I've been going back and forth on this new episode of Glee for a number of reasons. One, I think the production of West Side Story within the episode of Glee looked terrible. Not even Santana, who was accurately cast, got away unscathed from that terrible industrial Rent-styled unit set and the direction. Two, Glee is really pushing a vision of high school where everyone loses their virginity. The Abstinence Club in season one was turned into a punchline and no one else in the Glee Club will listen to Quinn when she tells them they should really weigh out the options before going all the way.

So what do we wind up with? Blaine propositions Kurt in the back of a car, gets offended when Kurt says no, so they wind up having make-up sex. Rachel backs down from sleeping with Finn for the second time on this show, then changes her mind when Finn gets really sad. Or she changes her mind when she's told her performance in West Side Story would be better if she wasn't a virgin. Is the message "just do it to make someone else happy" or is the message "do it when you want to?" There's a big difference between the two.

I think it's great that a show on a major network is addressing sexuality in such an open and accessible way. It's not spelling out horrible misinformation like The Secret Life of the American Teenager and, after season one, it hasn't been shaming anyone who decided to have sex in a serious way. Season 2 had the "fantasize about Coach Bieste to kill the urges story," but it was played for comedy, not commentary. Those are huge steps forward in a frank discussion about young people on television.

Here's where I start to get a little confused. What, exactly, is the message this show is going for? Some characters, like Santana, only use sex as a weapon. Others, like Quinn, believe sex is evil and stupid and should be avoided at all costs. Even others, like Tina, think it's great with the right person. And still others, like Rachel, think they have to just give it up to make someone else happy. The spectrum is wide and every approach has been judged harshly throughout the run of the show.

What got me about "The First Time" was the notion that Kurt and Rachel had to do it to make their partner feel better. Both said no, hurt their partner's feelings, and made up for it by doing it later. It was handled so casually, as well. We didn't see the action, but we saw enough to know that this show put makeup sex in a nonjudgmental light for virgins.

The problem with Glee has always been balancing the music with the comedy with the drama. The newest episode was all about the dramatic elements of the story and didn't feature the levity that makes some of the more bizarre proclamations of the show seem right. Are we to take everything that happened seriously? Or do we dismiss it as fancy and hope the show doesn't bring it up again?

Thoughts?