GLEE: “The First Time” – Discuss One of GLEE’s Best and Most “Controversial” Episodes Yet

If you’re one of those people looking for a completely objective review of tonight’s episode of GLEE, then you’ve come to the wrong place.  And no, I’m not going to apologize for getting completely wrapped up in the lives and stories of these fictional characters. Isn’t that what loving television is all about?

For an uneven and often frustrating as GLEE can be, when they deliver an episode like they did tonight with “The First Time”, it almost makes up for train wrecks like last week’s “Pot ‘O Gold”

Let’s just get this out of the way now so we can focus on other business – yes, my favorite television couple had sex tonight (or at least it was implied that they did, but more on that later.) and yes, this was a BIG reason why I enjoyed so much of tonight’s episode. Listen, I’m never going to hate an episode so largely focused on the romantic antics of Kurt and Blaine. But, I also feel the need to tell you that those boys weren’t the only reason I so enjoyed this week’s ep. Much of that credit goes to director Bradley Buecker who artfully directed tonight’s episode.

The creative choices that Buecker made when transitioning between the various storyarcs and the musical moments courtesy of ‘West Side Story’ really moved to push the episode forward. If someone were to tell me that moving forward all GLEE eps would have Bradley Buecker (or Eric Stoltz) at the helm, I was sleep just a bit easier.

Now I’m not going to rehash the whole episode because I’m pretty sure we’ve already covered this ep a lot earlier in the week (see: GLEE Teasers: “The First Time“), so here’s a bit of what worked and what didn’t for me in tonight’s episode.

Let’s talk about sex, baby!

Well, maybe we should talk about love instead.

• For all the ‘sex’ talk leading up to tonight’s episode of GLEE, technically there actually wasn’t any sex shown. Please don’t mistake that as a complaint on my part. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t going to throw my TV out the window if GLEE decided to get a little dirty, but at the end of the day, I found it refreshing that the writers opted to focus on the intimacy of Rachel & Finn and Kurt & Blaine’s first sexual experience, rather than just opting for taking the gratuitous route.

• There will be many others who will more eloquently speak to the true significance of exploring Kurt and Blaine’s loss of virginity but I must say that I thought the most beautiful aspect of showing two gay teens having sex was that they didn’t show two gay teens having sex. They showed to guys, in love with each other, deciding to take the next step in their relationship. Kurt and Blaine are gay. Finn and Rachel are straight. But their love story and loss of virginity were handled equally, with no special treatment. And THAT is what was important to me in the show tonight.

• I had a little bit of a love/hate relationship with the integration of “West Side Story”. I loved every single music number (‘America’ – are you kidding me Santana!) and hated that the school production came and went within the first five episodes. I really hoped that the WSS arc would last until at least the holiday break. I don’t know about you, but I would have loved to see an whole episode devoted entirely to the production.

• I can’t go another moment without recognizing the incredible musical moments that Darren Criss and Lea Michele delivered to us. ‘One Hand, One Heart’, which closed out the episode and provided the soundtrack to one of GLEE most emotional scenes to date was perfection. That song, along with their earlier truncated version of “Tonight” really took my breathe away.  Lea comes from Broadway and Darren’s heading there for his debut in a few short months. More Broadway for both of you!

• The Warblers are back! To know me is to know my love for those Dalton boys, and I truly thought that the GLEE tour this summer was perhaps the last time I would see those blue blazers. So happy to be wrong about that. With Blaine gone, it seems that (gasp) other guys get to sing lead. Their rendition of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl” showcased Warblers Nick, Sebastian and Thad (and yes, I know the Warbler’s names).  Big congrats to Curt Mega who took lead for most of the tune.  I know Blaine said that McKinley is where his heart is, but he has to wonder if he made the right choice in leaving Dalton behind. Especially since he’s had a hard time making friends at McKinley (I’m talking to you, Finn Hudson)

• Sebastian Smythe, welcome! I loved the introduction of Grant Gustin. He played the predatory Sebastian to perfection. No, I don’t want him to ever break up Kurt and Blaine, but my goodness I want him to keep trying. He called Blaine ‘sex on a stick’? Look in the mirror my friend. It’s not everyday that I guy can pull my focus from Darren Criss. Well done. Can’t wait to see more of your soon.

