The end of an era has come for Glee fans. On Friday March 20 after six seasons, the show came to a close with a finale that did not disappoint.
The two-hour long episode was full of moments that had you smiling, laughing, singing-along, or sobbing your eyes out.
Here is a summary of the final episode of a show that has changed and inspired many. Warning: this contains spoilers if you have not watched the episode.
In the episode, viewers were flashbacked to the year 2009, which is when the show started. During this time, favorite characters were being reintroduced.
Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) is struggling to fit in and does not have any friends. His father, Burt Hummel (Mike O’Malley), tells him that he needs to join the football team to meet other people but Kurt does not want to.
One day in the cafeteria, Kurt finds out from Rachel Berry (Lea Michele), a fast-talking superstar in the making, that the Glee Club was going to be starting up again.
Kurt and Rachel go to the auditorium and sing “Popular” from the musical Wicked. When they finish, Kurt suggests that they should sing that song together for the audition and Rachel declines saying that they cannot.
Then we are reintroduced to Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley), a confident church choir singer, who is also an outcast. She is approached by Kurt because he wants her to teach him some different techniques and things to do for the audition.
Rachel feels that there will be competition competing against Mercedes. Mercedes makes sure that Rachel understands that she is not scared of her and Rachel is taken aback.
Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), a shy goth girl, and Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale), a kind-hearted guy who is a paraplegic, secretly like each other and decide to audition for the club.
Each person tries out and they all are officially in the Glee Club.
At the end of the first hour, the memorable scene of Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Artie, Rachel, and Finn (played by the late Cory Monteith) singing Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” was shown.
This was an emotional moment for many since it featured the late Monteith and the scene was very nostalgic. This flashback scene fit perfectly and was a great way to end the first hour.
Then we were taken back to the present as Will Schuster (Matthew Morrison), the director of the New Directions, is told that McKinley High is now becoming a performing arts school and he will be the principal.
He realizes that he will not be able to coach the New Directions anymore so in an emotional send-off, he sings Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young’s “Teach Your Children Well” to the current and old members of the club.
Everyone was wondering who his replacement would be and it turned out to be Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), who decided to stay around instead of moving away to New York with everyone else.
One by one, each character bowed out gracefully from McKinley High to start their new lives. Before singing “Someday We’ll Be Together” by Diana Ross, Mercedes revealed that she will be the opening act for Beyoncé.
Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) said farewell by performing “Winner Takes All” by Abba with Mr. Schue which turned out to be a comical performance. In typical Sue Sylvester fashion, she exited by knocking over the pianist’s stool which caused the pianist to fall over.
In a powerhouse and tear-jerking performance, Rachel sang “This Time” as she wandered alone through the halls. In the scene, there is a moment when she walks by a trophy case and Finn’s picture along with the old Glee Club director Lillian Alder (Jane Galloway Heitz) were displayed.
We are lastly fast forwarded to the year 2020. Kurt and Blaine are starring on Broadway in a LGBT production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf? and going to Harvey Milk Elementary to tell kids to chase their dreams (this is when they break into a performance of “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees).
Sue Sylvester is now the Vice President of the United States (yes you heard right, I said the Vice President of the United States) and her partner in crime Becky (Lauren Potter) is the head of her security.
Artie made a movie that Tina stars in and it is going to play at Slamdance (and yes that it what it is called, not Sundance).
Towards the end of the episode, Tina, Artie, Mercedes, Kurt, and Blaine meet up at Rachel’s apartment before she leaves for the Tony Awards.
In this scene, we find out that Rachel is the surrogate for Kurt and Blaine’s child. Then it is time for the awards show. Mr. Schue, along with his family and friends, are watching the show from home and the rest of the gang is watching it back in New York.
Rachel wins a Tony Award and in her emotional acceptance speech, she thanks her husband/director Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff) and Mr. Schue. She dedicated her award to them and she said a quote that Mr. Schue had once told her.
In the final scene, we are taken back to McKinley High and Sue is giving a final speech and reveals that the auditorium is now named the “Finn Hudson Auditorium”.
If you did not lose it enough before this scene, this one was sure to make you cry uncontrollably. The episode ended with a performance of “I Lived” by One Republic and most of the cast returned for this number.
The final shot was of the trophy case with Finn’s and Lillian Alder’s pictures along with a plaque dedication to the newly named auditorium.
All in all, the finale had everything that fans could ask for, the tributes to the Cory Monteith were done well, and the show ended on a high note.
Elizabeth Granato
Features Editor
Photos courtesy: erachel-berry.psd, italiansubs.net.jpg, net, newspaperneisd.net.jpg
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