User:Hpushkas318/sandbox/Marley Rose (Glee)

Marley Rose
Glee character
Melissa Benoist portrayed the character through seasons 4 and 5 of Glee.
First appearance	"The New Rachel"
Last appearance	"New Directions"
Created by	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan
Portrayed by	Melissa Benoist
In-universe information
Occupation	High school student

Marley Rose is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Melissa Benoist, and has appeared in Glee since the premiere of the fourth season, "The New Rachel", first broadcast on September 13, 2012. Marley is a shy, unambitious wallflower who is the daughter of McKinley High's cafeteria lady, and aspires to be a singer on radio rather than be on Broadway.

The character was created by Murphy as a means to create a character that had the talent of Rachel Berry but a different personality and aspirations. Benoist auditioned for the role and immediately got the part, after impressing Ryan Murphy. While Benoist was praised for her performance, the character has received mixed to positive reviews from critics and fans alike with some critics praising Marley for her original storyline contrasting sharply to that of Rachel Berry's while others found her storylines to be lackluster.

Storylines

Season 4

Marley is introduced as the shy wallflower with a hidden passion for singing, the daughter of cafeteria lady Millie Rose. Following auditions for Glee club, she impresses Finn Hudson and the other seniors with her rendition of New York State of Mind by Billy Joel (which Rachel Berry coincidentally happened to be singing for her NYADA audition). During her time at Glee club, Marley grows attracted to Jake Puckerman, the younger brother of Noah Puckerman and forms a close friendship with Wade "Unique" Adams. However, when Marley discovers that Jake is dating Kitty Wilde, a cheerleader that bullied her and said awful things about her mother's obesity, she is devastated. When Jake and Kitty break up, it is around the time that Finn announces a musical performance of Grease, which undergoes budget cuts leading to difficulties in funding. When auditioning, Marley meets Ryder Lynn, a football player and transfer student whom she grows briefly attracted to. Marley and Unique ignore Sue Sylvester deriding them, telling Unique he is not a girl, and the two impress Mercedes Jones, Finn Hudson, Artie Abrams, and Tina Cohen-Chang with their rendition of Blow Me (One Last Kiss). Marley gets the role of Sandy and Unique gets Rizzo but is forced to surrender the part to Santana Lopez after Sue exploits bullying from his peers to his parents.

During rehearsals, Kitty tries to undermine Marley's confidence by making her skip lunches and tampering with her costume to make her believe that she is getting fat like her mother. After the musical, which Rachel leaves New York to attend to show support for Finn, Marley develops bulimia and skips lunches after losing confidence in her body. During sectionals, in a rendition of Gangnam Style, Marley passes out. When Santana blames Kitty for undermining Marley's confidence, the rest of the Glee club blames Marley for losing sectionals. However, when Sue disbands Glee club, she is the only one to stand beside Finn as he tries to keep the group together and finds them a place to practice. The group is reunited but they still haven't entirely forgiven Marley. However, they also acknowledge that Kitty is also at fault.

On Christmas, Marley is depressed when they are unable to afford a Christmas tree because they need to pay her doctor. When Sue, who was assigned to be Millie's Secret Santa, overhears this, she feels bad for them and, with Becky Jackson, gives Marley a Christmas tree and $800 in cash to pay her doctor (a rare act of kindness shown by Sue). Marley thanks Sue by having the Glee club perform a rendition of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by Judy Garland.

Come Valentine's Day, Jake expresses his love for Marley with help from Ryder (who also had feelings for Marley) leading to Marley being impressed. At the time of Mr. Schuester's wedding to Emma Pillsbury, following Emma running from the altar after kissing Finn Hudson, Ryder intimately expresses himself to Marley and kisses her, leading to a conflict with Jake when he finds out after Marley tells him. Following Finn confessing to Mr. Schue that he kissed Emma, the tension between the two becomes unbearable and leads to Finn resigning. Before he does, Marley goes to thank him and tells him that he is a good teacher and should get a teaching degree. This is what inspires Finn to go back to college.

Marley starts to write original songs but no one seems to take notice. However, when Becky Jackson brings a gun to school and it accidentally fires, the students hide in fear of a school shooter. During this time, Kitty confesses that she sabotaged Marley's costume and apologizes for making her bulimic. After the school shooting, Sue takes responsibility to protect Becky and resigns as the coach of the Cheerios. Later, three of Marley's songs are performed, one of them at Regionals, "All or Nothing", to a standing ovation.