• Rachel and her big mouth. I know that she’s consumed by her need for fame, but I can’t believe she let it slip that she was hoping to have Finn deflower her for the sake of her performance on stage. Rachel, you do annoy the hell out of me sometimes.  Thankfully Finn turned her down. I’ll be honest, it was a bit harder to truly believe her intentions give her original reasons, but in the end I’m glad she felt she was being honest in wanting her first time to be with Finn because she truly loved him. Aw, Finchel.

• It bummed to out to hear that Dave Kurofsky had transferred out of McKinley. I really liked the redemption road he was on at the tail end of last season. Although I don’t think that’s the last we’re going to see of Dave. Or Kurt and Dave. Baby steps. Max Adler, my little bear cub, I need to see more of you.

• As I said in my GLEE piece the other day, I must applaud Dot Marie Jones on her fantastic work as Coach Beiste. Once again the actress’s honest portrayal brought me to the brink of tears. I’m glad she has a man pursuing her. She could use a little kick of self-esteem. Love even more than her new beau is Big John from “Can’t Buy Me Love” (a reference perhaps lost on many of my younger GLEE readers).

• My heart broke a bit for Finn tonight. I guess it was a long shot that he’d end up as QB for the Buckeyes next year, but having his dreams dashed like that. Poor guy. Finn’s going to land on his feet. Rachel was right, he just needs to find new dreams. And those dreams can’t be the ones Rachel has for him. Finn Hudson, don’t think for a second I didn’t see your small smile last week when Burt mentioned one day taking over his business.

• Re-post from last week: On Kurt Hummel’s bucket list: ‘Become CEO of Logo’; ‘Arrive at school in a hot air balloon’; ‘Get into Julliard’; ‘Attend a circuit party on Fire Island’ (Note: I had to look that one up on Wikipedia, and I must say…go Kurt!). And yeah, our boy had a fantasy involving Taylor Lautner. LOVE him! (Kurt, not Taylor)

• The final sex montage. Sigh. So beautifully shot. It was breathtaking.

• I know I’m going to get accused of not showing Rachel and Finn enough love, so I’m going to apologize to you Finchel fans, but I have NO doubt you will do well by your favorite couple by sharing your favorite memories in the comments below. I need your help!It’s not that I don’t love Finchel, I do. But just as you have your favorite TV twosome, I have mine, and I’m a little one-focused right now. So please, I beg of you…please let me just gush about Klaine. Deal?

• So many great Kurt and Blaine moments to choose from, but I’m torn between their first scene together in Blaine’s bedroom and their heartfelt mutual apology on the stage. Blaine talking about masturbation in one and Kurt talking about romance in the other. Yup, sounds about right.
• For those of you not as scarily obsessed with all things GLEE as others (cough cough) of us, know that there were GLEE fans watching the Klaine car scene being filmed for hours. There was talk of lots of making out in that back seat, so expectations were pretty high. Although now I have to wonder if maybe all the in-car flailing they witnessed was just what we saw – hands grabbing in drunken lust and other hands pushing back in protest. (And an advance eye-roll to those who are already calling out Blaine for sexual misconduct. Come one, even the Blaine haters (and there are too many of you for my liking) have to know that despite his tries, he really wouldn’t have pushed Kurt further than he was willing to go.

• Oh and Darren’s “I was just trying to be spontaneous and fun” line – yeah, I know it was supposed to be heavy and emotional, but JESUS Darren, you damn near killed me.

• The chemistry between Darren Criss and Chris Colfer was off the charts in the scene in the auditorium. The actors played the tension an the eventual resolve so bloody well. I think I watched that entire sequence at least 5 times when I first got the screener.

So I think you got the picture. I loved this episode. And I know many of you did too. If you are still breathing, I hope you’ll share your thoughts on the episode, your favorite scenes, etc in the comments below.  Looking forward to continuing on with our talk about “The First Time”

P.S. What I forgot to mention was that one of the best parts of this week’s GLEE hasn’t happened yet. We still have Jim Cantiello’s GLEEcap to look forward to tomorrow on MTV. Can’t wait!

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