Hello UMass Gleeks@

I am Alissa, and I will be guiding you through the twist and turns of Season 2 of “Glee.” In case you missed an episode, or forgot, or just happened to stumble upon this blog, here’s what happened last season:

Will Schuster (Matthew Morrison) took over the William McKinley High School Glee Club and renamed it New Directions. It started off with just five geeks who couldn’t be lower on the high school popularity ladder: Rachel (Lea Michele), Artie (Kevin McHale), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Kurt (Chris Colfer) and Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley). In order to get more students to join, Mr. Schuster recruited football star Finn (Cory Monteith). The plan worked perfectly. Soon fellow football player, Puck (Mark Salling) joined, along with Cheerios (McKinley High’s cheerleaders) Quinn (Dianna Agron), who is also Finn’s girlfriend, Santana (Naya Rivera) and Brittany (Heather Morris).

Mr. Schuster, or Mr. Schu, considered leaving his job as Spanish teacher/glee coach to become an accountant so he could support his pregnant wife, Terry, except that it turned out that she wasn’t actually pregnant. She kept up the facade, because she knew he was falling for the school counselor, Emma (Jayma Mays). Mr. Schu eventually leaves Terry when he discovers the lie, and now he is with Emma.

Meanwhile Quinn got pregnant and is kicked off the Cheerios, but her biggest problem is that the baby, who was born and named Beth in the season 1 finale, wasn’t Finn’s, but his best friend, Puck’s. Finn leaves Quinn for Rachel, but they don’t last long. As of the end of season 1, it looks like Shelby (Idina Menzel), Rachel’s biological mother and the coach of New Directions’ enemy, Vocal Adrenaline, will adopt Beth. Rachel discovered Shelby with the help of her second boyfriend, Vocal Adrenaline lead singer Jesse (Jonathan Groff), who turns out to be cruel and leaves Rachel.

Also, Kurt comes out of the closet to his friends and his father, who is distinctly homophobic, but comes around for the sake of his son. Meanwhile Kurt and Finn had to deal with the awkwardness of the short-lived relationship between Finn’s mom and Kurt’s dad.

Just to add to the drama, the Cheerios coach, Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is constantly trying to take down New Directions. Despite all this, they managed to win sectionals and place third in regionals, which would have ended the club, if Sue hadn’t had a soft moment, and command that the principal continue the club’s funding. That’s where the McKinley crowd ended Season 1.

Gleeks have a lot to look forward to in Season 2. The only new character announced is Filipino pop star, Charice, as Rachel’s nemesis in New Directions. However, two themed shows were announced after the success of the Madonna and Lady Gaga episodes. There will be a Britney Spears episode, in which the former pop princess (and queen of reinvention with her “Circus” album) makes an appearance. Also announced is a “Rocky Horror Picture Show” themed episode. The biggest question creator Ryan Murphy has left us with is what is going to happen with Finn and Rachel? All will be answered in good time, my friends.

I can’t talk about “Glee” without talking about the music. Here’s my list of the top ten numbers from Season 1, followed by the performer and the episode they appeared in.

10. Single Ladies (The Football Team) “Preggars”
9. What it Feels Like for a Girl (The Guys of New Directions) “The Power of Madonna”
8. Keep Holding On (New Directions) “Throwdown”
7. Jump (New Directions) “Mattress”
6. Jessie’s Girl (Finn) “Laryngitis”
5. To Sir, With Love (New Directions) “Journey”
4. Defying Gravity (Rachel and Kurt) “Wheels”
3. Poker Face (Rachel and Shelby) “Theatricality”
2. Like a Virgin (Rachel, Jesse, Emma, Will, Santana, and Finn) “The Power of Madonna”
1. Don’t Stop Believing (New Directions) “Pilot”

Got a different opinion? Comment away and be sure to check out the blog after tomorrow’s episode!