Glee

The final episode of this season’s Glee was called “Goodbye,” and it was as painful as that time we had to say goodbye to friends as we were leaving out nests, our schools, our hometowns to move on to other chapters of our lives. We all swear we’ll keep in touch, we’ll return for visits and reunions, we’ll call and correspond often. But we almost never do. On Glee, we have to say goodbye to the seniors—Rachel and Finn, Quinn, Kurt, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany, Mike, even Puckerman, who got a second chance to pass his geography final. All of them are going separate ways. Wow! Will I ever miss them, especially Rachel and Finn. Glee is an odd anomaly—a musical fairy tale that would seem doomed in a society most of whom scorn musicals. I call it a fairly tale because nowhere in the universe are there glee clubs with voices and dance moves like we see at McKinley High or at the regional and national competitions. I’m a Gleek because I love the characters and the music. I’m a Gleek because I admire the way this show has tackled social issues that need tackling—homosexuality, bullying, spousal abuse. This show has opened a lot of minds and changed a lot of opinions. In season one, the bullying of the glee club members was seen in the slushy cups the football team always threw in their faces. Kurt was especially the victim of homophobic bullies. But in “Goodbye,” the slushy cups contained red and white confetti as the school welcomed them back from winning the nationals. And Kurt was no longer a victim, as the school, his classmates, his father, and nearly all the Glee audience now accept him as he is. He tells Blaine, a junior, that he’ll always love him. When she’s asked if she’s gay, Brittany says she doesn’t know for sure, but she’s sure she loves Santana. And coach Shannon Bieste finally has the courage to leave her abusive husband. What a really good show this is, what a good way to overturn outdated attitudes. I’ll miss the graduating glee club members, but I’ll still have Artie and Blaine and Tina and others coming up, and Sue Sylvester and Coach Bieste and Will Schuster to make next season a musical feast. If you're not already a Gleek, you should tune in next season and get gleeful.