if the balloon pops, the noise makes the angels cry

 Spoilers!

Oh, Glee, I was beginning to wonder when you would come back. When I heard back in June that you would be early September, my hopes were high. In July, when it was announced that you would be pairing up on Wednesdays with So You Think You Can Dance, the perfect partner, my head about burst in anticipation. When in August, however, Variety reported that some of your first episodes were a little shaky and proclaimed you as a "one hit wonder," my heart sank.

And when watching the first 20 minutes or so of the series premiere (the second episode, actually), I started to believe them.


 It took a while for me to actually get involved with this episode, titled "Showmance." The beginning was tiresome. Matthew Morrison, who plays Will, spends a majority of the time trying to show up the students. It seemed oddly out of character, almost annoying me, which is why I was glad that all of the glee club members came to amp it up a bit.

Glee Opening Scene

Now, I understand that a series usually changes after the pilot because it needs to find its footing. I just didn't feel the same giddy excitement I did when it first aired back in May. Jane Lynch (Sue) brought it, naturally, and I do love Jayma May's  neat freak (Emma), but even the music number lagged a bit. Mercedes, played by Amber Riley, is my favorite singer, but she was the only thing that stood out in "Gold Digger." I was about to turn off the TV and start watching Melrose Place until the scene in the bathroom came up. (Spoiler Alert for those who haven't seen it. This review is chock full of them.)

Jayma Mays and Lea Michele

I spit out my drink laughing. I actually freezed the frame over every individual pamphlet, dying at each one. My personal favorite was "Radon: The Silent Killer." As funny as it was, I still felt a little sad during the scene. Here were two women in love with the two men they could never have. In this case, it was Emma (quickly becoming my favorite character) pining for Will, and Rachel, played by Lea Michele, wanting Finn, played by Cory Monteith, to notice her. I could quickly tell that this particular mix of humor/drama was going to be the tone of the series, something I'm particularly glad for.

Rachel had an oddly abrupt personality change in this episode. She became a little more reckless, trying to break the rules as often as she could (because, yes, Justin Timberlake is the perfect example of a multi-talented performer AND entrepeneur). It worked in this case, however. Her choice of "Push It" as the school assembly song, though incredibly offensive, was absolutely hilarious. Her overreaction at the chastity club meeting was unexpected, but did make me pity her a little, even if that wasn't the intended outcome. And her (BIG SPOILER ALERT) small kissing scene in the auditorium with Finn, cut short by his..."little accident" (This isn't High School Musical, folk), was almost depressing.

So yes, for me, Rachel stole the show the entire episode. Even with all of the other great moments, including Quinn's audition, the "immaculate affection", and the ultrasound, she was my favorite part from start to finish. Heck, I don't even like "Take a Bow", but I adored her version. I may just be buying it on iTunes.

Glee in a nutshell is just fun. There are light hearted moments, adult moments, sad moments, and more than a ton of musical numbers, but it's incredibly entertaining. It's the first guilty pleasure I don't feel guilty about (as do 7.3 million viewers who saw the premiere, a pretty promising start). It may not be the best show on TV, but it certainly is one of the most enjoyable.

Grade: A-

Bonus Clips: I highly enjoyed this performance, not just because this is one of my favorite Burt Bacharach songs. Is it just me, or does Dianna Agron (Quinn) have a killer voice that needs to be featured more often? I can't wait for more Cheerios' numbers.

Dianna Agron performing "I Say a Little Prayer"

 Amber Riley is a phenomenal singer. And Matthew Morrison can actually (well, kinda) rap. Odd song choice, but I guess they're trying to be modern with song choices.

Glee Cast performing "Gold Digger"