FOX

Is the plan for the final season still to be 22 or 24 episodes?

RM: Well this year, we did 20 episodes and the reason we did 20 is because basically, we had three weeks delay with our production because of Cory's passing, and there was no way to physically produce those episodes and get them on the air in the month of May, so that's why the order was sort of truncated, so now basically what we're left with is 24 episodes and I think, you know, I can't speak for other people, but for me, doing a straight run-through of 24 episodes just doesn't seem to be viable. It doesn't feel right. So we're looking at how do we take those 24, and do we divide them? What do we do? We're sort of looking at that right now, but I think the main thrust of them will be a final farewell to all of our characters that we've known since season one.

There is a nice moment where we see in this episode that Rachel is not ready to move on past Finn. How much discussion has there been about Rachel's love life?

RM: We talk about this in the writer's room all the time, and I think that that's, you know, it's a really hard, very painful, very difficult thing for the show. I've said it before with even in Cory's eulogy that that was always the ending of the show for me – these two star-crossed lovers getting together and having a happy ending and them both getting their dreams, so the fact that that can't be is a big pain in all of our hearts. So, we have to sort of pause and think, well, what are we going to do with Rachel? So this year what we decided to do was to remove the equation of anybody coming in and taking Finn's place because I don't really think that's possible. And I think that worked out quite well and I really like dwelling on Rachel the careerist again, who's going to be a star no matter what it takes and with her friendships, but as for the future, there's a lot of discussion. And it's something that I think we'll consult with Lea about and to be quite honest, we just haven't been able to crack it, because I feel like it's such a sensitive topic and I think the fans have such an idea about it. I think half of them feel like yes, Rachel should go on, and I think half of them probably feel like no she shouldn't, and I probably think, you know, we'll follow Lea's lead as we have so many times this year. And she's always been so great and so sensitive and been so wise about how to handle that stuff, so we have to make that decision in the next couple weeks if not months. Is Rachel going to have another romance or are we going to end it with her… Does Rachel's second half romantically happen when Glee is over, but that's something we're debating. It's hard.

Do you have another idea for a final scene for the show now?

RM: Yes, I mean we do have a final idea that we're working on that I think is very powerful, and moving and you know, it's about Rachel and Mr. Schue (Matthew Morrison) and it sort of returns them to their origins and their roots about how they felt about each other and when they were all much younger and everything was idyllic. But I think you gotta get back, the ending has to be a reflection and a celebration of how far all those characters have evolved, and more than that. I mean we were just talking today in the writer's room about how the world has evolved. I mean, if you look at the changes that have happened in the past five years since Glee has been on the air, with the movement towards more gay civil rights with DOMA and gay marriage and the anti-bullying campaign. It's just an amazingly different world that we or these kids live in than they did when we started, and I think the show should end up in some way talking about that, so that's something we're working on right now.