Okay...personally I loved this episode. Granted it didn't wow me...except for Kate Hudson's performance. That was amazing! I loved how things were different, if one looks back on every season of Glee , there is always something similar from the season before it, but it also brings something new. I think that so far Season Four has done this the best. Who wants to see that same thing over and over again? They brought something new and I approve.

Now...there are some who were bummed or disappointed that more of the returning cast weren't in this episode. Personally, I think that it is a good thing. If they brought literally everyone back in the first episode, it would have killed the story, it would have created major plot holes, and the pacing would have been horrible. Yes, I will be upset the day that Darren Criss leaves the show, but it won't be the end of the world. In fact it will be a good thing, because that means that Darren is off doing bigger and better things.

• Now, I should talk about the new characters...Unique , now who doesn't love her/him? Some say that she is a replacement for Mercedes to give the show some more cultural diversity...I don't agree. Unique is a fabulously written character, and I think a far stronger one than the character of Mercedes ever was. For all those who love Mercedes, I am sorry.
• Then we have Jake Puckerman . Now...maybe it is just because we barely saw him, but I am not fully sold on him yet. Yes he is cute and everything, but his character doesn't seem very...three dimensional. At least not yet. When Noah Puckerman was made, he wasn't that impressive either, neither was Santana and Brittany . Look at them now. So hopefully Little Puck will make surprise us all.
• Kitty ...oh Kitty, Kitty, Kitty...to me she just seems like a clone of Quinn . Yes, she does seem more evil, but no one is ever fully evil, there is always a reason why they are the way they are. To me, she just looks like a Dianna Agron impersonator. For those who adore Dianna Agron, they will love her...but for those who believe that she was an alright character, but one of the weakest female vocals in the show, and who think that she had a few too many plot lines about her and who should have stayed punk (ooh, how I love Punk Quinn!!)...they won't like the character of Kitty much, and think that she is more there to be the bitchy cheerleader. But just like Baby Puck, maybe she will surprise us.
• Ooh Marley !! I love and adore this character!! Not really because of the acting, some of her acting is kind of meh, and her singing on occasion bugs me...but it is the character! I actually had a friend back in high school who went through a very similar situation that Marley did, and I identify. My friend's mother was the new Drama Teacher and she was really heavy. People were horrible to her, to the point that she quit and left the school, taking her daughter with her. I hope that doesn't happen to Marley! She is a great character with even greater potential.
• Now to the land of New York. I will talk about both Cassandra July and Brody Weston here. I adore what Kate Hudson did with the character, she plays uber bitch really well. Not only that, but you can see that she isn't just only a mean horrible person. She is tortured, jaded, and everything that makes a person act horrible to others. Okay, now to talk about Brody Weston, the hot possible love-interest for Rachel . I think he is sweet, sexy, (and I heard his Aussie accent poke through at least once!! Oooh!!!) and he is someone who would normally be perfect for Rachel. However, some of the story line involving him seems too contribed. Maybe that is just me...but the fact that she met him by hearing him singing in the shower...how did we all realize that Finn was awesome? Mr. Schuester heard him singing in the shower. Maybe I am too picky.

So that is what I think of the newer characters. I might have missed one, and that wouldn't be too much of a stretch...but regardless of some of my gripes, I DID like the episode. The singing was great, it made me want to keep watching more, and I can't wait to see some of the alumni class in the future.

There are some other more background characters who didn't show up in this episode, but all I have to say is, it is the first episode of the season, and there is a lot going on. The writers have the difficult task of doing the whole, two places at once, which is difficult to make work. But I think that they did a great job with it.

What do I want to see from future episodes? I want to see Lauren back!! I know I am not the only one. People complain about characters not showing up, well, what about Lauren? We haven't seen her for almost a season!! I love Becky, Figgins, and some others who weren't there...but they can take a break, I wants mah Lauren!! She wasn't the best vocalist, but she got Puck on his knees, begging to be with her. If that isn't awesome, than I don't know what is. Although I am aware that she said that she was leaving the show as of season 4...I just think that there was so much more that they could have done with her. Something else I would like to see from future episodes? I want to hear Puck sing Bon Jovi's Wanted Dead or Alive ...other than that, I am good.

On a side note, I will try to have my own blog-review on the new episodes, hopefully I can keep up with it, and hopefully they will seem objective enough. Take care, and see you all next week.