Glee - The First Time

Network: Fox
Time: Tuesdays, 8:00-9:00pm
Cast: Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison, Jane Lynch, Amber Riley, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz, Dianna Agron, Mark Salling, Darren Criss, Harry Shum Jr., Naya Rivera, Heather Morris, Jayma Mays, Dot Marie Jones

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary (from imdb.com): Under Artie's directorial leadership, the kids prepare to perform the school musical "West Side Story." Meanwhile, Finn meets with a recruiter and Coach Beiste has an admirer.

Review: It's possible my expectations for this show are too high, but I find myself more and more disappointed by Glee, this episode in particular. I'd heard through the grapevine that this was one of the best episodes of the season, if not the show. Yet to me, everything seemed to fall flat. That's not to say there weren't moments I enjoyed; there were actually a lot of little things I liked. But the biggest parts just left me wanting.

Obviously, the biggest part of this episode was Rachel and Blaine (and Kurt) losing their virginity (virginities?). Ironically, I think this means the only virgins left at McKinley High are both teachers (Emma and Beiste). In typical Glee style, there's been very little up to this point to imply that either of these couples is even considering this step, but the entire episode focused on it anyway. From Artie calling Rachel and Blaine out during rehearsal (hi, teachers, you don't want to step in here?) to both of their failed attempts at seducing their boyfriends to the eventual doing of the deed, nothing about this storyline made me root for either of them. Everything felt awkward. I suppose that's realistic enough, but frankly, Glee has never been known for its realism, so why start there? In fact, the only part I liked was Kurt pushing drunk Blaine away and sticking up for himself.

Side note: The person responsible for dressing Blaine should be fired. And possibly stoned. Seriously, did they run out of material for his pants so they have to stop four inches above his ankles?

Each couple had their own story, which was supposed to somehow tie into the sex. For Kurt and Blaine, it was the introduction of Sebastian the Wonder Warbler (yeah, I giggled over that for a few minutes). Sebastian is essentially Blaine's replacement at Dalton, though they apparently got rid of the soloist angle and are now featuring multiple singers. He's also gay and very interested in Blaine. So much so that Kurt feels threatened. This story, also in typical Glee fashion, is promptly wrapped up by the end. Blaine isn't interested in Sebastian. He loves Kurt. Blaine and Kurt have sex. All is right in the world.

Even the scene in the gay bar did nothing for me, except that it marked the return of the new and improved (I think) Karofsky. While I found it mildly amusing that he was talking about surviving high school while sucking down a beer, I did like the softer side of him. He managed to be vulnerable without being neutered at the same time. And the conversation between him and Kurt showed how both of them have matured since last season nicely.

I did, however, like the Warblers' version of "Uptown Girl." I miss the Warblers.

For Finn and Rachel, they focused much more on the idea that Rachel felt like she couldn't act like a girl experiencing a sexual awakening if she'd never had sex. So first she tried to seduce Finn on her own. And, of course, nothing is sexier than honesty, so she told him the only reason she wanted to do this now was so she could be ready for the play. Finn experienced what I believe to be his first normal emotion of the season: hurt.

Finn also had his own issues. He was trying to get the recruiter from the Ohio State University to notice him on the football field, so he could achieve his own dream of playing quarterback for them. Alas, it was not to be. Then Finn had what I believe was his best moment of the series, where he melted down about his future in front of Rachel. This could have been a wonderful moment. Instead, Rachel decided the best way to deal with his problems and feelings of insecurity were to sleep with him. Sure, in the short term this might work, but I do hope Glee plans to revisit this issue. It'd be nice for Finn to have a story that doesn't revolve around him being a jerk to someone then feeling bad about it for a change.

This ties in nicely with my favorite story of the night: Beiste gets a man. There was absolutely nothing about this arc that I didn't like (except for Artie being involved). Beiste was adorable in her cluelessness. Cooter was wonderfully sweet while trying to win her over. And the look on Beiste's face when he finally got through to her was heartbreaking. Any girl who's ever felt insecure about herself melted just a little there.

Overall, I was not terribly impressed by this episode, despite having heard good things about it in advance. I'm getting tired of the way each episode seems to be disconnected from the others. Characters do one thing in today's episode, then have a completely different personality and friends next week (except, somehow, elections for class president will drag on halfway to Christmas). Even the music was only mediocre this week, with the West Side Story theme, though I did like the cuts between the music and the story that was going on elsewhere. I also loved Mike Chang. I don't know what I want Glee to do to engage me in the episodes again, but they need to do something soon, or they'll be in danger of losing my attention completely.

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Line:
Puck: As for the condoms — no idea, never used ‘em. It’s worked out for me about 99% of the time.

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