It's just over a week since we heard the sad news about Cory Monteith's passing, and now Glee creator Ryan Murphy has revealed that the third episode of Glee's fifth season will be dedicated to the memory of their own Finn Hudson.
Murphy told the Hollywood Reporter that role of Finn will not be re-cast, and revealed that himself and the show's writers have agreed that their only option is to kill him off. It may seem a bit odd for fans of the series (we're not really sure how we'd handle having to film fictional reactions to our real life friend's 'fictional' death), but he says it's the only way to do it.
"The right thing to do for the show, at least at this point, is to have that character pass," Murphy explained. "When we do the tribute episode to that character, we'll have to do it in a way where the cast members will not have to re-create feelings of grief that they’ve had this week - but do it in an upbeat way." We have no idea how they'll take such a horribly sad death and translate it into fictional 'upbeat' grief on air, if we're honest.
We aren't alone in that though - Murphy himself is torn and turned to Lea Michele when it came to making the big decision. “Lea blessed every decision. I told her even I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to write about the death of someone I love. She wanted people to be together.”
Murphy also dealt with those rumours about Lea's departure from the smash hit series in the interview. He said he had spoken with Monteith's off screen missus, and told her he would understand if she didn't want to return to the show. However, Michele told him that that wasn't an option, so it looks as though she'll be back in action in Season 5.
Better get the boxes of tissues at the ready Gleeks, we're sure this is going to be one emotional rollercoaster for the show's stars and fans alike. As they say in the theatre, the show must go on, but for how long? "We will then do an episode that will deal with the death of Finn’s character and follow that with a long hiatus. I don’t know exactly when we will come back”, Murphy said.
