My Thoughts on ‘Glee’ Now that I Just Finished Watching It

Last updated on August 17, 2020

The following contains spoilers for the TV show ‘Glee.’

I understand the show finished its last episode like five years ago, but I decided to watch it a few months ago since I finished other TV shows. Simply put, the show was a rollercoaster of emotions: anger, heartbreak, sorrow, and joy. For me, I typically enjoy musicals; in the past, I have watched movies where the main characters sing acapella at national show choir performances, so this seemed particularly interesting.

The first three seasons were far better than the last three. That is in part because the original, season one main cast (with Sam and Blaine) were the best characters in the entire series. That’s not to say that there were not some good additions (Rodrick, Marley, and Rory) in later seasons, but the show revolved around the development of the original characters.

The first three seasons of the show primarily focused on overcoming intolerance and bullying. The first people who joined the glee club were all considered social outcasts: an Asian goth girl with a fake stutter, a guy with glasses in a wheelchair, a Jewish girl with an annoying personality, a black girl in her church choir, and a closeted gay guy.

However, the show progresses when “popular” kids like cheerleaders and football players join the club. While their initial intentions may have been deceiving, they eventually did glee club out of enjoyment.

In my opinion, the third season was the best because the glee kids won the national championship and so many long-lasting relationships had to come to an end. To this date, I strongly believe the best couple is Finn and Rachel. Don’t get me wrong, Rachel was one of the least likable characters on the show, especially in season 5 and 6, but Fichel was the ideal couple.

My perspective on this may be skewed because Finn eventually dies in season five, but they brought the best out of each other. Which is why the stupidest thing Rachel ever did was break up with Finn. The underlying belief throughout the first three seasons was that Fichel was this couple that could overcome practically any obstacle. Then come season four, where they break up because of various factors like a lack of communication, the long-distance between them, and the relationship between Rachel and Brody.

Of all the characters, my favorites were Blaine, Quinn, Artie, Mike, Mercedes, and Finn.

The reason I like Quinn and Finn so much is that they both had serious character development from season one to three. For Quinn, she was a stereotypical cheerleader who was obsessed with school hierarchy and popularity.

However, through the courage of taking her unwanted pregnancy to term, jeopardizing her reputation for the sake of glee club, and being in committed relationships, she graduated high school as a respectable and mature character. I also thought it was commendable that she gave her prom queen crown to Rachel even though she won the election for prom queen by one vote. Also, she went to Yale, which is a bonus.

Finn was the best character in the entire show, and I will beat down anyone who says otherwise. Again, my perspective on Finn may be skewed because the episode where they pay tribute to Finn made me cry for hours. However, his character development was significantly similar to Quinn’s in the sense they both gave up social status to be apart of the glee club.

The reason why Finn was one of my favorite characters is that I related to him the most. Like me, Finn was often conflicted about his future and found himself in the middle of two universes (football and glee). He was unsure of how he felt when he found out Kurt liked him but seemed to accept him when their parents married, making them step-brothers. He also seemed methodical and passionate about everything.

Blaine, Artie, Mike, and Mercedes were also my favorite because they were the most talented performers. Brittney, Santana, Rodrick, and Marley were exceptionally close.

After season three, where more than half of the characters graduated from high school, the show went downhill.

Season four and five were alright. I do have to cut the writers some slack for trying to make the show work with half of the glee kids in Ohio and the other half in New York. There were some good episodes too, like season four, episode one was well written and introduced me to the musical genius of Bill Joel’s “New York State of Mind.”

Seasons four and five seemed unoriginal because the new cast of kids were just replacements of the previous cast, which is why I didn’t care about the relationships between the new kids. For example, I didn’t care about who was catfishing Ryder or the love triangle between Ryder, Marley, and Jake. The only season four/five relationship that is worth mentioning was the one between Kitty and Artie.

Season six was a dumpster fire because the plot and characters seemed rushed. Rodrick was probably the best new character because his voice was powerful, and he seemed nice, but there was not much character development, and we barely knew him at the end. The series finales were the only episodes that were good in season six.

Overall, the series is worth watching. It has so many controversial moments, but I think it productive to explore opposing viewpoints on differing topics. However, the music, characters, and theme of acceptance make the show truly unique.

Also, my condolences go out to the family of Naya Rivera who played Santana Lopez in the show.