into a broad ensemble, where any of several characters is capable of taking the spotlight, even an originally comic-relief character like Brittany." Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club and the Houston Chronicle Bobby Hankinson both liked the episode—VanDerWerff gave it a "B+"—but they, like Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone who was less complimentary, were disappointed that it failed to measure up to the last time New Directions competed in Sectionals. VanDerWerff wrote, "When the show […] remains, at some level, a show about a bunch of kids who just love to sing and dance and maybe have wacky adventures on the side, it remains fundamentally strong, as it does tonight." She also stated, "The fact that the Warblers and New Directions tied, while probably necessary for whatever reason, is ridiculously anticlimactic and keeps this episode from an A− pretty much singlehandedly." Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times was disappointed with almost everything, and said the episode "felt more like a long, slow letdown after a season of gleeful highs". She added, "New Directions' sectionals performance wasn't a total fumble, but it wasn't the touchdown you might've hoped for either", and of the long-awaited opportunity to see other members featured in competition: "the anticipated shining moment turned out to be so dull." Reiter was one of a very few critics to note the absence of cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in the episode, and only when she lamented the "relative lack of humor". Futterman merely remarked on Sue's non-appearance in passing; she came to the conclusion that "we got a spazzy, unfocused hour at the expense of emotional investment", and though Anthony Benigno of the Daily News complimented the "solid acting", he also wrote that "this is the first time the show's started to feel genuinely boring as opposed to, you know, gleeful." He made a general complaint as well: "This show is starting to suffer in a big way from making the music secondary to the plot." Robert Canning of IGN gave the episode a 7.5 out of 10 rating. He said that the show "tried to make it all work, and while the hour was enjoyable enough, each storyline felt just a little bit shy of going from good to great." A few reviewers remarked on how the Hipsters seemed to be a reflection of the New Directions crew in fifty years, with Futterman getting into specifics: "We see