Today, I watched the Glee tribute episode to recently deceased cast member, Corey Monteith. Today, I struggled not to cry.
I haven't been a fan of Glee for a couple seasons now, ever since it became the kind of thing it used to satirize, ever since it became too ridiculous, less cohesive, and more concerned with selling music than telling a good story that made sense. I had to see this episode though. Knowing that they were going to kill off Finn too, I had to see if they could handle the situations and emotions and not make the usual Glee mess of serious topics.
They managed. It's really sad to say I think Glee can now only hit emotional moments due to real life tragedy, but this episode was so above its usual standards, it's hard not to believe it a little. The episode still wasn't perfect, but the focus on individual character grief was definitely one of its strengths. Everyone reacted differently -- Puck with anger, Mr. Schue with repression that allowed him to be a rock for everyone else, and even Sue with vague regrets of Finn not knowing she didn't hate him. The show easily could have made a lesson out of this -- about cherishing people while you can, or by having the drug problem of Corey Monteith transferred to his character. Instead, they left it as just something that happened and that they now had to deal with. They never gave Finn a cause of death, and while some people believe they should have, I am glad they did not for a couple reasons. Firstly because Glee doesn't know how to give a message without beating you over the head with it. And secondly, Finn never had a drug problem, and adding that in now would have been both out of character and taken focus away from the core of the episode -- grief and memories of someone they lost too soon.
In a way, I feel like this episode wasn't meant for the audience at all. It was meant for the cast and crew and the friends and family of Corey Monteith. It felt uncomfortable to look in on their real grief. Some harsh commenters have said that he shouldn't be mourned or given time of day because of the way he died. They say he wasted his potential with drugs, that he threw away his fame and fortune and did this too himself, and "who cares about some junkie." These people obviously have no idea that it doesn't matter for his family and friends. They're going to miss who he was in life, his kindness, his talents, his friendship and feel sorrow about the path that lead him astray. Yes, it's important for it to be an example for others to not choose drugs, but for those close to him, all it's ever going to be is sadness and missing a friend or family member.
"What can you say about a 19 year old who died?"
This is what Kurt says in his inner monologue at the very beginning of the episode. This struck me particularly hard because it allowed viewers to substitute in their own experience with death of people and especially that of those so young death seems nonsensical. As I watched the episode, I could only think about my old friend, Joseluis Alvarez. He passed away a couple weeks before his 20th birthday over two years ago. He never got famous and he'll never have a tribute episode of anything, but as Kurt says, his family and friends will spend their whole life missing him. Glee, in all its wacky awkwardness, isn't always the easiest thing to relate to. But this episode was very relatable.
The episode wasn't perfect, but it was a private and personal and honest way to say goodbye.
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