The Gleek Critique: "The First Time" Episode

Blaine and Rachel perform as Tony and Maria in McKinley's production of West Side Story.

by Jack Garcia

Artie has gotten a little full of himself as a director and he's been giving pointers to everyone.  And he's kind of overstepping his boundaries.  For example, he's been giving sex advice to Coach Beiste and telling Blaine and Rachel that their scenes together might be more passionate if they weren't both virgins.

Artie finds out that Coach Beiste has a crush on a football recruiter named Cooter (yes, that's really his name) so he does his best to match them up.  Luckily, Cooter likes Beiste too and he finally has the courage to ask her out on a date.  Beiste's insecurities flare up, but Cooter assures her that he really is interested in her.  By the episode's end they are holding hands and it is probably the cutest thing ever.

Meanwhile, Rachel takes Artie's advice to heart and decides to do the deed with Finn.  Finn of course is really excited that Rachel is ready to take that step with him, until he finds out that her true motivation is to gain life experience to improve her acting.  Kind of a mood kill.  And if that news wasn't rough, Finn also finds out that the recruiter isn't interested in him at all.  Looks like he won't be getting a football scholarship.

Things with Blaine and Kurt get complicated when Blaine visits his old school and meets Sebastian.  Sebastian isn't shy about expressing his desire for Blaine, which could mean trouble for Kurt.  The three of them decide to go to a small gay bar called Scandals where Blaine dances the night away with Sebastian.  While sitting at the bar alone, Kurt happens upon Karofsky.  Turns out Karofsky has transferred to another school and is coming to grips with his own homosexuality.

Blaine assures Kurt that Sebastian means nothing to him and the two consummate their love.  Rachel also has the realization that Finn means more to her than anything, and the two of them have sex for the first time as well.  The episode ends on a very tender note for both couples.

The Pros:

• The Warblers!  Oh, how I've missed them and their little uniforms!  Their version of "Uptown Girl" was very fun to watch.
• Sebastian's opinion of Blaine?  "Sex on a stick and sings like a dream."  Agreed.
• I am a fan of Coach Beiste's character and I really like that she has found a love interest.  When Cooter said, "I don't date girls.  Just women.  Beautiful women like you," I almost cried.
• I'm a huge fan of West Side Story so I'm really loving the song choices this season, and tonight was no exception.  Matching "A Boy Like That" with Sebastian's shameful pursuit of a guy in a relationship was very smart in my opinion, and I really thought "One Hand, One Heart" fit perfectly with the much-anticipated love-making scene.
• Speaking of the big sex scene, I'm very grateful that it wasn't raunchy or crude but rather artistic and tasteful.  Good job, Glee.
• There were some good dramatic scenes this episode, including Kurt and Blaine's argument outside of the bar and Finn's realization that his dreams might never come true.  Chris Colfer always does such a good job with his character, and I've been waiting for a big scene from Cory Monteith all season.
• Tina actually had a decent amount of dialogue!  Woohoo!  Her little monologue about her first time with Mike was sweet.
• My favorite song this episode was hands down their performance of "America."  What a great number!

The Cons

• Artie is a pervert!  Why is he going around asking everyone about their sex lives?  Even teachers?
• Sue and Mercedes were absent as was Mr. Schue really...  And speaking of Mr. Schue, when are he and Emma ever going to make love?
• The sentimental background music can be a bit rough.  Let's tone down the sappy piano a bit, shall we?
• This episode didn't talk about the Shelby-Puck kiss at all, and I am dying to know what happens with that!  But luckily for me, the promo for next week's episode shows that it will be explored soon enough!