Spoilers for the Next Episode of Glee from Paleyfest

The best thing about last night’s Glee panel is that they showed the 14th episode of Glee that won’t be airing until April. The worst? I have to wait until April to see the 15th episode. Argh!

So how was it? Well, I have to admit that the first 20 minutes or so of the episode had me a little bored. They reintroduced pretty much everything they did in the pilot. Shock of shocks, the Glee club is still “uncool,” and New Directions is again threatened by the principal and the unapologetically evil cheerleading coach Sue Sylverster played by Jane Lynch. The twist this time? They don’t just have to win sectionals, they have to win REGIONALS, or the program will be cut. Whoa, big diff!

But once we got past all the exposition and rehashing, it was a really good episode of Glee. Be prepared for some great one-liners (“Did you know that dolphins are really gay sharks?”) and some awesome performances. I’m going to go into further plot details below, so if that’s all you want to know about the episode, skip the next three paragraphs and go right to my write-up on the panel itself. If you want to be SPOILED!, read on.

Will asks the kids to find songs including the world ‘hello,’ resulting in renditions of the Doors’ “Hello I love You,” Lionel Richie‘s “Hello,” Neil Diamond‘s “Hello Again,” and the Beatles’ “Hello Goodbye.” Rachel — pissed at Finn after yet another rejection — chooses to focus on the first syllable with the All American Rejects’ song “Gives You Hell.”

Yes, Rachel and Finn are together when the episode starts, but that doesn’t last long with Sue’s interference. Instead, Rachel has a chance encounter with Jessie St. James, the lead singer for Vocal Adrenaline, the New Directions’ main rival. There’s a love connection made, but because of the team’s concerns about Jessie’s motives (is he just a spy?), Rachel and Jessie decide to date in secret. Meanwhile, Finn realizes that he wants Rachel back, leaving the leading lady feeling torn.

Will’s love life is also in shambles by the end of the episode. Things start off well between he and Emma (including one really sexy almost kiss,) but Emma isn’t quite ready to be intimate (in fact, she NEVER has been) and Will is still a bit of a wreck from his recent divorce. Instead, he ends up making out with the director of Vocal Adrenalin, and Emma has a nasty visit from Will’s ex that makes her question him. The two decide to put things on hold until they can figure out their issues.

In the panel that followed, the cast and crew spilled the beans on quite a few upcoming episodes.

- The second episode back will be an homage to Madonna, featuring 10 of her songs. Jane Lynch will perform Vogue — cone bra and all — after she is given a makeover by Mercedes and Kurt.

- Guest stars include Kristen Chenoweth (in the 3rd episode) and Neil Patrick Harris (in the episode directed by The Whedon.) NPH will play Will’s rival, and they will sing two duets together, Aerosmith’s “Dream On” and a Billy Joel number.

- We’ll be seeing more of the Puck and Rachel pairing (or as the writers refer to it “Team Puckleberry,”) but Puck will continue to be the “bad boy” and sleep with pretty much every girl in the show.

- Future songs include… Kurt performing “Rose’s Turn” and a cover of a Lady Gaga song in an episode about theatericality. (I imagine we will also see some interesting costumes in that episode.)

- Kurt will hatch a plan to get his father and Finn’s mother together, so he can move in with his crush Finn.

Pretty exciting stuff.

I do have to comment on one thing that’s been bugging me about Glee since the moderator went out of his way to give them props for their inclusiveness, even asking what minority group the show would feature next. Really? Instead of including more minority characters, why not give your exisiting minority characters some more screen time? Or actual storylines. While the show certainly does include more minority groups than most — if not all — shows on the air and deserves some props for that, the stories primarly center around the relationships between the straight white characters.

We’re only 13 episodes in, and Finn and Rachel are already starting to become the Ross and Rachel of Glee. Why not slow that plotline down a little bit and give some story to the others in the cast? Give us a reason to remember the Asian girl’s name, so I can stop feeling terrible about calling her the Asian girl. I loved the episode where she had a fling with the Wheelchair guy (okay, I know his name is Artie but I’m trying to make a point here,) and I’d like to see more on-again, off-again fun with them. And I want some more Mercedes — and who are the black and Asian guys that just show up for songs but never speak? Are you starting to see my point?

Yes, Rachel is Jewish, and Kurt gets a fair amount of screen time (which I’m sure has a lot to do with the fact that his character is based on Ryan Murphy’s childhood.) But New Directions is so much more diverse than that. Props for casting them, now start letting them act!

Okay, rant over, Gleeks! I love the show. I enjoyed the episode. And I am looking forward to the rest of the first season starting Tuesday, April 13th.

Juliana Weiss-Roessler is an aspiring Television writer in Los Angeles.  For an inside look at how TV writers apply for jobs, check out Juliana’s spec scripts at WeissRoessler.com.