'The X-Factor' recap: Can the second episode outdo the premiere?

THE SKINNY: Have we been had? "The X-Factor" followed up a seriously stellar debut with a two-hour mess of talentless singers and worse. The supporters of the first episode should be worried. Was Thursday night the real "X-Factor" or just a momentary bump in the road? A weak second episode paired with disappointing opening ratings is a situation Simon Cowell must not have anticipated. And yet, here we are.

By Wesley Case

September 22, 2011