Some critics categorically disapprove of love stories on TV. I'm not one of them. Sure, I definitely think a number of shows would be better without their forced romance plots, but if it makes sense for the rest of the story, I say bring it on. Tonight's episode of Glee focused heavily on the many troubled affections of its characters while adding at least a couple more to the mix. Also, I can now cross "listened to 'The Thong Song' within ten minutes of 'Sweet Caroline'" off my list of things I never thought would ever happen to me.

So, first things first: The glee club love triangle (Rachel/Finn/Quinn) has officially become some sort of bizarre polygon that now also includes Puck getting attention from both of the girls. I know it sounds like a square, but that just seems too neat and stable to really work in this situation. Granted, Rachel and Puck's romance came out of left field and kind of happened with an ironic lack of ceremony, but the delivery was so cheeky that I'm willing to let it pass. In short, Puck gets grief from his mother because he's not dating a nice, Jewish girl, so he starts macking on Rachel for her convenient heritage. This naturally complicates things further with the mother of his unborn child, fictional Christian Quinn played by real-life Jew Dianna Agron (confused yet?)

And we finally got to see Jane Lynch perform! She had a swing dancing scene with Will. And why? Well, love of course. The lead anchor at the channel where Sue does her opinion segment asked her out for fondue, so now Sue is literally dancing for joy (and practice) after just one date. Her anchor man wants her to go with him to a swing dancing benefit show, which is good enough for me. We're eight episodes into the first season, Jane Lynch needs to get with the program. Of course, her romance is short-lived and heartbreaking, but it was fun while it lasted.

But the love parade doesn't march on without any speedbumps. After Ken spies Will and Emma having a moment of natural chemistry, he retaliates by making his football players choose between the team and glee club. This only puts more pressure on the kids, who are already dealing with some serious social repercussions for their all-singing, all-dancing extracurriculars. A lot of slushies get thrown around in this episode, which serves as a shorthand for general high school cruelty. Glee is a show about the fringes, both those who have always lived there and those who are moving closer to the edge by desire or circumstance. It seems inevitable that the kids and their teachers will grow closer as they find themselves commonly outcast, but this show has had enough surprising moments of harsh reality that maybe things won't balance out so nicely.

Also, in new performing cast member news, Jayma Mays finally got to sing. All in all, I've noticed the song to not-song ratio on Glee leaning more in favor of music, which thrills me. I've come to look forward to a weekly musical comedy, especially with the emotional core of the show becoming more stable. "Mash-Up" focused on a lot of people coming to some difficult realizations, and while the conclusions they reach aren't terribly unexpected, their journey is affecting and well-acted.

Best Moment: Will and Emma's conversation at the end. "The Thong Song" has never before and shall never again be used as a narrative tool to describe the complexities of human emotion.

Favorite Song: This one is hard. I liked just about everything this week, but for sheer novelty I'll give the rating to Jayma Mays's "I Could Have Danced All Night."

Episode Rating: 4.9/5- It wasn't exactly perfect, but a lot of good stuff happened in this episode. Sue got to have a moment of vulnerability, the kids got a lot deeper and the Will/Emma romance plot was nuanced. I feel justified in loving this show.