# Glee 5/22: Goodbye **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 23, 2012, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775 "2012-05-23T01:11:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/21 "2012-05-23T23:51:51Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > They did lampshade this by having Brittany point out that it should be no surprise she didn’t get the grades needed to graduate. And while there was not previously any explicit indication that Brittany wouldn’t graduate, I believe she was the only one of the seniors who never said anything about expecting to graduate. “I have a zero point zero grade point average. But I’ll get to be a two-term senior class president!” > [@Lamia](#): > > I don’t know how much credit he deserves for that, it may have been the work of the props/wardrobe people.. Yeah, thanking Ryan Murphy for that was supposed to be a bit sarcastic, although I realize it didn’t really come out that way. Keeping Rachel’s suitcase around for three years, while a nice touch, really doesn’t make up for all the bizarre shifts in plot, motivation, and inconsistency we’ve seen from Glee. That said, I was pleasantly surprised to rewatch the pilot after seeing this week’s show, particularly in the case of Finn. A lot of his choices and actions in the graduation episode actually seemed (to me, at least) to be foreshadowed, sorta, by his characterization in the pilot. That really made it fitting for the Glee kids to show him some extra love and respect this week. And I really preferred Puck’s old modified cut-short Mohawk to that weird scraggly thing he has on his head now. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/22 "2012-05-24T00:43:53Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > And I really preferred Puck’s old modified cut-short Mohawk to that weird scraggly thing he has on his head now. Last week I felt that the bald cap/fake hair they put on Darren Criss for his role as Puck in Tina’s dream actually looked more convincing and natural than what they’ve been doing to Mark Saling’s hair this season. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2012, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/23 "2012-05-24T03:29:08Z")
It was somehow really creepy seeing 30 year old Corey Monteith singing “Age 14, we got you down on your knees”. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/24 "2012-05-25T21:30:01Z")
Haha Puck said “FUCK YES” when Figgins called his name to graduate. Read his lips. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/25 "2012-05-25T21:39:12Z")
“Glory Days” was kind of a depressing song for a HS graduation, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2012, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/26 "2012-05-25T22:10:58Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > “Glory Days” was kind of a depressing song for a HS graduation, don’t you think? Those are the same people that sang “Do They Know It’s Christmas” to a homeless shelter, so I’m not surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/27 "2012-05-26T00:23:08Z")
I was listening to the [Gleeful podcast](http://gleefulpodcast.com/) for this episode, and Jen and Ed were speculating that perhaps Kurt wasn’t _really_ rejected from NYADA: either he received a rejection letter by mistake, or he lied about being rejected because he felt bad for Finn/had decided he wanted to wait a year so he and Blaine could go to NYC together. None of these possibilities had occurred to me, but I immediately thought “that is just the sort of cheap twist this show has been pulling this season.” So, maybe. The Gleeful crew also pointed out that the storyline about Santana deciding to forget college and go to NYC instead really seemed to come out of left field. I hadn’t thought much about it because it was just so obvious that the writers were sending Santana to New York so she and Rachel could have scenes together next season. But in-world I don’t think Santana had ever previously indicated that she had any desire to perform on Broadway or live in New York. She’s very interested in being _famous_, but following Mercedes to LA would seem the more obvious path to potential stardom. Heck, if she even managed to land a role in a national ad campaign like Blaine’s brother she’d become more recognizable to a greater number of people than plenty of the actors starring in Broadway shows. > [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > “Glory Days” was kind of a depressing song for a HS graduation, don’t you think? I thought exactly that, but… > [@Soylent\_Juicy](#): > > Those are the same people that sang “Do They Know It’s Christmas” to a homeless shelter, so I’m not surprised. They also sang Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” to teach a guy a lesson about not treating lesbians as sex objects for men. ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/28 "2012-05-26T04:09:08Z")
Kurt could still end up at NYADA somehow, but I think it would be a great twist if he went somewhere else in New York next year and ended up being more successful than Rachel. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/29 "2012-05-26T04:58:52Z")
What kind of scholastic requirements do schools in Lima have for students to be able to participate in extra curriculars? Apparently none if a straight F student like Brittany can take part in several. I dunno about anyone else, but anyplace I ever went required students to maintain a C average and not be failing any classes. Is that not at least somewhat of the norm? I know it’s just a stupid unrealistic TV show, I swear, I’m just musing, not taking it too seriously 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/30 "2012-05-26T05:56:16Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > I dunno about anyone else, but anyplace I ever went required students to maintain a C average and not be failing any classes. Is that not at least somewhat of the norm? They actually brought that up in a first season episode (“Throwdown”) in which Will, as part of a negotiating tactic with Sue, threatens to fail some of the Cheerios in his Spanish class, making them ineligible for competitive cheerleading. But ignoring things like that when it gets inconvenient is pretty much _Glee_’s MO. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/31 "2012-05-26T14:11:11Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > “Glory Days” was kind of a depressing song for a HS graduation, don’t you think? My thought exactly. We should start a thread on the most inappropriate songs for the Glee club to sing in various situations. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/32 "2012-05-26T14:17:31Z")
