And that's what you really missed with Jenna.

And Kevin An iHeartRadio podcast.

Welcome to You, and That's what you really missed podcast the series finale.

Beside, I can't believe we're here, Hevin.

This feels very strange.

Yes, exactly.

You know, like when you go into school and like the classrooms are empty, and like all the things are off off the wall.

This is season six, episode thirteen, Dreams Come True, the series finale of Glee.

Wow, six years in the making.

This is air day was March twentieth, twenty fifteen, and two thousand and nine, like we said, last week aired right before this, so we get a true harder.

I liked it being broken up how we did it.

I wonder how it felt watching them back to back.

I wonder if that takes anything away from either of.

The episodes, Like it doesn't.

Yeah, probably not.

Okay, this is my feeling.

Dreams Come True is better than two thousand and nine.

Yes, in a different way.

Like it was more emotional, more of a tie up, right, It felt more like a solidified finale.

So if we watched.

That two thousand and nine too, dreams come true in a row like everybody did Live.

Would people have a better feeling about two thousand and nine because it was like one episode or does it feel like because we split it up it just feels a little I.

Think maybe you're right.

I think either way, I think this episode is great.

Yeah.

I think whether you're binging it or you're watching it one at a time, it's just a really really solid episode, so good, and I think it is.

I can't imagine being a writer or showrunner having to wrap up a series, especially when that has gone on as long as this, and that amount of pressure, because how many series finalites have we seen?

You're like, eh, that just know and the direction of it, there is nobody better except for if Ryan brad or Ian did it right.

And I think a lot of shows take big swings on series finales where they do time jumps a lot of the time or crazy plot lines, and this does a little of that.

However, I think it really works because it's not all set in twenty twenty.

Right, and it's it's really Yeah.

I'm just I'm really excited to get into this.

I'm really excited to talk about it because I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to hear about your viewing experience.

Okay, well, let's talk about what was going on in the world.

You said it number one song of ton Funk till number.

One, number one movie is Insurgent Still Yeah.

Glee News.

March seventeenth, Glee the music Dreams Come True EP was released, the last one.

It featured six tracks, including the original song This Time that Leah sang.

It was written by Darren And wasn't that nominated for an Emmy?

Was it?

I feel like it was OK and I loved it.

Darren really racking up those awards dominations.

March twentieth, Lee took its final bout after tix seasons, one hundred and twenty one episodes and more than seven hundred unforgettable musical numbers.

Here we are.

It's so surreal to me.

And I know I've said this before, but I can't express how like growing up and you know, trying to be an actor and get hired on a show, and I would go on IMDb and look at people who had been in over one hundred episodes or something, or even ten episodes or something.

WHOA.

I just thought that was so cool.

Yeah, and so impressive, And the fact that we can all say that we were in over one hundred episodes of something is really cool.

A lot of episodes.

It's just a lot of episodes.

It's a lot of episodes, a lot of all that crew, all of us put it, the production staff, the writers, Ryan brad and Ian remarkable.

I don't think people like we should probably go through like and you talk about there's a transport team.

There's a transportation team that is sitting there at base camp.

They move all the trailers, they move everything.

They're in charge of so much.

They're there every day all day, in addition to lighting and camera and craft service crops.

Yeah, everything you think, pa.

Like, It's remarkable.

Truly, it takes a freaking village.

It's a miracle that any show can be good.

Yes, because there's so many moving parts and it takes a steady hand to make all of that work.

I think for us, we have the added benefit of the people that were working on the show for the most part, by and large, loved working on the show and liked the show.

I think that makes a difference and the work because you feel that on a set if people really enjoy being there or proud of what they're doing, because that's not gonna happen every time, you know, work is work, you say yes, and you need to check and do you need healthcare and you need whatever that may bring.

But it's nice that we all got to be a part of one hundred twenty one episodes of something we all were passionate about.

Yeah, I mean, and just for everybody to come on the podcast and the wonderful crew members who have you know, given their time to come on the show and talk about their experience, like for them to reminisce and continue to reiterate the feeling that we're all family and we're still so close and it feels like that once in a lifetime experience.

It just rely, I don't know, it's it's validating in a lot of ways that like our experience was similar.

You know that everybody felt that way, and there's a collective love andiation for how hard everybody was working and that was recognized, and I do feel people were felt valued some of the time at least, you know.

So I think it's it's amazing and it's been wonderful and.

It means more, I think coming from them because they work on a lot more a lot more TV than we have well, that's it, right, and like if they're still saying that this day, obviously for us, it's like, obviously, this is the biggest thing any of us have ever done, and so it feels unique and special to us and for all of them who have been working on a myriad of shows for decades to echo that sentiment, it just reinforces Yeah, how special this whole thing is for us.

Okay.

This was written by Ryan Ian and Brad Everybody.

Everybody is here, everybody's here.

Wonderful.

The songs.

