Written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and directed by co-executive producer Bradley Buecker, it first aired on Fox in the United States on November 8, 2011.
While the advance publicity about the "first time" events drew some pre-broadcast condemnation, many critics were enthusiastic about the fact that a gay couple was being given such a storyline.
Upon its initial airing, this episode was viewed by 6.91 million American viewers, the lowest of the season, and garnered a 3.1/10 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic.
Later, his co-director Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) confesses to him that she is attracted to football recruiter Cooter Menkins (Eric Bruskotter), who is at McKinley to scout potential players for Ohio State, though she is sure he would never consider her.
Afterward, new Warbler Sebastian Smythe (Grant Gustin) makes a play for Blaine, intercut with Santana (Naya Rivera) and Rachel singing "A Boy Like That" from the musical.
[4] Grant Gustin makes his first appearance in this episode, playing a new "major" recurring character, Sebastian Smythe,[5] a "gay Dalton Academy Warbler who sets his sights on Blaine".
"[13][14] Another "major recurring role" debuts in this episode: Eric Bruskotter joins the cast as Cooter Menkins,[15] "a football recruiter who comes scouting for talent at McKinley, but finds he can’t take his eyes off the team’s gruff but big-hearted coach.
"[16] Other recurring guest stars that appear in the episode include football coach Shannon Beiste (Jones), the focus of Cooter's eyes,[17] former prom king Dave Karofsky (Adler),[18] exchange student and new glee club member Rory Flanagan (Damian McGinty),[19] and Mike's parents Julia Chang and Mike Chang, Sr. (Tamlyn Tomita and Sim).
Both articles headlined the sexual theme of the episode, and made prominent mention of the fact that both couples would be "having sex for the first time".
[20][29] Prior to broadcast, Colfer anticipated that the episode's sexual themes and content would prove controversial among television watchdog groups.
"[30] Before the episode aired, the conservative Parents Television Council called the show "reprehensible" and the Fox network reckless for "celebrating teen sex".
[33] Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal said it had "tasteful restraint, subtle playfulness and smoothly woven storylines", and The Atlantic's Kevin Fallon said the episode "treats its characters realistically and send an important message".
[36] Rolling Stone's Erica Futterman wrote that it was "clinical and awkward", and the "second flatline" episode in a row, though she complimented the four actors playing the two couples as "genuine and relatable".
[38] Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the episode was "far more nuanced, gentle-hearted and romantic than it sounds—much more about love than about sex", and a number of reviewers agreed, including AOLTV's Crystal Bell.
[40][41][44] The Star-Ledger's Vicki Hyman felt her decision to go all the way did not "ring quite true", and Poniewozik called it "essentially pity sex".
[33][45] Ausiello had a different view—"I would hardly call it pity sex"—and West said she was "going to choose to believe" that Rachel did not have her first time "just to make him feel better".
The scene where he advised Rachel and Blaine to have sex was viewed by Poniewozik as "a forced conflict designed to drive the plot" and highly implausible for a number of reasons.
[38] However, Votta gave "kudos to Glee for sticking with Mike's story this season as he figures out his path", and West wrote that Shum "played it well", while Canning said it and the later scene with his mother "were mighty effective, if a bit stereotypical".
[42] His scene with Blaine that was blended with Santana and Rachel singing "A Boy Like That" was variously described as "savvily intercut" by Hyman, "heavy-handed" by Votta, and bringing "the dangers of teen love" to "ferocious life" by Slezak.
One that was given near-universal plaudits was "America", from Hankinson's "awesome" to Hyman's "killer rendition" to VanDerWerff's "one of the best production numbers the show has ever done".
[32][41][45] The most frequent caveat seemed to be the accents used by the singers; Flandez thought they "could've used a little finesse", and Futterman characterized them as "questionable", though both complimented the performance's dance moves.
"[37] Benigno and West both gave "One Hand, One Heart" an "A"; the former called it "wonderful", although he railed about the prevalence of show tunes in the episode, and the latter wrote, "This was the perfect soundtrack to the trio of first times.
[46] Bell wrote that the "Warblers were totally born to sing 'Uptown Girl'", and Goldberg called it "among the young season’s best" performances.
[40] Flandez said it was a "terrific performance", though Benigno was more restrained, and gave it a "B+" despite there being "less innovation" in the a cappella "gimmick", and noted that "the barbershop-quartet finish is actually pretty good".
[33][37] One of the six cover versions released as five singles—the "A Boy Like That" single also contained "I Have a Love"—debuted on the Billboard Hot 100: "Uptown Girl" debuted at number sixty-eight.