['Glee' - 'The Purple Piano Project']

Gleeks, rejoice! The new season of 'Glee' is finally upon us, and it looks like co-creator Ryan Murphy has learned from his past mistakes because the show's Season 3 premiere brought us back to the basics -- underdogs, show tunes and Sue Sylvester.

That's right, unlike Season 2, Sue is back in fighting form, and she's not only taking on the McKinley High glee club, but she also has her sights set on destroying every single glee club, everywhere.

But that's not the only thing that's changed. Mercedes has got herself a new man, Quinn has a new 'do (and a nasty attitude to go along with it) and Rachel and Kurt are suddenly BFFs after their breakfast at Tiffany's.

Yet, even after a summer of changes, the glee club still remains at the bottom of the social ladder. Some things never change.

Thanks to Jacob (a.k.a Jew-Fro) and his hand-held camera work, we know what everyone's been up to during the summer. Sam's dad found a job out of town, so he had to back up his guitar and say goodbye to his girl Mercedes. And if you thought Mercedes was going to be heartbroken, think again. She's found herself a new man -- and he looks like the popular, football-playing type.

Meanwhile, Tina sets the record straight. She and Artie are juniors, and her dancer boyfriend Mike Chang is a senior. I'm hoping this doesn't mean that Tina and Artie get underused (again) this season because they still have one more year. That's not cool, Murphy. What happened to equal opportunity?

And then there's Finn, who looks just as dazed and confused as he sounds. You see, unlike overly ambitious girlfriend Rachel, Finn has no idea what he wants to do with his life, and with only one year to figure it out, he better set a goal for himself that's not getting to second base with Rachel Berry. Maybe not wearing white would also be a attainable goal for Finn. After all, those slushies tend to stain, glee-otch.

During the glee club meeting -- and after Finn recovered from his slushie facial -- Mr. Schuester comes up with a plan to attract a few potential glee members. The glee club didn't just lose Trouty Mouth -- it looks like Puck's fat-bottomed girl is way too cool for glee now, too. And just like that, Zizes and Puck are no more.

And what about Quinn? This good-girl-turned-bad has officially left the world of glee, adopted a raspy voice (on second thought, maybe it's from the smoking), dyed her blonde locks hot pink, ditched her mary janes for Dr. Martens and joined the ranks of The Skanks. Yes, The Skanks. Quinn is now a Skank, and not even Rachel Berry can convince her to return to the glee club.

In the words of Brittany, the gleeks are down one "Jolly Rancher that fell into an ashtray."

With three seats to fill, Mr. Schue comes up with a plan: The Purple Piano Project. Basically, he took some beaten-down pianos from foreclosed homes, fixed them up and painted them purple -- a perfect metaphor for the glee club. Yet, as the episode progresses, one by one the pianos are destroyed, by Sue, the Cheerios and even the other students, who started a food fight after Rachel, Santana and Brittany did their best Go-Gos impersonation with "We Got the Beat." Brittany twirled, Kurt crawled away and Rachel started to cry. (Note to self: Food fights can get pretty violent.)

Speaking of Rachel, she and Kurt have their sights set on New York City -- until Emma crushes their dreams of attending Juilliard because, well, Juilliard doesn't have a musical theater program. Do they not have Internet access in Lima, Ohio?

After nearly crushing poor Rachel and Kurt's dreams (can we give them a cute nickname already, like Hummelberry?), Emma tells them about the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts, a competitive arts school specializing in musical theater. And just like that, Rachel and Kurt's dreams of escaping their podunk little town are restored, and they even celebrated with a cheeky tribute to 'Ding Dong The Witch is Dead.' Hummelberry might just be my new favorite 'Glee' couple.

But then they meet Harmony, played by 'The Glee Project''s Lindsay Pearce and, once again, all hope is lost. She's no LuPone, but Harmony gave Rachel a run for her money performing 'Anything Goes/Anything You Can Do.' Seriously, I had chills. Personally, I can't wait for the Rachel/Harmony battle at Sectionals.

After meeting Harmony and subsequently realizing that they're not the only talented teens in Ohio, Rachel and Kurt realize that even outside of McKinley they're the underdogs. My heart may or may not have broken for Kurt when he said, "We may be hot stuff at McKinley, but outside of those walls, we're not even stuff." Hummelberry's tender moment in the car is probably my second favorite part of the episode.

My first? BLAINE IS OFFICIALLY A MCKINLEY STUDENT!!!



Oh yes, it's the moment we've all been waiting for. Blaine transfers to McKinley to make Kurt's senior year more "magical." And to celebrate? Blaine serenades Kurt with the Tom Jones classic 'It's Not Unusual.' I don't know what made me die more: Darren Criss' voice or Blaine's adorable outfit -- a blue and red bow-tie? Seriously?! I died.

After that performance, I realized that I don't think I'm ready to see Kurt fly off to New York and leave Blaine in Ohio. I just want more Klaine.

In the end, the Purple Piano Project may have failed, but that didn't detour the glee club from their goal of getting to Nationals. Sure, they may be three glee members short -- after Mr. Schue rode his power trip a little too long and kicked Santana out of the club for her allegiance to Sue and the Cheerios -- but that's not going to stop them from belting out 'You Can't Stop the Beat.'

And just like that, I felt at home again. Here's the 'Glee' that I fell in love with, so welcome back guys, I've missed you.

'Glee' Season 3 airs Tuesdays, 8PM ET on Fox.