There's no way to close this out except for having really great songs, Yeah, really great numbers that tie into the finality of it all that feel emotional, that feel appropriate, that help with the characters, like, it's just wonderful.

So Teach Your Children by Crosby Stills Nashing Young performed by Will which we'll talk about that number.

We spent an hour just talking about that.

Yeah, not okay, Okay, Someday We'll Be Together, originally performed by Dana Ross and the Supremes.

Forgot about that one.

Mercedes with the Church Choir so good.

The Winner Takes It All by Abba, performed by Sue and.

Will Day Dream Believer by the Monkey's performed by Curtin Blaine.

By Darren Chris performed by Rachel.

I Lived by One Republic performed by the Cask of Glee.

Oh my gosh, now I feel like all the people who got songs on here.

I think that's incredibly right.

Yes, I have one complaint.

What's that?

I wish we got a Santana and Brittany do it.

I know, I got really emotional when they came walking down the stairs and I lived and.

I just I wish we got yep a moment for them.

I agree.

I didn't necessarily miss it during the episode.

Seeing this now, I'm like.

Oh, totally, yes, the song itself.

You're like, where's the song?

I don't disagree.

I think what I'm thinking is like it.

Had to have.

It just was like this episode was like so perfectly woven with storylines.

Yeah, and it worked into the storyline.

It didn't feel like, oh, let's just throw it in there because we love these characters, like it was just very meticulous and so it was.

I don't disagree with you, but it would have had to be with a storyline.

You're right, it would have been fan service, yes, as opposed to I mean all this is fan service, but like you said, it's done in a much intentional way.

Yes, yes, Okay.

Lauren's Icy's returned to the first time since Sadie Hawkins.

Remember that episode forty three episodes ago Welcome Back.

I can't believe that was forty three episodes for us.

Jake Puckerman and Ryder Lynn return after last appearing in the New Directions twenty episodes ago.

Come Back.

Damian mcgint rory and Melissa Bnoys are the only former Glee Club members who didn't return.

They were invited but couldn't make it do to scheduling conflicts.

This is the first time the matter is shown with almost all the New Direction members that joined after he left.

Wow, if you count the footage shown in two thousand and nine from pilot.

This episode is Santana's one hundredth appearance.

WHOA.

This is the third time two episodes aired on the same day, like Props and Nationals and Loser Like Me and Homecoming.

Characters who appear in both the first and last episodes are Rachel Will Sue, Kurt Santana, Quinn Puck, Tina, Artie, Mercedes, Carol, Terry Figgins, Emma Brad and the band's bassist and drummer.

Oh wow, this is only the second episode where Kitty doesn't wear her Cheerios uniform.

It was weird seeing Grecca in clothes.

Yeah, she's already graduated, so the first time was in a wedding.

I feel like her out of her school uniform is very like wife of a like Christian preacher at a megachurch.

That's totally right.

Her hair needs to be a little bit bigger.

That a little bit bigger and like a little bit more bleach, but.

Like, let's dynamic, let's di mention.

Daydream Believer was originally sung by Brian Ryan in an unreleased version from dream On.

Do you know that?

Yes, Jef Sleep, it's the flashback.

Oh okay.

This is the second unreleased Brian Ryan song that Blaine later sang after Piano Man in Moving Out.

That's right.

It's also the third time Blaine sang a previously unreleased song like Tonight from the first Time, originally sung by Tina and Preggers.

And the episode opens with part of a scene from the extended director's cut of the pilot.

That's right, I loved I love that.

I know I love it's.

Grainier, like it looks a little different, and it just it sets the tone that it directly obviously connects them.

Yes, and it really good.

Great idea, Spencer suggests sing she Thinks My Tractor's Sexy, which is a song written by coord Overstreet's real life dad.

Real life dad.

One item in kurtz Locker is the gum rapper ring Blaine made for him, previously only seen in a deleted scene from The Extraordinary Merry Christmas.

The nominees for Tony Award for Best Actress and a Musical twenty twenty are Maggie Smith for Miss Jean Brody's Second Prime, Willow Smith for Cabaret and Hathaway for an exclamation Point, and Rachel Barry for Jane.

Austen sings, I love that they got Andrew Reynolds to do that.

Yeah.

This is the only episode where Will performs a solo, a duet, and a solo within a.

Group number.

While also getting shamed for his rapping.

This episode features the most guest stars of the series.

Made It Better It's Like one hundred People.

Darren's original song This Time was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original music and Lyrics of the sixty seventh Primetime Emmy Awards in twenty fifteen.

That's right, baby, okay, Jenna.

One last Glee episode summary.

I mean, it's the same as last week, but we're gonna read it again.

Okay.

Actually, I'll just read the second half because this Glee flashes forward to see how the characters' lives have progressed five years down the road and the all new special two hour series finale episode.

That's it.

That's it, that's it.

Oh my god, there's so much that happens in this episode.

But what feels right is that Will is the star of this episode, as he was in the pilot pilot, and that feels right, and it feels good, and it feels like we completed the circle.

