“Everyone wants to talk about how he died too. But who cares? One moment his whole life. I care more about how he lived, and anyone who has a problem with that should remember that he was my brother,” said Kurt in the , who played Kurt’s brother, Finn Hudson.
The episode begins three weeks after Finn’s death and glee club members past and present reunite back at the school to celebrate the life of their fallen friend.
To describe “The Quarterback” as just an emotional TV episode wouldn’t be accurate — the lines blurred, as the real actors said goodbye to their friend.
Glee club members past and present joined forces to perform a stoically beautiful rendition of “Seasons of Love,” and Sam and Artie gave a plaintively affecting version of “Fire and Rain.” It’s difficult to imagine someone making it through the hour without a tissue.
Monteith’s old co-stars had their own personal moment to say goodbye to their friend. Mercedes sang “I’ll Stand by You,” Santana performed “If I Die Young,” and Puck said his final farewell with a touching rendition of “No Surrender.”
In between the heartfelt songs and earnest nostalgia, the story that developed through the second half of the episode was the disappearance of Finn’s varsity jacket. We learned that Mr. Schue took the jacket, breaking down over the loss of his favorite student.
Parts of the episode felt like the viewer was intruding on these extremely intimate moments. The best example? Lea Michele’s rendition of “Make You Feel My Love.” This wasn’t Rachel Berry performing; it was Lea saying goodbye to the person she cared about the most in this world.
Lea Michele’s musical number and overall bravery throughout this episode shined brightly. “He was my person,” she tearfully affirmed to Mr. Schue. It was a beautiful, heartfelt way to bid a fond farewell to their friend.
In the pilot episode, before Mr. Schue volunteered to head glee club, he found a plaque from the 1993 championship show choir team that read, “By its very definition, Glee is about opening yourself up to joy.” At the end of that episode, the glee club miraculously came together and sang their now seminal version of “Don’t Stop Believin’,” which was the first of countless performances that brought so much happiness to millions of people each week. While Cory Monteith‘s life was tragically cut short, his legacy and the joy he brought to his legions of fans will go on and on.
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