Quote: “See the world not as it is, but as it should be.” –Finn Hudson
Song: I Lived covered by the Cast of Glee. The final performance of the series.
Location: My couch in LA….it’s now full of tears. It could probably solve the California drought.
Here is the day I’ve been dreading since May 19, 2009 when the pilot of Glee first aired. Glee is over. It’s done. Not for the season, not for half a year….it’s done forever. I’m writing this blog through tears because Rachel’s speech at the Tony’s completely broke me. But we’ll get to that later.
I will be the first to admit, I took the life raft off the Glee fan ship after the season finale of Season 5. That season ripped apart my heart with their ridiculous plot holes. (Rachel leaving Funny Girl…yea right!) Unfortunately, Season 5 dropped the ratings so bad…Season 6 got cut in half and Glee had a bit of a wake-up call. But let’s not reflect on the atrocities of Season 5….I have already done plenty of that. Let’s reflect on the other seasons and why Glee will always be one of my favorite shows in history. And why the series finale was the greatest thing Ryan Murphy’s done yet. (And how it makes Season 5 completely forgivable.)
Ryan Murphy. Ah. Ryan Murphy gets life. He gets that there are real life Rachel Berry’s, real life Finn Hudson’s, very few real life William Schuester’s left, and too many real life Sue Sylvester’s present. He wrote real life. Yes, sure they broke into song in the middle of the hallway and everyone knew the moves. But the actual story of Glee was real life and for people who had to deal with the storylines Glee explored, it was a life-saver.
I am actually fairly sure Glee is the reason why teachers who really touch my heart…why I don’t let them go. I become friends with them. And some of them have become my best friends. People I depend on anywhere, anytime. William Schuester and Rachel Berry were the most perfect teacher-student duo there could be. And I have continually seen that replicated in my life. 4 teachers in high school I am still friends with now. I share in on their family BBQ’s when I’m home during the summer, helped plan their weddings…and more. They are friends I’ll have forever. And now in university, that’s starting to stem with 3 of my professors as well. Will and Rachel’s relationship was so healthy and I think a really good reminder to society. So thank you Ryan Murphy for pointing out that, NO. Teachers don’t have to be stuffy prison wardens. But in fact, they can be a student’s friend and then…grow to even more. Teachers can learn just as much from their students if they open up their ears, eyes and hearts to them. Near the end, Rachel and Will were working side-by-side as faculty members of McKinley. How amazing is that?
I think one of my all-time favorite quotes came from this season when Mr. Schuester said this to Rachel, “Have you tried talking to your students? You should. Because someday they might be the best friends you’ve ever had.” (Referring to their relationship of course.) THANK YOU RYAN MURPHY. Teachers of America….Listen to his wisdom. It is so true. (And students too. Respect your teachers!)
Then of course, there was Finn and Rachel. The reason I still have hope that one day I will also get to date a beautiful, tall, sports lovin’ man….and he will love music and the arts as much as my 5”1 self does. A relationship made for the movies. However, their love came to a shattering death (no pun intended) when Cory Monteith passed away. This was a huge factor in the destruction of Season 5 since their biggest cliff-hanger of Season 4 was the continuation of the Finchel love story. Glee did one thing right in Season 5, and that was the episode dedicated to Cory Monteith at the beginning. I believe it’s fair to say, that episode will go down as one of their best. It was an unfortunate episode to have happened, but was so eloquently created and forever solidified his legacy. Cory, the show truly did suffer without you. Not only in the show were you the glue that kept the Glee club running, but you were the glue of the real show too. From all Glee fans, thank you for continually inspiring us each and every day. I love you my Canadian ❤ And when I name my future dog Hudson……know it’ll be for you.
Rachel, Finn and Will were the characters that really reached out to me. They are the only ones I will specifically explore in this blog. Of course there was the Rachel and Kurt friendship which was amazingly strong and many many others. I have written several blogs over the years about Glee….feel free to go check them out. Here are a few:
– Cory Monteith: A Leader in This Generation
-The Quarterback: Good Bye Finn Hudson
– Good Bye McKinley High. Bye Bye Glee Club.
