Fade in, the chords of the first song on the piano. Pan down to the new New Directions. Tears start to come out of my eyes almost uncontrollably. They just won't stop. To make things even more emotional, the first song is "Seasons of Love," from the musical Rent. "How do you measure a year in the life?" Sing the new kids. The old New Directions take over. Everyone's in black. They're all trying to keep it together. Trying really hard to make it through the song. To fight the urge of bursting into tears because they just lost their friend, their "leader." And so "The Quarterback" begins.
This hour was all about remembering Finn. Who he was, how he treated people, how he was always encouraging everyone to be the best they can be. It was a beautiful celebration of a life cut way too short. Of a teenager (on the show) that was on his path of becoming someone great. A person who had finally figured out who he was, but could never explore it to the fullest. Maybe that was Cory in real life too. Maybe that's just the universe saying "you've already served your purpose on Earth." Maybe he achieved greatness based on the many lives he touched and made better. Based on how kindly he addressed others.
The episode had many intense moments, especially all the performances, where you could see the glee club members, old and new, break down and just let their feelings flow, not holding them back. That was probably the hardest thing to watch. How everyone was affected, how all of them cared, how everyone is going to miss Finn. But the worst part was thinking about how they were also sensitive because of Cory, their friend beyond cameras, a life gone too soon. Props to Ryan Murphy for making a very tasteful memorial, without commercializing on the real cause of death of the actor. The episode was sweet, loving, and a celebration of life. How it was intended in the first place.
Besides the songs, there were also five other highlights that definitely made this episode intense, starting with Kurt's monologue at the beginning of the show, after the "Seasons of Love" performance. He's in New York, packing to go back to Lima. "Three weeks and a day since his funeral, and it's the first time I've had the courage to even look at the suit I wore to it. And now back to Lima for a special memorial that Mr. Schue is planning. We're all going back, everyone who can. Being together is hard, it makes it more real, but I also need my friends right now."
He goes on. "People keep asking me 'how are you feeling, what are you feeling.' I have no answers. Honestly, what can you say about a 19 year old who dies? Everyone wants to talk about how he died too. But who cares, one moment of his whole life. I care more about how he lived, and anyone who has a problem with that, should remember that he was my brother ... This isn't real, I'm not going home for this. I'm going to spend my entire life missing him."
The second highlight is when Carol, Burt and Kurt are gathering Finn's clothes and personal items to decide whether to keep them or donate them. Burt is clearly affected, and although he wasn't his biological father, he felt like one for Finn. He also praised him for teaching him a very important lesson: "He didn't have a prejudice bone in his body." Kurt then grabs his quarterback jacket and says, "Seeing him walk down the hallway wearing this, it was like Superman had arrived." Carol, however, couldn't hold it anymore. "How do parents go on when they lose a child? How do they wake up every day? How do they breathe?"
Probably the moment when everyone held their breaths was when Santana confronted Sue over the altar that students had made in front of what it used to be Finn's locker. New principal Sue Sylvester wanted it removed, and Santana just couldn't allow that. "You have no right to take down that memorial ... You wanted that memorial gone because you're a cold hearted b*tch! A miserable, self-centered b*tch, who has spent every waking minute of the past three years trying to make our lives miserable. I'm officially over it! ... You're not my principal. See, I don't go here anymore Sue, and that means I can finally tell you what I think of you: I have hated you ever since the day I met you. You are a horrible person who never had a nice word to say about Finn Hudson, so don't you dare think for a second that he didn't hate you too!" Later on Santana goes to apologize to Sue, and in a shocking turn of events, she agrees with what the former cheerleader had said earlier.
Another friend who didn't know how to handle his grief was Puck. He relied on coach Beiste to guide him through this difficult time because Finn wasn't there anymore and he was the one who always came to his aid during rough circumstances. "If I start crying I'll never stop," Puck confessed. However, after thinking about it for a while, he finally decided to make something of himself and enlisted in the Air Force. He said that he didn't have Finn anymore to turn him back to the right path, so maybe an army could discipline him.
And now, the most heartbreaking moment of the whole show was Rachel's appearance. She showed up in the choir room and finally opened up about the whole thing. "I don't know what to say either. I loved Finn. He loved all of you guys. I know he did. I like to sing in the car, and before Finn, I used to sing alone and this was the first song that I sang with him when we would drive around together, so, this is for him." After she sang her beautiful rendition of "Make You Feel My Love," she spoke to Mr. Schue. He asked her how she was doing. "I talk to him a lot. I can still see his face and hear his voice so clearly. You think that i'll ever forget it? Because I'm afraid someday I will. I had it all planned out. I was gonna make it big on Broadway, maybe do a Woody Allen movie. And then, when we were ready, I would just come back and he'd be teaching here and I'd walk through those doors and I would just say 'I'm home,' and then we would live happily ever after. He was my person. I felt like I didn't know if I was gonna be able to sing again."
Rachel then handed Mr. Schuester a plaque with Finn's photo and one of his first quotes from the beginning of the series. "The show must go ... all over the place ... or something."
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