Quinn Fabray: The Real Tragic Tale Of Her Character Arc As Seen On Glee – And Why Her ‘Happy Ending’ Wasn’t Actually Happy

Our latest guest contributor, Ginnifer Rose, wrote a wonderful blog entry detailing the 10 things a woman should consider before becoming a surrogate, which you should definitely check out, but only after you finish reading THIS blog entry. Getting to speak to her and getting to know her surrogacy journey deeply reminded me of Glee. You know, that really inappropriate show that aired between 2009 and 2015 and starred Lea Michele, Naya Rivera, Cory Monteith, Diana Argon, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, amongst others…

The reason why I was reminded of the show was because one storyline involved surrogacy, and that was a storyline that involved Rachel Berry, played by Michele, and her biological mother Shelby, played by Broadway veteran Idina Menzel. Before I begin, I’d like to address the elephant in the room, and it’s that there’s absolutely no way that Shelby could’ve ever been eligible to be a surrogate for one, and neither could Rachel in the end. To even be considered to become a surrogate, a woman has to at least have given birth once, for the baby to have no underlying health issues, and for herself not to have underlying health issues. That said, there’s absolutely no way that this particular storyline could’ve happened in real life. But we’ll let that one slide.

Following the entire fiasco of Shelby getting Jesse, her teenage student, to ‘befriend’ Rachel to get her to listen to a tape of Shelby’s singing and telling her that she’s her biological mother without her consent, Rachel was eager to get to know her biological mother. Just like Shelby had initially intended, Rachel came to her. Shelby couldn’t do it herself because her contract stated she couldn’t contact Rachel before she turned 18. But when she finally got to see her daughter face-to-face, she, and selfishly so might I add, realized that she’d made a mistake. She boldly told Rachel, ‘I’m your mother, but I’m not your mom.’ But she did want to be someone’s mom, so she adopted Quinn’s baby, Beth, following her birth at the end of season 1.

And this is where our story begins….

Quinn’s story begins as follows: she’s the head cheerleader at McKinley high school and is dating the quarterback, Finn. They never had sex, but Quinn and Puck, Finn’s best friend did. Quinn found out she was pregnant with Puck’s baby. It obviously couldn’t be Finn’s. To avoid him finding out about the cheating, Quinn told Finn that he was the father of her baby, and that the conception happened when they made out in the hot tub without taking off their clothes. He, without questioning it, believes her and was there for her throughout the pregnancy. Quinn’s plan actually worked, but only until Rachel started suspecting that Puck was, in fact, the father of Quinn’s baby.

When it was eventually confirmed to her that Finn wasn’t the father of Quinn’s baby, she was the one who told him. She had ulterior motives. She liked Finn; maybe even loved him. She wanted him to break up with Quinn so that he’d want to be with her. Finn did break off his relationship with Quinn, as well as his friendship with Puck. But he didn’t want to be with Rachel either…until Jesse came into the picture. Puck, on the other hand, genuinely wanted to be with Quinn, but when he asked her to be his girlfriend, she turned him down. Things were way too complicated for her to be able to give him what he wanted.

Quinn always knew that she didn’t want to keep the baby. This in itself didn’t make her pregnancy journey any easier. When her conservative parents found out she was pregnant, they kicked her out of the house. In their last ever interaction, when she begged for her parents’ forgiveness and support, her dad looked at her in absolute disgust. Then he turned away and didn’t ever look back in her direction. She moved in with Mercedes and her family. Then when Sue, the cheerleading coach, found out about the pregnancy, she was kicked out of there too. Her life seemed to be over in an instant.

Despite her parents and the cheerleading team giving up on her, the glee club didn’t. There was no question that she’d still be a part of it. All 11 members supported her throughout the 9 months of the most difficult time in her life. Even Finn, no matter how angry he was at her, continued to be there any way he could. Quinn still continued to participate and was a part of the competitions taking place. At Regionals, right after her performance and just as she left the stage with her team, her mother called out for her from behind. She apologized for not sticking up for her when she was kicked out of the house by her father and asked her to move back home. She told her she was divorcing her father and promised things would look different. Before Quinn could say anything as a response, her water broke.

Simultaneously with Vocal Adenaline’s performance, the glee club coached by Shelby at the time, Quinn gave birth to Beth. It was the name Puck picked for her during Quinn’s pregnancy. As heartbreaking as it was for her to give up her daughter for adoption, she did. She decided to give Beth up to Shelby. The initial plan was to give the baby up to Terri Shuester, Will’s wife. But those plans fell through when Will, New Direction’s coach, found out Terri faked her pregnancy and decided to divorce her.

