When a promotional clip for the episode "Sectionals" indicated that Brittany and Santana had slept together, Dorothy Snarker, writing for lesbian entertainment website AfterEllen.com, praised the pairing, referring to them by the portmanteau "Brittana".
Snarker called the two her "new favorite Glee pairing", commenting that: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they’ve made it count. [...]
Never mind Finn and Rachel—I'm on Team Brittana now."
She was ranked first in AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters.
Santana was included in TV Guide's list of the best TV bitches.
She was also listed in MTV's Best TV Characters of 2011.

For her role in "Sexy", Santana has received critical acclaim.
Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly was somewhat surprised by the storyline, observing that Santana had not previously been portrayed as "so serious and vulnerable", but enjoyed the depth it brought to her character.
She and Time's James Poniewozik both praised Rivera's acting, with Gonzalez calling her "heartbreakingly perfect".
Poniewozik did not find Santana's revelation sudden; he was impressed that the episode found "pathos and heartbreak" in a coupling formerly treated humorously.
Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club deemed it the best storyline of the episode, saying it was almost alone the reason the episode received a "B".
She called the scene where Santana confessed her feelings for Brittany one of the best moments of the season.
Patrick Burns of The Atlantic was pleased that the storyline was "treated with a tender realness," something generally lacking on network television, and Brown, though unconvinced that Santana's conflicted sexuality adequately explained her abrasive personality, praised the series for "exploring some of the more complicated aspects of adolescent sexuality", writing that "Glee does an admirable job of attempting to be all-inclusive."

VanDerWerff praised the character development of Santana, calling it the highlight of the episode "Born This Way".
She continued, "The best thing about this episode is Naya Rivera’s work as Santana and the story the three writers have cooked up for her.
Rivera's really come into her own this season, going from just a generic bitchy cheerleader to an actual character who has motivations and might be a better villain for the show than Sue. [...]
On a show where we’re meant to accept that the characters do whatever the fuck the writers need them to from scene to scene, the storyline of Santana realizing she was in love with Brittany and [...] is probably a lesbian has been nicely plotted and surprisingly deep.
The reveal about Santana hasn't washed away her less savory qualities; indeed, it's heightened them, to a degree, as she struggles to be true to herself and still maintain her status as the hottest girl in school."

The episode "Mash Off"'s concluding musical number, "Rumour Has It" / "Someone Like You", was acclaimed as its main highlight.
Wall Street Journal writer Raymund Flandez described Rivera's vocals as "electrifying" and "golden".
Rolling Stone contributor Erica Futterman wrote that the performance was one of Glee's best sequences: "Mercedes and Santana nail their vocals and the song combines great tracks from one of the year's biggest albums while capturing both the sass and sadness of the Troubletones at this particular moment."
Billboard editor Rae Votta called it the best performance since the cast's rendition of "Don't Stop Believin'" in the season one finale, "Journey to Regionals", and stated, "Naya Rivera's powerful vocals and the strong arrangement still packs the emotional punch Glee was targeting."
Jen Chaney of The Washington Post awarded the sequence an "A+" grade: "Given the emotional stakes raised by Santana's outing, which happened in the scene right before this performance, and the fact that it marked the series's 300th musical performance, this marriage" of the two Adele songs, "Rumour Has It" and "Someone Like You", was "all the more powerful".
Brian Moyler of Gawker asserted th
When a promotional clip for the episode "Sectionals" indicated that Brittany and Santana had slept together, Dorothy Snarker, writing for lesbian entertainment website AfterEllen.com, praised the pairing, referring to them by the portmanteau "Brittana". Snarker called the two her "new favorite Glee pairing", commenting that: "While Heather Morris (Brittany) and Naya Rivera (Santana) have had minimal screen time, they’ve made it count. [...] Never mind Finn and Rachel—I'm on Team Brittana now." She was ranked first in AfterEllen.com's Top 50 Favorite Female TV Characters. Santana was included in TV Guide's list of the best TV bitches. She was also listed in MTV's Best TV Characters of 2011.
For her role in "Sexy", Santana has received critical acclaim. Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly was somewhat surprised by the storyline, observing that Santana had not previously been portrayed as "so serious and vulnerable", but enjoyed the depth it brought to her character. She and Time's James Poniewozik both praised Rivera's acting, with Gonzalez calling her "heartbreakingly perfect". Poniewozik did not find Santana's revelation sudden; he was impressed that the episode found "pathos and heartbreak" in a coupling formerly treated humorously. Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club deemed it the best storyline of the episode, saying it was almost alone the reason the episode received a "B". She called the scene where Santana confessed her feelings for Brittany one of the best moments of the season. Patrick Burns of The Atlantic was pleased that the storyline was "treated with a tender realness," something generally lacking on network television, and Brown, though unconvinced that Santana's conflicted sexuality adequately explained her abrasive personality, praised the series for "exploring some of the more complicated aspects of adolescent sexuality", writing that "Glee does an admirable job of attempting to be all-inclusive."
VanDerWerff praised the character development of Santana, calling it the highlight of the episode "Born This Way". She continued, "The best thing about this episode is Naya Rivera’s work as Santana and the story the three writers have cooked up for her. Rivera's really come into her own this season, going from just a generic bitchy cheerleader to an actual character who has motivations and might be a better villain for the show than Sue. [...] On a show where we’re meant to accept that the characters do whatever the fuck the writers need them to from scene to scene, the storyline of Santana realizing she was in love with Brittany and [...] is probably a lesbian has been nicely plotted and surprisingly deep. The reveal about Santana hasn't washed away her less savory qualities; indeed, it's heightened them, to a degree, as she struggles to be true to herself and still maintain her status as the hottest girl in school."
The episode "Mash Off"'s concluding musical number, "Rumour Has It" / "Someone Like You", was acclaimed as its main highlight. Wall Street Journal writer Raymund Flandez described Rivera's vocals as "electrifying" and "golden". Rolling Stone contributor Erica Futterman wrote that the performance was one of Glee's best sequences: "Mercedes and Santana nail their vocals and the song combines great tracks from one of the year's biggest albums while capturing both the sass and sadness of the Troubletones at this particular moment." Billboard editor Rae Votta called it the best performance since the cast's rendition of "Don't Stop Believin'" in the season one finale, "Journey to Regionals", and stated, "Naya Rivera's powerful vocals and the strong arrangement still packs the emotional punch Glee was targeting." Jen Chaney of The Washington Post awarded the sequence an "A+" grade: "Given the emotional stakes raised by Santana's outing, which happened in the scene right before this performance, and the fact that it marked the series's 300th musical performance, this marriage" of the two Adele songs, "Rumour Has It" and "Someone Like You", was "all the more powerful". Brian Moyler of Gawker asserted th
Santana Lopez