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Like "A Midsummer Night's Dream"...For Better or Worse.
There's been quite a bit of truly justified criticism of "Glee"'s second season. I myself had to force myself to wait a few weeks after the airing of the "New York" finale to actually try to write a coherent review on this sophomore season. Bearing that in mind, let's take the route of this season's first episode and recap what was the first season of "Glee":

"Glee" tells the story of a tiny, bullied glee club (a show choir where the participants sing and dance to either pop or showtunes or both without actually performing a musical) and how both the power of music and a kind mentor who believes in them helps twelve misfits forge a family and strive to share how special they are with the world, no matter how much is stacked against them. Although it sounds like a strangely cheesy premise and an unlikely TV show, "Glee"'s madcap formula, amazing music performances, terrific acting, intriguing characters, and potently quotable one-line zingers launched it into the...

Teenage Dream
WOW! Such a sensitive and timely representation of bullying and high school homosexuality goes way above my already very high expectations for this show. And the substance goes down smoothly when coated with musical numbers that make you want to get out of your seat to dance and sing along! I smell Emmy for Chris Colfer this season. Darren Criss (I think that's his name) absolutely lights up the screen as Kurt's new gay friend, and I predict this show will really be a springboard for him. I can't believe that FOX, the station with one of the most conservative news teams on TV, aired a program in which two men kissed! Why couldn't we have had television like this when I was growing up?!

Inspirational
Season 2 of Glee has earned a lot of heat, to say the least. Meandering plot lines, 'in your face' storytelling,characters being forgotten about. And yes, some of these things hold true. I am still patiently waiting for Tina to make a reappearance as a functioning human being. Yet, for all these criticisms, I believe the season 2 surpassed season 1, for a variety of reasons, some of these reasons being why the show was critiqued as well.
First, season 2 had some of the most fantastic songs ever featured on the show. From Quinn and Rachel's "I Feel Pretty/Unpretty" duet to Kurt's absolutely heart-breaking "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" to Santana's "Songbird", the original cast stepped up to the plate and delivered their best performances to date. And then we have new cast members adding to the mix...you guessed it...the incredible Darren Criss in his portrayal as Blaine and the astounding Warblers! Who can forget "Teenage Dream", and how it swept us all of our feet? To sum it up, the...

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