The Rocky Horror Glee Show "Slant Magazine" called it a "travesty" and criticized "the arms-length treatment of the Frank N. Furter character", and Amy Reiter of the "Los Angeles Times" deemed the episode flawed through its sanitization, despite initially having found the two shows "a particularly promising match". "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" received several favorable comparisons to previous themed episodes; Erica Futterman of "Rolling Stone" deemed it the best yet. Both "Entertainment Weekly" Tim Stack and Jarett Wieselman of the "New York Post" preferred it to the Britney Spears tribute episode "Britney/Brittany"; Wieselman hailed it as a "run-away success" that would satisfy "Rocky Horror"
The Rocky Horror Glee Show fans without being a "homage for homage's sake" like the Spears episode, and Stack felt that "Rocky Horror" was a "perfect fit" for "Glee", due to thematic similarities between the two. While previous "Glee" tributes attracted criticism for their focus on musical numbers to the detriment of plot, Jenna Mullins of "E! Online" and CBS News Jessica Derschowitz appreciated that "The Rocky Horror Glee Show" was more story-driven. Critics generally disliked the focus the episode placed on the adult characters, with many objecting to Will's characterisation. VanDerWerff wrote that his storyline with Emma "misplac[ed] what made either of the characters