TV

“Glee” recap (6.13): Goodbye, Glee (Part 2)

And so we have come to the end. I’d like to start out with something that Will’s beloved glee coach, Lilian Adler, once told them.

“Glee isn’t about competition. It’s about something deeper. Glee is about opening yourself up to joy.”

How true, Lilian. This is something that has inspired Will throughout the years, and these are the words that carry him through another win at Nationals with the newbies.

When Will arrives back at Lima, Superintendent Harris has big news for him: McKinley is being turned into a fine arts high school, and Will has been chosen to be its principal. He’s dumbfounded. I mean, who can blame him? Just a year earlier, the school had no arts whatsoever.

We zip ahead three months to Will’s first day, and Emma is packing their lunches in Wonder Woman and Superman lunch boxes. It’s adorable. For the first time, Will doesn’t have to worry about how the glee club will survive or that someone will try to destroy him; now it will only thrive. There is even a daycare set up at the school. When he tells Emma that he’s worried he won’t be a great administrator, Emma, who has been by his side one way or another since the beginning, tells him that is bunk. Everything is coming up roses, kid.

Will shows up to a full choir room of fresh-faced students. Even Rachel, Mercedes, Blaine, Kurt, Artie, Tina and Sam are there to welcome the new kids. Will announces that there will be numerous glee clubs from now on, and he’s bringing back the Troubletones! I wonder what Shelby Cocoran is up to? One other thing: Will’s no longer going to be teaching any of the clubs. This, I’m sure, was no easy decision on Will’s part. He whips out his ukulele and dedicates a song to all the students he’s had before, and the memories he will always cherish. (The new kids must be like, WTF?). He plays “Teach Your Children Well” by Crosby, Still, Nash and Young. During this song, the cast of Glee stars to cry, as this is a true goodbye for them. Lea, Darren, Chris, all of them have tears in their eyes, and trembling chins. Okay, so do I. It’s a truly beautiful moment.

In the locker room, Sam is busy taking care of his balls. (He’s inflating footballs, okay?) Blaine comes in to check on him, and try to convince him that he should come back to NYC now that the sports program has been eliminated. Sam appreciates his friend’s concern, but he’s actually got something lined up and Lima is where his heart is. Guess what it is, guys! Guess! He’s the new coach for the New Directions! Yes, I also have concerns that he is unqualified, but so was Finn, and he found a way to rise above. What Sam lacks in experience, he makes up for in exuberance. I’m glad Sam gets his happy ending, too. The guy grew on me.

In the auditorium, there is a tearfest waiting to happen. Mercedes has big news for her friends: She’s the new opening act for Beyonce, and that means no more Lima Express. This is goodbye for a long while. She knows she can’t handle a teary, huggy, soggy goodbye. Mercedes Jones knows how to make an exit, and she plans to do hers in song. She sings “Someday We’ll Be Together” by Diana Ross and the Supremes, which invokes a lot of tears from her friends, and us. Amber Riley is a true talent. She managed to bring passion and gusto to every song she ever sang on Glee, yet did it with an ease that most singers could only dream of. This is a fitting send off for her. So Mercedes leaves with a wave and a kiss, and walks out the auditorium door.

Blaine and Kurt find Sue wandering around Will’s new office, not long after she peed on it, for old time’s sake. That’s going to require a steam cleaning. Klaine thank her for forcing them to face their true feelings for one another again, because now they are ready to head back to New York and start again as a married couple. Kurt back at NYADA, Blaine at NYU. Sue tells Kurt that even though she didn’t always understand him, there was always something about him that inspired her. He’ll always have a special place in her icy, leathery heart. For Blaine, not so much. “Blaine, I still don’t really get you. I guess I’m just not a fan of your…thing. But hey, you’re doing you. And that’s swell.” I guess Sue is still holding a grudge about that whole Karofsky thing.

Sue excuses herself because she has someone she needs to see. In the hallway, we see Becky Jackson, and the two run to each other and embrace, exchanging apologies and mending their friendship. But it’s actually not Becky who Sue is heading to see-it’s her old rival, Will. Sue finds him in the auditorium, and the two perform “The Winner Takes it All” by ABBA. Watching Sue not only concede that Will has won, but also that she will actually miss him, is a pretty remarkable thing. And what about Will? Who will keep him on his toes now? For good measure, Sue takes out Brad’s piano bench on her way out. Godspeed, Sue Sylvester.

