Spreading the 'Glee' to New York

For Rachel, her hardest class may be Dance 101, ruled -- not taught -- by Cassandra July (Kate Hudson, in a guest role) who sneers at the newcomer, "I bet you were a big star back in Iowa." Ohio, Rachel corrects her. "That's even worse." Meanwhile, the halls of McKinley remain a jungle, where the slushies fly and a certain cheerleading coach rules.

This episode resolves all sorts of issues that looked messy in May. How to bridge the New York and Lima stories? Simple: Don't even try. The New York scenes -- all darkly lit, burnished and moody -- will remind you of "Smash" and "The Black Swan," and they're meant to. By contrast, the hallways of McKinley are, as usual, bright and airy -- all the better to see the petty cruelties in sharp relief.

There are lots of new characters to introduce, but each comes with a narrative hook that provides a bit of emotional texture. Jake Puckerman (Jacob Artist) is Puck's younger half-brother. He's the one with the very visible chip on his shoulder. Rachel's new pal, Brody (Dean Geyer)? He's the "straight" one (he announces, in an amusing aside at 3 a.m.). Marley (Melissa Benoist) is the lunch lady's daughter.

Gleeks know who the "new Rachel" is. I won't tell you here -- but she's introduced with a nice bit of stagecraft that links her with the "old" Rachel back in Manhattan.

The scene also is calculated to put viewers in a New York state of mind. It accomplishes that as well.