 Mike Hale of the New York Times did not miss Sue 's presence in the episode , and wrote that " Ballad " contained some scenes which were " as honestly emotional as any since this series began , most of them involving Kurt and Finn " . Gerrick D. Kennedy for the Los Angeles Times appreciated the episode for subverting expectations , by having Finn 's mother react supportively to the news of Quinn 's pregnancy , rather than the more affluent and financially capable Fabrays . Dan Snierson for Entertainment Weekly opined that " Ballad " was not as good as the preceding episode , " Wheels " , but that overall : " it did offer up a few choice cuts and fun moments while advancing one big story line " . James Poniewozik of Time agreed that " Ballad " was not as good as " Wheels " , commenting : " it 's amazing how Glee can career from excruciating to transcendent within a single episode . " The Chicago Tribune 's Eric Zorn , watching Glee for the first time , deemed the episode " deliriously , deliciously bad " , deriding the casting of young adult actors as teenagers , the " one @-@ dimensional stock characters " and the " kitschy plots " . Zorn questioned : " So do people actually like this show , or just revel in its over @-@ the @-@ top , spectacular and , I admit , compelling badness ? " 