Is Emma the only counselor at school? Is she Brittany’s? Shouldn’t somebody be looking out for Brittany’s interests? (Have her parents ever been shown?) It’s clear that she has a low IQ. IIRC, in Becky’s first episode, Brittany says she’s in one of her classes. Also, Sue’s really too nice now, IMHO. She was invented as a character so that the Glee people would have someone to struggle against. Who’s the opponent going to be now? Roz? That kid who almost blinded Blaine? (What I thought was going to happen there was that they’d do the Michael Jackson numbers and the judges would vote them down because they didn’t like Michael Jackson.) Burt might not want to run for re-election. He only did it to save the glee club. And why don’t these people have anything resembling a back-up plan? NYADA is not the only path to Broadway! Other theater programs exist! I was amazed that they left Kurt hanging like that. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/33 "2012-05-26T15:05:11Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Is Emma the only counselor at school? Is she Brittany’s? Shouldn’t somebody be looking out for Brittany’s interests? (Have her parents ever been shown?) It’s clear that she has a low IQ. IIRC, in Becky’s first episode, Brittany says she’s in one of her classes. \<…\> And why don’t these people have anything resembling a back-up plan? NYADA is not the only path to Broadway! Other theater programs exist! I was amazed that they left Kurt hanging like that. Despite what “The Spanish Teacher” (the episode in which she gets tenure) would have us believe, Emma really isn’t very good at her job. She failed to explain the concept of a safety school to Kurt, Rachel, and Finn, and she failed to intervene and try to help Brittany or even Puck when it looked like they were going to flunk. She’s really too passive and eternally frightened to be a good counselor. Brittany’s parents have never appeared, and the only time I can remember them being mentioned is in season two’s “A Very Glee Christmas,” when Artie mentions that her parents want to preserve Brittany’s belief in Santa Claus. I’m somehow not perceiving them as being very good at preparing their daughter for any kind of future. > [@](#): > > Also, Sue’s really too nice now, IMHO. She was invented as a character so that the Glee people would have someone to struggle against. Who’s the opponent going to be now? I never liked Sue as a villain. I don’t really think they need a regular villain at all. There’s plenty of conflict to be found in a high school setting without having a villain in the main cast, and they can always bring one aboard as a guest star when they need one (bring back Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan already!). That said, if _Glee_ follows its MO, Sue will be revered to villain status in episode 4.01. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/34 "2012-05-26T15:41:54Z")
> [@Loopus](#): > > Despite what “The Spanish Teacher” (the episode in which she gets tenure) would have us believe, Emma really isn’t very good at her job. She failed to explain the concept of a safety school to Kurt, Rachel, and Finn, and she failed to intervene and try to help Brittany or even Puck when it looked like they were going to flunk. As I mentioned upthread, she’s also the one who encouraged Kurt and Rachel to apply to a school that only accepts 20 students a year. There are other, less competitive musical theater programs in the country; Ohio actually has some very good ones, like at the [University of Cincinnati](http://ccm.uc.edu/theatre.html) and [Otterbein University](http://www.otterbein.edu/public/Academics/Departments/TheatreDance.aspx) in Westerville (hometown of Dalton Academy). > [@](#): > > I never liked Sue as a villain. I don’t really think they need a regular villain at all. There’s plenty of conflict to be found in a high school setting without having a villain in the main cast, and they can always bring one aboard as a guest star when they need one (bring back Neil Patrick Harris as Bryan Ryan already!). Exactly. Plenty of entertaining shows – probably most – don’t have a recurring villain. I actually think Figgins works pretty well as an outside antagonist for when they need one. He’s never been portrayed as villainous, he’s just out of touch and kind of uptight, but his position gives him the power to create/enforce rules that Will and the kids don’t want to follow or push them to do things they find embarrassing like performing at school assemblies. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/35 "2012-05-26T16:16:09Z")
Ok, I started an [thread=653124]inappropriate song/situation combo thread [/thread] ---
**Author:** ![Fionn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Fionn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fionn)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775/36 "2012-05-26T20:56:40Z")
> [@Dendarii\_Dame](#): > > Is Emma the only counselor at school? Is she Brittany’s? Shouldn’t somebody be looking out for Brittany’s interests? (Have her parents ever been shown?) It’s clear that she has a low IQ. IIRC, in Becky’s first episode, Brittany says she’s in one of her classes. Brittany’s situation, where she’s looking forward to redoing her senior year, reminds of someone I know who deliberately tanked finals in college he would be forced to take a semester off, when he didn’t have the nerve to tell his family he just needed a break. I wonder if Brittany has either been deceiving people all year that she was doing OK or just letting them assume things were fine, with the goal of getting to stay behind since she didn’t feel ready to move on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/glee-5-22-goodbye/622775.md?page=1)