Though what surprised me most about last night’s big “Glee” graduation finale was how little it moved me. I mean, sure it pissed me off at times. But never did I feel the emotional resonance I should have felt after spending three years with these characters. Part of this is inherently the fault of the “Glee” Powers That Be. They’ve let it be known pretty much all these characters will be back next season, in some small way or another, next season. But the rest is just, again, “Glee” being “Glee” and forcing its preconceived hero narratives into places they don’t belong. The women offering themselves up to make sure the men achieve their very important dreams? All the underclassmen dedicating a song to Finn Hudson? And now there are two holes in my TV screen.
And while I knew that the Rachel/Finn relationship was always the central relationship for the writers and I expected it to dominate the finale, I never expected them to give such short shrift to the other relationships fans – particularly its gay fans – care so very much about. Kurt and Blaine repledging their eternal devotion to each other alone in the choir room, without so much as a hug or a kiss? Brittany and Santana not even having a chance to work out their relationship because Brittany is flunking and no one really cares and Santana is going to New York without discussing it first with the person she loves most in the universe. Also, there’s no way in hell Santana ever had a mullet. Please, I can believe that the Glee Club in a small Ohio town can afford dozens of costumed back-up dancers, laser light displays, rain machines and more for rehearsals, but I can’t believe that.
I guess in a way I’m relieved. I’ve cared about these characters for three long years. I’ve watched this show hoping it would overcome its lesser demons and rise above to open us all to joy. And I’ll never stop believing in this cast’s talent and potential. But now that they’ve graduated (well, some of them), I can release the dream. I can, indeed, surrender.
15 comments:
Amen to that, I decided that I won't see the show anymore. I'm tired of the way they treated ALL of the character for exception of Rachel and Finn (who by the way is really boring)
I watch GLEE the way I ended up watching THE L WORD--with a stiff drink in hand. So much incredibly potential, so routinely and disappointingly squandered. But oh, the pretty.
Does anyone else read Dr She Bloggo's reviews? This episode brought forth 5400 words from her.
Humm, stiff drink. I wonder what Glee would be like on LSD?
Yet while very sober last evening, I kept wondering why Barbara Streisand was wearing bobby socks, an orange dress and trailing behind her in the streets of New York a tiny pink Barbie suitcase? ;)
-Glee is like having a meth addiction.
- You can't quit it?
- No. It sucks.
By the end of the episode I just sat there going "huh?"
It felt like the writers had run out of time to do their homework and scribbled it on the bus to school
Glad I quit watching. I'm deep into the Game of Thrones and Lost Girl so no worries
Last night was it for me. I cannot endure the other 37 minutes just for the 5 minutes of joy in each episode. I also will not be able to withstand the torture of Rachel Berry dressed as Anne Marie from 'That Girl' prancing around a back lot New York for a year.
And I know it was designed for drama, plot for next season, character development, but am I really supposed to believe that Kurt Freaking Hummel was denied acceptance to a dramatic arts school? KURT HUMMEL?
No. I'm done.
I'll keep reading your recaps though. I mean, your thoughts on Glee are the best part of most episodes for me.
I will keep watching until the very very very last episode. I just want to know if it will ever get better. And I cried my eyes out during the car/station scene despite the fact that I'm not the biggest fan of Finchel. Lea Michele is just such a good crier. I can't say goodbye to Glee just yet.
Agreed 100%. 150% about the mullet. Why the need to confine every lesbian into stereotypes?
Yeah I think I'm done with Glee in the fall myself (Fox is moving it to the same day and time slot as Grey's Anatomy) so I'm choosing Calzona over Brittanna. At least they have a real relationship and are allowed to show it. Will check out the soundtracks but that's about it for me. Just don't care about the plot (whatever there was of it anymore). And I know longer hold out hope that the show will get better. It was good in the first 2 season's that's how I'll remember it (and not the mess that was S3 and 4).
i wrote my final paper for literary theory about Glee and it's assertion of patriarchy via its queer characters. i only wish this episode had aired before the semester ended so i could use it as evidence. i also wish i'd had more time to write a longer paper about the wildebeest of white heterosexual male privilege that is finn hudson, but only so much office paper exists on this planet.
that being said, there's no point in me pretending that i won't go back to glee. HOWEVER, it's being moved to the same time slot as parks and rec on thursdays, and seeing as leslie knope can bring me more joy with five seconds of her presence than an entire season of glee usually manages to, i know which channel i'll be on when thursday night comes.
I just finished it. It was terrible... That's pretty much where I landed with it. The Finn and Rachel aspects of the finale were absurdly over-powering. I just... there's so much and so little I want to say about it. I just... I can't.
As for me, I don't hate the Finn character - I only find it incredibly difficult to believe that it is a central one, when almost every other is more interesting.
Actually, the breakup scene was probably the best thing that could happen to the Finchel ship : it reinfused it with (some) sorely lacking drama and it gave Cory Monteith an opportunity to play something more challenging than, er, the usual Finn Hudson.
And I totally agree with the lack of continuity problem : I always have the feeling that the Glee writers treat the characters as if they were a set of Barbies or GI Joes that got tossed around from one kid to another, living different adventures in different worlds depending on who is playing with them.
But what perhaps disappointed me even more was that the music sucked.
Come on Glee, you can do better than tepid mainstream pop (or at least you usually can do it better.)
On a finishing note, I have been dreaming to hear Kurt covering an Adele song, so was kinda hoping he would break up with Blaine and sing 'Someone like you'...
Unkind, I know, but easily more intense that the teary eyed-hand hugging excuse of a relationship they have !
The finale was just like one of Naya Rivera's gif says: "It was just like...one hour of nothing"
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