glee finale

tv:  I've been struggling to find the right words about the Glee season finale in straightforward sense that will keep the first person out of it.  I don't think I can.  The Glee finale, like most of the season, was about saying goodbye to the cast members who will be graduating and thus leaving the show.  It was an episode centered around the notion that with nothing left to do, the assignment was for the underclassmen and upperclassmen to sing songs to each other to say goodbye.  While the cheese was thick, the standout from the story was seeing Kurt sing I"ll Remember by Madonna.  A beautiful song that he sang with grace given his unique range without forcing the issue of his range.  It was quite impressive and moving.
Beyond that there was a lot of more or less sappy musical episodes about saying goodbye and graduation.  There was even a song during graduation.  Despite the fact that I am making fun of that, it kind of fit.  But it was still, in typical Glee fashion, goofy and cheesy.
The real story of the this final episode was the story of where certain characters were going.  The biggest certainly being Kurt, Finn, and Rachel, and their pending futures in New York.  The only one to get in was Rachel.  Despite her totally awesome performance at Nationals of the Celine Dion song It's All Coming Back To Me, it was a shock to see.  At very least Kurt not get into to NYADA (I really don't remember what that means but it has something to do with theater in New York) given his performance of I'm Not The Boy Next Door was a surprise.  Also given the love and attention the creators showed his character, failure was a huge surprise.  I can't believe it was a shock to see that Finn lacked the chops to get into Inside The Actors Studio.
What came from that though was, in congruence with the rest of season three, truly heartbreaking.   Finn let Rachel go to New York without him to pursue her dream, saying that if they were truly meant to be together they would find each other eventually.  Having been through that moment in my own life, only with a girl with world class intellect instead of a Broadway voice, it is so painfully clear and sad to say that that moment will never come for the two of them.  Finn will probably never know if his decision worked out for Rachel.  I still have no idea what happened when I said goodbye.  I just believe I was making the right decision.
Not to mention that as insane as it began, Finn and Rachel's engagement really did end up bringing out the best in their relationship.  They acted, for the most part, with maturity and equality beyond their years that made the fact that they were going to get married straight out of high school seem almost realistic.
In the end, Finn set Rachel free to pursue her Broadway dreams.  There are some unsettled question about he and Kurt and their futures that, despite my loving their characters, I hope doesn't bleed into next season too much after the fun and heartbreaking goodbye that has been the season.  Sometimes just cutting ties and going cold turkey is easier.
 Everyone else more or less got a fitting send off.  And the passing of the torch to the new class was well done.
I really hope that this is the last time I say anything about my own life when writing about anything, let alone something as insane and goofy as Glee.  I couldn't help it though.  I have watched the final episode a few times trying to find an objective way to talk about setting someone free and the emotion that it brought about.  I couldn't do it.  As Glee showed, saying goodbye is hard and letting go is even worse.  I can't help but say that my life has proven it.  And I am sure I'm not alone.
High school is a singular experience.  That moment of saying goodbye, especially when love is involved is particularly singular.  I have no regrets about what I did.  I am sure that Finn (if he were a real person) would, in the future, have regrets.  But when you are young, that drama is so totally heightened.  If nothing else, that drama and insanity is what Glee got right.
It is why I wonder if they can capture that magic again after saying goodbye to so many main characters.  After all, as Rachel Berry said, "Being a part of something special makes you special."  They were, and she was.