Glee the Final Season (DVD) Review

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In the annals of television history, Glee will have a unique place. A musical series that actually worked, the Fox show was a massive hit with audiences and critics in its first year before turning into a full-fledged cultural phenomenon in its second. However, the backlash soon sunk in as the series became more disjointed, annoying fans with its own messages and the great cast unable to salvage poor plots. The death of star Cory Monteith was a massive blow that shook the series up more. So when it was announced that the series was ending with its sixth season, many had the attitude of “it’s about time.” It has a lot of poor bits but some points do manage to hit and the finale shows that Glee still had some of that old magic in it to reward its fans.

The Series

As we begin, Rachel (Lea Michele) has just seen her Hollywood dreams collapse as her would-be sitcom has turned into the biggest bomb in television history, ruining her chances at stardom. She returns to Lima only to find her dads are divorcing and thus no idea what to do. Kurt (Chris Colfer) is also back, having broken up with Blaine (Darren Criss) who now coaches the Warblers. Sue (Jane Lynch) is still principal and running McKinley with an iron fist and Dobermans, banning all arts and encouraging nothing but hard schoolwork. Rachel and Kurt manage to talk the superintendent into restarting the Glee Club with themselves leading it. Will (Matthew Morrison) is happy for them but is now coaching rival Vocal Adrenaline. The two begin to recruit a club with old faces like Sam (Chord Overstreet), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Santana (Naya Rivera), Brittany (Heather Morris), Puck (Mark Saling), Quinn (Dianna Agron) and Mercedes (Amber Riley). Soon, they start to get members like Kitty (Becca Tobin), gay football player Spencer (Marshall Williams), goofy twins Mason and Madison (Billy Lewis Jr. and Laura Dreyfuss), Roderick (Noah Guthrie) and Jane (Samantha Marie Ware) who transfers to McKinley after being turned down by the Warblers for being a girl.

The length of the season is definitely a drawback. Having to balance brand-new characters while planning a proper farewell for the older ones is a major challenge but having only 13 episodes to do it means the entire year feels rushed. That leads to a lot of bad stuff and much of it revolves around Sue. The character has always bordered on being a cartoon but this final year goes completely over the top. When Will tries to make peace, Sue sees him leaving behind a plastic fork as a blatant insult and goes on the warpath with ridiculous stuff like brainwashing Sam and then locking Blaine and Kurt into a closet to force them to be together, complete with a crazy Sue doll. Even worse is a later episode that reveals so many of Sue’s wild stories (like Michael Bolton being the father of her child) were all lies and makes her a total joke. It does have a fun bit of Carol Burnett returning as her mother (admitting she and her husband made up the whole “Nazi hunters” bit just to not be around Sue) but it just seems utterly ridiculous and not fair to Lynch’s talents.

It’s more annoying given how the season does offer some truly good stuff. For example, Coach Brieste (Dot-Marie Jones) reveals she’s transitioning to a man and the series handles it with amazing care and respect. That includes a section where Vocal Adrenaline eggs Brieste’s car and Will’s chiding reveals how these people are so arrogant and set in their ways. It comes to a good conclusion that leads Will back to the Glee club. Also, we finally have the payoff to the Brittany/Santana romance as the two get married in a great episode that includes Santana making peace with her homophobic grandmother. It also has a funny bit where Brittany’s parents (Jennifer Coolidge and Ken Jeong) share the truth of why she’s a secret genius. There are also bits that work surprisingly well such as when Sue runs into Figgin’s sister…who’s a total dead ringer for him (Iqbal Theba plays both roles). Plus, the new characters can have interesting bits like Spencer, who’s proudly out of the closet but doesn’t make a big deal of it and even thinks the “gay” stuff by Kurt and Blaine are overdone. And every now and then, the show can even send itself up from Santana slamming Kurt on acting like every single thing he does is a landmark for homosexuals to Sue brilliantly pointing out that Will totally ignores the club’s band who “have proven themselves capable of playing any song you can imagine at the drop of a hat.”

The actors are able to handle the material with Michele giving Rachel a bit more edge having her dreams collapse around her and trying to rebuild while Kurt and Blaine balance their relationship with turns (like Kurt briefly dating Harry Hamlin). Morris gives a bit more sharp to Brittany who goes crazy about her wedding with Rivera lovely showcases Santana handling finally being with her and their send-off is great. The new cast doesn’t have much time to make a mark but Williams is good showing how Spencer works against gay clichés and the weird bond of the twins makes them stand out. But it’s obvious that the lack of episodes means we don’t get nearly the development we should so they just come off as distractions to the older members and giving them proper endings. For all its faults, we still get some sensational musical numbers from an animated version of “Take On Me” to Santana, Brittany, Quinn and Artie’s “Problem” to Michele’s fantastic rendition of “Let It Go” while Lynch gets a fine version of “Bitch.” And the last two episodes do show the series going out on a high. First, a flashback to 2009, showing the characters coming together to form the club, better insight to who they were, how the conflict between Sue and Will began and how Finn was the backbone of it all. Then, the series flashes ahead a few years to show where everyone will be. It all culminates in a beautiful final song that brings back every cast member of the past for a great send-off. For all its flaws, those two final episodes remind you of the magic Glee had and why it meant so much to so many. So it’s a rough ride but the series ends up sticking its landing and finishing with a proper reward for its fans. So if you can ignore the early issues, you can see a show that knows how to do a curtain call right and why it was so much of a fun mess to enjoy.