Critical response
"Rumours" was met with mixed to favorable reviews from the critics, though many of the latter listed significant caveats. Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "the episode had its moments that made lovin' Glee fun". MTV's Aly Semigran said "It wasn't a perfect episode, but it was certainly an improvement over the last few". Lisa Respers France of CNN "had a whole ball of tissue" in her hand by the time the cast sang the "Don't Stop" finale, and concluded, "Well played, Glee."
Time's James Poniewozik said "while 'Rumours' had its flaws ... the structure allowed the show to serve the stories, rather than feeling like the stories were there to service the songs", and particularly praised how "the songs were integrated into the drama". Semigran and Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone concurred with the latter point, and Futterman wrote that "despite a forced theme premise, the songs of Rumours fit the New Directions' drama in an organic way." The Atlantic's Kevin Fallon called the episode's focus on the Fleetwood Mac songs "a refreshing change of pace". Robert Canning of IGN liked the album concept, but felt it "didn't fully deliver". He gave "Rumours" a "good" rating of 7 out of 10, and wrote, "What made the episode at least mildly entertaining were the comedy bits. Brittany's 'Fondue For Two' segments were fantastic". Most other reviewers were similarly smitten with the "Fondue for Two" segments, including the aforementioned Reiter, Poniewozik, Semigran, and Respers France.
Futterman praised the return of Chenoweth's character April Rhodes, and The Wall Street Journal's Raymund Flandez said that she "brings such lightness, humor and zaniness that's endearingly button-nose cute". Fallon wrote, "Chenoweth's every sly smirk, eyebrow tick, and note sung—well, that was my week's highlight." Reiter was unenthusiastic: she acknowledged "Chenoweth's amazing pipes", but added "her character, which was thin to start with, has kind of worn out its welcome". The subplot of Will thinking about going to Broadway with April was roundly criticized: both Meghan Brown of The Atlantic and Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle said there was no tension at all because the viewer knows that he will stay. The A.V. Club's Zack Handlen called the entire scenario "ludicrous", made even more so by the highly compressed time frame, and their dress rehearsal "bizarre", criticisms echoed by Brown.
Sue's scenes were generally not well-liked. Although Canning wrote that the newspaper "delivered on the laughs", Entertainment Weekly's Sandra Gonzalez characterized the newspaper subplot was "neither important nor substantive" and was unimpressed with the "random, frightening costume changes", and Reiter said Sue's storyline was one that "felt as tired as secondhand news". Poniewozik said that the episode "recognized that she is not really a character but a human obstacle", which he suggested was "a better way for the show to use her".
According to Hankinson, "One of the best parts of the episode centered around Brittany and Santana, but I think all the principals—Artie, Finn, Rachel, and Quinn too—did a great job portraying the tension and distrust pervading the team." Anthony Benigno of The Faster Times felt the show was "absurdly preachy" on the matter of rumors, though he said the episode was "decent". The scene in the motel room with Sam, Rachel, Finn and Sam's brother and sister was called "arguably the most affecting scene of the entire episode" by Handlen, and Poniewozik wrote that "Chord Overstreet sold Sam's feeling of loss". Canning felt otherwise: "It may have had a better impact if we cared more about Sam or if Chord Overstreet had delivered more believable tears, but as things were, it was just some ordinary, blah drama."
The developments in the relationship between Brittany and Santana received considerable attention. John Kubicek of BuddyTV thought the plot was pointless, and said it "boiled down to: I'm not ready to come out. I'm ready. Now I'm not again." He added, "If you're going to have Santana question herself, at least show it and don't have it all happen off screen." Both Hankinson and Respers France were impressed by the acting of both Morris and Rivera. Hankinson wrote, "It feels like their relationship is developing organically", while Respers France commended Morris for Brittany's breakup scene with Artie, and Rivera for far surpassing her expectations.