Bring it back around exactly.

It's very open it up with like the flash which was in the pilot, and then well, it's about the school, it's about his heart and his care for the glee club and all the time he put in.

It's like it's about him and the kids, right, Like that's yes, that's it, Bring it back down.

I also appreciated how much time was spent talking about arts education, arts funding in a series finale.

God, you know, like there's so much to see, so much we want to see, and that is integral to this entire series.

Even though we go crazy and do wacky and funny storylines, this show ultimately is about the lack of funding for the arts.

Literally, it's just like where you're going with getting into the will of it all.

I just in my mind was like, what was this day like or what was this week like shooting this episode?

It feels like one day.

It feels like we shot this entire episode in one day, do you know what I mean?

Yes, the feeling was there every day that we were getting closer to the final day, and so that last week of filming in all these scenes felt like the last day.

At the end of the day, it was like, wow, this was the last day.

See you tomorrow.

What it felt like was.

We were all repressing the emotion we had until the actual last day because it felt like, so watching the scene, we're just going to jump around here because you have so many memories from this that we actually remember and if you watched it, you know the storyline, but I think emotionally to set the scene here, watching Amber's performance on that stage and we're all a little bit like, I'm going to comment on myself, I look a little bit like disconnected.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're associating.

Yes, we're fully dissociating.

And I think it's because, like you know, we had obviously gone through a lot good and bad on the show, and I think everybody felt like, yes, this was the time for it to end, and so that wasn't necessarily the issue.

The issue is then when you're still on the hamster wheel showing up to work and doing the same thing every day, you have an excuse to defer any of those like hard things to work through to a later date.

And when it's the last day, you can no longer defer because there it is you will not be coming back tomorrow.

And so.

Let's talk about the last day.

The Will storyline, New Directions, win Nationals, and then Will finds out that William McKinley is going to be William McKinley School for the Performing Arts, and he's going to be the principal.

Get run in the school.

Yeah credible, But he after like a three month time jump, he comes into the choir room with all of us and all these new.

People auditioning to get into the school.

There's going to be four different glee clubs now.

Like a varsity, yes, Junior jv.

It's we love it.

And last thing we shot and the series of Glee, Oh my god, was Will's performance to us.

And I forgot that it was so early in the episode because for us, it's the last memory.

The final day of filming.

Like in our trailers we had.

Wardrobe gave these gifts out to us with these like little windbreaker jackets that I still have.

I love that jacket, and we were all wearing them and are on the makeup trailer and it was like the makeup trailer for the last time.

You used to have dance parties in there, and like everybody was getting ready at the same time.

Oh.

I rated the wardrobe department.

I went, we went.

They let us pick out some things.

Don't tell anybody, Yeah, we weren't supposed to.

I remember Melissa Bule of our wonderful makeup artists who had been there with us, and we became very close.

She would babysit bear like we were tight.

You know.

She did my makeup for I think from season three on, and I would bring her a Starbucks sandwich.

Every morning when we would get ready, we just became really tight.

The last day, she was silent.

Silent.

She's not silent, No, she's not a silent person.

She was silent.

She was so sad, and I like don't know what to do with that, Like with people's emotions.

Sometimes I was just like, Okay, I'm just gonna ignore it.

And I just remember like trying not to cry the entire time.

It was so sweet.

It was so so sweet.

So that's how our day started.

It was like, don't make me cry, don't mess up my makeup.

Please, for the love of God.

We all wore waterproof.

Everybody was like okay, but again, like you said, the dissociating thing, like we all had been doing that for like the week leading up too, so our guards were still kind of up.

But I think it started to.

Hit people in like waterfall motion.

People were hugging when you.

Get to said, And they had set up the carnival and paramount way.

They had set up a huge carnival like in New York Street where we shoot, and there was like a band and they had like activations and setups and it was like snacks and we were just like partying.

But we It was really sweet and there's a big banner.

We have a photo that will post of like, you know, thank you for six amazing years, and Paramount posted something for us achievement.

It's just it was like it felt so.

I don't know, celebratory, but when one person would start to cry, that's when we would all start to cry.

Oh yeah.

There was also tequila that was.

I didn't touch that until later because I was like, I won't make it because I'll be crying so much.

I'm already crying.

We yeah, we did the number with Matt right that teach your children, And I remember.

As they were marking the rehearsal for.

That really big scene with all those people, some of them were like extras who hadn't been there before, so it was kind of weird.

We were like in this room with like a lot a lot of people at the time.

Well, it started off being like this feels wrong, like this feels like a really day thing we're about to do, and like there was like twenty strangers.

Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a good point.

So we were rehearsing for the scene.

Right, we're not even we haven't gotten into the song yet.

Brad Brieger's there.

He's like really going carefully, he's like treading very lightly.

With all of us.

He's so gentle, he's so gent and I remember camera Ben.