Following Beth’s birth, Quinn tried her hardest to move on from that part of her life. It was almost like she tried to erase it completely. She moved back in with her mother and started dating a new guy while also focusing on her schooling and continuing to be part of the glee club. When Finn breaks up with Rachel due to her cheating with Puck, Quinn begins a relationship with Finn behind Sam’s her new boyfriend, back. Sam eventually figured out that Quinn was having an affair with Finn behind his back and broke up with her. Despite feeling guilty for hurting Sam, she continued her relationship with Finn.

For Quinn, it marked to be everything she’d ever wanted for herself. It marked a new beginning; the life she envisioned for herself before she became pregnant; before she cheated with Puck. She saw marriage and children with Finn in her future, and nothing, and no one, was going to stop it from happening. They actually had a loving relationship. One that was based on compassion, commitment and mutual respect for one another. Their second attempt at making their relationship work was actually one of my favourite arcs in the entire show.

But these two were never meant to last. Finn was always meant to be with Rachel. As Jesse came back to town a year after their breakup to apologize to Rachel, as well as to be with her, Finn realized that he was still in love with her. It was Sue’s sister’s passing, and Sue’s words about loving someone at her funeral, that made him realize it. He broke up with Quinn just as they soon as they left the funeral. Quinn made herself believe it was all just a phase of his and tried to convince Finn that it was that – a phase. But it wasn’t. And therefore, they broke up. This time, it was for good.

The following school year, even though the New Directions didn’t win the previous competition because of Finn and Rachel’s kiss, looked promising. But Quinn was nowhere to be found; at least not where the New Directions were rehearsing. She came to school looking different than her usual self. Instead of her blonde locks, she had pink hair. Instead of wearing her bright coloured dresses, she had goth-looking black clothing. And instead of having natural makeup on, she had dark coloured eyeshadow and eyeliner that made a mark on her face. She left the New Directions behind, hanging out with a new group of friends, and even started smoking.

Quinn’s life was a mess, and she blamed Mr, Shuester (Will) and the rest of the New Directions team. When she attempted to confront him about it, and, with Sue’s help, blame them all for all her problems, Will gave her a much needed reality check. She comes to the next New Directions rehearsal looking like the Quinn everyone knew and loved, but not because of Will’s, or anyone else’s, words to her. She had ulterior motives – to get her daughter back.

Shelby came back to town, along with Beth, and if things weren’t already hard enough for Quinn, this really put her over the edge. I’m not even going to begin to talk about what Shelby’s return did to Rachel’s psyche. She wasn’t there for either one of those girls, nor did she ever consider what her presence would do to them individually. She was there to coach a new glee club at the same high school as they were. And while she allowed Puck to visit Beth, she didn’t allow Quinn to be anywhere near her; not in the state that she was in. That was why Quinn changed back to her regular self. The more Puck visited Beth, the more attracted he and Shelby were to each other. They began a sexual relationship, and when Quinn found out about it, she threatened to expose the affair. Mostly, it was for her own advantage, so that she’d get custody of Beth.

Deciding to leave her past behind her, Quinn had a change of heart. She never told anyone about Puck’s affair with Shelby, and Shelby left her job at McKinley as well. Quinn went back to being her old self again, but this time, it wasn’t for anyone but her own self. She started making plans for the future. One that didn’t involve her daughter. She got accepted to Yale. Things were finally looking up for her; and that’s without needing the love of a man by her side. She was just fine with being alone.

That was Quinn’s life until she was hit by a truck while she was on her way to Finn and Rachel’s wedding. The accident was caused by Quinn texting Rachel letting her know she was on the way to the chapel. Rachel, being the one who was endlessly texting her and expecting a response fast and nothing less, felt responsible for the accident, which left Quinn paralyzed. But Quinn didn’t have time to dwell on who was responsible for the accident. She was determined to walk again, and by prom night, she did. And she still went on to attend Yale after graduating high school the following year.

Very little was known of Quinn’s life following her finishing high school. She played around with her sexuality when she had sex with Santana at Will and Emma’s wedding in which Emma ended up walking out on. Then when she, along with all the rest past members original members of the New Directions, came back to say goodbye to the glee club following its closure at the hands of Sue’s leadership of the school, Quinn brought along her boyfriend, Biff McIntosh, who was honestly an a**hole. She lied to him about her background, and it was clear he didn’t know who she was at all. He didn’t even know she had a daughter. When her old friends were sharing stories about her to him, she tried her hardest to keep those a secret and make them stop talking. She was afraid of letting him in to her world because she wanted him to see a specific version of her; one she knew he’d like.

