Tribute to a fallen character–and star

THE CAST of the high school musical drama “Glee” said goodbye to Finn Hudson, the beloved singer-quarterback, while paying tribute to Cory Monteith (extreme left photo), the late actor who had portrayed him, in a much-anticipated episode. AP

When “Glee” star Cory Monteith died a few months ago due to drug-related causes, the hit show’s many fans were left shocked and bereft. His costars felt the unexpected loss even more, especially his real-life love, Lea Michele. That early, people were already wondering how the series would deal with the loss of its lead actor and the departure of the central character he portrayed.

On Oct. 11, televiewers finally got the answer to that key question when the show telecast the special episode that paid tribute to both Cory and his character, Finn: Instead of detailing how Finn passed away, the episode’s script started after the fact and focused on how his death affected the people he left behind.

Many of Finn’s club mates and elders were given emotional and musical “moments” to express the depth of their loss. Some of the songs were beautifully felt and realized—but after a while, the fact that so many mini-“tributes” “had” to be performed, one after the other, took the special episode to the point of near-satiety. Too much of a good thing, when all is said and done, is still too much.

That’s why, by the time the telecast got to the musical tribute everyone was waiting for, Lea Michele’s painful dirge for her departed love, viewers felt emotionally spent. Even if the singer-actress took the song to its deepest level, its emotive and empathetic impact was, to a significant extent, blunted.

The episode also made a big to-do about two visual emblems or motifs—the sapling planted in Finn’s memory that disappeared from where it was originally situated and Finn’s football team jacket, which was sequentially stolen by several bereft mourners.

The mystery was finally solved when the jacket was shown ending up with Mr. Shue, the glee club’s leader, who loved Finn like his own son. The plotting touch revolving around his grief was the fact that he could not express it by crying because it was too deep—but, when he got the jacket, it triggered the tears he had “bravely” bottled up inside and it helped him achieve the closure that he needed to move on.

What happens now that Finn’s and Cory’s deaths have been addressed and mourned by the drama series, which has just started its fifth season? Rachel Berry (Lea Michele’s character) has just been shown copping the plum role of Fanny Brice in a revival of the hit stage and film musical, “Funny Girl,” which starred the young Barbra Streisand. So, we can expect the show’s fifth season to go into the long process of rehearsing Rachel’s big ticket to stardom, with all of the many problems involved in mounting a big revival production.

If the series goes in this direction, “Glee” could end up as a follow-up to “Smash,” the recent TV series about the staging of a new musical about Marilyn Monroe, with Katharine McPhee top-billing.

What about the series’ other continuing characters? Its resident gay couple has gotten engaged, so that subplot will probably be developed further. Another graduate turns out to be a math genius—at Albert Einstein’s level, no less—so, can we expect her to set the school on fire?

Despite these attention-calling subplots, however, the extended “Glee” is looking a bit glum these days, so we may watch it only occasionally, just to keep tabs on its new developments from here on in.