Oh yes, man, he's just so lovely.

He's one of my favorite people to see every day.

So kind, just did his job, happy, happy to be there, wonderful, wonderful man.

I just it's hard to explain.

He's just a really big grown man doing camera work, grip work, like and we he's putting our tape down marks for uh where we stand and he does that every day in the result, and then we all just started applauding Ben.

We're like, yay, Yes, he did this.

Thing where he would walk in like hi Ben, and we'd all would like.

So many people to mark, and we all had different colors.

We had to keep track of it and who were and we're like yay Ben.

And all of a sudden he vends down and you look and you see him just burst to do.

It's so funny because it makes me uncomfortable a little bit because I was just like, this is the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

It broke us, It broke us all, it broke him.

It's what we needed though, We needed somebody to be first, and I have like Ben be the person who, like ushered in the release of emotions.

Was perfect.

It was poetic.

I'll never forget it.

It's like the that's the memory that sticks out in my mind of that.

Day's watching straight men cry is really disconcerting.

No, why, like, let's normalize that.

We love this.

They are allowed to be so sweet.

So during that process, Brad Beeker, being the intuitive and gentle director he is, the plan was, we are going to shoot Matt's coverage first with all of those people yep, and so we could shoot all of them, the one on the ris, yes, everyone on Thatt's side of the room.

And then what they did was they cleared everybody except Matt and Cord on that side of the room, every single person, and then did our coverage and wait.

Bradbeker also promised us that he would tell us when the last take was.

We made him promise to tell us, so we knew that this was going to be the last take.

So he kept being like, is this the one?

Like he would come in the room, we'd be like, and he would he be like, Okay, I think I know the story you're gonna also go ahead.

And as soon I can't even it was as soon as the camera was on us.

You see it in the scene, and that what the actual edit.

So I look at Leah.

Leah looks at me, and as soon as she looks at me, she starts crying.

Which then makes you'd cry, and.

Then like and then I start crying.

And then you see immediately amber when they cut the Amber, she's like nodding her head and she's not looking at anybody, doesn't turn her head to look at anybody, no one.

And Chris Chris also not looking at anybody.

In the death grip they have on each other, they was very real, and I'm so glad Beeker got that because they were like squeezing each other's hands so hard.

So they would try to keep it.

Together because one of us would go, it would all make us all go.

Darren was already crying.

Darren was crying immediately because he kept looking at us.

And then like our side with Becca, Leah, you and me, we okay, So I kept.

Looking at Leah and you would look at each other and then we would start crying because we were look at each other like, don't start crying, and then we start crying.

And then I remember the camera you know, is panning from Leah to me to you, and I was like, and you were looking at me, and I was like, don't look at Kevin.

Just don't look at them, Like, don't look at them.

So I refuse to look at you.

But then the camera came out.

I was like, oh, I got it.

I gotta act.

You just gotta look to Artie, like she has to look at Artie.

And I was like, yeah, damn it.

So I had to look at you.

Gone.

Gone, you look at Becca, Yeah gone.

It was not it was just it was powerful, Like I think the fans knew what we were doing, and so that was good.

That was you know, for the fandom, but also for us, Like you're like, don't lose it too much because then it's just gonna be weird, you know what I mean.

It's like, well, I think part of it was like in the actual episode, I was like, we are everyone's a little too emotional in context, it doesn't really make sense.

I was like, no, that's our last shot.

And then Matt and core Cord, Oh my.

God, here's here's the story.

Okay, So Brad Beeker whispers and Matt's ear and chordsier, we don't know this.

The carridges on us by the piano, and one take before the very very end, he tells Matt to take his eukulele.

Chord takes his guitar, and as they're singing, they get up and they walk towards us, and Matt comes to each one of us and he sings to us and he's playing, and Chord follows him and we're all looking at each other.

I have this, it's in the archives.

Don't tell anybody.

And he.

That's when we really lost it.

Everybody was like, it was not okay.

I watch it and I weep because it's so emotional.

I mean, this was the point where we knew they weren't going to use this take right.

This was just for us and for bad Beeker to get some reaction out of us, or whatever it was, or just for us that Matt was hysterical crying.

Cord was like tears streaming, our shoulders shaking, We're crying so hard, and then we all burst out into laughter, and there's spit.

We're crying.

I think Andrew Mitchell's crying on Steadycam everybody's hysterical laughing, guttural emotional laughs that I've never I don't know that I've ever felt before in that moment.

Then in that moment, oh yeah, it was very out of body.

And then we did our last take, I think normally, and then when you wrap a season, that's not a serious finale, but it always could be a serious finale.

They on your last day, if you are a serious regular, the first ad will be like that is a picture wrap on Kevin mccawne, and then everybody applauds for you, and you say goodbye to everybody, and that's it, right, So they would always do that for us the end of the seasons.

So they did that again for the series.

And yeah, on top of already having shot that day, it's not emotional state doing that.

