Glee: A look back on season five

Now that another rather tumultuous season of Glee has come and gone, I wanted to share my thoughts on it. Granted, I am still a "Gleek" at heart (I love musical theater, after all), but some aspects of the show made me feel like I was watching a train wreck. (Warning: Season FIVE spoilers ahead)

What worked:

Adam Lambert: Even though I'm long over my crush on him, he still is a great performer. His character, Elliot, added some substance to the NY story line and kept the others grounded. What's NOT to love there?!? I just wish they had let him stick around the rest of the season instead of sending him to some yoga retreat.

Demi Lovato: I really liked her character, Dani, with Santana and was miffed when that relationship went down the tubes due to Santana's attitude during the feud with Rachel. "Dantana" really could have worked otherwise.

Losing the McKinley story line: New Directions were getting weak and the writers were running out of ideas for what to do with the characters who were still at McKinley. So why not send the strongest ones to NYC and write out the school altogether? I honestly wasn't sad to see that chapter come to a close.

Getting rid of Tina: She was such an annoying brat. I'm glad Jenna decided to leave the show, even though she did come to NYC in one episode to be just as annoying, if not more.

Finn tribute: A very poignant episode that goes back to the heart of what the show is really about.

Puck and Quinn getting together: I really love them together. I was so glad that things didn't work out with Quinn's boyfriend so that they could write him out of the story and give Puck and Quinn the happy ending they deserve. I wonder if they'll be back next season.

Sam's haircut: Did he just get 10 times hotter or is it me?

Will and Emma becoming parents: As much as Will was getting on my nerves, I am really happy for this new chapter in his life and was even crying when he told Rachel the news.

Skylar Astin as the leader of the rival glee club at nationals: He's cute AND a great singer. What more is there to ask for?!?

Kitty's soft side: I was sick of her being obnoxious and liked her much better once she proved to be a decent human being.

Finn's mom: Romy Rosemont gave some amazing performances this past year as a grieving mother. I almost forgot that she's not Cory Monteith's mom in real life.

What didn't work:

X-mas episode: It should have stayed in the vaults. Then again, it should have been immediately destroyed so that no one had to be subjected to such torture!

Artie being a man-slut and getting an STD: This totally ruined Artie for me. I respected him until this episode. I was even hoping he and Julie could get together because they'd be a cute couple. But then he had to go and get an STD and the whole situation was awkward and embarrassing for everyone, including the TV audience.

The writer girl in the season finale: I said this before and will say it again...I find Olaf from Frozen to be less annoying. I know a lot of you like Olaf though, so I'll put this in other terms. There was a female comedian I saw at an amateur night a long time ago and she was so NOT funny but she'd keep saying "yeah, I thought that was funny." The writer girl was LESS funny than this comedian. I just wanted to smack her every time she opened her mouth to speak.

The Song of Solomon audition: So awkward that I am still cringing.

Santana/Rachel feud even though it only helped in one instance: I really thought Rachel put on her diva hat and boots for this one. I totally hated this fight even more than the Ross and Rachel fight on Friends after Ross cheated while they were "on a break." It only served to benefit Rachel later when she went to that ridiculous audition and her understudy got injured. What big Broadway show, in their right mind, has only ONE understudy?!?

June Dolloway: While it's nice for Blaine to get noticed for his talent and all, June just annoyed me with how she was telling him who he should love and threatening his career if he undermined her. She's not even a slightly good singer so I don't get where she can decide who is talented enough to perform in her show.

Rachel quitting NYADA/being a huge diva: I addressed the diva issue before, but Rachel is going to eventually hit a wall that she can't climb over and then she'll regret quitting NYADA. Who's to say this pilot won't fail the way How I Met Your Dad just did? She really has too big of a head and it's going to come back and bite her when she least expects it.

Becky being all psycho: While I think it's great that they include a character with Down Syndrome on the show, why can't they at least make this character normal in the way of Corky from Life Goes On vs completely ridiculous. Becky used to be sweet and lovable, but then Sue turned her into some monster. Side note: If she was going to college where people integrate students with DS into the mainstream classes, why was she just shown a class with other kids who have DS?

Artie swinging from a vine while in his wheelchair during "Roar": This was worse than him diving into the pool during "We Found Love."

Ryder sticking around even though he was supposed to leave: Did this story line just get completely dropped so he could "woo" Marley? Remember? After regionals? He said he was going to leave New Directions because of the "catfish" incident with Unique. Clearly, the writers think we have amnesia.

Sue Sylvester's trip to NYC: 50 shades of WRONG!!!! What school principal crashes at the apartment of former students and ditches their show in the middle of a song and then has the chutzpah to go back to the apartment with a strange man to fool around on everyone's bed? I was so glad when Rachel told her off.

The episode written by Chris Colfer: While Chris was trying to go for some sentimental message, it mainly just cleared up what was going on in that home for retired actors that I lived by in NJ. The only thing I liked about this episode was Santana's possible new career. Oh, and "Lando Calrissian."

Having so many unmemorable songs: I'll have a song from an episode come up on my Spotify and I don't even know when or why it was sung. And whatever Mercedes sang in the studio that one time was so slow and dull that I can't even remember what it was. They're also singing songs that are way before their time and acting like they have some attachment to them.

Anyway, these are just my thoughts. If you've stuck around for Glee this long, I'd love to hear what worked and didn't work for you this past season. While I think this mention in Entertainment Weekly is more harsh than I was in this entire post, I'm glad that they've caught on too. I'm really hoping that waiting longer to start the final season will allow the writers to get everyone back to a good place.