SOUND OFF: GLEE's Black & White Christmas & Chanukah

And, hey, Finn managed to subtly continue to out-creep Puck by still sticking around as mentor of the gleeks, an enjoyably joyful moment or two leading the gleek group notwithstanding. But, the question remains: what is he doing in Lima, still hanging out with the gleeks and not fighting for Rachel's affections thousands of miles away? What the what? Furthermore, is his current assignation as glee club director setting the stage for Finn taking on the job full-time come next year when the show picks up? Once again: we well have to wait and see, but the writing seems to be on the wall for that storyline to play out that way - or, if you prefer, the sleigh tracks are laid down pretty clearly in the snow for the road to head in that direction some time soon. Whatever the weather, Monteith has far and away been at his very best this season, so it could work to the favor of the series as long as the character's majorly problematic issues are ironed out more - and soon.

Last, Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), Becky (Lauren Potter) and Coach Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones) were featured in the fifth and final vignette of the episode, with Marley (Melissa Benoist), her mom, Mrs. Rose (Trisha Rae Stahl), and the ensuing heartwarming storyline with their cash-strapped Christmas made magical giving us the gift of Sue playing an appreciable part in someone's life for once, as well. Marley's "The First Noel" was a vocal highlight of the night, yet again showcasing Benoist's emotive instrument at its best. "That right there was the best Christmas gift I have ever gotten," indeed. Aww! Cue the tears - and not just for that poor, poor 7000-year-old bristle cone pine tree in Sue's living room!

In GLEE's final show of 2012, Season Four continued to remain always entertaining while juggling the impossibly vast cast of characters the show now comprises, near-80 episodes in, capping off with a winter wonderland finale set to a sensitive choral reworking of the MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS staple "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" courtesy of New Directions. What 2013 will spell for the show that has rewritten the rules of what a TV show can be and how a story can be told - and sung - is anyone's guess, but I for one can go out on a Christmas tree limb and posit that it will continue to deliver the goods to Broadway babies, performance lovers and entertainment enthusiasts in general just as it has consistently done all season so far and more than just sporadically in the past three. Season Four shows that this GLEE tree has a lot of growing still to do and is far from being ready to chop down this season or any one soon.

Happy Holidays! Hats off to GLEE in 2012 - and hats on to Santa Claus until we reconvene!

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Pat Cerasaro is a playwright and screenwriter currently in pre-production on his first feature film.