Glee’s run as one of the top television shows geared towards young adults was what many other television shows dream about. Glee’s focus on equality, support, and acceptance made it a show that taught life lessons and gave viewers a safe environment to enjoy its story. It also allowed the musical geek in everyone to be unleashed every week. Spanning six seasons, the show took viewers on an emotional journey through the eyes of relatable characters.
Whether fans connected with the over-zealous performer, the quarterback with a heart of gold, or the divas of the group, there was something for everyone. Sometimes fans would laugh and other times they would cry, and most of the time they would sing along. No matter what the emotional response was, it was big because there was a deep connection to the characters. While showrunners did a fantastic job of connecting fans to the main characters, there were many other supporting cast who were left out of this. For every Finn Hudson, there was a character like Ryder Lynn who never reached his full potential.
While there is always separation between main and supporting cast, Glee always made this very apparent. This means that a lot of characters were left under-developed, and ultimately removed from the show entirely. Imagine if Glee were ever to be brought back on television - would each and every character make it back on the screen? The odds are if the writers did not have anything for them in 2009, then they certainly wouldn’t now.
Here are 20 Characters Glee Wants Everyone To Forget.
20. Sugar Motta
Sometimes it takes a lot for an audience to turn on a character. In Sugar’s case, it only took one appearance for everyone to unanimously want her removed.
Sugar made her first appearance during the first episode of season three, and it was all downhill from there.
Her abrasive attitude and poor singing voice did not endear her to audiences. Fans did not feel that she fit in with the New Directions, and she quickly became very unpopular. How unpopular? She was the first Glee cast members to be named one of the “Worst Characters on TV” in 2012 by the Huffington Post. In addition, she was a character who could not sing and was added on to a show about singing. Needless to say, Sugar’s role on the show never increased after season three and she was quietly phased out before the end of the series.
19. Kitty Wilde
In order for fans to rally for the Glee club, they need obstacles to overcome. In order for the New Directions to be heroes, there needs to be a villain. However, some things that Kitty did are unforgiveable.
Kitty was introduced as a replacement for Quinn Fabray after she graduated, and was similar in many ways. She was Captain of the Cheerios and only joined the group in order to stay close to Jake. To ensure that she was the only one competing for Jake’s affections, she needed to remove Marley from the equation. Kitty manipulated Marley by convincing her that she was gaining weight, which resulted in Marley developing an eating disorder. Quinn was a mean girl, but would never go this far. Kitty may have eventually apologized, but this is not the type of character that should represent Glee.
18. Sandy Ryerson
Considering that his story-arc occurred during the first season, few fans already remember Sandy Ryerson. However, those that do recognize that he represents a dark spot of the show’s history.
Mr. Ryerson was the director of the Glee Club before Will Schuester took over.
While very little is known about how the New Directions performed prior to the show beginning, fans know that Sandy was not a nice man. Frankly, he had no place working with students at all. Sandy was forced to leave McKinley after Rachel caught him inappropriately touching a student during rehearsal. Furthermore, he was even featured selling illegal substances to students only episodes later. Glee was a very brave show for how it depicted social issues, but this is not something to be taken lightly. It is much better left buried under the early episodes of the show.
17. Dani
Not all guest stars are created equal. In fact, some offer very little to the show and end up adding very little with their presence. When Demi Lovato was announced as a recurring guest star in Glee’s fifth season, music fans rejoiced at the thought. Thinking about Lovato’s voice gelling with some of the New Direction’s alumni was enough to make lapsed viewers tune in. However, it seemed that Lovato was not in line for many show-stopping solos during her time on Glee.
While guest stars like Gwenyth Paltrow and Kristin Chenoweth had episodes dedicated to their voices, Lovato certainly did not. She did play a lot of guitar in the background, but fans never heard her carry a solo line one her own.
16. Suzy Pepper
Will Schuester is meant to be a beacon of hope for students who need support and assistance. The way that he directs a club full of misfits to become National Champions is nothing short of amazing. Thus, anything that makes him appear anything less than a great human-being should be swept under the rug. Before taking on the New Directions, Will was just a Spanish teacher at McKinley. During this period, he came across a student named Suzy Pepper who became desperately infatuated with him. Instead of letting his student down gently, Will was rather abrasive with her.
Suzy ended up eating an extremely hot pepper and burning her esophagus.
Perhaps if Will had handled this situation better, fans would have seen Suzy again. Instead, she never appeared following this episode.
15. Ken Tanaka
If there is someone standing in the way of the destiny of a favorite character, then fans will undoubtedly rally against them. Coach Ken Tanaka was the one person standing in the way of Will and Emma from being together. Despite having their relationship teased for the entire first season, Emma began dating Ken instead of Will.