The cast that continually came in and out of this show for the past 6 years were all incredibly fortunate to be a part of such a ground-breaking show. Already there have been articles saying what will replace Glee: Scandal or Empire? Neither will. Nothing will replace Glee. Glee came at a time when teenage problems were not seriously discussed on television. Bullying, teen pregnancy, drugs, teachers disrespecting students, college, family, school shootings, money problems….and so much more. They opened that up. And I’d say they’re closing the music era that started out with High School Musical. It was the recreation of Fame for our generation and I think that the years of music in television have officially left us now….just like vampires thankfully have. (I don’t think Nashville and Empire can truly classify themselves as the same genre.) Of course, I will miss this genre but hey, everything recycles, right? I’m glad I was able to witness the rebirth…and redeath of this genre. It’ll be back. Maybe I’ll be old enough to play the crazy glee club teacher in its re-emergence. 
Darren Criss was quoted talking about the ending of Glee, “The victory that Glee has is even though we became the butt end of a lot of jokes — what issue will they tackle next! — and whether people agreed with them or not, or whether we executed in a way that people vibed with or not, that’s irrelevant. The point was we brought it up. And that is a really cool legacy to be a part of.” They did bring up many issues and that is something that has forever changed the world, and will continue to.
Today I posted my Top 7 favorite Glee performances of all time….here they are.
1. Don’t Stop Believing (back before they could lip-sync well but I don’t care. We all have to admit that at the end of the day, that takes the spot as still the #1 performance.)
2. Total Eclipse of the Heart (Been 6 years yet I still remember that performance like it was 2 minutes ago.)
3. Jessie’s Girl- I hated Jesse St. James but he made this song work even more perfectly for poor Finn.
4. Loser Like Me- My anthem during high school. And really…it still is.
5. Get It Right- Oh I just wanted Rachel to win back Finn already. This song just said it all.
6. Here’s to Us- The original cast of Glee graduated the same year as I did. I literally graduated high school with them and then went through the beginning of college with them. They always knew what I was feeling.
7. Pumpin’ Blood- One of the few great things from Season 5.
Those were my personal favorites from the 6 seasons of Glee although that was a very hard list to narrow down. There were sooooo many I could have picked!
Some favorite points of the 2 hour series finale: In the first half titled, 2009, we flashback to the beginning of the series and get a reminder of where Glee Club came from and how each character has developed. Of course we see the difference between Rachel and Kurt, but even between Puck who was pushing Kurt into lockers when we began. Burt, Kurt’s Dad, he couldn’t even talk to his son. And Rachel’s obnoxious, talking-way-too-fast, behavior…reminded me why I was labelled Rachel Berry in high school. (I mean…I made new FB statuses discussing plot during every commercial of Glee for the first 3 seasons.) I have no regrets. I know how my story will end….Broadway.
Um, the reminder of how mentally crazy Tina was? Yepp. That was one intense throwback! I forgot how nuts she was. And then the bushy eyed Mr. Schuester. His first time teaching the glee club and how new and innocent he was. He hadn’t been hardened by life yet. AND BLAINE….Blaine and Mercedes spoke two words to each other. Kurt and Blaine were in the same coffee shop years before they would become married. Oh Ryan Murphy…this is why I call you a genius.
Then them all voting to keep Finn in the Glee club. Ah </3 That completely broke my heart. I would do anything to vote to still have Finn in the Glee club too. We also saw a glimpse of Emma sticking up for Will and the Glee club. But then the episode ended with the best surprise of all, a moment every Gleek knows off the back of their hand, Will turning around in the hallway and heading to the auditorium to see the Glee club singing Don’t Stop Believing, the original clip. With Finn and everybody. And when it was over, the screen goes black and we see PRESENT. First half was an incredible episode full of foreshadowing that connected so many dots. Absolutely wonderful.
**We also heard Schuester refer to Brad more times in this episode than all 6 seasons.
In the second half, we see New Directions winning Nationals (GOOD.) Then we find out that Will has been promoted to Principal AND McKinley High has become a Performing Arts school!!! THAT’S RIGHT!! McKINLEY IS A PERFORMING ARTS SCHOOL NOW! Thank you writers. That was thee perfect touch. And Will being Principal? Even better.
