Tonight, the Glee series finale aired, marking the end of a six year run for one of the most groundbreaking television shows of the last decade. Check out this recap of the final two episodes of the series, “2009” and “Dreams Come True.”
Season 6, episode 12, ‘Glee’ series finale, ‘2009’
The penultimate episode of Glee opens with Kurt getting bullied by Karofsky and Puck. As he collects his things, we hear an inner dialogue about how he might as well kill himself because no one would know or care. Emma notices he was reading a pamphlet about suicide and calls in Burt to tell him. He yells at Kurt to make some friends or he’s taking away the sewing machine. At lunch Kurt asks to sit with Rachel, who is making signs, and says they should try out for the new glee club. She sings “Popular” from Wicked, with Kurt in the auditorium at the piano. This show is significant for these two.
Kurt meets Mercedes by saying that he wants to be just like her – a star of her church show choir. “I’m this, but inside I’m more,” says a nervous and non-confident Kurt. Kurt auditions for the glee club with “Mr. Cellophane.” Will writes some notes about how great Kurt is during his performance. Kurt tells his Dad that he’s “joined a team,” but that it’s glee club not football. Burt’s okay with it and Kurt takes a moment to try to come out, but doesn’t let his inner monologue find its way out.
Rachel also meets Mercedes by introducing herself after she watches her sign up for an audition. Rachel tries to connect with her by mentioning she also had a black Dad. It doesn’t work, so Rachel invites herself to Mercedes’ church where Mercedes sings “I’m His Child,” a gospel song by Zella Jackson Price.
Tina mentions that she came up with her stutter and that she thinks she is one of the best actors of her generation. She meets up with Artie, who mentions that he’s in love with Tina and that she’s his best friend. Artie and Tina are hanging out with a couple of bullies who dare them to sign up for the new glee club after they dumped spaghetti all over Kurt and Rachel. Both agree and say they don’t even care – they’ll do it. We get to watch Tina’s famous “I Kissed A Girl” audition while Artie watches on in adoration in the wings. Artie rolls out and auditions to “Pony” by Genuine, because of course he would.
In the choir room Will hands out gloves and asks that they start singing “Sit Down You’re Rockin the Boat,” before Rachel and Mercedes launch into one of their classic tirades about who should take the lead.
We get to see a glimpse into the craziness of Will and his first wife. “You know I’m a little bit psychic? I have a bad feeling about this.” Will tells her that she is the love of his life and nothing is going to take that away from him. As we all know, that eventually changes.
Rachel gets slushied while she’s talking to Will about finding the male lead. Will doesn’t do anything before storming off and bringing the glee club into the auditorium. Will tells Rachel that she gets the solo for the first rehearsal which really upsets Mercedes. Back at church, Mercedes’ mentor tells her to learn to share the spotlight and that she is a star. “Stars have a way of finding each other,” says the mentor.
Figgins gives a check to Sue and says that the Cheerios are McKinley’s No. 1 priority. Sue wants to make sure that the Cheerios are the star performers of the school and Figgins assures her they will be. Back in the gym, Sue confronts Will about his intentions with the glee club while they are playing their weekly game of basketball. Sue says that the students of the school will never be performers and that he needs to accept it. “You either drop this glee club or you and I will cease to be friends. You do not want to make an enemy out of Sue Sylvester,” says Sue. “Sorry Sue. No deal,” says Will – and a war has begun.
“MySpace is pretty much the best invention ever,” says Rachel as she uploads her latest video performance. Rachel finds out that Will may soon be leaving since he will be a father soon. Thinking that she needs Will to be in the glee club, she talks to Will’s wife in hopes of keeping him from quitting as a teacher.
At the Lima Bean, Mercedes and Kurt talk about the new male lead: Finn Hudson. “I don’t trust him,” says Kurt as they talk about how bossy he was in rehearsal. Kurt walks away, but Mercedes taps Dalton Academy Warbler Blaine Anderson on the shoulder to get some sugar for her drink. Blaine is talking to a fellow Warbler about how he just came out and there is so much weight off of his shoulders.
At an emergency meeting, everyone talks about how they might want Finn to leave the glee club. However, everyone talks about the nice things that Finn did for them recently. Rachel says that they can’t start excluding people because that doesn’t make them any different than the others that exclude them. Rachel pumps the group up and says that she doesn’t know what will happen with this club, but maybe it will be something special. They eventually agree to keep Finn in the glee club.