It was all those photos that you've probably seen online somewhere with Kevin and I are death gripping each other, hugging.

I don't think I've ever cried harder.

And Cruise like all circled around the choir room.

Remember, like people literally like just you and me because our numbers are next to each others, right, So it's it's Kevin Cale and Johns and just death gripping.

Okay, Christ.

Like everybody's just clapping.

It's kind of culty and weird.

But I but I'll never forget that wrap that day.

It was so special.

I'm so glad you brought up that take where it comes down and Chord came over to us because what happened that was like the final nail in the coffin for us being able to keep it together because that was the second to last take or something, and so we never recovered from that, Like seeing Chord sob is so upsetting.

And then they immediately went into wrapping all this.

We were not well.

We had been crying for like an hour.

It was.

It was just it was so much during that whole process, I went up to the rafters.

Did you go up there now?

So Jason took me up to the rafters with somebody else I don't remember.

Jason was one of the He worked in lighting and was official title m HM.

And I had never been up there, like above the sets, and so I went up there and walked all around like suspended.

Wow.

And I have a picture I signed one of the wooden posts at the top of like my name and what years we were there and like what shot there?

Because there were other other shows or movies had written oh cool at random parts up there.

I was like, why have I not been up here?

I probably was not allowed to be up there.

Yeah, maybe that's why.

Yeah, probably legal thing safety.

Yeah that's so cool.

And then do you remember that night It wasn't planned, yes, but there was stiicula and they were drinking and like people were you know, we're hanging on the trailers.

We were cleaning up our stuff.

We had had the carnival.

We were saying goodbye to everybody, you know, the whole thing.

And some of the casts stuck around and we were like, let's go sit on the stage.

We were like, oh my god, I can't believe they're going to tear this theater down, this auditorium down.

Set is a set, and they were tearing all of them down, and I believe we all just like walked onto the stage and sat down in a.

Circle like we did, shared stories.

And like gathered and some people who hadn't been there a long time, like you know, back on the show, like Jacob was there and just like hmm, it was really lovely and wonderful and like a nice way to a chill way right to wrap up the emotional day.

I think we were sharing like specific experience, like what we were going to miss or like what we learned on the show.

It was something like that.

We were all going around so sweet answering a question.

Yeah, it was so nice.

It was.

It was a really great, perfect Yeah, final day.

It really was.

Well, it was really nice.

I mean that was that last day.

But there's still so much more that happens in this no Well, I'm.

Really happy about Sue.

That's Sue and Will got a song and I love that she just breaks into song like she says nothing like it's actually brings me so joy love it.

I was not a novel lover, but it was.

I'm reformed and it's so good.

Sue is great in this episode.

I mean the scene with her and Blaine and Kurt oh so.

Like, gosh, Jane is so good.

She's so layered.

Sue and I loved to hate her and I hate to love her and love to love her like it's just it's excellence.

And her having that scene with them and talking to them and just getting these like quippie lines of like you know, old school Sue, but also getting so much heart and then her running down the hallway with Becky is just everything I could have hoped more.

They're so cute.

And it was also that speech she gives at the end where she's very much Jane now that she's vice president.

It was just really beautiful, Like she really does the concluding paragraph of like the thesis of Glee, and it was so nice she was doing it to all the adults and talking about Finn and you know, the whole point of it.

And I think you know, when Ryan and Brad and Ian talked about the show, a lot of it is about having viewers, like the Sues of the world, watch the show and then come out the other end feeling like Sue does in this last scene.

And it was just.

A beautiful.

Period at the end of this whole thing.

And to have her delivering it like Jane is just so unbelievably good at everything, and like the sensitivity that, you know, after saying some of the most diabolical and innsaying things said on television ever, and then she can get up there within the same episode, yes and give you this the most beautiful, heartfelt, meaningful, genuine speech with like still just like little tiny jabs of like when I finally realized now that I'm well into my late thirties, it's so good.

Re dedicating in the theater to fin Hudson Auditorium.

Yeah, it's really nice.

How often did you cry watching this?

Almost every song started out with teaching children pretty bad.

I texted you and I was like, yeah, I can get through this episode.

Well, you called me last night and I had just started the episode.

I hadn't gotten to that.

I was right as that number was about to start, and then I was like, yeah, I don't think I can do this tonight, but I hung up.

Oh you did it.

I kind of want to see it.

I did it, and I was just laying in bed and bubble lights up, just like tears streaming down my face.

Oh my god.

I I cried a lot.

I cried I forgotten Mercedes does this number.

I forgot I ever did this number.

And then I was like, oh my gosh, of course I forgot that we shot this, so that brought back memories and I cried there.

One.

I'm so happy Mercedes had a moment and this episode, I mean, and I think it's so nice to see how they chose for all these characters to say goodbye, like the fact that she does her song and she does.

It through songs.

It just takes it and then leaves, and her whole speech I thought was really great beforehand.

