Glee premiered over a decade ago and ran for over 120 episodes. The show wasn't perfect, and looking back on it, there was certainly a lot of silliness involved, but it was also a game-changer on television. With a diverse main cast, consistent LGBTQIA representation, and of course, the most popular music of the moment, there is a lot to appreciate in the show, even now.
However, not every episode was created equal, and not everything has aged as well since the show went off the air in 2015. Below are the least popular episodes of the show's six-season run.
"Dynamic Duets" - Season 4, Episode 7 - 7.3
Dynamic Duets saw Blaine's old cohort, the Warblers, steal the New Directions' trophy from Nationals. What really brought the episode down was the absurdity of the "Society of Superheroes," a club that saw most Glee club members start investigating the missing trophy.
Really, the problem was that Blaine and Kurt were broken up, and episodes of the show were always most successful when that dynamic duo was taking on the world together, rather than suffering apart. And Kitty was trying to make Marley bulimic, which was a terrible storyline.
"Diva" - Season 4, Episode 13 - 7.3
Rachel is being her self-centered self, Tina is acting out of character, Santana had been away in Louisville, and Kurt wants nothing more than to knock everyone down a peg.
The episode lacked a lot of the joy and teamwork that made the show work really well, and Emma was a bit too involved instead of Mr. Schue. It was a weird dynamic throughout the entire episode, even if the "Diva" sing-along featured some epic costumes, even by Glee standards.
"Puppet Master" - Season 5, Episode 7 - 7.3
Blaine gets controlling as the crew prepares for Nationals and Kurt sets him off by calling him a "Puppet Master." Season five also saw Blaine and Kurt separated, as Kurt was living in New York while Blaine was still in the glee club.
Add to that the fact that the episode also features viewers' favorite characters as actual puppets at a few points and it was just a particularly strange episode, overall. The stakes felt made up rather than necessary, as well. This was not Glee at its best.
"The End Of Twerk" - Season 5, Episode 5 - 7.2
Blaine made a twerking video and - oh, the drama and the embarrassment! Still, Mr. Schue thinks it would be a good idea for everyone in the glee club to twerk. Sue decides it's her new mission to get twerking banned at school and it's not terribly interesting.
Unique continues being bullied (which would have been a more interesting focus for the episode) and Rachel tries to get Kurt to get a tattoo. When the club isn't all together, the narrative can go all over the place.
"Tested" - Season 5, Episode 16 - 7.2
Again, this episode fails because the stakes don't feel real. Blaine, finally in New York with Kurt, is worried about the freshman 15 because he likes cronuts and his confidence suffers because of it. Artie is alone at film school and trying to find his way with all the ladies that now surround him.
Mercedes and Sam, living as roommates in the Big Apple, think about being a couple. The only interaction that carries any real weight in the episode is Mercedes being honest with Sam about being a virgin and not being able to promise him when she will be ready to sleep with him.
"The Back Up Plan" - Season 5, Episode 18 - 7.2
Rachel, now appearing in Funny Girl on Broadway gets a talent agent who insults her looks and tells her she will not have much of a career beyond this one run in musical theater. It's hard to take this seriously or believe it is the most pressing issue in the series, at the moment.
Mercedes and Santana pair up to sing and hopefully help one another find more success in the big city. It's an episode that's a bit all over the place and really has to create problems for some young adults who have been nothing but lucky as they "struggle" outside of their high school environment.
"Sadie Hawkins" - Season 4, Episode 11 - 7.1
The glee club kids at McKinley plan a Sadie Hawkins dance and try to figure out how to ask one another out and the club is prepared to sing at the dance, as well.
Kurt has his eyes on another NYADA student, and Blaine turns down Tina, who asks him to the Sadie Hawkins dance. The storylines try to relate, but they don't. And, again, watching Blaine and Kurt away from one another is a hard pill to swallow.
"A Katy Or A Gaga" - Season 5, Episode 4 - 7.1
Nationals are approaching, as they always seem to be. Mr. Schue splits the kids by who he thinks is more of a Katy Perry and who he thinks is more of a Lady Gaga, and then makes each group try and sing a song from the other's catalog.
Many students, Marley especially, struggle to take on new personas. The stakes are low, but the episode did introduce Adam Lambert as Elliott, a possible addition to Kur's Madonna cover band.
"Lights Out" - Season 4, Episode 20 - 7.0
"Lights out" was very literal in this specific episode. The power fails at McKinley and thus the glee club has to perform acoustic musical numbers.
Sue has been fired and is living the high life as a trainer at a gym. Kurt, Rachel, and Santana all volunteer at the Vogue charity event. The storylines don't really cross and the episode, overall, this episode feels very disjointed.
"Previously Unaired Christmas" - Season 5, Episode 8 - 6.8
The lowest rated Glee episode in six seasons (according to IMDb) was in season five, Previously Unaired Christmas. The show is a flashback episode (supposedly held back by FOX because it had been deemed controversial).
The plot includes a living manger, a Christmas tree contest, and Rachel and Santana getting messed up on alcohol and helium. It was not very festive, very informative, or very entertaining, to say the least.