Is 'Glee' Back?

After a very, very sad day at McKinley High on Thursday, it seems Ryan Murphy's Glee is having quite the good day. Not only did the hit FOX series earn praise from (most) viewers for its Cory Monteith tribute episode, but "The Quarterback" was also a hit in the TV ratings. Unsurprisingly, the numbers were up for the series since its Beatles-centric two-episode Season 5 debut, attracting 7.4 million viewers. That's an increase of 40 percent, and the best numbers for Glee in one year.

It's a quality finish for the TV series, which, in recent seasons, has attracted ire from fans for stunt casting and message-of-the-week episodes. But it seems the message surrounding Monteith's death — that it's more important we celebrate how the Finn Hudson lived instead of how he died — seemed to vibe with viewers of the musical comedy.

So does this signal an upswing for Glee? We'll have to see when the series returns from a hiatus Nov. 7. But while a few (including Bustle's own Lindsay Mannering) found "The Quarterback" to be more of the same, Thursday night's episode certainly garnered more praise than any Glee episode in recent memory. It's only sad that they had to achieve that by losing on of the series' most beloved, and interesting, characters.

Image: FOX