‘Glee’ season 4, episode 12 preview: The two sides of Lea Michele’s Rachel Berry

If “Glee’s” new episode “Naked” on Thursday night ends up living up to the hype created by some of the great music videos that are out there right now, we could be in for an instant classic on par with “Asian F,” “Wheels,” or “The Break-Up.” After all, Ryan Murphy is currently giving us one of the coolest Rachel Berry performances that we have ever seen.

Remember when Rachel Berry was all about sweaters and not Michelle Obama-esque bangs? Well, this video for “Torn” features Lea Michele’s character looking back at the person she used to be back at McKinley High, and the person that she is becoming that is driven, but also at times cold a little too full of herself. While it has been subtle at times, it is still clear that she has lost a certain part of herself since first arriving in New York, and winning the winter showcase last year probably did not help her ego at all.

With this performance in mind, the debate for Rachel in this episode could be far more than just whether or not she wants to take her top off for a NYADA play that she is thinking about auditioning for; it could also be whether or not she is ready to say goodbye to the old Rachel that so many friends (and viewers at home) fell in love with in favor of her New York identity.

We love the camera work in this video, the costuming is completely on point in showing off the two sides of Rachel’s personality, and in addition to that Michele does a great job of changing her inflection ever-so-slightly for the two different versions of the same character that she is playing.

Do you love this video more than any Rachel number in recent memory? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and you can check out another stellar video from “Naked” over at the link here.

Photo: Fox