 Chaney was not very excited by Kurt and Blaine's rendition of "Perfect", while Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal called it an "almost cloying duet". Entertainment Weekly's Abby West thought it was "sweetly" sung and "perfectly lovely", and Michael Slezak of TVLine said it "really picked up steam" as it progressed. Votta said that "what we got" was "wonderfully done, and a perfect balance of Darren Criss and Chris Colfer's musical strengths", but she was perplexed that they "cut the verses most relevant to Santana" yet "kept the cheeky rap bridge". In contrast, she thought Puck's performance of "I 'm the Only One" was "the most awkward thing Glee has done in a while, and drags on forever", though she added that Salling sounded "great". Slezak expressed the wish that Puck would get to do "a mashup or an interesting arrangement", and gave the song a "C +", while Futterman said the song was "a strain on his voice" and the presentation "another cookie-cutter classroom setting". BuddyTV's John Kubicek called it the "kind of song Puck should always do."
