Last April 19, Fox announced that Glee has been renewed for two more seasons, a move that surprised many since the most recent season of Glee garnered the lowest ratings since its inception. In the course of four seasons, the musical comedy went from being an Emmy-worthy leviathan to a weekly viewed guilty pleasure; people even cited the habit of watching Glee as “hate-watching”. To be frank, Glee has indeed turned into something only a true Gleek will write: the dreaded fan fiction. Whatever happened to don’t stop believin’?
Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan had a hard decision to make: let go of the show’s core cast and make the show as true-to-life as it is, bringing in a new crop of characters headed by Melissa Benoist who plays Marley Rose. Introduced in the season 4 premiere episode questionably titled “The New Rachel”, the audiences were delighted by Marley, a sweet beret – wearing dreamer who aspires to be “a singer on the radio”, and wowed the fans with a soulful and great performance of Chasing Pavements. However, as the season progressed, the fandom questioned how Marley became “The New Rachel” when the original Rachel Berry, played by Lea Michele to perfection, focused on getting her dreams and making them come true; Marley, on the other hand, just chased the boy of her dreams, Jake Puckerman, and suffered through bulimia which caused them Sectionals. With just a thorough analysis, it is easy to say that Glee did lose its touch.
A die-hard fan or Gleek could actually say that Ryan Murphy may in fact be viewing fan-made stories on Tumblr or fanfiction.net because the stories that have been weaved together throughout the fourth season could conceivably be adapted from the fans’ innermost thoughts and desires. The new “ships”, the break-ups of the core couples are enough to keep the true blue fans tuned, but what about the other people? Is Glee turning into niche television?
Contrary to popular belief, Glee isn’t as popular and renowned compared to The Walking Dead, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and Suits. The difference is that these shows know the voice they employ and the tone and themes their shows need to maintain and improve. Glee, especially this past season, is struggling to maintain the wit and humor it was once known for (see: Brittany S. Pierce, Sue Sylvester) and the need to tell stories that will resonate with people and make them feel like Glee really is about everyone. Sometimes, it seems that the whole show is resting upon the comedic timings of Brittany or Sue, and it doesn’t even equal the efforts made during the first two seasons; some episodes tend to go from peculiar to downright tedious. The lines that are uttered can be very repetitive especially when Brittany says them. The season also focused too much on Blaine Anderson, which made the audiences clamor for more of the other characters.
Another thing that was highlighted was the comparison between the originals and the new characters which made the show better because a sighting of Santana Lopez or Finn Hudson brought light to a room filled with the mean vibes of Kitty Wilde or the annoying chatterbox that is Unique Adams. Glee gets meta when it reiterates how bad some “music themes” are, and it’s not bad at all because the show also realizes that it has flaws too.
If we’re talking about Emmy submissions, and it is very unlikely given the stiff competition (the return of Arrested Development, end of 30 Rock, and the excellent runs of Modern Family and Girls), the last five episodes of season four were the best in terms of story, drama and acting; “Shooting Star”, the episode that featured a gun being shot in McKinley High, were criticized by some but proved to be the most beautiful hour delivered by Murphy and Co. for its heartbreaking and tender performances. One thing Glee has not lost is the fact that it can be positive and uplifting, even in the darkest of times, because the message is clear and it is the main theme of the show: life is beautiful and it can be better with a little positivity and help from friends.
Yes, the show can be very polarizing and it is, as a matter of fact, the epitome of guilty pleasure television, but with a little tuning, and the fact that Ryan Murphy’s other show got cancelled, Glee can and may return to its true form from season one. People want the same dark, satirical and sarcastic tone that Glee employed during its earlier, more formal years, and it isn’t hard to go back to that, what with the opportunity Fox gave to the show. However, the answer would have to wait until the next TV season; until then, audiences just have to cross their fingers that Murphy won’t blindly pick stories from Tumblr anymore.
Rating: 3.0
Photos from the Internet
