As the final season of Glee wraps up, I'd like to take a walk down nostalgia lane back to the first season of Glee. Once upon a time it was just a small, new show about some underdogs singing their hearts out. I recently re-watched the first episode and I realized that there's a lot of things you miss in the Glee pilot the first time you see it.
When I first started the series I had no idea it would turn out the way it has. I didn't know that I'd love it, and then hate it, and then love it again. I didn't know that it would sometimes fall back on cliches and stereotypes too often, or that it would make me cry when it was being honest.
Glee has surprised me a lot over the years, but nothing was quite as eye-opening as going back to the pilot and watching it now that I've seen six seasons of the show. It gives you a whole new perspective on where it starts and where it ends up going.
So in honor of the final season, here are 17 things you forgot happened in the Glee pilot.
Watching Cory Monteith Is Really Sad
Let's just get this out there: It's kind of hard to watch the pilot because Finn Hudson was such a good character, and I'm still not over Cory Monteith's untimely death. It's really hard to see him in his prime knowing how things turned out. If you re-watch the pilot, be prepared with tissues.
Mr. Schue Actually Taught Stuff
For a show that takes place in a school, there was very little learning shown over the years. The exception to that is that the pilot shows Mr. Schuester actually teaching Spanish. It might be the first and last time he's shown actually doing his job.
Coach Beiste Wasn't There Yet
Instead we had coach Ken Tanaka and his horrible shorts.
Sue Was Just A Dedicated Coach
Sure, she was tough. But she wasn't the insane person the show eventually turned her into. She just wanted her cheerleading team to win, and her focus was not yet destroying glee club, Will Schuester, and his hair. (In that order.) Bring back this Sue, I like her better.
Apparently MySpace Was Really Big
There are multiple references to this outdated social media site during the 2009 pilot. But seeing as Facebook surpassed Myspace in 2008, I feel like the writers were just super behind the times.
Will Had A Horrible Wife
She was the WORST. Wemma (Will + Emma) forever.
Puck & Finn Were Full-On Bullies
Not just "snicker at people in the hallway" bullies. They threw Kurt in a trash can and trapped Artie in a porta-potty so they could tip it over. They were very cruel. Who would have known that they were actually musically-inclined softies at heart?
These Were Rachel's Dads
They changed a lot when we met them in person a few seasons later.
Brittany Didn't Exist
Heather Morris wasn't cast until episode two. Thank goodness she came along eventually because Brittana is about half the reason I watched the show as long as I did.
Naya Rivera Had No Lines
I mean none. What a wasted opportunity because she's hilarious and a great singer. I'm glad the show relied on her more as it wore on.
They Used To Have Lyric Sheets
These days everyone just bursts into song and performs it flawlessly with choreography to match. During the pilot they still used lyric sheets to acknowledge that it takes more than two seconds to learn a song.
Rachel Foreshadowed Her Glee Takeover
When Will quits temporarily, Rachel takes over as interim director of the glee club. "It's temporary, but I expect the position will become permanent," she tells Finn. Oh, if only she knew that she'd be leading the club now.
Will Was Voted Teacher Of The Year
If everyone loved him so much, I'm surprised more people didn't want to join glee club.
There Was A Time That Performing Journey Was Fresh & Novel
I used to love Glee's rendition of this song. I bought the CD version and everything. Then they performed it another six and a half million times and it's not quite exciting anymore. But watching the pilot brought me back to a happier time when Glee introduced Journey to a bunch of teenagers and delighted them with their singing talents.
Tina Had A Stutter
Even when she wrote?
Mr. Schue's #1 Priority Was The Kids
Which is obviously a lie as during this scene he's literally blackmailing Finn into joining glee by planting weed in his locker.
Artie Had Pull With Jazz Band
Artie was friends with the jazz band people. So that's why they were always around to play background music for the club. It all makes so much more sense now.
Glee may be ending soon, but we'll always have the early seasons to watch over again and remember the glory days—Journey lyrics and all.
Images: Fox (10); speedandslowmotion, gingerbbatch, college-life-crisis, de-lovelyrachelb, billyforsetti/Tumblr; giphy; gleeforum; weheartit; teenagefanatic/Blogspot
