Glee is gearing up for its third season premiere on September 20 after a looong summer hiatus...and even we admit we’re a little rusty on what went down in the New Directions choir room toward the end of season two. Below, Broadway.com recaps Glee’s second season finale (in which the club ventured to New York City for Nationals competition), reviews the juicy Glee-related news revealed this summer, and adds our two cents on what we’d like to see happen during season three.
Finn and Rachel Relationship Drama
Where Glee Left Off: Finn (Cory Monteith) tried to woo Rachel (Lea Michele) away from on-again off-again flame Jesse St. James (guest star Jonathan Groff) with a fairy tale date night in New York (complete with a Patti LuPone run-in!), sealing the deal with a dramatic onstage kiss during their performance at Nationals.
News From Summer Vacation: Where to start?! First Glee creator Ryan Murphy claimed that Michele, Monteith and co-star Chris Colfer would exit the show after season three, then revealed that a potential spin-off had been in the works for their characters. Although the spin-off has apparently been nixed, it's possible the stars may stick around in some capacity even after donning a cap and gown.
What We'd Like to See: Regardless of Michele and Monteith’s future on the show, their characters will be graduating at the end of the year. Another season of Rachel/Finn drama will be a tad repetitve, but Rachel has made her intention to head to New York after high school very clear. We say: Enjoy senior year, Rachel, but don’t let anything get in the way of your Broadway dreams!
Mr. Schuester Finds Himself at a Crossroads
Where Glee Left Off: As Mr. Schuester’s (Matthew Morrison) old friend April Rhodes (guest star Kristin Chenoweth) readied to bring her life story to Broadway, the perky blond hoped to recruit her pal to compose music for her show. While the teacher was tempted to leave McKinley behind for the glamour of the Great White Way (dramatically expressing his inner conflict through song on the stage of April’s show), he decided not to abandon his students.
News From Summer Vacation: Glee creator Ryan Murphy promises a major story arc for Morrison and hints that season three will veer away from guest stars to focus on what happens inside of the choir room…so it doesn’t sound like Mr. Schuester is headed anywhere. Morrison’s own star continued to rise this summer as he released his self-titled debut solo album and toured with New Kids on the Block and Backstreet Boys.
What We'd Like to See: After a season in the background, Mr. Schue deserves a strong storyline. His divorce from Terri is behind him, and he’s had his fair share of flings (Gwyneth! Idina!), so can we get Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsbury together already?!
The L Word
Where Glee Left Off: While Blaine (Darren Criss) didn't join boyfriend Kurt (Chris Colfer) in New York, the Dalton Academy Warbler was more than excited to hear about New Directions' adventures upon their return. Charmed by how much Kurt enjoyed himself despite a 12th place finish in the competition, Blaine dropped the "L" word, letting our hero know he loves him. Awww!
News From Summer Vacation: Colfer found his future with the show in the same questionable status as Michele and Monteith. The actor did, however, manage to snag his second Emmy nomination.
What We'd Like to See: With all Kurt's school transfer-related drama resolved, we think it's smooth sailing for this couple this year. More importantly...we can't wait to see Darren Criss on Broadway in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying this January!
...And Don't Forget Mercedes
Where Glee Left Off: After two years of watching her fellow Glee club members play romantic musical chairs, it looked like Mercedes had found a love interest of her own, as the season finale ended with her walking hand-in-hand with blond cutie Sam (Chord Overstreet).
News From Summer Vacation: Overstreet declined to return for another season of Glee, squashing Sam and Mercedes’ bubbling romance. But good news for the strong-voiced diva: Friday Night Lights veteran LaMarcus Tinker has been cast a potential flame for Mercedes.
What We'd Like to See: Even if Mercedes hopes for a spark with Tinker’s new character, she’s sure to greet any potential gentlemen suitors with some attitude. If Mercedes wants to play hard to get, we hope Tinker woos her with a big, sappy romantic musical number in front of her glee club pals.
New Kids in Town
Where Glee Left Off: Season two began with new student Sunshine Corazon (Charice) wowing the crowd as she auditioned to join the glee club. Threatened by her talents, Rachel drove Sunshine away (by sending her to a crack house!), which prompted her to join rival singing squad Vocal Adrenaline. The girls eventually made nice with each other when competing at Nationals.
News From Summer Vacation: Get ready for even more competition, Rachel! Ryan Murphy recruited a fresh batch of talent (Samuel Larsen, Damian McGinty, Lindsay Pearce and Alex Newell) for the show via reality competition series The Glee Project. Pearce will even sing a mash-up of Broadway favorites “Anything You Can Do” and “Anything Goes” on the season opener.
What We'd Like to See: We’re all about welcoming more talent to the glee club, but the show already has so many story lines to follow, we hope the new crew doesn’t distract from the original fan favorites.
Tune into the the season premiere of Glee on FOX on September 20!