The Big Picture

• During her time on Glee, Melissa Benoist's Marley Rose proved her talent and humility despite comparisons to Rachel Berry, gaining acceptance into the glee club.
• Marley's relatability offstage peaked despite limited character development, including two love interests and a struggle with bulimia.
• Melissa Benoist's role as Marley led her to star in Supergirl and allowed her to sing onscreen again in a Flash-Supergirl musical crossover.

With the limitation of taking place at a high school, the musical comedy, Glee, had to constantly introduce new cast members to fill out McKinley High School's glee club. With Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) and several other OG glee club members leaving the McKinley halls upon graduation in Season 3, new talents were encouraged to join the team and continue its winning streak in show choir competitions. Five characters managed to become part of the group by the start of Glee Season 4, but only one left a mark on the show despite her short-lived presence. Marley Rose, played by Melissa Benoist, had one of the most angelic vocals of the bunch, and, unlike other characters in the show, she wasn't interested in competing for attention. Her talent and passion for singing always transpired in her music numbers, and her kindness was admirable amid all the high school drama. Despite Marley not getting the chance to have a proper resolution in the series, the character and her stage presence did not go unnoticed by the fandom. Years later, Benoist went on to star in Supergirl and, most recently, in Max's The Girls on the Bus. Yet, it is impossible not to remember her wearing a beret and singing "New York State of Mind" in her breakout TV role.

Marley Rose Was Introduced as the Next Rachel Berry But Proved Her Own Merit

In episode 1 of Season 4, Marley shows up for the first time as a shy and talented teen hoping to get the chance to be part of the glee club at her high school. With the group fresh off of winning Nationals, the New Directions believe they are at the top of their game, but the pressure to live up to their newfound popularity at McKinley mounts. With Blaine (Darren Criss), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Unique (Alex Newell), and Brittany (Heather Morris) competing for who will replace Rachel's vacant position as the lead soloist of the bunch, initially, they feel threatened by Marley's vocal range. After all, they knew from the get-go that she had the star quality necessary to make her the new Rachel. Yet, despite their initial reluctance to have her on board, they all end up welcoming her with open arms.

Throughout the next few episodes, Marley's stage presence becomes even more noticeable as she settles into the group. From "Chasing Pavements" to "Everytime," the character was nailing one solo at a time, even landing the role of Sandy in the high school production of Grease. Marley's talent continued to evolve throughout the season as she decided to hone in on her songwriting skills and share some of her own tunes with the New Directions. During Regionals, one of her original songs, "All or Nothing," is even performed by the group. Although some would say that this storyline was just a repetition of Season 2, when Rachel wrote and performed her own songs at a show choir competition, it does make sense to Marley's journey in pursuit of her musical aspirations. After all, different from Rachel, she didn't want to be on Broadway. She simply aimed to one day have her songs played on the radio.

Marley Became One of the Most Relatable Teens on 'Glee'

Although Benoist's character was most known for her talent in the glee club, she was also a relatable teen off the stage. Marley wasn't rich, and her mother was the lunch lady at McKinley (who was often made fun of by the students eating at the cafeteria). Despite not wearing designer clothes or being part of the popular crowd, her talent and humility stood out in the high school halls, even garnering the attention of two love interests: Jake (Jacob Artist) and Ryder (Blake Jenner). Her kindness was also a threat to Kitty (Becca Tobin), the mean cheerleader who convinced Marley that she was on her way to gaining as much weight as her mom.

A teen looking to pursue her dreams, find love, and overcome her insecurities about her appearance, Marley's character development was promising but didn't reach its full potential due to poor decisions by the show's writers. Instead of finally getting the chance to depict the trials that come with an eating disorder without glamorizing the situation, Glee made the same mistake as many other shows that preceded it. Marley's struggle with bulimia leads the New Directions to hate her after she passes out on stage, and Kitty never takes accountability for her share in making Marley have an eating disorder in the first place. Benoist's character doesn't even get the chance to have a fully-fledged resolution in the series, being scrapped from the show in Season 5 when Sue (Jane Lynch) manages to shut down the glee club. The only bit of information provided to viewers about her whereabouts is that she was transferred to another school.

After Her Time on 'Glee, Benoist Got to Sing Again in 'Supergirl'

Although Melissa Benoist had a short-lived presence on Glee, the actress' breakout role led her to finally become a TV lead soon after her character was written out of the comedy series. In 2015, she debuted as the titular character in Supergirl. The CW original came at a time when women superheroes were practically extinct from prime-time TV ever since Wonder Woman went off the air in 1979. On top of wearing a red cape and performing wild stunts, Benoist had the chance to return to her Glee roots in the Flash-Supergirl musical crossover. Sharing the screen with former Glee co-stars Grant Gustin and Darren Criss, the episode allowed the actress to sing onscreen again. Despite the musical crossover not having any links to the Ryan Murphy series (other than the three actors that starred in it), the episode did come as a treat for fans who missed Marley Rose and the joyfulness she brought to the New Directions in Seasons 4 and 5.

All 6 seasons of Glee are available to stream via Disney + in the U.S.

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