Ratings "Love, Love, Love" was first broadcast on September 26, 2013 in the United States. It garnered a 2.0/5 Nielsen rating/share and received 5.06 million American viewers during its initial airing. Viewership and ratings were down slightly from those of the previous episode, "
All or Nothing", which was watched by 5.92 million American viewers and acquired a 2.0/6 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic upon first airing. In Canada, the episode was watched by 1.025 million viewers.
Critical response "Love, Love, Love" was given mixed to positive reviews by critics. Miranda Wicker of
TV Fanatic gave the episode a 3.5 out of 5, saying the episode "was a technicolor return for the series, full of fun music for the audience to keep the audience singing along. But
Finn Hudson's absence is evident." She commented negatively on the season's time-jump, saying "[it] robbed the audience of some good moments," but commented positively on Blaine's proposal speech, calling it "beautiful." Lauren Hoffman of
Vulture gave the episode a 4 out of 5, saying " it was a strong hour of
Glee: fun, vibrant, and (against all odds) aware of continuity and character development. And if some of the vocal arrangements felt too derivative, well, then, at least they were derivative of the Beatles, and everyone likes the Beatles." Also, in regards to Finn's absence, she said "it was surreal (and maybe even the tiniest bit morbid) to watch the New Directions kids ride around on bumper cars and dance through confetti and jump on tabletops knowing that Finn is never coming back. The show didn’t reference him at all last night, and likely won’t mention him again until the October 10th episode, which will be an hour-long tribute to both Finn and Cory Monteith. I understand the practical and emotional concerns that kept Glee from addressing his death at the outset of the season, but it was jarring to get absorbed in last night’s episode and then suddenly remember why Finn wasn’t there."
The Associated Press noted how the premiere offered "a subtle, sad reminder of the late
Glee star
Cory Monteith" in the scene where Rachel "gaze[s] at a photo on her cellphone: It's a group shot of her old high school glee club pals, among them Monteith's Finn Hudson." Katy Kroll of
Rolling Stone also made note of Cory's absence, saying "Try as the show might, the July 13th death of Cory Monteith at age 31 of a drug overdose left a dark cloud hanging over the Season Five premiere – no matter what the show's stars and producers were hoping we'd see;" she then reacted positively to Blaine and Kurt's storyline, calling it "cuter than cute." Laurel Brown of
Zap2it said for the engagement scene, the writers "went all-out on this one, didn't they? One should not be touched by the beautiful proposal of a teenaged boy. But oh, is it touching! We'll allow it." Beth Douglass of
Wetpaint gave the episode a more mixed review, specifically about the episode's theme, saying "the New Directions do a lot of really cool stuff—like dress up as the Beatles, run around a carnival, etc.—all of which we meet with only moderate interest. Don’t get us wrong. We love them. It’s just that all of this pales in comparison to the mind-blowing romantic epicness that is about to go down," referring to Blaine and Kurt's storyline, which she commented positively on, saying "it's the most wonderful, beautiful, perfect proposal we’ve ever seen in our entire lives." Finally, she noted "though this season will no doubt have its painful and emotional moments, there is plenty of hope and happiness in store this season." Brandon Nowalk of
The A.V. Club also gave the episode a mixed review, grading it a C+. He commented that the episode "isn’t much of an episode, much less a premiere, but it’s one hell of an antacid." Rae Votta of
Billboard also gave the episode a mixed review, and wrote that
Glee is now a completely different show from whatever creator Ryan Murphy intended, for better or for worse. It had to come back sometime, and instead of pulling off the bandage of grief upfront,
Glee gave themselves a soft landing with a two-part season opener focused on the music of The Fab Four. While
Glee has dabbled in the Beatles before, the hyper-focus special episode format keeps us feeling familiar, safe and generally upbeat as we transition into the brand new
Glee world. ==Music==