“Glee” visits an emotional “Home”

How could “Glee” possibly follow up their spectacular “Power of Madonna” episode? With an episode that focused less on the music and more on the emotional stories of the characters, of course.

Last night’s episode of “Glee” could bring tears to even the most stoic of high school jocks. After the slight pause last week to worship Madonna, the students of McKinley High are back to dealing with their difficult teen romances and even more troublesome teen angst.

As a new member of the Cheerios, Mercedes dealt with her body issues, inspiring a stunning performance of Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” Mr. Shuester attempted to find a new home for the glee club after the Cheerios bogarted their rehearsal space. He ran into April Rhodes (returning guest star Kristin Chenoweth) who happens to own a roller rink now. They bust out a duet of Bruce Springsteen’s “Fire.”

The most spectacular story line of the episode was Kurt’s (Chris Colfer) family drama as he tried to match make his single dad with Finn’s single mom. His plan backfired when he felt left out of his new family. His solo, a haunting rendition of “A House Is Not a Home” was the emotional peak of the episode.