the fill-in substitute principal of William McKinley High School after she gets Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) infected with the flu, and glee club members Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) experience tension in their friendship. The episode features cover versions of six songs, which received mixed reviews from critics. While the Glee cover of Cee Lo Green's "Forget You" and mash-up of "Singin' in the Rain" with Rihanna's "Umbrella" attracted critical praise and charted both on the Billboard Hot 100 and internationally, the episode's dance-based performances were criticized for their choreography and strict adherence to the original versions. The episode was watched by 11.70 million US viewers, and was the top scripted show among adults aged 18–49 for the week of broadcast. Paltrow's guest appearance attracted positive commentary, but the episode's sub-plots were less well received. Aly Semigran of MTV, Robert Canning of IGN and Entertainment Weekly Tim Stack all deemed the episode one of the best of the season. Time James Poniewozik felt that it was a relatively subdued, mediocre episode, and Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club found it to be an improvement on the previous two episodes, if not genuinely good. The National Alliance on Mental Illness criticized the episode for its depiction of bipolar disorder. Paltrow won the 2011 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance. Plot Cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is appointed acting principal of William McKinley High School after having Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) infected with the flu. Glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is also infected, and takes time off work to recover. He is cared for by his ex-wife Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), which leads to them sleeping together. Glee club co-captain Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) attempts to take over for Will, but this results in chaos. At the request of Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), club lessons are instead covered by substitute teacher Holly