Glee Season Premiere: We Watched It! And Now We're Dropping Scoop

Here are five things you need to know about "The New Rachel":

By Jenna Mullins Sep 06, 2012 9:31 PMTags
Glee, Kate Hudson, Lea MicheleAdam Rose/FOX

Welcome back, Gleeks. Season four is one week away, and we just finished watching the premiere episode. But that doesn't sound like something you wanna hear about, right?

Of course you do. Overall, we thought the season-four opener was well-paced, entertaining and a solid beginning to what will surely be a closely watched season of Glee. How did they balance New York and Lima? And which couples broke up and which are still together? Here are five things you need to know about Glee's season premiere, "The New Rachel":

1. Rachel Hates New York: She's in a love-hate relationship with New York City because although she's living her dream at NYADA, her roommate is banging every boy in school and her new dance teacher (Kate Hudson) is a nightmare with a possible drinking problem. There are some bright spots to life in the big apple for Rachel (Lea Michele), one of them happens to be Brody (Dean Geyer), who we get introduced to in a very Finn-like fashion: singing in the shower to a classic '80s song.

2. Kurt Belongs With Rachel: Our dear porcelain is working at the Lima Bean and living vicariously through New Directions, and he's just not happy. But with some encouragement (and singing) from boyfriend Blaine (Darren Criss), Kurt finally decides to make the big move to New York. He gets a sendoff from his dad, Burt (Mike O'Malley), which is a scene that will absolutely make you cry. And then there's another scene right at the end of the episode involving Rachel that'll probably make you tear up as well. Damn you, Glee!

3. You'll Love to Hate Kate Hudson: Cassandra July is as mean as they come. Seriously, we want to see her go head-to-head with Sue Sylvester (who is back to her usual ways, by the way, but with a baby this time around). But Cassandra does show a softer side during the episode, which leads you to believe that there is much, much more to her than just calling Rachel "Mrs. David Schwimmer."

4. New Directions Is Finally Cool at School: How do we know that glee club is finally popular at McKinley High? By none other than Jacob Ben Israel (Josh Sussman), who brings us up to speed with oncscreen interviews with Artie (Kevin McHale), a newly diva'd-out Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Sam (Chord Overstreet) and Blaine. New Directions is even sitting with the popular kids at lunch! And when Will (Matthew Morrison) puts up the sign-up sheet for auditions, there is a mob of kids who want to join glee club! Does the popularity last? All we can say is that things definitely shift by the end of the episode.

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5. The Newbies Will Impress You: The new kids at McKinley High almost feel like they are filing holes that were made when certain Glee cast members left. Unique (Alex Newell) is the new Mercedes, Jake (Jacob Artist) is the new Puck (obviously), Kitty (Becca Tobin) is the new Quinn, and Marley (Melissa Benoist) is, dare we say, the new Rachel? Regardless, they all get their time to shine in the episode and we were very happy with the fresh blood.

Other random tidbits:

  • You will find out the status of Brittana and what happened between Mike (Harry Shum Jr.) and Tina.
  • Prepare to fall in love with yet another parent of a New Direction member.
  • We technically get to see Finn (Cory Monteith) in the premiere, but not in the way you think.
  • Gasp! Jacob Ben Israel cut his hair.
  • "Chasing Pavements" is the perfect number to end the episode, both because of the message and because of the performance.

How does the season premiere sound to you, Gleeks?

Check out the best photos and quotes from the past three seasons of Glee!