Oh Sam, how we've missed you. Chord Overstreet returned to "Glee" for Episode 8, "Hold on to Sixteen," and it was all we hoped for and more. We may never know why Chord left the show in the first place, but it was good to have him back. "Glee" gave Sam a funny Toby Keith tune to perform called "Red Solo Cup," which is sort of a cross between country and beat poetry. You can have a listen on the "Glee" music site here. Sam's always had one of the strongest male voices on the show, so it was a treat to get a solo about Solo from him on his first episode back.One of the sure-to-be-most-talked-about highlights of this "Glee" episode was, of course, Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel (Lea Michele) discovering that Sam's new after-school job was as a stripper named "White Chocolate." Any excuse to show off Sam's abs again, right? This was also just another opportunity for Chord to get harassed by his fellow castmates, and yes, the pic below is of Cory's phone with a blackmail-worthy photo of the blond hottie in his underwear.
Sam's abrupt departure left Mercedes (Amber Riley) without a boyfriend once again, which the "Glee" writers compensated for by just as abruptly finding her a new guy. That slapdash storytelling was one of the weaknesses of an otherwise greatly improved Season 3, so it's been a relief to see Sam reintroduced to Mercedes' love life. His plan is to win back her love after their "summer fling," and it looks like Mercedes isn't too upset about this new development. What girl doesn't want two boyfriends fighting over her?One more bonus of the return of Sam's ruby red lips is, of course, Santana's (Naya Rivera) famed monologues about his "trouty mouth." "Glee" had fun with the snarky cheerleader's obsession with Sam's pout, having her whip out a list of fresh "OMG your mouth is so big" insults she'd been jotting down ever since he left. Sam's good-natured response showed he'd missed Santana's clever jabs as much as we did.
The bad news in all of this is it appears Sam may not be in for the long haul. The early reports on Overstreet's reappearance noted he'd be on "Glee" for a "multi-episode arc." How long Sam sticks around may be contingent upon how well his storyline goes over and what the ratings say about his return. Judging how fans reacted after the first time he left, I would suspect that even if Sam isn't a regular on the show, they'll leave it open enough for him to return for future episodes.
Want to know more about "Glee" episode "Hold on to Sixteen"? Check out: "New Directions and Troubletones: Are Two 'Glee' Clubs Better Than One?"
