Spoilers for "The First Time"
"Rachel, drawing partly on advice she got from Tina earlier in the episode (when Tina explained her first time), says something that motivates both herself and Blaine, and as they go out, that's the last "real time" footage we have of West Side Story.
As the two couples are lying together, we get intercut flashback footage of their One Hand, One Heart performance. We see Kurt looking on from the side of the stage and Finn looking on from the audience, and both are visibly touched by their significant others' performances.
The message is that it didn't require sexual experience to properly play Tony and Maria; it was about knowing what it's like to have a soulmate and be in love.
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I Have a Love is used later as a backdrop for Tina talking about her first time, during which Rachel also thinks about her feelings for Finn.
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To clarify on I Have a Love--it comes up later in the episode and is used as a backdrop for Tina describing the emotions of her first time
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But, ultimately, it's characters like Artie, Beiste and Mike who again steal the show here. I'm so much more interested in their arcs because we DON'T know too much about them, and so we're getting to rediscover characters the way we did people like Kurt and Rachel in season one. And it's awesome. Dot Jones is giving one of the best performances on TV right now, and it's a shame she didn't enter Glee until the writing quality had fallen by the wayside.
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There's also a great scene with Artie and a development with Mike and his parents. Usually, I'd agree with you, but the cramming somehow works here. They make every scene count. The only negative, as I've said, is that I was hoping they'd dedicate an entire episode just to the West Side Story performance."
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"“Is anything interesting happening in the episode? And by interesting I mean nothing involving Klaine and Finchel.” - Anonymous
Adam: Bieste, Artie, and Mike Chang all have some development in their stories. Speaking of which, it’s great to see Mike Chang back after being left-out of last week’s episode. His story does come back in focus, although briefly. Mercedes on the other hand is left in the background somewhere….
Alexandra: Bieste’s storyline is superb. Her scenes are probably some of the best in the episode, by far. I also agree with Adam regarding Mike Chang, it was fantastic to see him get some of the spotlight again - especially during a scene shared with his mother. I could have done without some of the Artie scenes, especially the first one.
“Any Tina/Mike at all?” - Anonymous
Adam: Both appear in the episode. Tina offers Rachel some advice. Mike has a big moment with his dad when he learns the truth about him not quitting the musical. Big development in Mike’s storyline."
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