‘Glee’ series finale: Watch Lea Michele’s performance of Darren Criss song ‘This Time’

Bust out your handkerchiefs, Gleeks: The sneak peek below from Friday’s “Glee” finale is almost sure to make you a little bit emotional. We definitely felt that the moment that we started watching the performance below of “This Time,” the Darren Criss-penned song that is performed by Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) in the episode.

We know that at some point in this series finale the show will flash forward five years, and we are judging based on her outfit and her hair color that this is a part of that leap forward, and she is looking back at her time at McKinley High School. There’s a small but sweet Finn tribute in here, and also some pretty powerful lyrics about holding close your memories, and using those to move forward and be the best version of yourself that you can possibly be.

We’re already feeling nostalgic about this episode in many ways. We have not exactly loved “Glee” since season 3, but it does hold a somewhat-sentimental place in our heart. The pilot aired the same month that we started covering “Glee” full-time, so it is one of the few long-running shows we have covered the full journey of start to finish. This has allowed for such a more panoramic look at all of the highs and lows, and it also allowed us to come up with lists such as the one for all-time favorite episodes we posted yesterday.

We’re going to miss the hope “Glee” represented at times, but above all else we are appreciative for what it has done in our lives as a TV site, and also what it did to change the medium as a whole. There is so much that is being done now that it laid the groundwork for. Even a show like “Empire” may not have been possible.

What do you think about this performance? Share right now with a comment, and head over here to get some other TV updates on everything we cover courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieUPxz25glg