Fox’s “Glee” is all about celebrating diversity, singing inspiring songs and making viewers feel like the characters are their friends.
Oct. 10’s episode, entitled “The Quarterback”, was a tribute to one of the most beloved characters, Finn Hudson, played by Cory Monteith, who died of an accidental drug and alcohol overdose on July 13.
The show opened with the cast, dressed in black, singing “Seasons of Love” from “Rent”. Amber Riley, who plays Mercedes, belted out the chorus and later sang a highly emotional version of “I’ll Stand by You”. Riley’s performances were heartfelt and powerful, different to her character’s typical diva attitude.
Mr. Schuester, the glee club’s coach, played by Matthew Morrison, always writes on the whiteboard what the theme of the week is for the club, called New Directions, and this week’s theme was Finn. Every club member sat in the choir room, solemn and grieving in their own ways. Even Sue Sylvester, the typically mean-spirited jokester played by Jane Lynch, became emotional.
When Kurt, played by Chris Colfer, his dad Burt, played by Mike O’Malley and Finn’s mom Carole, played by Romy Rosemont, cleaned out Finn’s room, the realization that Finn is really gone set in. Burt expressed guilt for being too hard on his stepson, feeling that he should have hugged him more and Kurt cried after putting on Finn’s letterman jacket. When Carole fell apart, thinking about life without Finn, it showed that “Glee” and its fans lost far more than just a character; they lost a beloved friend.
Although the episode was emotional, the writing managed to bring small doses of comedic relief to lighten the ominous mood. Santana, played by Naya Rivera, had a love/hate relationship with Finn and joked about him being in heaven with “fat Elvis”, pigging out at a picnic. She also sang The Band Perry’s song “If I Die Young” and doesn’t make it through the rest of it because she is so overwhelmed by her emotions.
Kurt planted a tree to commemorate Finn and the audience saw that Puck, played by Mark Salling, stole the tree. Puck then sung “No Surrender” in the choir room, got drunk and told Coach Beiste, played by Dot Jones that, if he starts crying, he’ll never stop. He broke down with Beiste and had to come to terms that he’ll have to look out for himself because Finn can no longer do that for him. By the end of the episode, Puck replanted the tree and decided to join the air force.
We didn’t see Rachel, played by Lea Michele, until more than halfway through the episode, which built anticipation. When she cried, Michele’s feelings for her co-star and real-life boyfriend were as obvious as Rachel’s feelings for her deceased boyfriend. She said “I loved Finn and he loved me and he loved all of you guys.” I’m amazed that she was able to get through the entirety of the emotional ballad “Make you feel my Love”.
Schuester and Rachel then talk about Finn. She said her life was all planned out, that she would make it big and he would teach and they’d live “happy ever after.” When she says “he was my person” it reinforced the loss and the sadness that the characters must continue on without Finn. They then hung his picture on the choir room wall, signifying that the adored quarterback was a vital part of their lives.
