3. Hasty Departure
It is plain to see how difficult an outright replacement would be in this situation. Now, more than ever, actors are becoming synonymous with their television characters and, thus, have a great deal of public relations to uphold. Presuming that The Powers That Glee will not replace Cory with another actor, a second option would be the have the character exit off-screen. Personally Ive never been a fan of such exits as they come across as lazy. Unfortunately, Glee has gained a bit of a reputation for weaving its recurring characters in and out of the action over the years (Terri, Holly, Shelby). Nevertheless, should they decide to have Finn move away to college or re-join the Army, it would at least keep the memories of the character safely intact. However, as I touched on before, given his star status amongst the cast, the audience would probably feel a bit robbed of the heartfelt goodbyes and disjointed by the sudden end to Finchel, the flagship relationship of the show. This idea resembles Matt Rutherford (basically an extra) and his barely mentioned exit at the start of Season Two. Whilst even the brief exit of such a minor character grated on fans nerves, one could only imagine how unrealistic a similar exit for Finn would be. Plus, it could be seen as a bit of an insult to the positive role model that Cory and his character became over four years. Once again, Im not sure how popular an option this would be, but at least it would give the character a sense of purpose and the fans the comfort that Finn is somewhere out there doing his thing.