I agree with you, it would have felt weird without having a Mercedes goodbye like it.

Would and I think with the track record of sometimes how Mercedes was treated, I wouldn't have been surprised, and I just think, Yeah, Mercedes is one of the most vital characters on the show, and so I'm just really happy that's for her character and for Ambert.

To send off.

When Rachel performs this time in McKinley, oh God, I nember when the song's great and really enjoyed it.

I forgot that it was Darren's song, so I didn't know that going into it, but I was like, this sister song.

The direction of her being in all those places throughout.

McKinley, the lighting down the hallway, and then I don't know, that got me so hard.

I don't know why I was.

I was down bad.

I was like tears, you know, when.

She's standing in like the auditorium and then in the stairs or in the audience at the auditorium and then they go back to like the quintessential Rachel crying on the stage singing.

It was like gotta have it.

It was a great, great to end off for her as well, like her last number, like we obviously knew we're getting a Rachel lumber, but it was really well done on all fronts performance and just just all the locations and the song.

And she's Rachel has gone through a lot, and it was I think Darren did a really good job of capturing a lot of that of like who Rachel is, who she's been, who's just become.

And I liked the little don't Stop Believing referonsent it and it's just it really encapsulated like the nostalgia that we had for the beginning of the show and the things that happened on and off screen somehow, and obviously whenever Leah cats, it just gets me, Oh God, I'm going to.

Re listen to this song, listen to it again.

I don't think I can.

I think I can without the context of like watching it.

But that's it though, Like it was very grounded in like it's about the school, it's about the kids, it's about mister Schuster fighting for it, like setting the groundwork for like what the show was going to be, and then coming back to it was like so so good and so fulfilling, and I hope everybody felt that way.

And then obviously like getting I lived with everybody there doing like this big number on the stage, and that was so much fun to film with everybody.

It was like overwhelming because I had never really met like any of the new kids because I wasn't around for.

Them, right, yeah, I think that was my only time seeing Phineas.

Yeah, I don't even think I met me.

It was really really fun, like everybody was.

It was fun to have Zach and Brooke there again, like leading us through a number and we were just laughing and like there was no pressure.

It didn't feel stressful.

Do you like some of those Everybody was like yeah, exactly.

That did feel like a celebration.

I we did do some crying at the very end of it because that was the last number with everybody.

Was like up on a lot of our guest cast, right.

It was our last performance, like we weren't performing again.

Oh weird.

That was when I went to the recording studio and I was just a little bitter.

I didn't have more to sing on it, and so then they gave me all these abs They're like, yeah, you should be doing one.

Was like, thank you.

I just didn't want to leave, like I don't want to leave this recording studio yet, Like I don't want to come in here and sing two lines, you know.

Like I was like, yeah, yeah, so I know, we'll give you some athms.

I'm like, thank you, Like let this experience last another thirty minutes, please please, you know.

On a personal note, it was also weird to be doing a one Republic song because for me because in the boy band that I was in before, the first like studio sessions we ever had, like real studio sessions were with Ryan Tedder before when Republic became big, they had actually just got they got dropped during our time working together.

And in some weird way, I was like, this is so strange.

Now that we're doing one of his songs for the It was like those two experiences had just combined here at the end.

Yes, I really enjoyed it.

It was really sweet that yeah, it was.

I think I had my sister and my mom and my niece there that day.

They came and hung out because I didn't want them.

I wasn't about to invite anybody on our actual last day because that was like for us, right, But yeah, yeah, my nieces and nephews like sort of grew up during that like watching that show.

Oh yeah coming there too, and you were all, yeah, you all knew all of them so well, and so I was like, okay, let me just have them come and visit for a little bit.

Yeah, no, your family was our family.

Like it was so great to have like Jack and Rose there and like, I can't believe that they were so little and then grew up on set.

It was so much fun.

So we fast forward to twenty five years later and we learned that Rachel is a surrogate for Kurt and Blaine, which was funny because I saw on the red carpet for the Tonys, I think that they had asked Darren and they had asked ross Leia like about the baby and who.

I can't remember what the question was, but we had to be corrected because I think in my memory also we thought it was Jesse and Rachel's baby, but it was actually Blaine and Kurt's baby.

I thought that was so funny with like when we shot that with like Leah with the belly and going to the apartment and shooting.

I remember shooting in that apartment.

I was very felt, very quick.

And we're learning that already Trina ended up together at the end, which we've learned is we shall not speak of I guess and Mercedes coming in and offering her song to us for your short film that kind of a slam dance and yeah, the whole thing, and yeah, just learning like endgame.

I thought that was nice.

And then of course like uh Rachel winning the Tony, which I remember filming that day or I can't remember if we were there or we heard about it, but this is around the time that Kanye got up and stole old Taylor Swift's award.

Oh yeah, and so is Andre.

Who did it.

Yes, Andre got up one of our.

Camera guys and was like, wait, wait, wait, I just gotta I just gotta take a second and did that like before I take and we thought it was so funny.

