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reviewit · 9 years

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Don’t Stop Be-Glee-ving

The New Directions as they perform their hit cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” together for the first time.

I had tried to put aside accepting that Glee was coming to an end by not watching any episode after the tenth episode of Season 5. And to be honest, after the death of Cory Monteith a.k.a. Finn Hudson, I sort of shut off to the progress of the show altogether so though I was technically watching, I wasn’t really.

So instead of just continuing from where I left off, after almost a year, I began from the very beginning.

Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot

Here, we were introduced to the characters making up the New Directions who will in the course of the next six years form the epicosity that is, Glee.

Rachel Berry - The goody-two-shoes, try-hard, annoying-as-heck, dreamer who has a voice to die for and a character to die of.

Kurt Hummel - The loveable sweetheart who finds himself and makes his difference, his strength.

Mercedes Jones - The powerhouse not so diva, the in-your-face friend, the representation of insecurities and imperfections many of us face while still rocking it every week.

Tina Cohen-Chang - Initially sort of fading in the background, she is one of the main characters to laugh or cry with....OR laugh or cry at!

Artie Abrams - With a voice as smooth as liquid, Artie is certainly on of the sexiest characters on glee. Well, that’s just how he rolls.

and of course.....

Finn Hudson - The hot yet bumbly jock who loves singing who is obviously the protective shield of the New Directions being in the jock and gleek team and all.

Through the first season, Glee progressed with addressing pressing issues in high schools all over the world, namely bullying, teenage pregnancy, prejudice, etc.

Going into Season 2 was just as exciting and just as impressive, however, towards the end of the season,the show began to feel sort of like a bunch of PSA announcements.

However, in the spirit of truthfulness, (I hope I’m not contradicting myself too much) Glee has been nothing but a breath of fresh air.

It has most definitely had its ups and downs with the on/off screen romances of the cast members as well as an undeniably impressive number of guest appearances by celebrities either playing themselves (i.e. Britney Spears, Olivia Newton-John, Josh Groban) or characters on the show (Gwyneth Paltrow as Holly Holiday, Kristin Chenoweth as April Rhodes, Idina Menzel as Shelby Corcoran).

Then I finally got around to watching Glee’s final season, Season 6, and I was already a hot mess even halfway through it because I just didn’t want it to end.

The new additions to New Directions: Blake Jenner, Melissa Benoist, Jacob Artist, Becca Tobin and Alex Newell.

Season 6

Disappointed wouldn’t be the right word to use to explain Season 6. But Glee felt, like a different show. It lacked the umphh it used to bring to the screen every week.

2009 and Dreams Come True were interesting, the songs were good but seemed, although understandably, rushed. In fact, the whole of season six seemed rushed and unfamiliar.

It just wasn’t the New Directions we, the viewers, recognised anymore.

The New Directions under the leadership of an alumni member of the team.

With all that was going on behind the scenes, with the producers of the show knowing that everything was coming to an end, that was probably the best they could come up with but I just felt like they should have gone out with a bang.

Well, at least, they could have.

Although yes, it may seem realistic that under the direction and leadership of a non-Will Shuester and a different group of students, altogether, would most definitely give out a different vibe, I really expected the producers to maintain the feel of the show.

We didn’t get to know ANY of New Directions members at all, even though they were all uber talented (or hot as hell).

In season one through three, we got to know every one of the members, their background, interests and even their voice, but for the new kids, nothing at all.

I don’t even remember their names.

There was that black girl who was initially rejected by the Warblers before she moved to McKinley and joined the New Directions, and then there’s the plumpy cute, nerd guy with a voice that could melt anybody’s heart, the wonder twins and the hot, what does he call himself, ah yes, “post-modern gay teen” guy.

What a waste. But I get it, I get it. No time, I get it.

Nevertheless, the covers were still amazing and I guess that compensated for the lack of screen presence through the season.

Now...

The rant

There were just so many loose ends, so many unanswered questions….well actually, it was mainly one thing that threatened to break my heart when the show ended….....................................…one FINN HUDSON.

Ever since Cory Monteith passed away mid-2013, I have been putting off accepting his death. Because as long as the show went on, in the small of my heart, I felt assured, like he was still there.

But with the series finale approaching, I grew more and more anxious as I knew that this meant we had to say goodbye to him too.

The tribute given to him in “The Quarterback” was, in my opinion, one of the most touching and real ones ever to be expected on TV. The fact that the highlight of the episode was not about how he died, but essentially about the life he led, the legacy he left behind, made it even more of tear-jerker.

It paid attention to his accomplishments and the man he was. I’d like to believe that Cory Monteith was that man too.

I tear as I write this because I believe that Finn Hudson WAS Glee.

Do you see what’s wrong with this lovely picture?

There is no Finn Hudson! *sobs*

Finn Hudson was that brother-figure to all the members of New Directions. Though he was kind of goofy and bumbly, he had everyone’s backs. He was a beloved character and it was a great loss to see the character no longer.

Ah, no need to cry over the fact that he is gone, there is a major need to move on.

He was so handsome though, and raw. And really unable to dance! LOL!

What is Glee?

“I call them my famigleea” - in the words of Cory Monteith

Ok, so this is the part where I just start raving, just be warned.

I started watching Glee in 2011, when I was usually just cooked up in my apartment in Bangkok. I heard about the show but never got around to watching it. Plus, I had never been able to appreciate modern musical shows.

But since I had nothing better to do after work other than just coming home and lazing around, I watched the first episode, and the second and well, I never stopped.

Well, actually I did...

For a while there between the third and fourth season, I stopped watching, because of accessibility issues, which is besides the point, but I got around to watching it again, oh wait, then I stopped again….hmmm.

My point.....is this. Glee, to me, wasn’t like other TV shows, not that the others are not good, but watching Glee gave me a sense of belonging.

Sometimes I forget they are celebrities, until I am reminded when I see them at an award show or in a picture with other actors from other shows. Most times, they were my friends, imaginary I know, but they very well could be.

Also, watching the cast off-camera during interviews and behind-the-scenes clips somehow made me feel close to them.

I have several Tinas and Mercedes’ and even Rachels as my friends in my life. The characters on the show depict characters of real people and that is what made the show so refreshing.

Well, it is good that they pulled the plug while the hype wasn’t completely diminished because for many fans, the death of Finn Hudson took a toll on the lifespan of the show.

I hate to say goodbye to Glee but all good things come to an end. It would not be totally dramatic or out of context to say that Glee made me dream again and that is something that everyone should do once in a while.

Goodbye, Glee.....

#GleeGoodbye

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