Ranking Glee Characters

Alright, I’m back to rank something else that didn’t need to be ranked: the Glee characters before the people I cared about graduated (sorry Marley and co.). Full disclosure I have only watched like one episode of Glee since 2016 and this ranking is purely from memory. The only thing I looked up was the number of episodes thee characters were in to see if they made the cut (must have been in at least 15 episodes before the main crew graduated).

Before I begin I just want to point out a few people that did not make the cut; Jessie St. James and honestly I would not have had much to say about him anyway, Ken Tanaka but he would have ranked low, and Sandy Ryerson (just know he would have been at the bottom) the only staff member worse than Will, so much so that he had to be let go. I would also like to take this moment to shoutout Brad the piano player that held it down in the background for a couple of seasons.

Without further ado, here are the rankings and no I am not accepting and criticisms at this time.

27. Noah Puckerman

Fox

I cannot separate real life from his character… His character wasn’t that great either though. He slept with his friend’s (maybe even best friend’s) girlfriend AND got her pregnant. He also sang Fat Bottom Girl to Zizes, which was just not a good move.

26. Terri Del Monico

Fox

She faked a pregnancy. The best part of her character was crafting and working at Sheets-N-Things.

25. Matt Rutherford

Fox

Boring and unmemorable. I think he played football?? Was he even in the Glee Club? Did he have lines? He was in 18 episodes so like that must mean something.

24. Becky Jackson

Fox

She was manipulative and generally really mean. She get points for being hilarious, but she did bring a gun to school so I cannot rank her any higher.

23. Dave Karofsky

Fox

I really hate the closeted bully trope. I don’t know if it was as overdone when this was airing as it is now, but it was a lot. And then didn’t he end up like dating Kurt or Blaine or someone for a hot second? I vaguely remember something weird there.

22. Principal Figgins

Fox

Could he even sing? Also, he was always so concerned about funding which I get, but if you’re going to have someone else in the school after hours anyway, you might as well let the Glee Club live. This is Lima Ohio, was McKinley even good at anything other than Cheerleading?? Also, he wasn’t that good at his job because a good principal would have tried to have Will fired. 

21. Lauren Zizes

Fox

Did she wrestle? Am I making that up? The most memorable thing about her, unfortunately, is her relationship with Puck.

20. Carole Hudson

Fox

I feel like she was a good mom and it was nice that she found love, but there just wasn’t enough going on with her character for me to rank her any higher. 

19. Burt Hummel

Fox

Burt was a good father, he really supported Kurt after he came out. I feel like he even did some choreography at one point. I loved that he found love with Finn’s mom (Carole). He ranked higher for the coming out stuff and his mayoral run. I think he had a good platform.

18. Coach Bieste

Fox

This is going to sound bad but I only remember like 3 details. 1. Weird crush on Will (it’s only weird because it’s Will, like what do you see in him really?). 2. Domestic Violence which did lead to some interesting performances (Cell Block Tango and Shake It Out). 3. Transitioning, but I don’t remember when that happened.  

17. Will Schuester

Fox

I should rank him lower but he did have more storylines. He should have been fired and maybe even imprisoned. His level of unprofessionalism is unmatched except by Sandy. This man planted drugs in a child’s locker. He also had some inappropriate relationships with some of the students. He did that provocative Toxic performance WITH the students, just no. OH, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show thing was like a ploy to get Emma, wasn’t it? Lastly, he neglected the majority of the members of the Glee Club. He only had eyes for Rachel and Finn. 

16. Rachel Berry

Fox

We all know that Rachel was the worst. I’m not saying that Rachel couldn’t sing, because that would be a lie, but she was still the worst. She did have passion and goals which is truly commendable but come on now. What was her personality and why was it so garbage? Remember that time she sent Sunshine to a LITERAL CRACKHOUSE?!?! Rachel just wanted to be the most talented person in Glee Club even though she never was. Mercedes was the real star.

15. Rory Flanagan

Fox

He had an accent. I think it was Irish, but like did he do anything? Didn’t Brittany think he was a Leprechaun?

14. Sugar Motta

Fox

Sugar had no vocals and the only reason she’s ranked higher than Rory is that she had money and I think she was part of the Trouble Tones, which was arguably the greatest thing to happen to Glee.

13. Emma Pillsbury

Fox

So like was she good at her job? I vaguely remember her counseling maybe twice. I do, however, remember her leading the abstinence club in singing Afternoon Delight which does not support the messaging of the club. She also had that weird obsession with Will in the first season, which at one point led to her crying in the car (which is relatable, but at the same time… Will).