Just as soon as Quinn broke up with her boyfriend that never respected her in the first place, Puck decided to ‘shoot his shot’ and asked Quinn to be with him – for real this time; as a real couple. Though hesitant at first, she agreed and asked him not to go to the military to be with her. It wasn’t clear where Quinn was headed in her life thereafter, as well as whether she and Puck stayed together in the long run. But he was seen wearing his military uniform in the times he was seen following him and Quinn getting together, and in the series finale, they appeared as separate individuals and didn’t interact with each other, even though they were in the same place at the same time, so I think it’s pretty safe to assume that they moved on from each other. I might be hated for this statement, but them getting together in the end never made sense to me.

But no matter how Quinn’s character arc goes following her stint on Glee, no one could ever deny that her story was tragic. It was tragic because her life was derailed by a teenage pregnancy that led to her being kicked out of her home, her forced adoption of her daughter Beth, a series of unstable relationships, and a serious car accident that left her unable to walk for a period, ultimately forcing her to grapple with themes of identity and belonging outside the superficial world she once knew. To break it down more thoroughly:

• Unexpected Teenage Pregnancy: At 15, she was pregnant, leading to a drastic change from her “perfect” image and an early confrontation with the stark realities of responsibility outside the popular world. 

• Loss of Home and Status: Her parents disowned her after discovering her pregnancy, forcing her to move in with her boyfriend’s mother, and she was kicked off the cheerleading squad. 

• Giving up her Child: Quinn ultimately chose to give her daughter, Beth, up for adoption, a decision that caused her significant pain, regret, and a lifelong struggle to cope with the loss of her child. 

• Unstable Relationships: Her relationships with Finn, Sam, and Puck were tumultuous, marked by cheating, manipulation, and a constant search for love and validation. 

• A Car Accident: A severe car crash resulted in a fractured spine, leaving her unable to walk and further impacting her sense of identity and control over her life. 

• Struggle for Identity: After losing her status as a popular cheerleader, Quinn had to find a new sense of self and belonging, which was a difficult and painful process. 

• Manipulation and Regret: While sometimes portrayed as a villain or manipulative, her actions are often rooted in her own pain, insecurity, and desire to find love. Her attempts to regain her daughter Beth later in the series highlight her ongoing pain and regret over her decision. 

Certainly, Quinn deserved better. She deserved more than she ever got. If you think about it, she didn’t want much. All she really wanted was to be loved. She wanted to feel like she belonged; like she was a part of something. She wanted to feel accepted. And yes, she was a part of the glee club. But it wasn’t enough. When she became pregnant, she felt that her life turned upside down. She felt lost and abandoned by the people that were supposed to love her and support her unconditionally. She lost her place at cheerleading. But most of all, she lost herself in all of it.

Getting Beth back in her life seemed like the perfect solution for Quinn. For her, it was undoing the mistake she made in giving her daughter up for adoption. In reality, all her plan, and everything it entailed, would’ve done was hurt Beth, and luckily, she realized it before it was too late. Her finishing high school and going off to university should’ve marked her as a brand new beginning for her. It did. So much so that she felt that she had to change herself entirely and pretend like her past never existed in order to get someone to like her. It was sad – almost devastating to watch.

Resuming her relationship with Puck didn’t feel right; at least to me. It felt like by getting back together with Puck, she was still holding on to the high school version of herself; the one she wanted to be, but never got the chance to experience. If she couldn’t be loved by the man that didn’t love the version of herself she proclaimed and made up, then she could go back to the man that already loved the version of herself that she tried so hard to forget. But in hindsight, Puck’s love was all an illusion. It wasn’t real. They were both holding on to something that wasn’t there to begin with because they both felt alone and in despair. They both lacked a sense of belonging, and them getting back together seemed like a desperate attempt at survival – for both of them.

The thing about Quinn is that she never loved herself. Her journey of self-destruction started much earlier than when she got pregnant. She hated herself so much that, in her younger years, she changed her appearance and even her name just to fit in with the crowd. I’d like to think that Quinn’s journey wasn’t about finding ‘The One’. But rather, it was about finding herself. It was about getting to know the woman she was always meant to be with trying to control her narrative. And it was about getting to love that version of herself, wholeheartedly and unconditionally; without the need to hide who she was before.

Quinn once said, ‘Status is like currency. When your bank account is full, you can get away with doing just about anything, but right now, we’re like toxic assets.’ I’d like to think that now, 10 years since the series ended, Quinn is the woman that she was always meant to be – strong, independent, funny, wise, smart, kind, beautiful, and all in all, just a wonderful human being. All this without needing the love and attention of a man. I hope that now, 10 years later, she found someone who loves her wholeheartedly; without wanting her to change to become the version of herself that he or his family seeks out of her to be. She deserves the world, and I hope that she hasn’t settled to appeal anyone but her own self. As she said herself, ‘You can’t change your past, but you can let go and start your future.’ I hope that she’s done EXACTLY that.