Glee's New York Season Finale

Another Day Late Dollar Short Hulu Review by Christiana Gaudet

Hey, did you ever notice when you say the name of William McKinley High School’s show choir, New Directions, it sounds like “nude erections?”  I hadn’t, until their snooze of a season finale left my brain wandering off by itself and getting into trouble.

The best thing about this episode is that it set us up for some great plot possibilities in season three, and maybe even a post-graduation spin off where Kurt, Blaine and Rachel go off to find their fortune in the Big Apple.

Glee often requires us to suspend our disbelief.  However, no show choir director in their right mind would pack up their kids for nationals without a set list and plenty of rehearsal time under their belt. 

The new formula of original songs is a good one.  The process of watching the kids learn to be song-writers has given us such greats as Puck’s “Big Ass Heart,” and, in this episode, Brittany’s “My Cup.”

I would have accepted that the kids wrote and rehearsed their songs for nationals during the hours we weren’t watching them, better than I can accept they showed up unprepared.

Being on stage without being prepared is literally my worst recurring nightmare.  I can’t believe Will would do that to his kids.

One of the critical plots twists is Will’s dilemma.  He hasn’t told his kids that he is going to stay in New York to be in April Rhodes’ musical.  They find out, but by then he has decided that he loves the kids, and the Glee club, more than he loves the stage.  Hugs all around.

We do get to see Will do one number on a Broadway stage.  April, played by Kristin Chenoweth, is out to lunch.  I mean, literally, out to lunch.  She makes no appearance at all in the season finale.

I thought of her, though, when Kurt and Rachel break into the Gershwin Theater and sing “For Good” on the “Wicked” stage.  The first time I heard that song was with Kristin’s mighty vocals.  Rachel and Kurt nail it, making it the best song of the show for me.

I love the friendship that is developing between Kurt and Rachel.  Now that they are not weirdly competing for Finn’s attention, they can bond over their love of all things theatrical.

The ex-Cheerios, Brittany, Santana and Quinn bond over the universal truth of popular girls.  It is as true in Lima, Ohio as it is anywhere.  Pretty, popular girls have a harder time getting and keeping boyfriends than average girls.

But, a new hairstyle for Quinn makes everything better.

We never find out what Quinn’s big plan for New York was.  Perhaps she thought better of it, or perhaps the writers just forgot.

Finn wants to do some serious bonding with Rachel.  Rachel worries that, if she dates Finn, she will have to give up her dreams of stardom.

Sunny Corazon and Rachel bond in the ladies room right before Sunny and Vocal Adrenaline knock it out of the ballpark.

I remember traveling with my youth choir, and my high school class.  No matter where we went or why we were there, bonding with friends was what it was all about.  That part felt very real in this episode.

Of course, the two original numbers are fabulous, and the kids perform them flawlessly.  There’s only one problem.  At the end of their duet, Finn and Rachel kiss passionately, caught up in the moment.

Jesse is sure the kiss is the reason they place twelve out of fifty, two short of what they needed to move on in the competition.

Back in Lima, Blaine and Kurt say the L word.  Sam and Mercedes are dating, but they want to keep it a secret.  Finchel is back.  Brittany and Santana proclaim their friendship for each other, if not their passion.  Emma gives Will and the kids a great welcome back.  Coming in twelve out of fifty ain’t so bad.

The Glee kids are ready for senior year.  They have grown as musicians, as people, and as a team.  They have learned to accept themselves, and each other.

Snore.  Did somebody say “predictable?”