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The episode features the introduction of Emma Pillsbury's (Jayma Mays) and Mike Chang's (Harry Shum Jr.) parents, and the final auditions for the McKinley High production of West Side Story, in which the competition between Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) and Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) leads the former to quit New Directions.

Brittany's (Heather Morris) "Run the World (Girls)" performance was hailed, and the entire Mike Chang storyline, especially his rendition of "Cool" and his initial solo dance sequence, also received favorable notice.

Mike begs for one more chance and promises to meet with a tutor, but later decides to follow his dreams and auditions for the role of Riff in West Side Story, performing "Cool".

To promote her candidacy for senior class president, Brittany (Heather Morris) sings a rousing song of female empowerment—"Run the World (Girls)"—at an impromptu assembly, with the help of the Cheerios and Santana (Naya Rivera), who has rejoined New Directions unbeknownst to cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch).

Mercedes (Amber Riley), supported by her boyfriend Shane (LaMarcus Tinker), auditions for the role of Maria and impresses the directors—Emma, Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) and Artie (Kevin McHale)—with her rendition of "Spotlight".

She withdraws from contention, which leaves Rachel as the sole Maria, and volunteers to join Shelby Corcoran's (Idina Menzel) new glee club.

The cast list is posted, with Rachel as Maria, Blaine as Tony, Santana as Anita, Mike as Riff, Puck as Bernardo, and Kurt as Officer Krupke.

Both Most and Mahaffey were so funny during the shooting of their sequence that she had to apologize for causing a portion to have to be reshot, telling them, "I'm so sorry, the back of my shoulders were shaking because I was laughing so hard.

"[4] Mike's parents, who may become recurring characters, are Tamlyn Tomita in the role of Julia Chang, and Keong Sim as Mike Chang, Sr.[5] Recurring guest stars appearing in the episode include Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba), football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones), student Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink), teacher Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel)[6] and football players Shane Tinsley (LaMarcus Tinker) and Azimio (James Earl).

[14] It was second for the third week in a row in its timeslot to NCIS on CBS, which earned a 4.2/12 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, and also by the third episode of New Girl, which follows Glee on Fox, and brought in a 4.3/11 rating/share and 8.65 million viewers.

The Atlantic's Kevin Fallon called it Glee's "best ever", while others, including Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone and Abby West of Entertainment Weekly said it was the best one of the new third season.

[21][22][23] Vanity Fair's Brett Berk wrote, "This week's episode stands out as one of the most cohesive and well acted in the series's pantheon", though he wondered what had happened to the show's humorous side, something also noted by Futterman, who found it to be a significant problem: "Glee's own identity crisis of not knowing whether or not it's a sitcom has made it hard to get deeply invested in its characters.

"[22][24] Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times wrote that "the producers hit every note (emotional, musical, character, plot) as squarely as Rachel Berry auditioning for a coveted role", and the episode "had emotional truth, character growth, new revelations and really good musical numbers: the kind that seem to emerge organically from the plot and deepen and advance it.

Although he praised "fantastic performances by Harry Shum as Mike Chang and Jayma Mays as Emma", Anthony Benigno of The Faster Times criticized the "hackneyed storytelling that moves nobody forward", and IGN's Robert Canning noted that the show's "inconsistent character development" was on display, though he gave the episode his best grade so far in the season, a "great" 8 out of 10.

[26] Nearly as many expressed the hope that Mercedes was not pregnant given her nausea in the first "booty camp" scene, including Vicki Hyman of The Star-Ledger, BuddyTV's John Kubicek, and West.

"[32] Canning agreed, and wrote: "Schue's tough love with Mercedes came out of left field", and felt it added to the "inconsistency of these characters", even though "it ultimately made sense" in the context of setup for "It's All Over".

West said Shum "really showed his acting chops", and Urban thought the "plot worked well", though she heaped scorn on the notion that "any college would consider glee club a detriment" in an application.

[30] Lesley Goldberg of The Hollywood Reporter lauded the subsequent scene in the studio with his mother as the "most touching part" of the storyline, and more than one reviewer admitted shedding tears, including Reiter.

[25][35] Poniewozik stated that the Will and Emma storyline "again shows how Glee handles adults much worse than teens", and added, "there's no reason this couldn't have been a rewarding plot".

[33] Hyman called it a "bizarre subplot", and Berk stated that the "patent absurdity" of the "ginger eugenics" of Emma's parents "felt out of whack, tonally, with the rest of the episode".

It was the most adrenaline-pumping musical number the series has produced: intricately choreographed, expertly shot and edited, perfectly woven into the story, and performed exquisitely by Heather Morris.

"[21] VanDerWerff "enjoyed the ginormous production number built around it quite a bit", and The Wall Street Journal's Raymund Flandez called it a "stellar performance".

"[23][32] In her "Maria-off" with Rachel, Benigno said they "both kill it", characterized it as "easy but fun", and gave it an "A−", as did Slezak and West, the latter of whom "didn't feel that Mercedes was the clear winner" but thought both singers were "fantastic".

[22] Votta characterized it as "a flawless fantasy homage" and stated, "It's the perfect use of the non-realism of "Glee" and the power of musical theater to express a storyline".

[30][31][32] Flandez said Mike's singing "wasn't so terrible", but while Lee said his is "not, by any means, a wonderful voice" she also said "he still pirouettes with the kind of easy grace that makes each move a joy to watch.

"[36][37] Futterman wrote, "He's got the smooth dance moves down ... but, most impressively, his slick vocals are on point, hitting nice rises and falls at certain moments but mostly staying 'real cool', as the song calls for", and Berk gave the performance five of five stars.