When the actor playing Finn died earlier this summer, I didn't know how the writers would handle it. There wasn't really a way they could build up to a death for the character and make it convincing, but I think they did the best they possibly could.
Seasons of Love is often overdone in pop culture, but it worked perfectly for the opening scene, and I loved the way they blended the new class and the old class together. My wife and I got chills while listening.
The biggest surprise for me was that they never even addressed how Finn died within the Glee universe. The episode started and he was already dead. It was a ballsy choice, but I think it worked out pretty well. There really wasn't a satisfying death that they could come up with, so this worked really well.
The scene of Finn's Mom and Kurt's Dad crying may have gone on about a minute too long, but her monologue basically wrecked me. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose one of my children, and she acted the hell out of the scene.
Someone who didn't act the hell out of their scene? The guy that plays Puck. I'm always excited to see the actor show up on an episode of Glee, but he should never be given a dramatic scene to work with - unless it involves singing. The locker room scene between him and Beiste was downright painful due to how bad his sobbing was (and the slightly contrived dialogue didn't help matters). Still, this truly felt like a finale for the character of Puck, and I kind of hope they don't bring him back. Shipping him off to the air force on the back of his motorcycle is pretty much a perfect ending for the character.
Jane Lynch brought the goods in this episode. Both of her scenes with Santana were spot on, and I liked that there was a mix of humor and sadness within her character. This is really the way that the writers should be using Sue on a week-to-week basis.
Rachel not appearing until the last fifteen minutes was somewhat surprising, but her rendition of that Bob Dylan song was worth the wait. You could feel Lea Michele's pain with every note she hit, and the reactions of her fellow actors felt shockingly real (especially Sam falling over sobbing into Santana's shoulder).
If I have a complaint, it would be the way the episode ended. I'm fine with Mr. Schue breaking down into tears, but did he really have to be sobbing into Finn's Letterman jacket? Will has always had an inappropriate teacher-student relationship with Finn, and this just seemed overly creepy oh his part - especially when a few scenes earlier he was blaming Puck for stealing the jacket. It makes him look like a total dick, and somewhat of a skeeve. The moment was nice in theory, but it failed completely in its execution.
Outside of the Ozymandias episode of Breaking Bad, this has to be the most emotionally draining episode of any show I've ever watched. Was it perfect? Not even close. But as a whole? This was one of the best episodes Glee has produced in years. I know I'll miss the character of Finn, but the show must go on...
Disagree with pretty much every one of your criticisms. The end was great- he had to be the rock for everyone, especially the kids, and having to hold that in caused him to act out and take the jacket. Nothing skeevy about that, not like it was his fucking underwear. The only dickish thing was that he didn't tell Puck he believed him.
It was the right call not to get into how he died- Murphy confirmed this isn't the last we're hearing about Finn. Future eps will go into how (I imagine it will be OD or suicide), this was to give the cast & fans a chance to celebrate their friend. Apparently a lot of this ep were 1st takes.
The woman who played Finn's mom was great. I can't imagine with how little she appeared on this show that she was *that* close to Cory, she was probably one of the few who had to really act. Mike O'Malley rocked it as usual, nice touch bringing up the "faggy lamp" which was one of the most powerful moments in the show's history.
I was incredibly disappointed they didn't explain Finn's death. With the tragic loss of Monteith and the circumstances surrounding it, I would have hoped they'd put them together. Will it be in a directors cut? Deleted scenes? Or will it be purely speculation?
Watching Glee here in Canada, there were no Anti-Drug PSAs broadcast. Were there any on the Fox feed?
The glaring omission for me was the blonde that Finn had a kid with. Where was she? I think everyone was there, even if they didn't say a word.
Originally posted by OliverThe glaring omission for me was the blonde that Finn had a kid with. Where was she? I think everyone was there, even if they didn't say a word.
Rumor has it that Ryan Murphy and Lea Michelle made sure Dianna Agron wasn't back even if it didn't make storyline sense.
Originally posted by Moss The only dickish thing was that he didn't tell Puck he believed him.
Pretty sure this is what I got hung up on. I would be much more cool with Will taking the jacket if he wasn't one of the people vocally calling out Puck. Other than that, it was a great finish, and the guy playing Will rocked it in that last scene. I had expected the episode to end on a Rachel moment, so this was a nice surprise.
Originally posted by Moss It was the right call not to get into how he died- Murphy confirmed this isn't the last we're hearing about Finn.
On this we agree. Not revealing how he died was a perfect choice - part of me hopes they never go into it more. I'm satisfied the way it is.
Originally posted by Moss Apparently a lot of this ep were 1st takes.
Makes sense. I can't imagine the director wanted to force the actors to redo some of the more painful scenes twice. That might also explain why Puck's acting was so unbelievably bad in the locker room scene as well.
Originally posted by Moss The woman who played Finn's mom was great. I can't imagine with how little she appeared on this show that she was *that* close to Cory, she was probably one of the few who had to really act. Mike O'Malley rocked it as usual, nice touch bringing up the "faggy lamp" which was one of the most powerful moments in the show's history.
Really hoping that both of them get Emmy nominations for their work in this episode - they deserve them.
I am not a fan of the show at all but from everything I've heard, it was a pretty good show. I would guess they producers not explaining this characters departure is a good thing. Maybe they were fearing that they were glorifying a drug OD?
Chuck Norris drives an ice cream truck covered in human skulls.
I see why they wouldn't say he OD'ed but in other shows when an Actor dies they kill them off some how car crash, plane crash heart attack, To me not thinking up something makes it seem like they are trying to hard to protect their fans, even in an episode last season when a gun went off the suspense held for all of what 5 minutes?
Dont say its not worth it, when you can sleep with no fear, that kind of time is worth any thing.- FFX
I kept putting off this show forever, so I'm pretty happy I can at least pretend to watch it as if it was first-run. But man, July 18th seems like forever away. I guess I can finish catching up with Breaking Bad by then.
Thread rated: 3.11
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