The "Glee" seniors reminisced, sang goodbye, and rocked the graduation stage, before sharing a sad scene at the train station. The emotional finale created room for next season's supposed show-within-a-show format. However, the bittersweet ending also left some seniors with an uncertain future.
Goodbye Assignment
Mr. Schue launched a love fest when he assigned goodbye songs to the New Directions. Kurt gave a solo rendition of "I'll Remember." The upperclassmen passed the baton by singing "You Get What You Give" and telling the underclassmen it was now their choir. Artie dedicated "In My Life" to Finn because he was the cool kid who changed the New Directions.
Sue's Future
Roz returned and invited Sue to join her plan to overthrow the inept Principal Figgins. After exchanging insults, Sue brushed her off and shared a surprisingly emotional goodbye with Quinn. They both cried, but it could have been Sue's pregnancy hormones.
Happy Endings
Thanks to Sam posting that YouTube video, Mercedes landed a job as a backup singer and planned to take extension classes at UCLA. Joffrey awarded a scholarship to Mike. Brittany failed, but was happy to have a do over and become the first two-term class prez. Content with her Yale plans and high school triumphs, Quinn decided to share the good fortune. She helped Puck study and restored his swagger with a single kiss. Puck passed Dusenberry's test.
Gleeduation
Puck and Finn sang their goodbye song, "Glory Days," on stage as Figgins announced the graduates. Each one popped through the curtain like a rock star while the others swayed like a church choir. It made the rushed high school graduations of reality seem even more dreadful than usual.
Wild Cards
Santana was not satisfied going to school in Kentucky and wanted to chase stardom, as well. Brittany's flunking was a bombshell for her and added to her confusion. Santana's mom revealed a secret college fund and told her to use it to go to New York.
Finn and Kurt received rejection letters from their coveted New York schools. NYADA accepted Rachel despite her rocky audition. Rachel wanted to defer school and spend a year helping Finn and Kurt with their auditions.
Rachel and Finn
The show delivered a surprise ending when Finn decided to cancel the wedding. He drove Rachel to the train station and told her that he joined the Army because it was the one place she could not follow him. She did not want to go without him or Kurt, but Finn convinced her. A sobbing Rachel headed for the train. Will, Emma, and the New Directions stood on the platform and said goodbye as she sang "Roots Before Branches."
"Glee" Season 4
The show-within-a-show format for next season sounded like a desperate ploy to send Kurt, Finn, and Rachel to New York without eliminating the popular characters from "Glee." The show already carries so many plots that Schue sometimes loses his breath during the voiceover recaps. Could "Glee" reasonably accommodate a New York setting, as well? Probably not without denying Tina her senior spotlight.
Keep the cast in Lima or do a spin-off. "Glee" needs to cultivate other talents within the choir room and grow beyond the go-to plots Rachel and Kurt carried. Surely, that high school has more "outcasts" in need of an artistic outlet.
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