Yeah, I loved it.

I liked I'm not a huge fan of Fast forwards often, but like one of the best series finales I think to date that I will still die on a hell for and I don't know that I have to because, like I think people agree, is six feet Under best serious finale ever?

Don't I haven't seen it.

I've never watched I need to watch that series.

I haven't watched it.

Euse me.

I know, I know, I know, yeah I have.

I will actually should should we turn this into a six feet Under recaun.

Get me there?

I love that show six feet Under?

Wait, I love six feet Under, and I will.

I will say, Kevin, you get there because it is phenomenal, one of the best serious finales I've ever seen.

When I was in The Spring Awakening and I was an off stage swing, I was oftentimes like I was on a lot because a lot of the everybody was a big cast and people were calling on all the time.

But I would find ways to like kill time backstage, and I was all the whole cast was big six feet Under fans and it had just like kind of finished.

So I was like, oh, I let me catch up.

So I started watching it and people would come up and be like, what do you watch it?

And I was six six ft under, I've got to the finale.

I was watching it.

During the show, I was weeping uncontrollably to the point where people were like what happened?

Are you okay?

And like not okay, not okay?

Best serious finale, so so so so good.

I have to watch anyway, Kelly, since we were on Glee has been telling you to watch it, and I have watched too, Like so good.

I like the flash forward though.

I thought it was great, and I think we needed to see that win for Rachel, you know what I mean, like after all the work and and then also to bring it back to Will and thanking Will who's watching on his couch, is like.

So oh God.

And also you see the growth in Rachel, like she's a different person up there, and we get to see like the flash forward for Curtain Blaine of them like thriving.

They just did LGBT version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf I these Almond School.

I love it.

I love it.

Yeah, Like it's all sort of, you know, in a fantasy world of like what is the I what is ideal for everyone?

And like it all makes sense for.

Everyone, which is funny though, because Ian I remember Ian when he came on, was like we aren't supposed to succeed, Like that's the truth of it.

It's supposed to live in this world where we are, you know, and then like go back to the reality, but for leep purposes and the fans purposes and for art selfish purposes.

Like I thought this was perfect.

Yeah, I get what he means though, I totally understand that, and I thought that was really nice and I actually think something they did back at McKinley makes a lot of sense there.

So there's this whole really great scene between Blaine and Sam, and it was one of my favorite parts of the entire episode because their friendship has, I think has always been such like a really nice part of the show.

You have this like jock straight guy and this out gay guy and their BFFs, and it's just been like is really important for the show.

And the fact that they get a scene and you know, Blaine is trying to convince him to move to New York before we flash forward to come be roommates with he and Kurt.

They have an extra room and he wants him to be there because he has everybody there except him, and I really liked that.

Sam's like, no, it's not for me.

This is where I belong, and Blaine's just like, I just want you to not waste your talents, and he's like, I'm not going.

To the choir room as the new mister Shoe.

Amazing.

It also like ties in the idea that like he was taking over the leadership position when Finn dies, Like it's just it really also brings that around and puts a nice little fine point on all of it.

Yeah, And I don't think it's necessarily that obvious that you would think Sam would be.

A teacher totally, but we love it for him.

He cares so deeply and I think that was like the biggest part of Mister Shoe.

Mister Shue just cares so deeply about all these kids.

Yep.

And I think how we saw Sam looking out for the football players, that Sam was going to be looking out for all these glee club members and I forgot that happened.

I had no memory of that happening, and I loved it.

I was surprised.

I was like, oh, well, there's just so much that happens in this episode.

In the flash forward, we also get a little artient Tina.

I just wanted to talk about how awkward it was us kissing.

Oh God, by that point, we had, you know, in the early days, it was like fun, fine, we were probably doing that drunkenly anyway.

And then it's like we had lived lives, We've.

Grown, We're kissing.

We kissing, And there was.

One take we had to like make out for a while and.

We're both like this, oh, that's right while, and then the camera came in or.

Something yes, and then we realized we're probably not even in the shop anymore and we're still making out.

Welcome to my life.

I'm Glee.

I literally had to make out truly with multiple people.

I know that sounds like, oh poor me, but like Harry and I make it out during jarg of hearts, literally laughing into each other's mouths, and then Corn and I during that the lock in and that, and then us just like unnecessarily having to kiss.

It's ridiculous, but here we are.

Which I also realized they had to do because there was no way to show already getting up into that walk up, so they had to just pan away.

And then ARTI was magically going to be into the apartment.

He was not handicap before then.

We were like, how did already get in here?

And I think I think Balchuk was around for that one that day, and I think he was like, they just carried you up.

Obviously.

Yi, I think that's it.

Let's create some Oh, let's create some performances.

No, no, okay.

Okay, teach your children.

It's just a infinity.

Yeah, a infinity because we were the performance.

Yeah, exactly.

Someday we'll be together.

A plus plus plus plus plus.

