At its start, a musical TV show seemed like a revolutionary concept, as most current shows had comprised of nothing but dialogue; however, with Glee’s five to eight songs per episode—interchanged with often contrived teenage issues—the popular series continued to top charts despite the quality of the storylines gradually declining through the seasons. Yet with the advent of its fifth season, Glee’s creators seem to have run out of ideas for both songs and conflicts, and the show is gradually becoming implausible and boring—unable to be saved by the few strong points remaining.
The season started off musically strong with a two-part tribute to the Beatles, but at this point it was already problematic. A far-fetched storyline saw college freshman Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) and high school senior Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) getting engaged, as the wonderfully snarky Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) returned to McKinley High as principal. Sue’s one-liners are a bright spot in the otherwise clichéd and dull dialogue, giving each character nicknames like “Buttchin” and mocking the Glee club’s song selection, saying, “Over my dead body will you inexplicably shoehorn in another Billy Joel song just to punctuate one of your weekly lessons that inevitably veers off into a saccharine barrage of angst and affirmation!” The tribute episodes were a musical highlight of the season, however, featuring fifteen Beatles songs ranging from the light and cheery “Here Comes the Sun”, sung by the vocally talented Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) and Dani (Demi Lovato), to Rachel Berry (Lea Michele)’s poignant cover of “Yesterday”.
On July 13, 2013, a few months before the start of season five, the cast of Glee suffered a tragic loss when Cory Monteith passed away. Monteith played Finn Hudson, former McKinley High quarterback and Lea Michele’s on- and off-screen boyfriend. His character played a major part in earlier seasons, and the third episode of the season confronted the loss. ‘The Quarterback’’s concept was tragic, but it was clear that the actors were still grieving, as their performances missed the mark. The one highlight was Rachel’s heartbreaking rendition of “Make You Feel My Love”. After this tragedy, the season descended into a mess of absurd storylines. One episode featured nothing but Katy Perry and Lady Gaga numbers; the next centered around the twerking fad.
Glee also celebrated its 100th episode this season with previously-performed songs and McKinley alumni. It was a stagnant episode; Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth led the club in an energetic second rendition of the Pink hit “Raise Your Glass”, but the other reprised numbers were neither moving nor dynamic. The writers’ attempt at some type of continuity—”Glee” is known for a kind of sitcom-esque disjointed storyline in which a character can give birth in one episode and no one will even mention it in the next—is applaudable but fails. Storylines that haven’t been touched for months are brought back up but seem to be forced. Brittany (Heather Morris), an archetypal dumb blonde who discovers she is a genius, returns to rekindle her romance with Santana, while Quinn (Dianna Agron), a former cheerleader, reconnects with on-and-off high school sweetheart Puck (Mark Salling). Both relationships are out-of-place, thrown into the episode almost randomly.
As the high school year ends (for some reason, it is still 2013), the club wraps up. “New Directions” is full of poignant shots of the now-empty choir room and former club director Will. One highlight of the episode is Rachel and Santana finally ending, or at least adjourning, their insufferable rivalry as Santana leaves her position as understudy, followed by a performance of “Be Okay” that stands out as a highlight of the celebratory episodes. Later, the Glee club attends Nationals but takes home second place, losing school funding for the club.
The creators have made the decision to end the show’s focus on McKinley High and apparently recenter it on the club members’ move to New York. This change will predictably change the show’s focus on the relatable, occasionally humorous antics of the students to the over-dramatic plots of a city storyline. However, the show’s sixth season will be its last, so hopefully viewers will not have to put up with the contrived soap-opera plot the writers will inevitably come up with for too long.
The one thing Glee will not lose in its remaining season is its unique quality. Despite the production of other musical shows like Smash, Glee still has some kind of charm that other shows lack—perhaps in its optimistic view of people or spontaneous, charming musical numbers, or in its tendency to occasionally poke fun at itself. Still, its storylines have become preposterous, and in its fifth season, the show lacks the opportunity for greatness that made it a standout in its 2009 debut.
