'Glee' returns with the right pop recipe

With a victory in sectionals, McKinley High's New Directions glee club welcomes back director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who had to pull himself out of the finals because of a rule technicality.

Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) was suspended after new Shue paramour Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays) told principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) that Sue had leaked New Directions' song list to the competition.

What the episode's about: Sue's baaaaack and she's seeking - wrong word, she's exacting - revenge upon nemesis Shue. Already, she's got him in a corner. She romanced Principal Figgins (Iqbal Theba) over dinner - actually drugged him - or, as Sue explains, "I had a conciliatory dinner with my maharishi."

That got Sue back into school, but the blackmail of compromised Figgins continued: She persuaded him to force the glee club out of the gym, leaving it homeless. Another ploy: Sue gets "Brittana" to date Finn (Corey Monteith), which will make Rachel (Lea Michele) jealous and otherwise spread malcontent at New Directions.

"Brittana?" Ah, Brittana, the newest secret weapon in Ryan Murphy's hit machine: Brittany (Heather Morris) and Santana (Naya Rivera), a pair of comic relief cheerleaders who may be gay and are Sue spies at New Directions.

Speaking of spies: Jonathan Groff - of Broadway's "Spring Awakening" - joins the show in an extended guest role as Jesse St. James, the outlandishly overconfident star singer at a rival glee club out to unseat New Directions at the regionals. Jesse makes the moves on unsuspecting Rachel.

My say: Honestly, does it really matter what I or anyone else says? "Glee" is hot, and fans have been waiting in a state of semireligious ecstasy for its return. (You know how gleeks can be.) But I have seen the first three episodes. Impressions:

-It's funnier, with less emphasis on the heavy stuff (divorce, teen pregnancy) that Murphy likes to leaven his pop with.

-Jane Lynch is the new queen of this prom.

-The music seems richer than ever. (Next week's Madonna episode and April 27's "Home" are even better.)

Bottom line: "Glee" is about to convert more viewers into Gleeks.

Grade: A