Column by Morgan Gstalter
I’ll be honest when I say that I’m writing this with tears in my eyes.
When I sat down to watch the emotional tribute I knew was to be awaited in “Glee’s” latest episode in honor of their fallen star Cory Monteith, I was unprepared.
Monteith, who passed away in July at age 31 to toxic complications from an alcohol/drug overdose, was memorialized on Fox’s hit show.
The original Gleeks and the newer New Directioners came together to tribute Finn Hudson in song.
While Kurt (Chris Colfer) explained the backstory to Finn’s funeral and the memorial service to be planned at the school, a cause of death is not associated with his character, which I actually appreciated.
With McKinley High in mourning, we follow the characters healing process, whether that be lashing out with anger like Santana (Naya Rivera) did or being crumbled with grief like Mercedes (Riley).
Finn’s Leatherman jacket becomes a key symbol as we watch the Glee Club members, under the leadership of a calm and strong Mr. Shue, singing “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretender and “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry.
Lea Michele, who was Monteith’s on and off screen love, made an appearance towards the end of the episode as a grief-stricken Rachel Berry.
Hearts all across the globe have broken for Michele, and I think my own heart may have shattered into a million little pieces while watching her rendition of “Make You Feel My Love” by Adele.
According to Variety, Glee’s co-creator Ryan Murphy revealed that the show will end after its sixth season.
Murphy admitted that while the show had to continue after Monteith’s death, Murphy will have to work around the late star’s missing character.
”I knew what the last shot was, he was in it. I knew what the last line was, she said it to him. So when a tragedy like that happens you sort of have to pause and figure out what you want to do, so we’re figuring that out now,” Murphy said in the Variety article.
I can’t even imagine how difficult this episode was to film and I applaud the cast and crew of “Glee” for being so strong during this difficult time. As fans, we knew Cory as Finn Hudson but while watching the characters on screen, you could see that they didn’t need to do much acting.
Their emotion was raw and real, and it allowed his fans to say goodbye to the quarterback we knew and loved.
Gstalter is a first-year news-Internet major and can be reached at morgan.gstalter@drake.edu
Thank you for the thoughtful piece. Please note the jacket is a Letterman’s jacket (or simply Letter jacket). It refers to the school letter which the student has earned, usually in sports though they are also earned for the arts, too.