The heart of the hit show Glee has always been, and will always be, Finn Hudson. If anyone has any doubts, they do not need to look farther than Glee’s emotional, touching tribute episode to the talented, kindhearted Cory Monteith and the character he portrayed.
The episode, aptly titled “The Quarterback,” aired on October 10th as the third in the show’s fifth season, and it is nothing short of heartbreaking. The absence of Finn and Cory Monteith looms over the Beatles tribute episodes despite the joy of the other characters, and we all know why: Monteith passed away on July 13th of an overdose of heroin and alcohol. After agonizing anticipation for Gleeks everywhere, “The Quarterback” does justice to both Cory and Finn, and it has finally let fans say goodbye to the character and the actor they have come to love so much.
The tribute, instead of focusing on the cause of Finn’s death (as his brother Kurt puts it, “It’s one moment in his whole life. I care more about how he lived.”), follows the other original characters as they all experience grief in varying ways, much to the benefit of the episode. Once the opening notes to RENT’s “Seasons of Love” begin to play, there is no doubt that this is the most difficult thing the Glee cast has had to do.
Kurt (Chris Colfer) vows that he will “miss him for the rest of [his] life” and cries in a heart wrenching scene with his dad and stepmother Carole Hudson as they sort through Finn’s old clothes. Puck, played by Mark Salling, cannot imagine his life without his best friend guiding him through the darkness. Once he realizes that he must be his “own quarterback,” he performs Bruce Springsteen’s “No Surrender,” staring at an empty chair in the choir room the entire time. Santana cannot find the right words to say and relies on her angry, instinctual insults before beautifully singing “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry and breaking down. Kurt passes on Finn’s letterman jacket to her, but someone steals it. Though Puck is accused, the culprit turns out to be Mr. Schue, who has been there for the others but has not broken down once. The man who discovered Finn singing in the showers of the locker room in the very first episode of Glee finally shows emotion as he sobs uncontrollably into Finn’s jacket.
But there is nothing more gut wrenching than watching Rachel Berry, played by Cory Monteith’s on and off screen girlfriend Lea Michele, perform the tragically beautiful Bob Dylan song “Make You Feel My Love.” As she sings with tears streaming down her face, she almost gasps for air and reaches to grab her heart, where her gold necklace that says “Finn” rests. It becomes quite clear that this is not acting: this is Lea Michele and the other cast members bearing their emotion and grief for Cory Monteith for everyone to see. In another touching scene, Rachel heartbreakingly describes Finn to Mr. Schue as “her person”, and the two hang a plaque on the wall of the choir room: a headshot of Finn and a fan favorite quote, “The show must go…all over the place…or something.”
And the show will go on: Glee is continuing with its fifth season, and the cast, crew and fans must go on with their lives. But Cory Monteith truly made the show the cultural phenomenon that it has been, with his Finn Hudson reassuring adolescents all across the country that it’s ok to be both a quarterback and a glee club member, it’s ok to be who you truly are. This beautiful, emotional tribute episode will never let people forget that fact.