Glee has this ridiculous, outrageous, and overdramatic way about it that first made me avoid, but later thoroughly enjoy the show. It doesn’t even try to exist in the real world. Glee is just a perky cover band blended with a soap opera, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. On top of it all, you’ve got Jane Lynch, who I’ve loved since Best In Show. But this is not really about the show. Even though I’ve been re-watching the first two seasons, there has been one ominous thought in the background throughout: the passing of Corey Monteith.
It’s always tragic when artistic talent and potential are squandered away and stamped out by substance addiction, and it was befitting that the cast decided to do a tribute. My first and lasting impression was that I saw very little of the characters I had grown so familiar with. Instead, I saw the actors. They looked every bit of their mid-late twenties, and just seemed altogether different. In their eyes you could see their very real pain and mourning, the reality Glee had so far completely avoided.
Most of the episode consisted of singing or crying, a lot of crying. (It made me cry too, a lot.) There wasn’t much room left for story development. I can’t say that I enjoyed it, but I don’t think anyone was supposed to enjoy it. That episode was meant to be experienced. It was a part of the long, at times endless, process of mourning. Whether thinking of Corey or another loved one, The Quarterback was pure catharsis, and well worth the tears.
P.S. I think Rachel singing “Yesterday” at the season’s opening was a fitting farewell from her character.
I Stream Too Much 