#5 – Matt Rutherford
Remember this guy? Matt was a member of the “original twelve” New Directions. He and Mike Chang both joined the glee club along with Puck after Kurt’s stint Beyonce-ing on the football team, but unlike Mike, Matt’s character only stuck around for one year before we’re told he transferred. He had two lines of dialogue in the whole season, but he was still one of the originals, and given what we’ve heard about the bonds formed on set during Glee’s first season, the actor Dijon Talton must have had some great experiences being part of that initial rollercoaster ride of Glee exploding into the mainstream. Plus, he may or may not have had illicit relations with April Rhodes. Matt deserves to come back and marvel – or shake his head – at all the crazy times he missed when he left McKinley.
#4 – Lauren Zizes
Lauren was a pretty major Glee character for a while there – she grew from a small comedic background student to a fully-fledged glee-clubber. She had plots and solos of her own, she went to Nationals, and actress Ashley Fink went on the live concert world tour with the rest of the cast. She’s a favorite of many fans, and probably the most beloved temporary New Directions member. Lauren has a great, and realistic, mix of confidence and vulnerability, and her romance with Puck showed worthy character development for both parties, even if Puck’s true love did turn out to be Quinn. Ashley Fink is also Chris Colfer’s best friend in real life, and although Lauren probably got the hell out of Lima – last we heard she had a wrestling scholarship to Harvard – if she were to return, it would be cool to see her and Kurt have a significant, and probably humorous, storyline together.
#3 – Ryder Lynn
You wanna talk about raw deals? Look no further. Ryder Lynn, played by Glee Project winner Blake Jenner, was introduced in season 4 as one of New Directions 2.0, recruited by Finn, who saw a bit of a kindred spirit. Right from the start, Jenner acted the hell out of everything he was given – his performance was subtle, nuanced, earnest, crotchety, and above all interesting, but he got shafted in a major way. This guy can just never win – from a recycled dyslexia plot which results in him getting dumped, to constantly getting messed around by both the girl he likes and his best friend in an actual Cyrano de Bergerac situation, to getting catfished by another friend, whom he totally should have dated if the show was as brave as it thinks it is – and eventually, and unsurprisingly, quitting the glee club. Ryder was the show’s best new regular – not least because he’s the first glee clubber to openly criticize Will’s terrible ideas – and he could have done so much more with better material. Glee season 6: #JusticeForRyder.
#2 – Isabelle Wright
Isabelle was Kurt’s boss and mentor at Vogue.com, where he interned upon arriving in New York during season 4. This plotline was put aside once Kurt was finally admitted to NYADA, to the disappointment of many. There’s always been a fairly significant portion of fans – including Chris Colfer himself, who pitched Kurt as the future editor of Kurtin magazine – who never quite saw performance as Kurt’s true career path, and it would be great to see a storyline where he realizes this and becomes comfortable with changing direction. He could reconnect with Isabelle while pursuing a new goal as a designer, stylist or costumier. Sarah Jessica Parker is another star who probably isn’t available at the drop of a hat, but we can dream, right?
#1 – Jesse St. James
Number one on our countdown is, of course, Jesse St. James. Could there be any other option for the top spot? Jesse is a complex character, as naive and ridiculous as Rachel in his own way. Every time he re-visits Glee, he’s grown into himself a little more and it becomes clearer and clearer how very much in love with Rachel he is. His last appearance in season 3 showed him as a competent and compassionate coach – there was a lot of depth to his worry and panic about Unique – and although he was still hung up on Rachel, he respectfully congratulated her and Finn on their engagement, and he privately helped her out by voicing his thoughts to NYADA dean Carmen Tibideaux.
If the show chooses to give Rachel a new romance, we’d prefer it was with Jesse to any other character. Acting out scenes of Rachel moving on from Finn will probably be quite sad for Lea Michele, and it would be nice to imagine her doing this with the support of her real best friend Jonathan Groff. Jesse is right for Rachel in different ways to Finn – there’s not always one person for everyone, or sometimes you don’t get to keep the one you thought was the one. Finn complemented Rachel beautifully, but if Jesse has continued to mature in the time since we’ve seen him, he could also be a very good match for her, someone who’d help her rediscover her passions and who dreams the same way.
Glee season 6 premieres tonight on Fox at 8 p.m. EST with “Loser Like Me” and “Homecoming.”
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