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I cannot say I was wholly prepared for the finale. After all, who can truly say they are prepared for the end of something that was a weekly occurrence for approximately six years?
The life and death of a television show goes like this: The epic beginning where there is literally nowhere to go but up, then the rapid growth of a young, outspoken fanbase which held real passions and real issues. Then comes the slow burn that is neither satisfying nor antagonizing: the gradual decline as interest slowly fades, but not totally – never completely. Eventually, the fanbase withers down to harsh critics who were once the fiercest, most devoted fans, then almost nothing at all. To put it in perspective: Some shows barely take off, but the ones that do manage to shine their brightest and stand out among the shows that already exist. It’s something, coming alive in a period of cop dramas, sitcoms, and medical drama.
Most of us are from the generation that was blessed with High School Musical, then Hannah Montana, followed by every other Disney act that was forced to sing, act, and dance. Glee seemed to be an extension of that, except this was a primetime show on a big kid network, not some after-school Disney show. This was a “real” show.
The beginning
Glee aired its first episode in May of 2009, as a kind of teaser to see if people were receptive to the show. It was then picked up for 13 episodes – what the fans have dubbed the “back 13” and what the fans-turned-critics call the “first and only season of Glee.”
The glee cast’s iconic “Don’t Stop Believin’” performance that brought them to global recognition.
The show was vibrant and exciting from the beginning to end. It presented such a great, versatile, and diverse cast who each had something to offer. There were storylines filled with heartbreak and laughs. There was character development, and there were character flaws. It was wonderful and refreshing and it seemed that Ryan Murphy and co. managed to pick the perfect songs each week to fit whatever storyline they were focusing on.
While Glee was very obviously meant to be an ensemble show,it was clear that the leads were Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson, the Glee club’s leading woman and leading man. Lea Michele and Cory Monteith played their parts beautifully and they were recognized as being fresh faced, talented newcomers. I cannot stress how refreshing and exciting this show was to watch from the beginning. There was a seemingly never-ending supply of witty lines and sassy quips, as well as encouraging viewers to cheer for the underdogs.
The end
It’s so odd to be talking about an episode of Glee with such a sense of finality. There will be no more reviews, and there will be no more angry livetweets. It’s breathtakingly hard to grasp that this show is actually over.
To me, “the end” happened a total of three times already. The first was at the end of Season 3, when the original New Directions kids graduated McKinley. After all, the show was based around this high school Glee club that defied all odds and social standards to bring it a National title. And the friendships! Oh, the friendships that developed throughout the span of the first three seasons. I cannot begin to articulate how much I appreciated the female friendships between strong female characters (I will not rant about how much that aspect could have been improved upon…).
The second time the show “ended” was when a very real tragedy happened: Cory’s death. That was such a shocking moment for Glee fans all around the world. It seemed impossible; the show was young, the actors were young, the fanbase was young. The show had only been around for four years and yet it felt like an entire lifetime slipped away after his death. “The Quarterback” was a very moving tribute episode to Finn Hudson and Cory Monteith and I cannot explain the myriad of emotions that flooded through me. I felt that sense of finality as I understood that the show would not last another two whole seasons, let alone three. I was right in that aspect – it lasted for a season and a half longer and nothing more. Cory’s death only accelerated the death of the show.
The third tiny death/ending was the 100th episode. I was struck by the mere fact that I had sat through 100 episodes of Glee and possibly spent almost half of those episodes complaining about the shoddily written storylines. I wept a little bit because – how could I not? This show was everything to me and for a while, it was honestly the only thing that made me happy on stressful nights. The mindset of fandom is so hard to understand and even harder to explain to somebody who is not part of that community of feelings. The 100th episode – titled “100” – was a tribute to the Glee club and its beginnings. The songs were rehashed versions of songs they had done previously and it was vibrant amidst a dark time for the show. They had been through “100 lessons,” said Will Schuester.
The Final Bow
I still have a long wish list of things I wanted to see on the show and things that I wanted to be rewritten because of how terrible it was, but I don’t think I’d swap out this viewing experience for anything.
The finale was…okay. It was sweet and a reminder of a better time. The finale was really two back-to-back episodes: “2009” and “Dreams Come True.” The two episodes represent not only the journey for the characters, but every element of the show right down to the so-very-talented actors and actresses. There was no shortage of nostalgia or emotional instability when I watched these episodes.
The songs were perfect. We had one last Wicked duet (“Popular”) from Kurt and Rachel, and the final Glee number, with a beautiful tribute to Finn and the Glee club’s beginnings. Darren Criss also penned the very last Rachel solo titled “This Time” which made me tear up (again) at the thought of seeing Rachel Berry belt out her last note on my television. There were some shockers here and there, but nothing I couldn’t reasonably handle. To be honest, it was almost lacklustre in how normal it seemed and appeared to be a cop-out when Glee decided to use the whole “flash to the future” to end the show.
What’s next? Well, to name a few: Lea Michele has a starring role in Ryan Murphy’s “Scream Queens,” a new primetime television show set to premiere this fall; Dianna Agron has a handful of movies set to release this year at various film festivals; Naya Rivera has a child on the way with her hubby Ryan Dorsey and I believe she has filmed a television role; Matthew Morrison is returning to Broadway.
I cannot applaud them enough and I cannot help but shed a tear because I feel proud of their accomplishments and growths as performers in an industry that just loves to tear people down. Ultimately, I feel Glee became the underdog once more, as it came to a close. Whether this humbled them or not is hard to say, but I am so very happy to have been part of this ride.
However, I will never call myself a Gleek.
“I Lived” OneRepublic cover as performed by Glee, and their last performance ever on Primetime Television.
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