Gleeks, we are officially back, but is that a good thing? The long-awaited and rumored Glee reboot has finally been confirmed. This past month, Disney+ and Hulu announced the return of Glee via social media, causing quite the mixed reaction from Glee fans everywhere. I genuinely think I am one of the biggest Gleeks of all time. I discovered the show in middle school and quickly became addicted. I still watch it to this day at 20 years old. I actually have to hide my Spotify Wrapped every year, because “Glee Cast” always finds a way into my top artists. So, needless to say, I’m a loyal fan of the show.
However, it goes without saying that the series is very unique. Throughout the six seasons, Glee has had some chaotic storylines that I can’t believe actually aired on television. Many people claim that the show would not be able to be made today because some storylines and jokes range from weird to just straight-up offensive. So, in honor of the announcement of the reboot, I would like to present my top five most insane Glee storylines.
1) Finn’s Journey To Fatherhood
In Season 1, cheerleader Quinn gets pregnant at only 16 years old. She tells her longtime boyfriend, Finn, that he is the father, because of course, right? Nope, we learn she cheated on Finn with another member of the glee club, Noah Puckerman, or Puck. Finn is slightly confused because the couple had not been intimate before, but assumes there’s a reasonable explanation. Quinn tells him she got pregnant from the time they made out in a hot tub, which is obviously impossible. But alas, Finn believes it. She actually got pregnant from a one-night stand with Puck. We then see the process of Finn taking on a fatherly role and singing “I’ll Stand by You” by Girls Aloud to an… ultrasound? Yes, Finn sings an emotional ballad to an ultrasound of a child that’s not even his. Finn eventually finds out and temporarily quits glee club just to rejoin soon after and start dating Rachel, who also cheats on him with Puck!
2) Jig-Sue
If you were anything like me, Kurt and Blaine, or “Klaine,” was one of the first queer couples you saw on TV, especially in a main cast. I was a huge Klaine shipper in middle school and was heartbroken when they broke up in season four, and then again in season six. But I was definitely not as heartbroken as McKinley High School’s infamous cheer coach, Sue Sylvester. Out of all the people in the show, Sue is the last person I’d expect to ship Klaine. She not only ships them, but she has a whole Klaine shrine in a storage locker.
She took her shipping to a different level in season six when the couple breaks up, and she locks them in an elevator to get them to make up. She really goes as far as to make a fake elevator with no cell service, then tricks them into going in, while a Jigsaw-inspired puppet of herself berates them. She tells them that they must share a kiss, or they will suffer the consequences. The two are in the locker for a full day before ultimately kissing, then getting back together a few episodes later, much to Sue’s delight.
3) The Whole Glee Club Gets Drugged
In an early episode of the series, glee club’s instructor Will Schuester and his wife, Terri, are having issues, so she ends up working at McKinley High School to keep a closer look on him. She is certainly under-qualified but gets the job, nonetheless. On the same day she’s hired, the glee club is preparing for sectionals and their upcoming mash-up competition between the boys and girls. Finn is distracted by how tired he is from getting little sleep that night and goes to the nurse. She ends up giving him pseudoephedrine to keep him awake and calls them vitamins. Finn becomes comically energetic and gives these “vitamins” to the rest of the boys, who then crush their mash-up performance of “It’s My Life/Confessions Part II,“ because of their newfound energy.
Rachel questions her friend Kurt on why the boys did so well, and Kurt tells her about the vitamins. She then tries to get them herself so she can be on the boys’ level for the competition. Soon, the whole glee club, which consists of 14- to 16-year-olds, is drugged, ultimately leading to Terri’s firing. In my opinion, getting fired is quite a mild punishment for drugging a bunch of minors, but it’s Glee, so maybe not.
4) Grilled cheesus
Season two is my personal favorite of the show, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some baffling plots. My favorite is in the third episode, where Finn sees the face of Jesus, or does he? Finn is making grilled cheese when he opens the sandwich press and sees that the burn marks of the bread resemble those of Jesus Christ. He then begins to pray to this literal sandwich, asking for three things: for the football team to win a game, for him and Rachel to go to second base, and for him to become quarterback.
The first wish comes true and he’s convinced this sandwich is godly. He’s convinced even more when Rachel lets him go to second base. But he’s then ridden with guilt when he’s reinstated as quarterback, but only because his teammate and fellow glee club member, Sam Evans, gets injured. Finn genuinely thinks it’s his fault Sam got injured and has to see the school counselor because of his guilt, who ends up convincing him otherwise, leading him to eventually just eat the sandwich. It really was just a sandwich, Finn just got really lucky that day.
5) The Glee Club Becomes Puppets
You read that right, the glee club disappears for an episode and is replaced by literal puppets. Well, not completely. In season five, there’s a gas leak in the choir room, causing one of my favorite characters, Blaine, to hallucinate. He hallucinates his fellow glee members as puppets and then sings with them. He also has a few other strange hallucinations before snapping back into reality. Afterwards, he makes his own puppets of his boyfriend Kurt and some of his other friends. The episode ends with Blaine making hand-made puppets of all the glee members, followed by the club singing “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say),” which is, in my opinion, the worst song ever done on Glee.
Glee Will always be Iconic
Despite (or should I say, because of) these wacky storylines, Glee is iconic. This was the first show I watched growing up that I felt fully represented me. Watching Santana’s storyline unfold and her romance with Britany inspired me so much. I even wrote my college essay on how much she meant to me. I have my reservations about this reboot, especially considering Santana will not be a part of it because of the heartbreaking passing of Naya Rivera, but I am still anticipating a fun watch. I just hope this new series can live up to even a fraction of its original.