In an often forgotten fact, Emma was incredibly close to marrying Ken.
Ultimately she chose to attend Sectionals instead of their wedding, causing their breakup. Considering that Will and Emma finally got married and had a child towards the end of the season, Ken Tanaka has been all but erased from everyone’s memory already. Considering that he was not mentioned by name for nearly five seasons of the show, the writing staff would likely want to keep it that way.
14. Rory Flanagan
It is unfortunately not uncommon for characters to just disappear from television shows. To get them off the show, writers will find a way to write them out of the show in a meaningful way. Unless that character is Rory Flanagan– then the writers will just write you out with very little explanation.
When Damien McGinty won his role on the first season of The Glee Project, he initially won a six-episode arc on the show. However, his character proved to be popular with fans, and he was extended on to the rest of the season. At the end of the season, he inexplicably mentioned that he needed to return to Ireland and would never be coming back. After investing a full year in to the character, the writers were quick to pull the plug.
13. Sunshine Corazon
Sometimes a guest-star comes around that has the ability to be featured in a big way. However, looking back on episodes it only proves that Glee missed the boat on what could have been a very big deal.
Sunshine Corazon will always serve as an example of what Glee could have been.
With a powerhouse voice, supreme confidence and a chemistry with the New Directions, she could have stuck around and had a place on the show for a long time. Unfortunately, the show decided not to use her beyond the second season, following her run with Vocal Adrenaline. Later seasons of the show struggled to properly develop the competition that New Directions faced. If Sunshine had been included, there would have been an already established face to compete against at Nationals each year. Instead, she faded into oblivion.
12. Joe Hart
There is nothing more frustrating when a character disappears from a show without any explanation. While fellow Glee Project winner Damian McGinty experienced a similar fate, Samuel Larson’s was much worse. Rory at least had an ongoing storyline during his short time on the show, but Joe Hart was left to sing in the background. His lack of appearances on the show through his final season on the show became a running joke, with other characters even commenting on how students seem to disappear at random.
Following the start of season five, Joe was no longer seen as a student at McKinley.
To make matters even worse, there was no attempt at an explanation given to the audience. While he was never the most popular, the writers clearly were hoping that no one would notice his exit.
11. Myron Muskovitz
The phrase “jump the shark” originated from an episode of Happy Days which is considered the turning point of when the series lost its popularity after trying something outlandish. While Fonzie literally jumped a shark during that episode, Glee reached this point when they introduced Myron Muskovitz on to the show.
Introducing a thirteen year old boy to be a part of the Glee Club was not well received by fans. While Myron’s character did have some funny and sassy moments, the premise was implausible and removed the show’s realism. Glee was well-known for being a musical show grounded in reality, but Myron was anything but an ordinary situation. Since he was introduced late in the final season, he was only in four episodes. Given the reception the fans gave him, it is likely that showrunners would rather erase those from their memory.
10. Matt Rutherford
The question on every Glee fan’s mind when season two premiered was - what happened to Matt? Frankly, most fans were also asking during the first season - where is Matt?
With such big personalities like Rachel and Kurt in the group, it was difficult for a wallflower like Matt to shine.
In fact, Matt notoriously did not speak until his seventeenth episode on the show, and only ended up with three spoken lines during his entire stint. It seems that the production team completely forgot to use him for anything other than background dancing. The writers made their choices on who to focus on, and Matt certainly drew the short end of the stick. Thankfully he did make a final appearance during the series finale, but staying true to form, he did not speak.
9. Bree
Each time that the showrunners tried to create a new mean cheerleader, things got progressively worse. The reason Quinn was able to last long on the show was because she was able to garner sympathy when things got tough. Even though Kitty did some irresponsible things, she was able to redeem herself slightly in her later seasons. Bree, on the other hand, shows no redeemable qualities to make fans want to see her on the show.
In her short time on the show, Bree is consistently mean to all the New Directions members. Her cruelty is not limited to pulling a prank on Tina at her prom, as well as ridiculing Artie for his handicap. Furthermore, she also breaks up Marley and Jake after sleeping with the latter.
8. Shane Tinsley
Some characters are initially meant to be a big deal, but it seems that the writers lose faith in continuing down that pathway. Shane was introduced as Mercedes’ boyfriend, which is the first time she is seen dating on the show. According to Amber Riley, Shane was meant to be a long-lasting character who supported her fully.
Shane was meant to be a rock for Mercedes and help her realize that she has leading-lady potential.
