I wasn't going to say anything, but I can't not.
It was sad, yes, but I completely disagree that it wasn;t a good episode. For all of Glee's flaws - and there are a lot (I'm a fan so I'm probably acutely aware of them more than anything) - it was a perfect tribute. It was tragically beautiful in the way the cast's thoughts of Cory and fondness of Finn transcended what the characters were doing throughout the episode. It was moving, an exceptional portrayal of strength in a terrible circumstance - especially, Lea in the way she handled herself throughout the entire episode. The use of her sparingly was so effective in that you didn't need Rachel being in every scene for it to pack that emotional punch. Her scene with Schue at the end was a great way to close the chapter on Finn - it was clear the writer's were working their way around to a Finchel reunion in the final season of the show, which obviously isn't possible. Rachel's commentary about how she was going to conquer Broadway and then come back to Ohio and meet Finn and say, "I'm home," and they would like happily ever after was clearly what the writer's originally had in store. This has the change now. I don't know how that will go or what will become of Rachel post-Finn, but I'm going to keep watching.
It was a brave episode in that it didn't deal with death, and in many ways wasn't even about Finn per se, but about the people he left behind. How life goes on after death, and it is hardest, not on the person who died, but those who didn't but have to go on living without them. Kurt's character was one that has done this more than any teenager should have to. He was strong, the one who was coping the best with it all, and the scene will all the Hudson-Hummel's was the hardest thing to watch. It was hard to watch because it was truthful. It was brutal in it's honesty and that's why it was amazing.
Glee has kind of started taking the easy way out in much of it's writing - starting storylines and then dropping the ball when they get too hard or potentially difficult or controversial - but this episode was anything but taking the easy way out. It was have been so straight forward to just spend the 45 minutes praising Finn, constantly talking about how amazing he was, making him some kind of martyr. But Finn was flawed; he was the one character that made the mistakes, said the stupid things, so we would learn the lesson. The writer's instead chose to relay a message of 'grief is okay.' You're allowed to miss someone, and almost gave validation to the fans that their sadness over Cory's passing was warranted and just as real as those who knew him personally. Grief is wide and varied and Glee covered all of it with an unabashed honesty that was, at times, hard to watch. This episode was also candid, funny in parts, and reminded me of those moments when you're supposed to be sad or upset and you laugh at something, and then realise that you probably shouldn't. Not yet. I laughed in places, was teary eyed throughout and lost it at the end, but it was a fitting conclusion and a way to say goodbye.
And I appreciate it for that.
