( CNN ) The emotional two-hour season finale of Fox 's `` Glee '' went full circle from the show 's roots to the future , reminding Gleeks why they fell in love with the musical sitcom . Few would disagree that the show 's first season was its best , winning over a dedicated fan base who stuck with the show through an uneven six seasons and the loss of star Cory Monteith . For its final episode Friday night , the show that made it cool to join the high school glee club focused on core characters introduced in the first season . The first hour of Friday 's season finale , aptly titled `` 2009 , '' was a retelling of the first episode , which included a memorable performance of Journey 's `` Do n't Stop Believing '' by the original members of William McKinley High School 's glee club . Instead of telling it again through Finn 's perspective , the finale showed what led the other characters to join New Directions , culminating in an edited version of the performance that packed an emotional punch by featuring Monteith . The second hour brought us to the present day , with Will passing New Directions on to Sam so he can take charge of McKinley High as a fine arts school . We saw the characters ' dreams come true in a requisite flash-forward to the future : Rachel ( now married to Jesse ) wins a Tony Award ; Mercedes sings with Beyonce ; Kurt and Blaine are successful Broadway stars ; and most amazing of all , Vice President Sue Sylvester starts her second term in the Jeb Bush administration . The entirety of New Directions , past and present , gathered one last time in the auditorium , now named after Finn . They sang one last song before we saw a quote from Finn summing up the show : `` See the world not as it is , but as it should be . '' Fans approved of the final episode , sharing tributes and celebrating the show on social media .
`` Glee '' ended six season after Friday . Show 's two-hour finale looked at the characters ' past and future . Fans raved about the ending .