While he was there initially, the writers began to focus more on Mercedes’ budding relationship with Sam, leaving Shane to fade away. There is no denying the chemistry that Shane and Mercedes had, so it is upsetting to fans that they allowed him to disappear. The writers are likely hoping that fans will eventually stop asking why they were broken up so quickly.
7. Harmony
Despite producing two seasons of The Glee Project, the show certainly did not treat their participants in the best way. Lindsay Pierce may not have won the first season of The Glee Project, but she did make two acclaimed appearances. When appearing as Harmony, the fast-talking competition to Rachel, she wowed everyone with her talent. Only one question remained following her appearances - why was she not featured more often?
Instead of producing characters like Sugar and Kitty, the writers should have focused more on this character that fans already connected to. While Pierce has moved beyond Glee and is making a name for herself on stage and film, fans would have been very pleased to see more of her on the show.
6. Cooter Menkins
Not every moment on Glee was full of songs, sunshine and rainbows. When fans turned on an episode of the show, they were hoping to escape from some of the harsh reality of real life. Unfortunately, there were characters like Cooter Menkins who were designed to bring back negativity.
Cooter’s appearances on the show do nothing but remind the audience of how awful life can be.
While it appears that he initially has feelings for Coach Beiste, their relationship quickly turns sour. It is revealed that he has been abusing her at home, but she has stayed with him regardless. Thankfully, the Glee Club convinces her to leave him behind, finally ending an awful time in her life. It is characters like this that the show would like to forget the most, as it fully takes from the tone of their show.
5. Cooper Anderson
It is no secret that Blaine Anderson quickly became a fan favorite on the show. Darren Criss’ natural charm and talent made fans flock to him from the moment he appeared on the screen. That is why it was so dumbfounding when an episode featuring his older brother turned him into a bad guy.
Blaine’s older brother Cooper (played by Matt Bomer) may not have been the most likeable character during his short run. In fact, his cockiness and treatment of Blaine made fans dislike him very quickly. However, the “Big Brother” episode actually succeeded in making Blaine come off very immature and whiny.
4. Alma Lopez
Glee is a show based on tolerance and acceptance. So when a character upsets that balance, it can be a bitter pill to swallow. While the writers have to be commended for tackling such a difficult subject, that did not make it any less uncomfortable for audiences.
The show had already shown Kurt come out to his father and be accepted with open arms. There was also no hint of friction when showing Blaine as a proud, gay man. This is what made watching Santana’s struggle even more heart-breaking. When Santana came out to her grandmother, she was instantly rejected and dismissed.
While this is certainly reality, all it did was serve to shock and upset fans who were hoping for her to be accepted.
While her family would ultimately all be present for her wedding to Brittany, the writers hopefully wish they could take back this moment.
3. Millie Rose
It has been established that sometimes the writers drop a character from a show if they are not trending well with audiences. This can work in the show’s favor if it is well explained in the story. On the other hand, sometimes writers choose to change things about characters mid-way through a series which is not as easily explained.
When Marley Rose was first introduced at McKinley, she was the poor daughter of the school lunch-lady. However all of these aspects of Marley’s personality were quickly forgotten about during later seasons. This means that Millie was also forgotten about following her first season on the show. Marley’s mother Millie was possibly the sweetest character on the show, but the writers seemingly wanted fans to forget about her.
2. Betty Pillsbury
When looking up “missed opportunities” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of Ali Stroker during her one appearance on Glee. As the runner-up during the final season of The Glee Project, Ali was given a one-episode arc on the show. She was introduced as Emma’s niece, and was set up with Artie on a date. Ultimately, she and Artie ended up hitting it off and spent the night together. They even ended up exchanging numbers afterwards and promised to call each other. However, she was never heard from again and did not make another appearance.
The unfortunate thing is, fans loved her and wanted more.
There was a golden opportunity to bring her back in the finale during the flash-forward, but fans were just left to wonder what happened to her instead.
1. Noah Puckerman
He may have been one of the main characters of the show, but Glee likely would rather erase him from McKinley’s yearbooks. Noah “Puck” Puckerman may not have been the most likeable character on the show, but he looks like a saint next to his real-life counterpart.
Following Glee ending its run in 2015, Sailing began to fall into legal trouble. His first instance included an accusation of battery from a former girlfriend, which ended in a court settlement. However, in 2015 Sailing was charged and convicted with possessing illegal materials containing minors. Prior to his sentencing for the crime, he took his own life. Considering Glee’s reputation of acceptance and equality, this is not something that showrunners enjoy being associated with.
Are there any other characters Glee wants fans to forget? Let us know in the comments!
