It’s hard to believe that a Glee episode without Jane Lynch could be anything but dismal, but somehow the show managed to pull it off. The absence of Sue Sylvester was filled with several great moments with the Dalton Academy Warblers, and the new, rather unexpected, Glee couple. It’s Valentine’s on FOX, and anything’s possible on Tuesday nights.

The show opened with Puck (Mark Salling), reminiscing and revealing his feelings for Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink). She’s the somewhat heavyset wrestling champ whose previous appearances on the show have consisted mainly of funny one-liners (“Bug the choir room? I’m almost offended by the simplicity of the request”). Because she’s immune to Puck’s many charms, and every bit as tough as he is (heck, she’s tougher), he’s got it bad for her.

Poor Puck spent the rest of the episode trying to woo Lauren. First, she rejected his candy. Then, she didn’t like his performance of Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls” (we loved it). And then . . . she stood him up. Zizes really is a badass. But after she threw Santana (Naya Rivera) around the halls of William McKinley like a rag doll, she can do no wrong in Puck’s eyes. At the end of it all, they ended up at Breadsticks together. But Puck and Lauren are just about the only happy couple on the show.

Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) is loving the single life . . . up to a point. Even while the girls at school were peppering him with candy hearts, he was eyeing Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) and Sam (Chord Overstreet) and plotting on how to steal his former girlfriend from her current boyfriend. His brilliant idea? A kissing booth, each one going for a buck.

A little obvious, perhaps, but it worked. Sam, suspicious of the looks he’s seen between Finn and Quinn, demanded that she visit the kissing booth to contribute to Finn’s Glee club fundraising campaign. Both saw fireworks during their brief kiss (literally -- there were cheesy firework effects), which led Quinn to arrange a secret rendezvous with Finn for a later date.

But, not before Santana had her chance to wreak a little havoc. Being a skilled cheater herself, she caught the guilty look on Finn’s face and put the pieces together. After donning a sexy candy striper outfit, she promptly kissed a boy with mono and then laid one on Finn. When he met with Quinn for their secret make-out session . . . well, you know how mono spreads.

They aren’t the only unhealthy ones in the club. Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is endearingly heartsick. Her plan to win Finn’s love back at the kissing booth failed, and in an achingly sweet scene he gave her a long-overdue Christmas present -- a gold star charm on a necklace. Finn isn’t sure if he loves Rachel or Quinn, and Quinn isn’t sure if she loves Sam or Finn. And the plot thickens. At the end of the episode, a much-maligned Santana (she was told off soundly by both Lauren and Rachel for her caustic ways) turned to give Sam a flirty little wave. A hint of things to come, perhaps?

Rachel expressed her independence and freedom from love with a fantastic rendition of Katy Perry’s “Firework,” but somehow we’re not buying that she’s ready to let go of Finn so quickly. Now that Puck is preoccupied with Lauren, who will she turn to when Finn and Quinn are back to holding hands down high school halls? Time to bring Jesse (Jonathan Groff) back!

We know she won’t be dating Blaine (Darren Criss). In a heartbreaking scene, he turned to his BFF Kurt (Chris Colfer) to ask for love advice. Misguided Kurt believed that Blaine was talking of him, of course, when Blaine suggested that the Warblers go and serenade the object of his interest. Blaine’s suggestion immediately sparked rivalry among the club (“The Warblers haven’t performed in an informal setting since 1927, when the Spirit of St. Louis overshot the tarmac and plowed through seven Warblers doing an impromptu rendition of ‘Welcome to Ohio, Lucky Lindy’”), but Kurt managed to convince them. This led to a sparkling Warblers number, “When I Get You Alone.” But the object of Blaine’s interest is so not having it, and now he and Kurt both have broken hearts. Kurt finally confessed his feelings for Blaine and was politely rejected. For now, they’re just friends.

Sigh. C’est l’amour. The episode closed with another brilliant Warblers number, and they’re quickly becoming our favorites for the upcoming Regionals competition (does that make us traitors?). After hearing them perform “Silly Love Songs” to close the episode, it’s hard to see them as anything but a winning glee club. It bodes ill for New Directions -- particularly since the club is so plagued with romantic entanglements. Next week, Sue Sylvester returns. We hope she brings lots of laughter with her to ease the sting of all these tears.