Here's What 'Glee' Needs To Do To Have a Great Final Season

by Christopher Rosa 1/6/2015

It’s hard to believe it’s almost over, but the sixth (and final) season of Glee begins on Friday. Six years, more than a dozen New Directioners, and gallons of tears — and slushies — have led to this very moment. And while the show’s popularity has gotten shakier with more recent seasons, Ryan Murphy & Co. have an opportunity to rally renounced Gleeks with this final stretch. They just have to get a few things right, first. Consider this an open letter to Glee’s creators from a group of diehard fans who desperately want a repeat of 2010.

No more gimmick episodes, please.

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Glee has become quite notorious for themed episodes. While we don’t have an issue with topical episodes when they feel natural or contribute to the plot (like the first Britney Spears episode), some of the more recent ones felt a little forced (like the second Britney episode). When Glee dedicates an entire hour to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga seemingly just to ignite their reported 2013 music battle, there’s something wrong. Oh, and don’t even get us started about the twerking and puppet-centric episodes from season five. What is life?

Please don’t introduce any new main characters.

[Photo Credit: Fox]

Glee lost many fans when the original class graduated and we met a batch of new kids (including a few carbon copies of the old). However, characters like the fabulous Unique Adams (Alex Newell) and endearing Marley Rose (Melissa Benoist) made the concept of new show choir faces easy to digest. But that’s enough, Glee. We’re already following ample plot points as is, and the last thing we need is a new principal character with a love story that no one will (frankly) care about. Instead, we want to see every current character’s story line come full circle. *cough* A Kurt Hummel and Blaine Anderson wedding. *cough*

Keep guest stars to a minimum.

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While Demi Lovato and Adam Lambert made perfectly enjoyable debuts on Glee in season five, something about their appearances felt a little too “LET’S HAVE THESE CELEBRITIES JOIN OUR SHOW AND MAYBE PEOPLE WILL WATCH MORE.” That’s never how Glee guest stars felt in the past; instead, it was almost as if Murphy was introducing people like Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth to merge pop culture with musical theatre. This season, let’s aim to place less emphasis on A-list guest actors and more on being that singular Broadway-television hybrid we all fell in love with. A Menzel return would be OK, though.

Watch three of the original Glee cast members — Lea Michele, Amber Riley, and Cory Monteith — answer five burning questions.

Make Sue Sylvester nice. For good.

[Photo Credit: Fox]

Jane Lynch has exquisitely portrayed the glee-club-hating, sharp-tongued Sue for six wonderfully devilish years; however, we want to see this character finally thaw once and for all. While Sue’s softer side has revealed itself in past episodes, she seems to quickly shift back into the detention-wielding HBIC of McKinley High School without batting an eye. But this is the last season — let’s get a little sappy. It’s perfectly fine for Sue to start out menacing and even end with some tiny fangs, but we need confirmation that she is in fact a decent human being who may even (gasp!) like Will Schuester and his gang of misfits. Give us something akin to Meryl Streep’s silent chuckle at the end of The Devil Wears Prada.

Maybe Sue could blow her whistle and, like, ROSES pop out or something?! (We’ll work on it.)

Don’t make everything about Rachel Berry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMI9RDyTzlw
We love Rachel, and we’re eager to see what’s happened since she left Broadway for Los Angeles to film a television pilot made specifically for her. (This is a real plot point, we swear.) However, the fifth season felt a little too Rachel-focused; countless episodes were dedicated to her turn as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl or her random AF television discovery. We’d like Glee to harken back to the good ’ol days of 2011 and alternate which character receives the biggest (or best) story per episode. Rachel’s shenanigans can sometimes take a backseat to Artie Abrams’ love life or Mercedes Jones’ pursuit of pOp sTaRdOm ~*.

Get back to basics.

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Glee won the hearts of millions (this writer included) for its shockingly honest depiction of young adult problems. From Kurt’s touching coming out journey to Rachel grieving the death of her boyfriend Finn Hudson (the late, wonderful Cory Monteith), chances are you’ve related to at least one problem discussed on Glee during its run. While episodes like this still pop up occasionally — “Bash” from season five was heartbreaking — they tend to get lost in a sea of fantasy froth (i.e:. Santana Lopez being Rachel’s understudy on Broadway or Mercedes becoming a mall-touring singer). What fans want more than anything are heartfelt, relatable episodes about our original New Directioners as they transition into scary, exciting places in their lives. In other words, give us “Wheels: The 20-Year-Old Version.” Please, Glee: Make us feel something again.

Watch a vintage interview where Monteith discusses getting cast on Glee.

What does Glee have to do to get you watching again? Sound off in the comments below.

[Photo Credit: Fox]

Christopher Rosa

@chrisrosa92

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Here’s What ‘Glee’ Needs To Do To Have a Great Final Season