Yeah, agreed, Winner takes it all, A plus, A.

Plus, A plus daydream Believer, Hey, A plus A.

Yeah, it's not giving everybody.

It was great.

Also, kurts Hair both are there.

They both had a blowout, giving me.

Like Simon and Graf.

Okay, this time A plus plus A plus and I live A plus man, all right.

Yeah, I'm giving D plus.

This is just an A plus episode.

Yeah, it's just it is what it is, you know.

Okay, Hardy oh, Tardi takes Kevin.

You remember when Paris came on for the first time and said they're auchies and now we're here.

Yeah, it's been a long journey.

Let's do some ouchies.

Honestly, were there any No.

I mean very If there's anything we missed it, which is bad, but no, I wouldn't.

I didn't have any huge qualms this episode.

Best dance move I lived, walking.

In lines, Yeah, pretty much.

Best song, Oh my gosh, this is well.

Are we singing song or performance some day We'll be together?

Or I lived.

I'm gonna say I lived, just because it had sent the most people on it.

Yeah.

Performance by a prop rachels Tony.

I mean.

The Finn Hudson plaque.

Oh, the plaques.

Oh yeah, to remember in the episode when they take the black with us, when we like take the black, Yes, best line Sue's speech.

Yeah, Sue, Rachel's speeches.

Yeah, excellent.

I mean Jane also had some very funny yes truly earlier in the episode.

You can't miss those in the faintal episode performance MVP, I'm going with Leah and Natt an honorable mention to Jane and then honorable mention to the ensemble.

I think it's just I think it's Leah, Matt and Jane three way tight.

Yeah yeah, yeah, okay, fine, excellent, very.

Good, excellent, well done all around, what a great episode.

I genuinely really like what I want to know what everybody thinks.

I was like waiting to watch this episode because I was like, oh, I don't want it to be over but I wanted to be like special and I wanted to don't watch it, and then I I lost track of time and was like rushing around watching it, and I still felt all the.

Things you ready for.

Some shit we found on TikTok.

We have a couple of them today.

Jenna pop Culture Jeopardy asked in the category but I'm a cheerleader.

The Unholy Trinity on Glee were these three cheerleaders and only one person.

I was actually watching this, like watching this episode and caught that question and was like, come on, you guys.

There's been a couple of Glee questions.

Definitely love the show.

Love other three Glee questions on there.

The one guy did say Diana, but it's not the character name, so like you know, and this other one is I okay.

Someone said the art of Lizzie posted and says, I'm about to watch Glee for the first time.

Tell me something I won't understand until I finish, And so we have to read some comment because they're so good.

Someone said key dollar sign ha, nice haircut, Mercedes, but I thought you graduated.

Jig Sauce sou Sylvester end quotes.

At least it wasn't an active crack house.

I want to get married now I have Jim.

I like he's in my bagel but not in my muff.

Fon du for two, Fondu for two, some hot dish von du for two.

Oh, she has a family.

She's a mother.

Run Joey rod.

Oh, my favorite.

Who wrote this?

Tina?

A little purse just fell out of my mouth.

Hi, my name is Kurtain Hummeline.

I'm auditioning for the role of Kicker.

Who is Josh Grobe.

It's just some moist.

Talette's so good.

No, she's dead.

This is her son Lima Heights adjacent.

You ain't going to give birth to no child.

You are going to give birth to a grandchild.

This is a good I am like tinker bellfin I need applause to live.

So good, you guys is good.

It's my favorite.

Oh, Bambie, I cried so hard when they killed your mom.

My God, my up, wow, God.

There's a lot of run Joey run, grilled cheese.

And she's exactly really good.

That's great, excellent.

Really excellent, very exciting, very good.

Good luck watching Glee.

Lizzie.

Let us know right.

Back to the beginning.

Okay, know what's coming.

We still have more to come.

What's happening, Kevin.

We have some great guests, very excited for that.

We have season six favorites, we have series favorites.

We're going to do our glee eras tour list.

With Andrew hopefully.

Yes, we're not done, and they're going to be good.

We've been very excited about this and thinking about this for a long time obviously, so stick around.

There will there will be plenty more to listen to and we're not going anywhere.

And I just want to say thank thank you to everybody for coming on this journey with us.

It's been one hundred and twenty one episodes.

You've come along for the ride through the good and the bad and and the tough.

So we really appreciate you, guys, and we love doing this for you and for us, and we've had so much fun.

And shout out to iHeart for being like the best partner in this and Sam our incredible producer there.

You know, Sam makes all of this possible and it makes all of this happen, and iHeart has just been a dream to work for.

And they're not forcing me to say this.

We generally have had the best experience, and we're going to keep doing this.

We're going to keep going, So thank you to all of you to help make the show happen.

Thank you to all of you who listen to.

Us and see you next week.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Instagram at and that's what you really miss pod.

Make sure to write us a review and leave us five stars.

See you next time.