This week's episode of Glee was like the show in microcosm. It had a very far-out premise about which I was initially skeptical, but despite its occasional hiccups it won me over on sheer enthusiasm and showbusiness charm. Beyond that, "The Power of Madonna" was one of the strongest all-cast episodes of the series. It even had a few winking moments when it acknowledged some of the more valid criticisms of the show thus far. And hey, Jane Lynch finally got to sing again. I know it's hard to come up with reasons for Sue Sylvester to break out into song, but it's always welcome when she does.

In fact, the all-Madonna premise of this episode comes from Sue herself. In her opening monologue, Sue explains that she admires Madonna more than anyone. She's a symbol of power, success and a no-nonsense attitude toward all things. Using her blackmail power over Principal Figgins, Sue institutes a policy of playing Madonna's music over the loud speakers at all times during the school day. Honestly, that idea could have very easily turned into a Football Players Dancing To Beyonce moment, but it actually made for some pretty cool sequences. With music from Madonna's many incarnations saturating every inch of the first half of the episode, there was this atmosphere of mounting disorder and absurdity that finally gave way to some very sobering scenes in the episode's back nine.

In the foreground of all the Madonna madness, many of our main characters find themselves dealing with the all-to-real pressures of sex. One thing I've always appreciated about Glee is its willingness to depict high school kids talking more naturally, or at least more frankly, than on most TV shows. Teens may still be anxious about elements of adulthood like sex, but never accuse them of failing to talk a tough game. For various reasons, the kids at William McKinley High (as well as Will and Emma) find themselves facing the question of virginity and the supposedly transformative powers of sex in general. This being a Madonna-centric episode, this naturally culminates in a feverishly edited "Like a Virgin" song sequence that depicts the various couplings on that fateful Friday night.

"Like a Virgin" also serves as the official halfway point of the episode, cutting from the song-dense fantasies of the first half hour to the ice-cold realizations of the surprisingly dim afterglow. Of all the couples involved, only Finn and Santana actually go through with it. Their disenchanted emptiness in that ratty motel was one of the most poignant moments in the entire series.

Amid all this sex and pop music, there are also some lessons about misogyny and equality thrown in for good measure. The script doesn't handle that aspect with nearly as much nuance and some of those conversations start to sound a little to close to After School Special territory for comfort. They're good lessons to teach, but they felt a little shoehorned into what was otherwise a very mature and compelling episode.

Best Moment: Seeing all the Madonna impersonators during "Open Your Heart". It was a loving homage and just a lot of fun in general.

Favorite Song: Though it wasn't the best musical number in the episode (I'd hand that to "Like a Virgin"), the "Vogue" sequence was impressive if only because it was such an uncanny replica of the original music video.

Episode Rating: 4.8/5- Minus the corny moralism and a bit too much auto-tune, "The Power of Madonna" was a success. It dove head-first into its high concept premise and managed to coax some character development out of it, too. Chalk up another strong hour of Glee to writer/director Ryan Murphy.