[Warning: This story contains spoilers from Glee's season five finale, "The Untitled Rachel Berry Project."]
Fox's Glee set the stage for its sixth and final run during Tuesday's season five finale after Rachel realized she has a new dream. During the hour, Sam and Mercedes made a major decision and Kurt and Blaine inched closer to their own stardom.
It's the end of another era on the musical dramedy after the former New Directions gang saw their individual careers take off in new and unexpected ways. Here's a look at where everyone stands heading into the sixth and final season.
Rachel
The loopy Mary (Kristen Schaal) is writing a pilot inspired by Rachel's life. Kurt warns Rachel that she's going to burn bridges if she takes the TV gig, but she feels that she could return to Broadway after the pilot. They read through the pilot and discovery it's just as bonkers as Mary is. Rachel then says if she's going to do TV, it's going to be her way. She explains her "essence" via song (Pink's "Glitter in the Air") and the wackadoodle Mary gets it -- Rachel wants the show to feel "happy"! -- and they go back to Square One. The new pilot is incredibly heartfelt and Mary turns it in to the network. Rachel declares that the pilot is her dream role -- not Fanny! -- and the gang toasts to her success. Shortly afterward, Rachel gets the call from the network: They loved the script and they want to make it into a pilot and she's now headed to L.A.
Everyone agrees that six months from now, they'll return to New York no matter where they are. "If I've learned anything this year, it's that you guys are my life," Rachel tells them.
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Mercedes and Sam
Mercedes' career is taking off and she's going out on tour, with Brittany now a back-up dancer and Artie filming her performances. Meanwhile, Sam is going out for the Treasure Trailz ad campaign. After covering Duran Duran's "Girls on Film," he lands the gig. As both of their careers begin to blossom, Kurt, Rachel and Brittany encourage Mercedes to split with Sam before she goes out on tour. Sam, on the other hand, is encouraged to do the same by Artie and Blaine. But both Mercedes and Sam stress that they'll be able to make it despite the distance. During the shoot, however, Sam cheats on Mercedes and kisses the photographer and returns home to confess his misdeeds and apologize. Mercedes says it's not fair to Sam to ask him to wait for her and breaks up with him. In the end, Sam winds up on the side of a bus and then calls it quits as a model. He decides to go back home to Ohio now that everyone is scattering. He returns to McKinley High to see the old choir room now serving as a computer lab.
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Kurt and Blaine
June (Shirley MacLaine) doesn't want Kurt in the showcase -- she never did -- and Blaine was unable to convince her otherwise. It creates a rift between Kurt and Blaine, with the former unable to trust his partner after he lied about the showcase. Blaine wants to bail on the showcase and says Kurt is more important to him than anything. Kurt then realizes that trust is a choice and they mend their relationship. "It's your turn to fly," Kurt tells him. The showcase arrives and Blaine rocks it -- and brings Kurt out for a surprise duet that ultimately wins June over. They now appear destined for stardom -- together.
What did you think of the finale? Hit the comments with your thoughts.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@THR.com
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