Glee at Global as Finale Hits 2.5 Million Mark

Glee closed out a breakout rookie season Tuesday night with an overnight, estimated audience of 2,511,000 viewers across Canada. The series high number confirms the Fox series as the No. 1 first season show in Canada for 2010-11.
Fans got to enjoy some closure in the swift-paced finale. Quinn had her baby (a girl) right in the middle of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline's rendition of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Only executive producer Ryan Murphy would cross cut a woman giving birth opposite, "Galileo! Galileo, Manifico!"
There were the usual borderline off-colour naughtiness (another glee club was called "Aural Intensity"). There was another Olivia Newton John sighting. We get it; it's funny because she's playing a bitch.
Fans, though, got to see Mr. Shue (Matthew Morrison, above, with Mark Salling) get his "To Sir, With Love" moment from the glee kids, a welcome blast of genuine warmth after all the campy kookiness of recent weeks. Rachel and Finn also renewed their love, with Cory Monteith given whole sentences for a change.
While the show never lacks for zip and entertainment, Murphy the storyteller moves too fast at times, at least for my taste and attention span. Shu and Emma's third act smooch in the hall was jammed in from out of nowhere. Sue Sylvester's complete about face at the end is also straight out of musical theatre, but so is this entire series. The quick scene at the very end where the Rachel look-a-like Vocal Adrenaline boss (Idina Menzel) adopts Quinn's baby just seemed creepy. And dammit, bring back the football coach.
Murphy has basically set up a complete do-over for next season. That's fine, but hopefully some lessons were learned about the show going on, just not going on over a cliff.