Bec Heim

Managing Editor



Dealing with the death of an actor is hard. Glee is a beloved television show. Cory Monteith and Finn Hudson were both a beloved actor and a beloved character respectively.

The real question is how should the show handle Finn’s death. That is definitely the tricky part.

While the episode of season five dealing with the death of Finn Hudson will mention drug abuse and addiction, it has not been stated the Finn, himself, will die of an overdose on the show. The cast will film PSA’s regarding the subject.

But Finn’s death remains an unanswered question.

The character of Finn, in my opinion, was a kind person ultimately. Yes it took him awhile to help other people and learn to accept others, but he was the type of character who would help other people in the end.

So I think Finn should die helping someone.

Getting a family out of a car wreck and not getting out in time. Saving a woman from a mugging. Trying to stop a gay bashing and getting hit in the head that will have him dying in his sleep. If I were writing Finn’s death, then this would be the way I would go: Finn dying as the result of him doing a good deed for someone else. It would ultimately solidify his journey from jock who would let others be tossed in garbage cans while he stood idly by to a young man who would help others in need.

It would be a proper send off to the character.

If Glee does choose to kill Finn off in a manner similar to Cory’s death, however, then I would urge caution such as getting Lea’s blessing or something. The fans know how Cory died. The cast, his friends and loved ones, are painfully aware of how he died. It could do irreversible harm to the fans and his friends, who will have to act out the tragedy that they are already living. Having someone close to him approve of the method of death would, at least, allow fans to go into this episode knowing that Lea or his mother was okay with how Finn was killed off. It could help.

Death is tricky. There is no right or wrong way to really deal with it. People process grief differently. Ultimately it’s how the cast, the crew, the writers and everyone deal with honoring the memory of the actor and the character. We, as fans, have to honor the path they choose. It’s their grief that they will have to play out on screen.

I do think that it’s lovely of them to donate all the proceeds from the tribute’s songs to charities that Cory supported. It’s a nice way to honor him.

So how will they deal with the aftermath of Finn’s death on the show? There are three options.

1) Continue the immediate aftermath. Just pick it right up immediately where they left of. Follow the characters as they mourn Finn and try to fit their lives together again. It will be hard to watch. It will be harder to perform. And it does seem cruel to the actors especially Lea who is dealing with the lost of the love of her life.

2) Pick it up a month or so after his death. Glee left a lot of loose ends at the end of season four. There was the possible Klaine proposal. Blaine is probably going to need a NYADA audition. There was Nationals coming up. There was Rachel and burgeoning Broadway career. Graduation for the class of 2013 is another story. Unique and Ryder was also something that needs exploration. People are always trying to pin down the exact dates in the show, but its bendable enough for fans to have suspension of disbelief over it. Especially considering the circumstances. They would be in the process of healing, wounds would still be raw but it’s better then the immediate aftermath.

3) Skip forward a year. Speaking as someone who has lost someone close (my mother), a year makes a hell of a difference in grieving. Wounds are healing more. They won’t have to mention the death all the time. We could learn what happened through flashbacks and backstory. It’s doable.

My pick would time skipping a month. The friends of mine who are actors tell me that it’s very therapeutic acting out things that they’ve experience onscreen or on stage. There characters after time skip of a month or so would be in similar places as them. They won’t have to deal with the raw grief of the aftermath or the slightly more distant grief of a year in their characters.

It would allow for stories to continue and development to still occur.

This is all just my opinion though.

Ultimately it’s up to the people who know themselves and knew Cory much better then I did what will happen on the show. I respect that.

I trust that the people who knew him the best will give him the kind of tribute episode that he, and his work as Finn, deserves.

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