A tragic loss

This morning I woke up to the devastating news that Cory Monteith died yesterday at the age of 31. The Glee-star was found yesterday at noon at the Vancouver Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. I'm not the kind of person to fall in love with characters, or at least not in the way that a dedicated and devoted fan of a show does (not since/like Buffy anyway). But this news touched me deeply. Not only am I one of the millions of people who could enjoy his wonderful voice and his amazing talents on Glee, but he always seemed like a very happy man who enjoyed life. With his 31 years, he definitely belongs in the list of stars who died to soon (like James Dean and many others). 

The news report
It's been all over the news, like The Hollywood Reporter and BBC news, you name it. The police found out that Cory spent Friday night with friends, but came back on saturday morning by himself. When he missed his check out time at noon, the hotel staff went up to his room and found him. He was probably alone when he died. While cause of death hasn't been determined yet, the police don't expect foul play and they are questioning the friends who were with him the night before. It's unclear whether or not Glee castmates or his longtime girlfriend and co-star Lea Michele were with him. 

In March this year Cory checked himself into rehab for substance abuse. Which wasn't the first time. When he was 19 years old, he had checked himself in as well. Many websites are now speculating that Cory possibly died because of a drug overdose. But let me just say that the police haven't said anything yet.

His big grin

When you look at pictures of Cory, you will always see his big smile and grin. It's hard to believe that someone like that is gone. Or that he even had a hard time in life. I first read the news on facebook and twitter and I went to check out his twitter account. His last tweets are so innocent that it hurts to read them. It shows just how totally unexpected this whole thing is. I checked out some of his tweetpics as well and they are simply heartbreaking. A picture of his girlfriend Lea Michele (Rachel Berry from Glee), from when he first learned her how to snowboard. And even further back a picture from him with some of the Glee cast at San Diego Comic Con... They are all memories that show who and what he's leaving behind. His family, friends, fellow castmates from Glee. Sure, fans share this pain. But the people who actually knew him... You really can't imagine what they are going through. THR has an entire list of tweets about his passing. 

Fans are also retweeting messages Lea sent to him or things she said in interviews about their relationship. It makes his passing even more heartbreaking, especially now that everyone is sharing the picture where they announced they were getting married.

 

 

20th Century Fox shared: "We are deeply saddened by this tragic news. Cory was an exceptional talent and an even more exceptional person. He was a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones."

In Glee
Since the beginning of the show in 2009 Cory Monteith played teenager Finn Hudson. A teenager with lots of problems but finally found happiness in Glee Club and his relationship with Rachel Berry (Lea Michele). In season four Finn and Rachel had broken up and we saw way less of him in the show. Glee producers, the network and Lea were all supporting him during rehab. It was the reason why he appeared in less episodes than originally planned. Through everything in the show, one thing always remained clear, which is that these two characters belong together. I remember thinking: "Finn and Rachel are one of those couples who have to endure a lot, break up, but will marry in the final episode of the series", because everyone knows that they are THE couple of the show. When I heard this news, my thoughts also went to the future of Glee. How will this affect the show? Cory is an amazing talent with a beautiful voice and we will always feel this loss. THR wrote that it's unclear how the sudden death of Cory will influence the production of Glee. The first episode of the fifth season is to premiere on september 19th... And he was supposed to be a series regular again. When tragedy strikes, in real life, it will undoubtedly come back in the show. I already know, that no matter how they do it, it's gonna be a tearjurker of an episode. 

The internet is already filled with pictures, videos and sweet messages about Cory. The proof that pain and loss can be shared throughout the world. Everybody has their own way of honoring someone or remembering them. That's why my sunday will now be filled with writing this blog and watching several Glee episodes (like the Pilot or 3x22 Goodbye) and listening to their Glee songs. 

Cory Monteith, may he rest in peace.

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(A couple of great Glee performances)

 

Caught in a web of PLL

I started watching the show Pretty Little Liars because I knew Holly Marie Combs played in it. I was curious to know what she was doing now. After Charmed that is. And it turned out the be pretty awesome. So here's a short review of the show so far. But first: a promo!

'Got a secret. Can you keep it?'

The show is based on popular books by the same name, written by Sara Shepard, and focuses on a group of friends in high school. These young girls, Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily, were brought together by their friend Allison. Allison, or Alli, is the most popular of the bunch and one night when they are all together in a lake house (from Spencer's parents), she disappears. A year later the girls have driven apart - 'Friendly, but not friends' - and right before the body of Allison is found, they start getting text messages from someone calling his/herself "A". It soon becomes clear that "A" knows a lot about them and threatens to expose their secrets if the girls don't do as he/she says. These secrets are secrets from a long time ago, that only Alli would know about. But even after Alli's funeral, the girls keep recieving texts, so the big question is... who's "A"????

