[SPOILERS] A big problem with Glee has been consistency and repetition, with storylines swimming in circles (Quinn's pregnancy, Kurt's crush on Finn), making the same point continuously (Kurt's dad adjusting to having a gay son), or simply recycling gags (Sue's jibes about Schue's hair). "Journey", despite being the second finale of this debut season, managed to avoid feeling like a retread of "Sectionals" because the emotions had a more climactic feel. When it's being honest and true to itself and treating its characters with care, Glee's still an uplifting piece of pop entertainment. I just hope the writers find ways to elicit that humanity next season, because the latter-half of this year has definitely felt more leaden and parodic...
No prizes for guessing that Quinn (Dianna Agron) went into labour shortly after completing their set, rushed to the hospital for birthing scenes mixed with the glee club's rivals Vocal Adrenaline performing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody"; a sequence that tried to have the Queen hit's lyrics have sub-textual meaning for Quinn's situation, but mostly failed and rather spoiled the moment. It was one of those creative ideas that just didn't come together in the edit, although the performance of Vocal Adrenaline and lead star Jesse (Jonathan Groff) was suitably manic, over-rehearsed and soulless.
One big disappointment of Glee's second-half has been two of its most awkwardly developed storylines, both of which coincidentally involve Rachel (Lea Michele). The Rachel/Jesse romance and subsequent betrayal just didn't work, despite a promising start, and their soured relationship noticeably received no airtime in the finale. The opportunities thrown up by Rachel finding her long lost mother, enemy choirmaster Shelby (Idina Menzel), was also too rushed and underdeveloped to really leave any mark, although this episode's final twist that Shelby's secretly adopted Quinn's newborn baby Beth (as a way to make amends for giving up Rachel), was at least a promising complication to explore next season.A pleasing part of this finale was seeing how Sue's fellow judges were even more callous than she is, proving frustratingly dismissive of McKinley High's troupe in particular, and angering Sue's shriveled soul as an educator who appreciates the hard work these kids put into their performances. It's been a delicate balance keeping Sue a ferocious cartoon-y monster, while at the same time giving us glimpses of her softer side -- and, while the season hasn't always achieved equilibrium, "Journey" handled her character's dichotomy perfectly. Sue's ultimately someone who enjoys ruffling feathers and perhaps views her bullying attitude as "healthy competition", and this episode did a good job of painting her as a villain who knows she's nothing without an opposing force like Schue to grapple with.
The finale inevitably came down to whether or not New Directions would win the Regionals, to cap the show's successful debut year with a cathartic victory in its fiction. Ultimately, the writers chose to ape Rocky and let the glee club lose the competition -- thus likely to return next season for a Rocky II-style comeback victory. A wise move, perhaps, although I can't say I'm looking forward to season 2 following the same pattern as this year. Hopefully they'll find a way to condense the story so it doesn't take 22-episodes to get to Regionals again, as that arc would feel like climbing the same mountain twice.Ultimately, Glee has proven itself an incredibly popular and lucrative television concept, but I've always been unsure it can exist as long as Fox want it to. This first season already felt quite slack in its first half, and a great deal of its storylines didn't really work. I sincerely hope season 2 has the writers putting more effort into developing the characters and situations in more plausible and consistent ways, so the show is less reliant on its tone and song-n'-dance silliness to keep you hooked. Right now my abiding thought whenever I sit down to watch Glee is wondering what songs they'll be tackling, and what zinger Sue Sylvester's going to spit Mr Schue's way, but I really hope I get properly invested in the plots and relationships next year. Rachel, Kurt, Mercedes, and Mr Schue are all decent characters crying out for more conventional, satisfying arcs. We know they can all sing and dance, I'd like to see more in the way of acting.
Asides
- I know it's just a trivial TV show, but there's surely no way Sue would be included on a judging panel for a competition her own school's competing in!
- Just a thought: wouldn't it be cool if Glee's finales were a break from the format and instead an hour of song-by-song performances, like a real competition? A fictionalized American Idol-esque two-hours, perhaps? Or maybe the glee club could participate in a faux-reality TV show one season?
WRITER & DIRECTOR: Brad Falchuk
GUEST CAST: Josh Groban, Olivia Newton-John, Jenna Ushkowitz, Jonathan Groff, Idina Menzel, Iqbal Theba, Charlotte Ross, Naya Rivera, Bill A. Jones, Heather Morris, Harry Shum Jr. & Dijon Talton
AIRDATE/CHANNEL: 14 JUNE 2010 - E4/HD, 9PM
