Entertainment

What Was Missing From the 'Glee' Finale?

by Kadeen Griffiths

Listen, Glee. You and I have been through a lot together. I haven't just had to suspend my disbelief in order to watch you; I have had to take my disbelief out to the backyard and shoot it like Old Yeller. I can't even bring you up in conversation with my friends without getting a, "Oh. You're still watching that?" And yet, here I am, writing articles about you on the Internet. You were supposed to give Glee 's season five an explosive ending and instead the episode was like throwing a faulty hand grenade that never went off.

The creators have been teasing that season six would take place in a new location after a big event in the season five finale and they were remaining so tight-lipped about it that we were all expecting something big. Something shocking. Something we've been dreading, like Kurt and Blaine breaking up again, or something unexpected, like Rachel Berry not getting everything she wants. Instead, the finale wrapped up so nicely and easily with a pretty little bow on top that it could have been a mid-season episode if not for the final number. Where was the conflict? All three of the subplots in the season five finale wrapped up too neatly, but if Glee had really wanted to have an impact on the audience then they should have tried throwing any (or all) of this in.

1. Blaine Should Have Been Black-Balled

June Dolloway warned Blaine that if he messed up her showcase then she would ruin him, but Blaine followed his heart, pulled Kurt up on stage for his encore number, and their natural chemistry knocked it out of the park. Instead of being furious, June was delighted. Um. What? All that tension and build-up went absolutely nowhere. Having June drop him like a hot potato for being unable to follow instructions would have been a more interesting storyline to explore going into season six.

2. Blaine and Kurt Should Have Broken Up

Admittedly, it was hard to even write that sentence without screaming nooo and searching for the DELETE key. Maybe Kurt felt like he was holding Blaine back if Blaine had to resort to calling him up on stage during the showcase in order to get him into it. Maybe June Dolloway cornered Kurt at the showcase and said some harsh words that drove him off. Regardless, I know I'd be tuning in to season six just to make sure they get back together.

3. Rachel Shouldn't Have Gotten Her Pilot

If the explosive event of the finale was supposed to be Rachel getting her pilot and moving to Los Angeles, then I hate to be the one to break it to the creators that we all saw that coming. At this point, it would have been more of a shock if Rachel hadn't gotten her pilot but had insisted on flying out to Los Angeles anyway to shop it around to other networks. In fact, it sounds exactly like the Rachel Berry we know and... tolerate.

4. Rachel Shouldn't Have Gotten Her Rewrite

There's no question that Mary Halloran was out of her mind, but she's also a seasoned Hollywood writer specially sent by the network to analyze Rachel's life and turn it into a script. Did that script make sense? No. However, Mary presumably knew more about script writing and what sells that Rachel does, so for Rachel to be able to change her mind with a song was pure Glee wish fulfillment.

5. Sam Should Have Had Sex With That Model

When Sam sat Mercedes down to tell her that he had cheated on her, we, like Mercedes, were probably waiting on some confession of model sexcapades. For an episode that built up how sexually frustrated Sam is, the fact that he was able to stay true to his promise to Mercedes except for one kiss seems unrealistic. The fact that she wasn't even angry about it was further proof of how much conflict their subplot was lacking.

6. Sam and Mercedes Shouldn't Have Broken Up

Sam and Mercedes spend more of their time as a couple breaking up than do any other couple on Glee. Even Finchel spent more time together. While it was a surprise to see them go their separate ways after declaring love for most of the season, it still would have been more surprising to see them try and make the long distance relationship thing work.

7. Santana Shouldn't Have Been Written Out

Even if all of these storylines continued to play out in a picture perfect way, Santana is a one woman snark and conflict machine. Even with Brittany present, the season finale would have been ten times better with Santana present rather than in Iowa.

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