Sam is now the teacher of the New Directions (what should have been Finn’s position.) ….not sure if I agree with that. The show trying to make Sam the new Finn got very old for me…especially the romance thing with Rachel.
Mercedes gets a call and she is now the opening act for Beyoncé’s new world tour. She sang one last heart breaking song and then walked out of the auditorium without hugs and good-byes. She couldn’t handle it so she left during her song, a classic Mercedes move. (At this point I’m thinking oh no, if each character says good bye individually, I will have no water left in my body. It will all be cried out.) Oh yea and uh….Sue Sylvester in 5 years is the Vice President. Hmm…fitting. And Blaine and Kurt in 5 years? …they turn into Rachel’s dads 2.0. But they’re a hit in New York, not Ohio…so it’s okay.
And Rachel’s 5 years later? I called it from the beginning of this season. She is married to Jesse St. James (the only suitable fit compared to Finn and one I fully support. Not to mention the actor, Jonathan Groff, is Lea Michele’s real life best friend and the man who helped her through the loss of Cory Monteith. He was the perfect choice.) She is pregnant with Kurt and Blaine’s child….yes Rachel is their surrogate. So fitting, really. She graduated with her degree from NYADA. And of course, she won a Tony (for a production Jesse directed) and she dedicated her speech to Will Schuester. A scene that Ryan Murphy envisioned for the finale, back during the first season.
Her speech. Her speech is what killed me. As I have said in many blogs before, I am the real life Rachel Berry. And I don’t just mean I’m obsessed with her character and we look identical. No. I am her. It was a joke in my high school. If something happened to Rachel on Glee, it always happened to me the next week. And when random, strange or big things happened to me, they always happened to Rachel on the show, the following week. It was a weird cosmic thing that I’m sure will never be explained. And Ryan Murphy will never know he was writing out my life for all to see. So the final speech…that killed me.
As you have already read, I loved the relationship Rachel had with Mr. Schuester. I love when teachers and students can grow together and create magic. With the teachers I have in my life who inspire me, I openly tell them I will dedicate my Oscar winning speech to them, and I am not joking when I say that. They are the reason I get up every morning and keep going. And when Rachel won her Tony, she dedicated her speech to of course, Mr. Schuester. She mentions how she wouldn’t have gone on stage without him and how he taught her through her strengths rather than her weaknesses, how he cheered louder than anyone when she soared and was always there to pick her up when she fell. That award with that speech. That was the final similarity Rachel and I will have. That was the tiny little clue. Ryan Murphy gave me one last glimpse of my future. And I get there. I’ll make it. I will.
The show ends with Sue giving an absolutely heartwarming speech about what Glee club really was, and what it did for its students. “A quarterback befriended a gay kid. A girl with a big nose made it on Broadway.” Then we find out that the auditorium is now the Finn Hudson Auditorium, renamed in his memory. “The entire cast of Glee from throughout the seasons comes together for one last song…the perfect song choice, I Lived by One Republic. After the final song, we see Finn’s picture in his memorial section, including a sign now indicating the Finn Hudson Auditorium. And then it’s over. The show ended with Finn, just as Ryan Murphy originally envisioned.
That’s it…. it’s over. My last blog about Glee. My last blog about the show that changed my life and got me through high school. My last blog about the show that elevated Lea Michele’s career worldwide and because of that…got me randomly hugged and pushed into walls in the streets of Los Angeles because I look like Lea Michele’s twin sister. The show that reminds me why I chose to pursue a career in the arts. It’s over.
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk and Ian Brennan, thank you for the masterpiece you created. 
Thank you for reminding my generation to follow our hearts, our dreams and our goals…no matter how crazy. Thank you for reminding society that the arts are important and that they deserve a voice too. Thank you for reminding me, that I can do whatever I set my mind too. And thank you for giving me one more hint of what life has in store for me.
It may have been the final bow on television, but you will live on forever in the hearts of gleeks everywhere, and in the hearts of people who really lived the life of these characters.
Xoxo glee.
ginaomilon 