Jumping the shark is an interesting term, that dates back to Happy Days, when the Fonz actually jumped a shark. Literally. Glee has basically jumped the shark several times this season. First, they decided to abandon the high school setting of the show, rather than abandon the characters as they graduate (like Degrassi). So we immediately stopped following half the cast, because we were now in New York City.
Because everyone from Lima, Ohio moves to New York City. And most of them are super successful.
THREE PEOPLE from the same school got offered spots in what was supposed to be the most prestigious music theater conservatory program in the country.
Rachel landed the lead role in Funny Girl on Broadway, and then Santana (who isn’t even going to NYADA, and is hispanic and not jewish) somehow landed her understudy.
Mercedes got a record deal… because those are just SUPER easy to get right out of high school, especially for overweight singers.
Rachel, Kurt, Blaine, Santana, Sam, Mercedes, and Artie all live in New York now, because seven people moving from Lima to New York seemed legit to Ryan Murphy.
It was a stretch when he wanted to do Rachel, Kurt, and Santana. We all knew we’d get Blaine when he graduated. Honestly, the show should have stopped at that. Introduce new cast members who already live in New York, and let the other ones go from the show (or just recur). Stop moving everyone to New York.
Then we had to sit through the fake chemistry of Sam and Mercedes, the least plausible couple in history.
Finally, the last straw, was this absurd storyline where Rachel entertained the idea of leaving Funny Girl for a TV show pilot. Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME? Remind me to bitchslap Ryan Murphy. You’ve written a character whose idol was Barbara Streisand, who wanted nothing more than to play Fanny Brice on Broadway, who landed the part (inexplicably), and might even have gotten a Tony nomination for her part? So what does she do? She walks away.
Bullshit.
Fuck you Ryan Murphy.
You ask your audience to get invested in these characters, and then you pull bullshit like that? Next, you’re going to tell me Santana and Kurt are gonna be a couple, because they both realized they aren’t gay anymore, right? Or that Unique has decided to move out to New York, but not as Unique… because he’s giving up on that.
Someone asked me yesterday how I felt about Glee, and my honest response is that I feel like I wasted my time. I was invested in characters that Ryan and his hack writing team don’t care about anymore. Just end the freaking show then, and don’t drag it out another season.
I won’t be back, and judging from the massive ratings decline that Glee has experienced over the years, neither will anyone else.
Unless you bring back Lauren… then I might watch one episode. Or Lindsay Pearce’s character, because Lindsay Pearce is fierce.