Pillsbury and Figgins argue about offering Will more money to keep him at McKinley. Instead of money, Figgins offers Will the DVD of the 1993 National Show Choir Championship which inspires him to stay. Will overhears the group rehearsing before the episode cuts to the original performance of “Don’t Stop Believing” from the first episode, featuring Finn and Rachel as the leads.
Season 6, episode 13, ‘Glee’ series finale, ‘Dreams Come True’
We begin with a flashback of the glee club from Will’s 1993 performance as he gets ready for the 2015 National Show Choir Tournament. The New Directions have performed and they are waiting for their results. As they wait patiently, the anticipation builds, and lo and behold the New Directions win Nationals!
The Board of Education Superintendent has decided to turn McKinley High School in to a performing arts school, thanks to Will’s dedication. Not only that, but he appoints Will to be the principal of the school. Will and Emma share a moment of reflection about how long the journey has been to get to this point. Will admits that he’s scared to death. “It’s just you and me and the power of our imaginations,” says Emma.
The choir room is packed to the brim with singers. Will announces to everyone that there will be many glee clubs at McKinley High. New Directions, The Trouble Tones, an all boys glee club named The Duly Noted, and a junior varsity club. Will says he won’t be coaching any of them and that he has interviewed a candidate that he likes. He sings the song “Teach Your Children,” which was inspired by his new beginning.
In the locker room Blaine asks Sam if he will come to New York City since he’ll be unemployed soon. He says NYC is a lot of fun and he misses his best friend. Sam says that NYC isn’t his speed, and that he’s genuinely happy in Lima.
Will announces that Sam Evans is the new coach of the New Directions, the best of the best.
Mercedes announces in the auditorium that she is the opening act for Beyonce’s new world tour. She thanks the original members for helping her realize that anything is possible. She says she will be very busy and that they may not see each other for a long while, before performing “Someday We’ll Be Together.” She says her goodbyes to her friends while she’s performing and leaves the auditorium. “Mercedes Jones has left the building,” says Artie.
Blaine and Kurt talk to Sue in Will’s new principal’s office. They thank Sue for trying to get them back together before they head off to New York City. Sue confesses that watching Kurt go through the things he went through helped her open her own mind about similar troubles. Sue dismisses herself and runs into Becky’s arms and says thank you before then singing “The Winner Takes It All” with Will, as Brad the Piano Player accompanies them.
Flash forward five years later. Sue Sylvester speaks with Geraldo after winning an election for a second term as Vice President, along with President Jeb Bush. As outlandish as Sue has been over the years, this is one of the few storylines we could actually see coming true.
Blaine makes a time capsule to commemorate his time at McKinley. Blaine happily cries about how thankful he is to be with Kurt, before we flash forward to them as guests at the Harvey Milk School in New York City. They duet to the song “Daydream Believer” by the Monkees, while having fun with a bunch of young kids in a classroom.
At the piano, Rachel sings “This Time,” an original song that was written by Darren Criss himself, as she walks teary-eyed from room to room, hallway to hallway, reminiscing about her time at McKinley. She ends the song in the auditorium, and it’s pretty clear that there are real tears from Lea Michele making a cameo in the heartfelt performance.
Afterwards, we flash forward five years. Mercedes, Artie, Tina, Blaine and Kurt show up to see a pregnant Rachel, who is about to give birth to Blaine and Kurt’s child. Rachel and her husband, Jesse St. James, head to the Tonys where Rachel has been nominated for her performance in “Jane Austen Sings.” Sam is watching with the Schuesters, their giant family and Vice President Sue Sylvester. Andrew Rannalls announces the category and Rachel wins the Tony!
In her acceptance speech, Rachel thanks her husband Jesse, her two dads, Carman Tibideaux, and all her friends at McKinley. She dedicates the award to Will Schuester and tells everyone that dreams really do come true.
It’s Fall 2020 and Vice President Sue Sylvester walks out on stage and talks about the beginning of the glee club at McKinley High School. “It takes a lot of bravery to look around you and see the world not as it is, but as it should be,” says Sue. Sue announces that she is honored to rename the auditorium after Finn Hudson. After her speech, Will performs “I Lived” with basically every single member of New Directions there has ever been in one final huge number.
And that’s a series wrap on Glee, a show that brought so much happiness and confidence to so many people who once thought they were misfits or outcasts.
What did you think of Glee as a series and tonight’s series finale episodes? Feel free to share why Glee meant so much to you over the years in the comments section below!