Glee – The Quarterback

• Title: Glee – The Quarterback
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Real life hits hard as current and past members of New Directions come together to honor the passing of Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith, who passed away from a drug overdose this summer) beginning with an ensemble empty stage performance of “Seasons of Love” from RENT. From there “The Quarterback” picks up three weeks after the funeral as Mr. Shue (Matthew Morrison)  gathers as many of his current and former Glee Club members as possible to find a way to memorialize their friend the only way they know how – through song. “The Quarterback” is a heartfelt goodbye containing several emotionally raw scenes and well-chosen performances providing a fitting farewell to both the actor and the character.

Kurt (Chris Colfer) returns home to help his parents (Mike O’Malley, Romy Rosemont) struggle with their grief and go through Finn’s belongings in a well-acted, brutal, emotionally-bare scene (equaled only by the episode’s last) dealing with the reality of parents losing a child far too soon. Sue (Jane Lynch) struggles with the pointlessness of Finn’s death and the knowledge that she will never be able to make up for the way she treated him when he was alive.

While Emma (Jayma Mays) worries that Will hasn’t emotionally dealt with the loss while trying to stay strong for the Glee Club, Santana (Naya Rivera) and Puck (Mark Salling) both have trouble with their grief as each begins lashing out, the first by publicly berating Sue and the second by desecrating Finn’s memorial. Thankfully, both are comforted by friends to help each of them work through their grief. And, finally summoning the strength, Rachel (Lea Michele) makes her way to McKinley High for her own goodbye including her tearful performance of Adele‘s “Make You Feel My Love.”

Other musical performances include Mercedes singing The Pretenders‘ “I’ll Stand By You,” Artie (Kevin McHale) and Sam (Chord Overstreet) perform a duet of James Taylor‘s “Fire and Rain,” Santana sings The Band Perry‘s “If I Die Young,” and Puck says his goodbye with a performance of Bruce Springsteen‘s “No Surrender.”