12. Sue Sylvester

Fox

Look. Sue might have been essentially evil, but not all the time. She had redeeming qualities and she stood for things. She had a beautiful relationship with her sister and Becky. Was she a hater? Yes. But she was also the Glee Club’s biggest motivator. They would not have achieved half as much if she hadn’t been the opposition. And that’s how Sue, sees it.

11. Finn Hudson

Fox

RIP, but Finn is overrated. Jokes aside, I was gutted when Cory Monteith died and then once again with the memorial episode, but the rank must go on. Finn was not the best vocalist so he truly did not deserve all those solos. He outed Santana in the hallway and then (at some point) sang Girls Just Want to Have Fun to her to make her feel better about being gay. He also believed he got a girl pregnant from sitting in a hot tub. I mean the education system is partially to blame for that, but come on. 

10. Mike Chang

Fox

Sure he had no vocals, but he really held it down with the dance moves. He was underused and not a terrible person so this is where he belongs.

9. Artie Abrams

Fox

Artie had a mean streak. Like he had some insults and hid behind his chair with them. I do give him points for not letting the chair define him like when he played dodgeball or rolled himself into the pool willingly. I also liked that he was passionate about film and did the work to reach his goals.

8. Tina Cohen-Chang

Fox

She faked a stutter, but other than that she wasn’t terrible. I think she tried to take over for Rachel, but she simply did not have the range. She was a bit delusional but mostly fine. 

7. Quinn Fabray

Fox

She lied to Finn about that baby, which she conceived by sleeping with his best friend. She then essentially tried to steal the baby back by planting stuff at Shelby’s house to make her seem like a bad mom. She also cheated on Sam...maybe I should reconsider this position. Even though Quinn did some less than great stuff she was somehow still likable and therefore belongs here. 

6. Trouty Mouth aka Sam Evans

Fox

Should he be lower for that time he left a trail of cheerios on the floor for Brittany to find? Y’all remember when this CHILD was a stripper?? I feel like he was not old enough to legally be a stripper. Sam gets points for being overall sweet (at least as I remember him) and for his relationship with Mercedes. Justice for them, I really loved them as a couple.

5. Kurt Hummel

Fox

He could hit the high notes. He could have won that diva-off if he hadn’t thrown it. Kurt’s coming out journey was probably one of the best Glee storylines. He’s also kind of the reason we got so much Warbler content. He did equate dodgeball to modern-day stoning which is a little… extreme. 

4. Blaine Anderson

Fox

That Teenage Dream cover is iconic and reason enough for him to be this high on the list, plus all of his work as a Warbler was great. The Warblers was the other greatest thing Glee ever did. 

3. Brittany S. Pierce

Fox

Aka Britney Spears aka Kesha. Brittany had the moves and she always KILLED it at Kesha and Brittney Spears. Not to mention Fondue for Two, I would subscribe and hit that bell notification if I could. Brittany was comedy gold and she had a pure heart. She also gets points for her relationship with Santana AND even more points because Heather Morris was a backup dancer for Beyoncé.

2. Mercedes Jones

Fox

The most underrated and underutilized character. Mercedes had THE vocals and the girls (Rachel) were scared. Rachel had vocals but she lacked the spice that Mercedes brought to the table. She was also a member of the Trouble Tones which is reason enough to be this high on the list. Throughout the show Mercedes was consistently played: not enough solos, her wardrobe, making her rage out against tater tots being removed from the cafeteria, and painting her as the angry Black woman and having her literally bust the windows out of Kurt’s car. Mercedes deserved so much better and her relationship with Sam deserved to work. She has more than earned this spot on my list.

1. Santana Lopez

Fox

Obviously. Santana was top tier. Yes, she was cruel but not all of the time, and at least she was funny with it. I truly feel like she was motivating everyone to do better even if they were just trying to avoid being roasted. Her coming out story and character growth were wonderful. She wasn’t mean because she was a lesbian, she was just mean. She was a member of the Trouble Tones and she slapped Finn (he deserved it) in the auditorium that one time. I also kind of think she ended up on Broadway too, so overall she was winning at life. I love Santana and she’s actually the best, but that might not be a conversation y’all are ready to have. 

Again, I am not accepting criticisms at this moment (unless you really have something to say). I’ll probably rank more characters in the future.

Sorry if I disrespected your fave!