‘Glee’ season 5: Naya Rivera, Jane Lynch on Cory Monteith tribute ‘The Quarterback,’ heartache

Before you get to watching tonight’s emotional episode of “Glee,” we wanted to give you a little bit more in the way of insight about what was going through the heads of some of the show’s stars while filming it. There was no episode that was more difficult for the series to do, and this extends beyond just the cast. Cory Monteith’s death is something that the crew also struggled with, as they had to find a way to tell a story that would offer some sort of relief to those who are suffering, and that also included themselves.

For Naya Rivera, she told The Hollywood Reporter that filming this episode was a very different sort of experience than the average episode, mostly because a good percentage of what she and her other co-stars were doing on the show was not acting. They were heartbroken and devastated, and they channeled their characters’ feelings from that:

“[Cory’s passing] is heartbreaking and it’s even harder to have to mourn the loss of your friend on camera when it’s not acting, per se. It’s a real thing and it’s trippy in that way. It’s tough. but at the same time it’s good that we’re doing it because the fans loved him just as much as we do. It will be good to get a sense of closure and be included in it. I feel like that’s what Cory would have wanted.”

One of the sadder quotes comes from Naya’s co-star Jane Lynch, who said that there can really be “no happy ending” for the Finn character based on what happened, and while you may start to heal after watching how each individual character processes the news, there will be no dream sequence where you get to see what would have become of Cory’s character.

We’re going to have our review of tonight’s episode “The Quarterback” up shortly after it airs; just be sure to bookmark this link if you want to come back and see what we have to say about it. Meanwhile, you can also click here if you want to see some reasons why “Glee” is still a show worth watching moving forward.

Photo: Fox