The Glee Finale or How to Accept Mediocracy and Give up on your Dreams

When I first sat down to write this I wrote about 10 pages outlining everything I liked and disliked about this episode. I guess the first 5 pages were cuss words towards RIB in reaction to the lack of Brittana kiss, but after I got over that I actually started to think about what this episode was trying to do. It was therapeutic for me, but probably wouldn't be very interesting for anyone reading this, because I assume you have all seen this episode, if you have not then exit this page immediately because it is going to so full chock full of spoilers.

Unless you are not actually interested in Glee, in which case why are you reading this? Is it because you love me? I like that, you may continue to love me, so please read on. I am beginning to think that the fact that I am going to have to wait at least 4 months, possibly more, for a Brittana kiss has actually driven me insane and for that I am sorry. 

What did I learn from Glee this week?

Let's face it, Glee is mostly a fabulously, soap operatic, after-school-special set to music (don't we love it) so there is usually a clear lesson for the week. And it's alright if you haven't guessed what the lesson was they will sum it up nice and neatly at the end (usually followed by a musical number to enforce said lesson). Most of the time I agree with these lessons, even if this show has some of the worst Aseop amnesia I have ever seen, but this weeks final left me confused.

According to the sum up, this weeks lesson was acceptance (although it wasn't just this week but apparently the whole season). I can understand this as being the theme for the season, with everything that has happening, I just didn't see it in this episode.

I guess it says something that this Glee wisdom was stated by the only two characters who seem to be practicing what they preach, Kurt and my beloved Brit Brit. If anyone has truly learnt to accept both who themselves and the world around them it's these two. Kurt has had to learn that he can't force the world to change and he can't force everyone to accept him, but that doesn't mean he can't accept himself. My beloved Brit Brit learnt to appreciate and stand up for herself, she has embraced who she is and what makes her happy and she is not going to let anyone push her around anymore.

Kurt and my beloved Brit Brit represent this theme of acceptance at its best both of them learnt that acceptance isn't just about loving yourself, it's also about accepting that there are some thing that you can't change and I love them both for it. If it was just the Kurt and Brit Brit show then this theme would be perfect, but as far as I can see none of the other New Directions members, or their intrepid leader, have learnt any such lesson.

Some of the other lessons I learnt were:

What I learnt from Mr Shue: Sometimes it is too late to go achieve your dreams.

I know he was never going to leave New Directions for Broadway (wait haven't we seen this before – Acafellas) but this felt all wrong. This was different from him trying to be in a silly boy band and the lead in a community musical, this was actually Broadway and if even it's probably true that CrossRhodes: The April Rhodes Story, would probably close the day it opened this in an opportunity you don't pass up. They probably shouldn't have had him look so happy at being on that stage... he looked happier then I have seen him this whole season. Then his look was mirrored by Rachel and Kurt later in the episode, which made me want it for him that much more. It might just be me, but I did not feel at all good about the fact that he decided to go back to Ohio, and I also thought it was totally unfair for the kids to be so unsupportive. I didn't even buy Kurt and Rachel's attempts at encouragement, you would think that they would appreciate the need to follow your dreams.

I also have to admit that Shue was becoming more and more irrelevant as this season progressed. I am hoping that they actually have something planned for him next season (planning that's an interesting thought RIB) other wise they may as well have sent him to Broadway. At least then the kids would have been able to see that you should truly never give up on your dreams.

What I learnt from Finn: Act like a dick and you will get everything you want.

 

I always liked Finn, he was adorable, dimwitted and you could tell he really loved to sing. I loved that he wasn't sure of himself and he didn't always say or do the right thing but his heart was in the right place. But it seems that this season they have made him less adorably clueless and more of an ass. When the episode started I honestly thought he was going to learn his lesson and then he could spend all of next season redeeming himself and I want to like Finn, he's just so clumsy and tall, so I was excited about this. But it seems that the only lesson he learnt was that if you do what you want without thinking about the consequences or anyone else feelings then you can achieve anything.

He broke up with Quinn the week before because it turns out he had been in love with Rachel the whole time. He's a teenager, his feeling are all over the place, I get it, the lovely Quinn is guilty of the same thing, but still. After how worried he was about Rachel's feelings leading up to Regional's you would think he might have a thought about how Quinn would feel about him going after Rachel so soon. Not to mention the fact that Rachel is now kind of dating Jesse. Nope he's going to go for it, with some encouragement from the other (heterosexual) men of New Directions (really boys, aren't you supposed to be friends with Quinn too?), he takes Rachel out on some kind of fantasy date. Then she turns him down, because she wants to focus on her dreams, from which he is clearly distracting her. Does he learn to respect the fact that you can't change everything and move on, no he doesn't he keeps at her eventually kissing her onstage which apparently losses them nationals (it has nothing to do with the fact that they wrote those songs 5 minutes before they performed them).

The lesson still could have been learnt but the final few minutes of the episode seem to show that Finns selfish actions actually worked, he gets the girl and the Glee club still love him. So apparently everyone except the heterosexual male lead has to learn to accept the things they cannot change and as for the other thing, at this point I really don't care what Finn thinks about himself.

What I learnt from Rachel: Give up your dreams for a guy that doesn't deserve you.

I know she didn't actually give up her dream. She said she was still going to New York after she finished high school, but her actions suggested something different. I was so excited at the start of this episode because I thought they were going to give us old Rachel back, the Rachel who would do anything to achieve her dreams, only she would be better this time because she has learnt that sometimes she needs the love and support of others, like Kurt.

