SOUND OFF: Final GLEE Until 2015 - 5 Things To Love

By: May. 14, 2014
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Last night, we kissed FOX's musical dramedy series Glee goodbye until next year with the final episode of the tumultuous fifth season and today we celebrate 5 major reasons why it was worthy of our love.

No Time At All

5. Girls On Film. "Sam, you are seriously buzzing with sex," says the comely Charlie Darling (Beau Garrett) to Sam (Chord Overstreet) following an 80s-tastic throwback treasure of a musical moment byway of Duran Duran's "Girls On Film", highlighted by some seriously rad strobe effects and totally tubular tight-skirted supermodels - oh, yeah. The heat between them was almost as hot as that of Blaine (Darren Criss) and Brittany (Heather Morris), actually- oh, yes. You read that right. In a hilarious enactment via a full cast read-through of the proposed pilot for a TV comedy series starring Rachel (Lea Michele), that is. Certainly a revitalized moment in a somewhat middling final entry in the continually evolving season - with some interesting places perhaps still to venture to in the final season next year. "It's going to be my show, or no show at all," professed Rachel of her intentions for her potential vehicle to worldwide superstardom - or close - and the last season promises to go out on a high note, if nothing else. Additionally, Kristen Schall added a humorous flavor to the low-key finale with some dependably awkward moments shared with the Glee crew as the wunderkind creator of the proposed TV show for Rachel. Kurt (Chris Colfer) as a sad alligator was an amusing moment that occurred in the pilot, for sure. Plus, Michele's "Glitter In That Air" acted as not only a fitting moment for that character at that moment in the drama, but also offered Michele a change to sing her self-professed favorite song, penned by Pink, Billy Mann and Michele Mears.

4. Shirley MacLaine! Maximizing the showstopper potential of the enduring Stephen Schwartz-penned PIPPIN standout "No Time At All" alongside a reliably assured Blaine was a delight to see, indeed, and a fitting finale to the ep. Spirited and undeniably cute, MacLaine and Criss continues to exhibit their palpable chemistry with a Broadway favorite originally popularized by Irene Ryan in the Bob Fosse original. As we know, the hit revival is currently on Broadway, as well, and it seems Criss could be a fitting replacement, all things considered. In any event, we hopefully will see much more of June Dolloway in the last episodes of the series when they arrive next year.

3. Blaine's "All Of Me". Set against a bare rehearsal space, save a few elegantly-placed gold stacked chairs, the sequence to treasure, without a doubt. Criss continues to excel in all areas as the series progresses, despite some outlandish and unquestionably musically challenging material - John Legend's "All Of Me" being a prime example of a tough-to-top and difficult-to-master vocal performance. Nevertheless, Criss prevailed and made it his own. No easy task, but a lasting reminder of the irreplaceable energy and skill he brings to the series. As we saw, he figured into more than half of the night's songs - and with good reason. His duet with Kurt on Estelle's "American Boy" - tinted with a bit of MacLaine's stupendous Broadway sheen; as well as the aforementioned MacLaine PIPPIN showcase as we saw earlier in the epside - were both inspired and impressive attributes to his talent.

2. Mercedes (Amber Riley), the pop star mall queen. Original song "Shakin' My Head" gave her a sugary chart-friendly confection peppered with some Brittany back-up along with a crew of hip-hopped supporting dancers with some truly terrible lyrics but all-too guffaw-worthy results.

1. Wrapping up the episode and the season itself was a cover of a current hit, "Pompeii" by Bastille. While the lack of any involvement by Mr. Schue (Matthew Morrison), Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) and the rest may have been a disappointment to some, the remaining leading players remain likable and enjoyable for the most part - especially as seen in well-placed musical dramatizations of plot development as seen in this musical coda. Since it must be said, though, the elephant in the room unfortunately is the absence of Santana (Naya Rivera) in this episode - without mentioning her prominent focus in the season and the lack of a resolution - especially amid recent rumors confirming her departure from the series altogether. Whatever the reason, we can hope it is resolved in the more than half a year until the next and final season. But, if Rachel going to LA, where does that leave NYC - and, Ohio?! We shall see. "But if you close your eyes / Does it almost feel like / Nothing changed at all?"

While Glee may be saying au revoir all too soon, there are still a whole lot more shows to "It's been quite a year you guys - Finn and the Glee club? I don't know if I can handle anything else," Rachel related in the heartfelt penultimate group therapy session prior to the powerful "Pompeii". We can hope Glee will blast like a volcano once again in 2015.



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