The saying goes “April Showers bring May Flowers”, but flowers aren’t the only things popping up all over during the month of May! School is out, the pools are open, and our favorite TV shows are also taking their summer vacations. This last full week of the month brought us the third season finale of Glee, showcasing the McKinley High seniors as they made their final decisions and graduated. However, graduation must not have the same connotation in the halls of McKinley. Creator Ryan Murphy has said that the entire original cast will be returning for the fourth season of the hit show, leaving viewers confused and unsure of what is to come despite eight members receiving diplomas.
I have been a full-blown “Gleek” since the pilot aired in May of 2009, back when the show was as quirky and underrated as its cast of characters. Sadly, in the opinion of this collegiette, Glee has taken a turn towards the worst. Murphy, although usually brilliant and witty, has turned the eccentric show into his own personal soapbox. This season brought us many complicated story lines that came out of nowhere and ended abruptly—Coach Bestie facing domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, Puck sleeping with the adopted mother of his child McKinley teacher Shelby Corcoran (Idina Menzel), Mike Chang’s father crushing his dreams, Quinn getting in a texting-and-driving accident leaving her near paralysis, Kurt’s dad Burt running for local office, and many more. The only follow-through stories of the season: Santana coming out and the impending nuptials of Rachel and Finn.
When Glee first began, episodes focused on storylines that involved multiple characters and occasionally carried over a couple episodes. The story of Quinn’s pregnancy enveloped most of season one, while Rachel’s struggle to let go of Finn was spread through season two. One of the most memorable episodes featured Quinn convincing Mercedes to pursue an obviously gay Kurt, who lied about liking Rachel to avoid being outed by his crush on Finn, Quinn’s boyfriend and the object of Rachel’s affections. Unfortunately, this structure was seemingly absent in the third season. Part of what made Glee so fantastic is that it kept the viewer guessing—when will Finn find out Puck is the father of Quinn’s baby? Will Karofsky ever stop bullying Kurt? Does Jesse really like Rachel, or is it a ploy to take down New Directions? This past season has failed to captivate the audiences as it has previously, and I whole-heartedly believe the lack of enthralling storylines is the reason why.
Glee has dropped in the ratings, most likely due to the recently mediocre writing and the discussion of major social issues. The show became so popular because it featured average students going through the normal challenges of high school. But this season took some twists and turns, straying characters from their foundation. Such was the case of all the seniors. Rachel, always driven by her desire for fame, was content to defer her acceptance to NYADA after she spent all season agonizing over it to marry her high school sweetheart. Quinn began the season as a smoking and pierced punk rocker, then overcame paralysis with the help of her new Jesus-freak boy-toy Joe to graduate as the hoity-toity Yale scholar with a trendy hipster wardrobe. Finn went from planning on a football scholarship to questioning his existence and proposing to Rachel as a back-up plan before deciding to enlist in the army. Santana gave up a cheerleading scholarship to pursue her dreams of stardom, but what about Kurt? He didn’t get into NYADA, and he had no back-up plan except to stay with Blaine. Kurt was always just as determined as Rachel to be a star and the season finale left me wondering where that determination went.
The only seniors who stayed true to themselves the whole season did win out in the end. Mercedes and Mike both took major steps towards their dreams of music and dance, and Puck actually graduated. These three characters showcase relatable scenarios, making them the only somewhat normal storylines this season. Now things are going to get even more complicated—Murphy shared that season four will be split between Lima and New York City, following Rachel as she climbs the staircase to stardom. Hopefully graduation will bring a fresh start for all, rejuvenating the series and taking back to what it was in the beginning; a show about a group of outcasts searching for themselves through the lessons of the Glee club.