This week Glee is exploring teenage sexuality with "The First Time," an episode all about Rachel, Blaine and Kurt contemplating taking a big step in their respective relationships. It doesn't affect Finn that much as you'll remember he gave his virginity to Santana in the Madonna episode.

All of the sex also plays against the opening night of West Side Story. Part of me feels like the show missed a big opportunity to turn this musical into a bigger storyline. Instead, the cast was announced at the end of the third episode and now the production comes in the fifth episode.

To help prepare you for this week's big Glee event, here are five things you should know.

It's Very Dramatic

If, like me, you prefer your Glee to be funny, then you're in for a bad surprise. "The First Time" is arguably one of the most dramatic episodes of the series with almost no funny moments. It's wall-to-wall teen soap opera.

Who's Missing?

In "Pot o' Gold," Santana left New Directions complaining that it was becoming The Rachel and Blaine Show. It turns out she was right. With Rachel, Finn, Blaine and Kurt taking center stage, almost everyone else is reduced to very minor roles. Sue is absent while Will and Mercedes have "blink and you'll miss them" cameos. And most of the cast (Brittany, Quinn, Emma, Puck, Tina, Mike) have just one or two scenes, including a big group number of "America" from West Side Story. There's also absolutely nothing on Shelby, continuing the show's track record of totally ignoring the big, cliffhanger moment from the previous episode.

Meet Sebastian

"The First Time" introduces the new gay Warbler Sebastian (Grant Gustin) and he's clearly a bad dude, as exhibited by the popped collar on his polo shirt. I expected him to challenge Kurt to a skiing race down K-12 to decide who gets Blaine. He's basically the Terminator, only instead of killing Sarah Connor, his singular mission is getting in Blaine's pants.

Dot-Marie Jones Shines

For my money, Jones is the best actor on Glee, and she really gets to shine in this episode. She's great at playing comedy and drama, and her performance is a reminder that she totally should've won the Emmy over Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Cast of West Side Story

Until now we only knew that Rachel, Blaine, Kurt, Mike and Santana were cast in the musical. But with the actual production, we see that Quinn, Tina, Puck and, somehow, Rory are also in the ensemble. Puck (as Bernardo, naturally) sports a pretty awful accent, but compared to Rory, it's amazing.



Glee airs Tuesday at 8pm on FOX.


(Image courtesy of FOX)