This past week, Glee proved that the hardest word to say is goodbye, as they remembered the late Cory Monteith and his beloved character Finn Hudson in a very special episode “The Quarterback.”
Best known for his jock turned singer role on Glee, Cory Monteith was a Canadian actor who died this past July of a toxic combination of heroin and alcohol. The news came as a shock to Glee fans everywhere, as Monteith had just completed rehab only a few months prior. Monteith was very outspoken about his drug addiction, having struggled with it since the early age of 13.
Monteith’s death was not only a shock for Gleeks everywhere, but also for Monteith’s castmates and friends. On the day of Monteith’s death, twitter exploded with numerous tweets from celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, and Mark Salling, who plays Puck, Finn Hudson’s best friend on the show, spreading their condolences.
One person who was extremely affected by Monteith’s death, was his on screen and off screen girlfriend Lea Michele. The couple had been dating about a year and a half prior to his death in July and reports claim that Lea was “devastated” by the news. When it came to Monteith’s recovery, Michele was one of his biggest fans.
With the tragic news of Monteith’s death, the next question on everyone’s mind was, “What does this mean for the fate of Glee?” Since the first two episodes of the new season were written before the summer hiatus, scripts needed to be altered, not to mention the cast needed time to grieve. As a result, the season premiere was pushed back with “The Quarterback” episode set to air October 10.
On Thursday night, fans of Glee gathered around their TVs to say goodbye not only to the beloved actor Cory Monteith, but also to the beloved character Finn Hudson. For the episode, past and current glee club members joined together as they said goodbye in the best way they know how, through song. The episode was beautifully done as it focused more on the life of Finn, rather than his death.
Many of the Glee cast members described the filming for this episode as “very therapeutic” as it allowed everyone to say goodbye to two people they all cared deeply for, Cory and Finn.
When asked about Monteith’s death in a recent interview Michele explains that what happened with Cory was very minimal in comparison to the rest of his life. “There was no greater man than Cory,” said Michele, and that to have had him in her life, she considers herself “very lucky.”
In the words of Lea Michele, I think all Glee fans would agree, “We were all very lucky to witness his incredible talent, his handsome smile, and his beautiful heart.”