Season 5

Marley is promoted to the main cast in this season. In this season, she gets into a skirmish with a Cheerio named Bree. This season, the first not to feature Finn Hudson following the passing of Cory Monteith, goes on to further explore how the Glee club is faring without Finn Hudson. It is tested in A Katy or a Gaga when Marley, who was supposed to dress in a seashell bikini, refuses and instead wears a Katy costume during a rendition of Lady Gaga's "Applause". This leads to a frustrated Will suspending her from Glee Club for a week. Jake comforts her by taking her back to his house to elope but when she refuses to go further because she is uncomfortable, this leads to an argument between the two where she lashes out at Jake for objectifying girls.

Marley finds out that Jake had been cheating on her with Bree and as a result, she breaks up with him, despite his numerous apologies and attempts to win her back. She decides that they are better off as friends. She puts her love life to the side to focus on her songwriting career but is unsuccessful at getting anyone to accept her music. When at Nationals, she is comforted by Mercedes Jones, who advises her never to give up on her dreams. Things take a turn for the worse when the New Directions loses Nationals, giving Sue Sylvester, who has returned to McKinley High and demoted Principal Figgins to the role of janitor, the excuse she needed to disband Glee Club. Even Holly Holliday and April Rhodes are unable to convince her to change her mind. Marley consoles her friends by telling her that Sue could never take away what they had, telling them that Glee Club brought them together, bidding them all farewell.

Season 6

Marley is transferred to another school after the glee club is disbanded. Her whereabouts during the season remain unknown. In “The Hurt Locker, Part Two”, she is mentioned by Rachel as “the one with the fat mom”. Benoist did not return in the series finale "Dreams Come True" despite being invited due to scheduling conflicts.

Development

Although marketed as "the New Rachel", there has been a lot pointed out in how dissimilar the two characters are. Some fans have also expressed disappointment in Lea Michele and Melissa Benoist not sharing a scene together despite Marley's first song being a duet with Rachel Berry. In the show, Marley is not portrayed as ambitious as Rachel, instead having smaller interests and a completely opposite lifestyle. In an "I Heart Glee" interview, Benoist herself has stated that she does not think of Marley as a new Rachel, stating, "I would never even want to compare myself to Lea Michele, you know? She is amazing, like, on her own level, and so I always get, like, weird when people say that." (in response to claims of Benoist being the "new Lea Michele") Benoist has also expressed a desire for young girls to be able to relate to Marley's struggles with issues like bullying and bulimia.

While promoting the show, Benoist appeared on Anderson Cooper Live, where Anderson Cooper gifted her with a face mask to prevent her from getting slushied again. She also appeared in interviews alongside Jacob Artist and Kevin McHale. Outside of Broadway, Matthew Morrison, who is also from Benoist's home state of Colorado, revealed that he and Benoist both shared stories of skiing back home in Colorado and praised Benoist as an absolute delight to work with.

Musical performances

Erin Strecker of Entertainment Weekly gave the New York State of Mind duet an A-, writing "Sung in part by both Marley and Rachel, in an arrangement that was lovely for both voices, it was a great introduction for newcomer Marley, as well as a reminder after a summer apart that Berry has still got it." Strecker also offered praise to Benoist's rendition of "Chasing Pavements" by Adele.

Lauren Hoffman of Vulture also wrote positively, stating, "Marley goes riff for riff and punch for punch with Rachel. And the difference between watching Marley and Rachel perform is that when Marley sings it looks like fun, and when Rachel sings it looks like work." The rendition of New York State of Mind by Michele and Benoist peaked at number 24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

Reception

Critical reception towards Marley has been somewhat lukewarm. In a review for The New Rachel, Emily VanDerWerff of The A.V. Club expressed hope for the character, stating that she hoped "Benoist would be up for the challenge as Lea Michele was."

Fan reception to Marley was more polarized. A majority of fans who were in support of Rachel Berry took to express discomfort towards casting a replacement while some were disappointed that she was not living up to expectations. Others, however, reacted more positively to the fresh take on personality and offered praise to Benoist's performance.

References

Category:Glee (TV series) characters Category:Television characters introduced in 2012 Category:Fictional singers Category:Fictional musicians Category:Fictional characters with eating disorders Category:Female characters in television Category:Teenage characters in television Category:Fictional victims of bullies Category:Teenage characters in television