GLEE RECAP: Episode 5, 'The First Time'

What's going down?

This week's drama kicks off from a rather mediocre rendition of 'Tonight' from Rachel and Blaine in West Side Story rehearsals. Artie stops them in the middle of it, telling him that there's a certain spark missing. The whole musical is about sexual awakening and he just isn't feeling that from them: any wonder when they both still have their v plate?. The mere mention of the word sex sends Bieste and Emma running in the opposite direction, leaving Artie to tell the pair that perhaps they need to mix things up a little in their relationships before the show opens.

Blaine returns to Dalton Academy with some tickets for the Warblers to come and see West Side Story. He finds them in typical Warbler fashion; performing their own spin on 'Uptown Girl' by Billy Joel and despite his absence the group still has the same energy and spark. There's a new lead in town, Sebastian, who seems to have been flung straight from the sets of Gossip Girl and 90210, channelling some seriously bitchy energy. He invites Blaine for coffee to learn a bit more about the Warblers and manages to proposition him in the first few minutes, telling him that he said to his fellow glee clubbers, "I don't know who this Blaine guy is but apparently he's sex on a stick and sings like a dream." Conveniently, Kurt turns up and isn't too happy about their meeting. When Sebastian offers to get the pair fake IDs to go to the gay club Scandals, Blaine is reluctant. However, with Artie's advice to mix it up a little bit in mind, Kurt tells him that they're up for it.

As Rachel and Santana perform 'A Boy Like That', the scene is intercut by Rachel and Blaine's dilemma as to whether to take the next step with Finn and Kurt. As luck would have it for Rachel, Finn has a free house, as his mum and Bert are out campaigning. Things start to get hot and heavy between the two but Finn is concerned as to whether this is really what Rachel wants: 'Last time we talked about it, you said you wanted to wait until you had a Tony.' All is going well until Rachel manages to put her foot in it, when she lets slip that losing her virginity will help her acting. Back at school she gathers the rest of the glee girls together to ask their opinions on losing the big v. Most of the girls are adamant that she should wait longer: just look at the mess that Quinn got herself into to. Tina, however, says doing it with Mike, her first love, in the right time and place was simply 'amazing'.

Elsewhere, Mike's father shows up at McKinley, having found out that his son is performing in West Side Story, after overhearing his wife on the phone. He tells him that unless he quits the show he will disown him, Mike asserts himself and tells him that he's going to be a professional dancer, not a doctor, and responds saying, 'I guess I don't have a father then'. Ohio State University coach Cooter Menkins has come to the school to scout a new quarter back that will be offered a scholarship. Finn feels that he has a pretty good chance of being picked, telling Rachel that both their dreams are coming true. However, those dreams are shattered as Cooter choses Shane over him, telling Finn that his football career ends at high school. As a nice sideline it turns out that Cooter and Bieste both fancy each other and Artie intervenes to get them on a date, despite Bieste originally being oblivious to his advances.

At Scandals, Blaine ends up a bit worse for wear, and as he dances with Sebastian, Kurt bumps into who else but Karofsky, the guy who made his life a misery at McKinley. Now at a different school, he's accepted his sexuality and has had a much more positive response from his peers. As the night ends Kurt and Blaine go back to the car and when Blaine tries to initiate sex it's clear that Kurt isn't just comfortable and when he tells his boyfriend that it just isn't the right time a fight breaks out between the two of them.

It's opening night of the show and everyone's feeling the nerves, especially Artie, who begins to question his directing decisions. However, we take a moment, as everyone tells him just how brilliantly he's done: ahh, bless. The cast perform the seminal 'America' with Santana as Anita, Puck as Bernardo and Tina as Rosalie. The accents were a bit dodgy but it's one of the slickest dance routines that the show has seen. After the show, Kurt goes to make up with Blaine and Rachel does the same to Finn. We end as Rachel and Blaine, as Tony and Maria, sing 'One Hand One Heart', intercut with scenes of the two couples finally going through with it and having sex. Fair play to the four actors and it comes across as tender and loving.

11 o'clock number

Asides from 'Uptown Girl', which was your typical gleeful Warblers number, the remaining songs came from West Side Story.  'America' was a fantastic group number and 'Tonight' was a little sickly sweet for my liking and for Artie's obviously. I really enjoyed the duet between Rachel and Santana performing 'A Boy Like That' as it suited their voices and characters perfectly. My favourite, however, was the ending duet between Rachel and Blaine of 'One Hand One Heart': sweet and tender, their voices blended incredibly well together.

Quote the week

Brittany: 'I lost my virginity at cheerleading camp, he just climbed into my tent - alien invasion.'

Overall

I was really pleased with the way the Glee team handled this week's theme of first times. When it came down to it the show portrayed teen sex in a much more loving light than some other shows have done. I think the creatives need to intervene and let Schue finally get some action, I mean, come on it's been long enough. There was a distinct lack of adults in this episode; a change I feel was beneficial, allowing a real character focus on the glee clubbers.

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