I can't even express how much I loved the scene between Kurt and Rachel. It was perfect and it reminded me of how much I love both these character (why didn't they do that for nationals they could have won?) and it was the only part of the episode that made me cry. I usually cry all the time in Glee, judge me all you want it gets me every time. It also seemed to remind Rachel who she was and what she wanted, but then all that good was undone by one kiss which apparently turned her into a love struck little girl again. She realised that Finn was holding her back and that they weren't going to last because they both want different things but then she gave in. She let him kiss her onstage even though she would have known that it was unprofessional. But it wasn't just that, it was that she was giving in, Finn had treated her like crap taking away all of her confidence and she was just starting to get it back. Rachel rejecting Finn would be her way of saying that she wasn't going to let anyone take away her confidence again. It turns out the kiss was worth it all, even worth herself. I want to see Rachel believe in herself, but I don't think there is any way she can do that until she is able to let go of Finn.

What I learnt from Quinn: A haircut fixes everything.

I get the idea, the haircut represents the shedding of old issues and embracing your new self, in short it's a metaphor for the whole acceptance theme. I understand, but there was no build up and no response. You should have at least have seen the rest of the Glee clubs reactions to her new look. Instead, she was old Quinn, sad, mean Quinn then she had a haircut and suddenly she is OK with everything, even welcoming Rachel and Finn back into the club after there problematic kiss. Quinn needed not only need to accept herself but also all of her flaws. I might have got it wrong but it seems that Quinn really needs to embrace the fact that she can't always be in control, and that there is more to her then her looks. I really don't think that altering her appearance is going to fix this problem. If she changes simply because she had her hair cut, doesn't that reinforce that how she looks on the outside directly affects how she is on the inside. Way to mix messages Glee.

And this isn't even getting into the fact that they didn't show what Quinn's for New York was, surely it wasn't just to tell in Rachel and Kurt? I would also like to make a note that when she thought Santana was propositioning her she said she was not THAT into it... Sorry I can't help it, I see rainbows everywhere. (I may have just started to ship Quintana, how did that happen?) Glee honestly, the things you do to me.

What I learnt from Santana: They are only allowed to have 1 same-sex kiss a season.

I'm gonna start but saying that I am little bit bitter about this, so I may not be all that rational about this. I know there's a plan and I saw Brad Fulchuk's tweet so I am excited for whats going to happen next season. But I really really really wanted them to kiss, and I can't believe I have to wait four months or more to finally see it happen (if it happens at all). Part of me was glad they didn't have a kiss, because there was absolutely no build up but then I get mad because there should have been one in The Prom Queen, it was a perfect moment and it would have been so right but the missed it and so we have no sweet lady kisses until season 3. 

I'm sorry, I had to get that out the way before I begin to tackle Santana's storyline.

The problem I have with the end of this episode was that I wasn't sure if Santana had accepted herself or not. I mean is she still bearding it around with Karofsky or did they just fizzle out after prom? There are just so many questions, which I guess will be answered next season but it would have been nice if she had at least said something about accepting herself even though she is not ready to come out.

The whole of the hallway scene was about my beloved Brit Brit and how she had learn to accept her self and the fact that Santana wasn't ready to come out of the closet for her. I love that Brit Brit has accepted herself but I would have liked to hear more about what Santana thought about the whole idea of acceptance. The thing that scares me is that Brit Brit seemed to be suggesting she wouldn't wait around for Santana, which I guess is reasonable but I can't get over the fact that I'm pretty sure they just put Brittana back in the friend zone. While I want Brit Brit and Santana to be happy, I also wants to see them get their mac on so I am hoping that this scene is the beginning and not the end of something special.

It also plays into my fears of the disappearing bisexual, by that I mean the trope that means that anyone who identifies as anything other than heterosexual or homosexual must eventually choose a side. This usually means that bisexual men will turn out to be gay and bisexual women will turn out to be straight, anything in between was just a phase. After the way she has learnt to accept and embrace herself this season I am praying this doesn't not happen to my beloved Brit Brit.

I think the thing that annoyed me the most about the Santana storyline for this episode (apart from the lack of lady lip action) was the fact that I could see the potential there. There were momentary hints that suggested if there had been more time some Brittana action may have taken place. The wonder scene that hearkened the return of the unholy trinity (Quinn, Santana and Brittany) kind pushed the idea that if you have love you should embrace it and there was a knowing look between Santana and my beloved Brit Brit that seemed to speak volumes.

Then there was the song that they supposedly wrote 5 minutes before nationals “Light Up The World” which fits so well with Santana's struggle. I can't think of where else this song could have come from, which in itself is one of the major problems with the end of this episode. I enjoyed the original songs at regional's but that's because they had lead up and meaning, we saw where they had come from and what they meant in within the story. This time there was nothing, we are left wondering and I can't help but wonder if this song is about Santana being ability to express her love for my beloved Brit Brit... but then again, maybe I'm just dreaming.

There are many other characters in Glee, and I of course there is so much more I could write about. There is a bit too much controversy surround the Samcedes moment (although I think I could like them together) and it's a bit too soon to tell anything anyway, so I think I'll just wait and see where it goes. Of course there's there was the Klaine I love you, which was sweet and understated although not the promised kiss. But I don't want incite any kind of shipping war so I'm just going to leave that right there.

I'm sorry this was so long, but it was the last Glee of the season so it's going to be a while before I get to rant like this again. 

Also I love you too, xx