This one you'll save

Pretty Little Liars is a show to save. Like the theme song will tell, it's a show where teenage girls have big secrets. In the first episode a lot of the old secrets - the ones Alli knew about - will be revealed to the audience, but not to the rest of the group. The more secrets you know about, the more you will find out about their personalities. Intrigued yet?
But there's another interesting storyline: the death - more specifically murder - of Allison DeLaurentis. The girls start their own investigation, after getting some clues from "A"... This is an ongoing storyline which leads to many more questions, without losing interest. The secrets and storylines get more absurd the farther you get in the show/seasons. It makes one thing really clear, that it's total fiction. It's fun to see these absurd storylines play out and get beyond your imagination. From crazy love interests who the girls don't trust and some of the time fear, to the mistery about Alli's murder involving more and more people. Full on paranoia, but then again... Who wouldn't be paranoid, when there's a crazy anonymous person harassing you? You don't know who you can trust, and that's the same for the audience. Even though you may sometimes know a little more then the characters, there's a lot you don't know. 

Lock it, in your pocket

These four girls (and actually also their parents and/or boyfriends) have their own secrets for each other. It keeps it interesting and divers, because that way a lot of stories can be told. Fortunatly they don't all last very long. There's someone that finds out, or one of the girls can't take it anymore and decides to tell either a parent or a friend. But keeping a secret, means having to lie sometimes. So there's a question that will keep coming up in the viewers mind: Why not just tell someone? A parent? The police maybe? Good question! They ask it themselves a couple of times. You will get frustrated, because it seems so stupid to not just do it. They are teenagers after all, so what do they know about murder or all this blackmailing? These are things for the cops. But they feel like they can't tell the truth to anyone. And to be fair... yes, there's a legitimate reason for that (or at least as legitimate as there can be). That would be that "A" is freaking scary. The girls get caught in a web of lies, of which there is probably no way out anymore, because it gets way to tangled. All these secrets and the lying causes problems in relationships, especially in the parental form. A lot of parents will know it when their daughter is lying and they will get frustrated, grounding them and what not. It's kind of typical high school, teenager stuff, but because of their big and out of the ordinary secrets, also not entirely. Of course - the girls being teenagers and all - the parents do get involved and they start asking questions. It makes the storylines a little better, but the girls' lips remain sealed...

Take it to the grave

The threatening texts are send by mobile phone, notes or they recieve e-mails. The number is untraceble, because it's 'unknown'. That's why the "A" could stand for Allison in the first episode, but it later becomes clear that it's really an anonymous person. The use of cell phones in this way is very clever, because who doesn't have one now a days? It shows the darker side of modern technology. Namely the power it can give someone. This power has also been displayed by Allison herself in flashbacks. She used to be the 'It-girl' and could persuade anyone to do anything. Not just her four friends, but also other people at school, or even grown-ups. Talk about peer pressure and blackmail! In the first episode she mentions that secrets are what keeps friends close. She is the one person that knows about all of their secrets (until she dies) and she used that information when she wanted to. It could be what let to her murder... But then again, how will we know that? Without given too many spoilers away, it's safe to say that the storyline gets more complicated as we go along. It makes us understand the boyfriends that much better, because they aren't in the know as well. 

If I show you, then I know...

Talking about boyfriends.... there's a lot to say about the love stories. They go back and forth, due to the threats from "A". The girls push their boyfriends back, without telling them why, but teenage love is a thing that will not be denied. Their love won't go away, and so won't their boys. Or in Emily's case girls... (Yep, she's a lesbian... it's not a big spoiler, don't worry).
The girls get worried about dating, they take the jump, get scared and pull away. Leaving the boys hanging and in serious need of an explanation, which the girls can't give them. But it's not all bad. The boyfriends are sweet and understanding (of course they have a right to an explanation) and they actually turn out to be helpful a lot of the time. They also have their own backstory, which makes them more interesting. Except for Ezra, Aria's boyfriend, or lover... well, he's her teacher. Why is it that nowadays every high school series has a love story involving a teacher and a student? I don't get it. That's what gets old real fast. Ezra and Aria go back and forth, because it's illegal to be together, because there's the age difference, because Aria couldn't tell her parents (or in the beginning her friends), because... well, there's a lot more. They end up breaking up and getting back together a lot of the time. It's supposed to be this epic love story, but it's just annoying. If there's one thing they should change in the series the upcoming season, it's that. 

Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead

But who killed Alli? That remains the big question. And that person is the one in the black hoodie. You see this person at the end of a lot of episodes, preparing something to affect the girls. You don't see a face... sometimes just gloves. But as the girls get closer to finding out the identity, you see a full on person in a black hoodie that keeps to the shadows or the dark. It's pretty clear that this person is "A", but you don't get the satisfaction of knowing it for sure. What a mystery!
It never stops being intriguing, though they sometimes go a little overboard. And the moments where all of their cellphones ring at the same time, never stops being fun. All in all, it's a good show to watch, with extra's such as having Holly Marie Combs (as Aria's mother) and Bianca Lawson (as Maya - Kendra on Buffy) on the cast. I'm not sure where they go from here, but for now I'm still caught in their web of Pretty, Little, Liars.

 

(a nice tribute of Holly Marie Combs)