In 2009, a show aired that changed television forever, it introduced us to The New Directions, The Cheerios, Vocal Adrenaline and Sue Sylvester. The show I am of course talking about is Glee, the show became a huge phenomenon spawning number one songs, soundtracks, sold out arena tours and a 3D concert movie. With Glee getting a second life on Netflix the show has gained a new audience and as an original Gleek I am going to rank all six seasons of the show that taught us that “being apart of something special makes you special”. If you are currently watching or have never seen Glee this is an official SPOILER WARNING.

Season 6:

By 2015, Glee had very much run its course, the hype was dying down and the audience had dropped off and moved onto other shows. This season is the shortest of the six with a 13 episode run and not all of them are memorable. After Rachel’s failed attempt at being the star of her own TV show she returns to McKinley High to reboot the New Directions and remind herself of what really made her special. She enlists the help of her former classmates along the way and it is fun to see these characters back together roaming the halls of McKinley High once again but they’re grown up and have moved on. The newer characters who later become the New Directions aren’t very memorable and don’t really add much the plot of the show other than they can sing. We finally get to witness a Brittana wedding which would become a double wedding with Klaine, proving that they are the shows strongest ships. The finale is the perfect ending to the show and even pays tribute to Cory Monteith’s character Finn Hudson by naming the auditorium after him. Glee had lost the run of itself and this season was trying to pick up the pieces and end it in true Glee fashion with a song.

Season 5:

Season 5 started off in a bittersweet way, this was the first season back after the death of Cory Monteith which changed the show forever. After two very enjoyable Beatles tribute episodes came the infamous Cory Monteith/Finn Hudson tribute episode entitled The Quarterback which had hardcore Gleeks crying from start to finish. After this we get to see Rachel’s Broadway career begin, the original New Directions move to New York and we get to witness the 100th episode of the show. After the 13th episode of this season the show stops being Glee and becomes more about Rachel Berry and her friends in New York. Twerking becomes a central plot of an episode, Sam and Mercedes relationship is put to the test and Rachel loses the run of herself after getting her Broadway dream of playing Fanny Bryce in Funny Girl, she decides to ditch that dream to star in her own TV show That’s So Rachel.This is painful to watch, as all we heard for five years was how Rachel was going to rule Broadway and win a Tony. In a season that provided Gleeks with the most emotional episode it also took a complete turn and tried to become another New York based teen drama. The death of Cory Monteith changed the show forever and Finn not cheering Rachel on felt very out of place.

Season 1:

Taking it all the way back to the beginning Will Schuester decides to reboot the Glee Club and recruits Rachel Berry, Mercedes Jones, Artie Abrams, Tina Cohen Chang, Kurt Hummel and Finn Hudson as the starting line up for what would become The New Directions. As the season progresses more members join and we become invested in the messy high school drama. This season has some of the most memorable moments such as Quinn’s pregnancy, Terri’s fake pregnancy, Kurt’s coming out, The Madonna episode, Idina Menzel guest starring as Shelby Corcoran aka Rachel Berry’s biological mother and of course the iconic performance of Don’t Stop Believin from the pilot. Looking back on this season so many things haven’t aged well and would not fly today if Glee was currently on the air. Jokes such as Sandy Ryerson’s paedophilia , Will placing weed on Finn to blackmail him into joining the glee club, Terri giving the kids Vitamin D and many racially insensitive jokes would not work in a 2020 version of Glee. This does not take away from why we fell in love with this show from the pilot and Gleeks banded together to discuss the story-lines in a mad, musical world.

Season 3:

After a successful sold out tour which would become a 3D concert movie, The New Directions made their way back to McKinley High and for some of them it was their senior year and what a better way to end senior year and season three then with their first Nationals win. Before that this season was filled with messy drama such as Finn forcing Santana out of the “flannel closet”, Idina Menzel returning as Shelby Corcoran to coach a new rival glee club called The Troubletones which would feature Brittany, Santana and Mercedes, Sue running for congress against Burt’s father, A Finchel engagement,an almost wedding, Blaine joining The New Directions and Quinn going from punk to trying to steal her baby back to sitting in a wheelchair after a terrible car accident on the way to Finn and Rachel’s wedding. There even a whole episode dedicated to the genius of Michael Jackson. There is a heavy focus on Rachel’s NYADA application and some of the writing is questionable but Season 3 of Glee proved to be an emotional roller-coaster and everyone’s talents were highlighted even some new characters aka The Glee Project alumni Damian McGinty, Alex Newell, Samuel Larsen and Lindsay Pierce who all shined in their respective roles.

Season 2:

Glee was an instant hit in season one and of course it would be picked up for another season and what a season it was. Season Two saw The New Directions ready to take on their new school year and prove they aren’t the losers that the students of McKinley High think they are. Season Two saw the introduction of Sam Evans and Blaine Anderson who would become fan favourites from the get go. Rachel and Finn have a rocky start to their relationship and it would end just before the first Christmas episode, different relationships were formed between the members of The Glee Club, Kurt and Finn became step brothers, Kurt would transfer to Dalton Academy and join The Warblers after a closeted Dave Karofsky wouldn’t stop picking on him, The New Directions fell in love with the hot substitute Holly Holiday played by Gwyneth Paltrow, A prom queen was crowned, original songs were written and The New Directions ventured to New York for Nationals . Glee‘s second season featured a tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, An extra special Britney Spears episode and what would be known as The Rocky Horror Glee Show. Season Two made all Gleeks want to “keep holding on” to the show we so admired.

Season 4:

Season Three saw The New Directions graduate and go onto their individual lives however Ryan Murphy wanted his show to still have that charm so we still saw those characters progress in the real world. Some newbies were introduced as The New Directions needed members and they were no longer the underdogs Marley Rose was the sweet songbird who was ashamed of where she came from, a new singing quarterback was formed in the addition of Ryder, Kitty Wilde was giving Santana and Quinn a run for their money as the new head cheerleader, Jake Puckerman was following in the footsteps of his older half brother and Alex Newell reprised their iconic role as Wade ‘Unique’ Adams. These newbies struggled with love triangles, gender identity, betrayal, body image issues and trying to figure out who “The New Rachel” was. McKinley still had Tina, Artie, Blaine, Sam and Brittany remain to show the newbies what it means to get a slushie in the face. In a Sex & The City-esque change up Rachel Berry is studying at NYADA, missing her friends and is being tormented by her tutors. Shortly Kurt joins her and Santana comes to stir things up. They would encounter boyfriends, girlfriends and what it means to be a “real New Yorker”. This would be the last season Cory Monteith would star in before his untimely death and his charcter proved his loyalty to The New Directions by taking over as their coach and proving he loves Rachel and will do anything for her.

All the seasons of Glee are now available to stream on Netflix now you can check them out and “Don’t stop believing”.