Born This Way (Glee)

"Born This Way"
Glee episode
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 18
Directed by	Alfonso Gomez-Rejon
Written by	Brad Falchuk
Featured music	"I Feel Pretty / Unpretty" "I've Gotta Be Me" "Somewhere Only We Know" "As If We Never Said Goodbye" "Barbra Streisand" "Born This Way"
Production code	2ARC18
Original air date	April 26, 2011 (2011-04-26)
Running time	56 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins Daniel Roebuck as Paul Karofsky George Wyner as the plastic surgeon Kathleen Quinlan as Dr. Shane Harry Shum, Jr. as Mike Chang Chord Overstreet as Sam Evans Darren Criss as Blaine Anderson Ashley Fink as Lauren Zizes Max Adler as Dave Karofsky James Earl as Azimio Telly Leung as Wes
Episode chronology
← Previous "A Night of Neglect" Next → "Rumours"
List of Glee episodes

"Born This Way" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the fortieth episode overall. It originally aired on Fox in the United States on April 26, 2011. The episode was written by Brad Falchuk and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, and is a tribute to Lady Gaga, the second such tribute to the artist in the show's history; the first one was "Theatricality". Most of the major plots of the episode center on the topic of homosexuality, as Kurt (Chris Colfer) lays the groundwork for his longtime bully Dave Karofsky (Max Adler) to come to terms with his sexuality, and Santana (Naya Rivera) plots to run for school prom queen in the hopes of winning her love interest Brittany (Heather Morris) from Artie (Kevin McHale).

"Born This Way" attracted mostly positive reception from most critics of the show, as many felt that it was one of the better episodes of the season. However, the episode came under scrutiny by several conservative media critics who criticized the show's depiction of homosexuality. This episode featured cover versions of seven songs, including a cover of "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga. Other musical works featured in the episode include cover versions of the Keane song "Somewhere Only We Know" and "I've Gotta Be Me" from the 1968 Broadway production Golden Rainbow. The musical covers and performances were met with generally positive reception from critics, with several noting that it contained the best musical selection in a while. With the exception of "Barbra Streisand", all cover versions were released as singles available for digital download.

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