“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy, in a recent interview in the Los Angeles Times, said that Wednesday’s brilliant episode “Wheels,” which he wrote, is “the turning point for the show.”

“Certainly, after this, it remains a comedy, and it’s fun. But writing this made me feel the responsibility of showing the truth of the pain that outcasts go through. It’s not all razzle-dazzle show business. It’s tough, and it’s painful, and it was for me growing up, and it is for most people. So I think this made me realize that amid the fun and the glamour, it’s really great now and again to show the underbelly of what people who are different feel.”

Murphy, director Paris Barclay and the sensational cast delivered an instant classic… without doubt the best hour of television in 2009. If you’re a Gleek, you loved it. “Wheels” made you laugh, made you cry, probably made you get up and dance. If you haven’t yet hooked onto America’s pop obsession, drop whatever you’re doing and immediately go to Fox.com and watch it. Like right now.

The best moment, of course, was the “Defying Gravity” diva-off between Rachel and Kurt. Murphy took Stephen Schwartz’s beloved liberation anthem from “Wicked” — is there a better show tune? is there? — and deftly worked it into the episode’s context. Rachel’s version of the song is included on the first “Glee” soundtrack that came out this week… and you can’t stop playing it. (I played it over and over again as I wrote this.)

Murphy:

“I found a way to write it into the show because that’s in a nutshell what this show is about: someone being told that they can’t do something because of what the perception of them is as opposed to what their real ability is.”