We flash to five years in the future, and Sue Sylvester is once again a guest on the Geraldo Rivera show, but this time, as Vice President if the United States. The VPOTUS track suit is everything. She even announces that she’ll be running for president in 2024. Isn’t the world grand?

Back in Lima, Kurt bids a fond farewell to McKinley by making his locker a time capsule filled with his favorite treasures like his prom crown and his favorite picture of Finn. Blaine starts to laugh and cry, because his husband’s heart is the size of Texas. Skip ahead five years and Blaine and Kurt (and their unfortunate 2020 hair!) are guests at the Harvey Milk Elementary School. The couple are rising stars who just performed in an all queer version of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf at Lincoln Center. Not to shabby, fellows. They perform “Daydream Believer” by The Monkees, which is arguably that fake band’s best song. All the kids join in, and it’s a cheery little moment that gives us a big hint about Klaine’s plan to have little ones of their own.

Now has come the time for Rachel’s Lima swan song. Alone at the piano in the auditorium, Rachel sings “This Time,” written by Darren Criss. It was a nice song, but it would have been really awesome to see her do a slowed down version of “Don’t Rain on My Parade.” (Okay, so that’s just in my head.) Lea Michele is crying her face off during the song, which really hit home. To me, Glee has always been about Rachel. Sure, I’ve loved so many of the characters and their journeys, but this was Rachel’s journey most of all. From a blindly ambitious and terribly lonely kid, to a woman who has loved and lost and learned something big and important about herself.

Flash forward five years, and Mercedes, Artie and Tina (who are officially a couple again!) arrive at Rachel’s brownstone in New York. Artie and Tina have written and produced a movie that is taking off, and Mercedes gives them permission to use one of her songs in it. Klaine also arrive and everyone is dressed to the nines. Inside, we find a seriously pregnant Rachel Berry getting dressed to attend the Tonys. Yes, Rachel is pregnant with Klaine’s baby. She’s also a Tony nominee and married to Jesse St. James. Now, why Rachel would decide to get pregnant during her first year run of a Broadway musical is beyond me, but igiveupitsthelastepisode. She and Jesse attend the event while the gang hangs out at their place to watch. It also turns out that Jesse was her director in Jane Austen the Musical, which I would see in a heartbeat. Back in Lima, Sam, Will, Emma and their brood of ginger babies watches the event. In a moment that shocks no one except Maggie Smith, Rachel wins. Rachel gives a tear filled speech, and saves her biggest thanks for last-Will. Her dreams have come true, and having a teacher who pushed and encouraged her meant the world to her. Will cries with joy.

Vice President Sue Sylvester invites a select group of people (Will, the Hummels, Figgins, Coach Beiste, Emma and, for some reason, Terri) for a private concert in the McKinley auditorium. ‘Cuz she’s VP and she can do anything now and no one questions it. She admits to hating the glee club for a long time, but she’s realized it’s actually kind of brave to have big dreams. The curtain opens and all I can see is Quinn Fabray, who was denied a decent ending and I will forever be ticked off about that. However, she glows like an angel and that’s what I’m focusing on. Soon, old members of the New Directions appear singing “I Lived” by OneRepublic. Unique! Sugar in sequined hot pants! Mike Chang! And, of course, these two.

Brittana. While we didn’t see them after their wedding, I still feel pretty amazing about how far they’ve come. Glee‘s most solid couple. The heartbeat that drums in many a fangirl’s chest. I am beyond grateful for the love affair between these two cheerleaders, even as we had to fight for it. And fight for it we did. You won. We won. The world won and is better for it. Viva Brittana! Goddamn, I will miss the hell out of you.

And with that, the entire Glee ensemble takes the stage and appears together one last time as the lights dim on the McKinley stage. Glee, you perfectly imperfect creature. I’ve never been so moved or been so angered by a show in my life, yet whatever turns it made or messages it tried to convey, it made me feel. Glee was the first thing I ever covered for AfterEllen, and that will always hold a special place in my heart. There were so many things I wished had gone differently with this series, yet so many things I wouldn’t change for the world. I will miss it. I already do.

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button