Christopher Hudson was the father of Finn Hudson and the first husband of Carole Hudson before dying of a drug overdose.
Biography[]
It is mentioned that he was killed while serving as a US Marine in the Middle East when Finn was an infant. His loss deeply affected Carole, who fifteen years later is still deeply wounded by it. While she pursued relationships with other men after, they had never lasted long. Despite never having known his father, Finn is very loyal to his memory and as part of learning how to be a good man (a particularly important goal to Finn) has striven to "measure up" to his example as a man who died in the service of his country. (Pilot)
Finn becomes particularly troubled by his mother's growing romance with Burt Hummel, believing that she is forgetting his father. He tries to make his point by pretending that he is going to throw away his father's ashes, when his mother stops him and emotionally tells him that as much as she loved and continues to love his father, she no longer wants to be alone. She goes on to explain that she wants the chance of a new family with Burt and that she wants Finn to be happy for her. Finn relents, and later allows Burt to sit in his father's prized recliner chair. (Home)
When Finn reveals to Burt and Carole that he wishes to attend the army to be just like his father, Carole states that she will not allow Finn to go it, and decides to tell him the truth on what happened to Christopher. It is revealed that Christopher had been dishonorably discharged from the army and developed a serious drug addiction. It is also revealed that he died from a drug overdose in Cincinnati and not in the war. He was known by Carole to come and go, for days, and even weeks, until there was a period that he simply never returned. Carole mentions that Christopher attempted to rehabillitate himself for Finn's sake. Finn is ultimately angered on why his mother never mentioned it up until now. In the end of the episode, Finn states his fears that he will become much like his father if he joins the Army (facing drug problems). (Yes/No)
Finn mentions that he is going to petition the army to have his dad's dishonorable discharge changed to an honorable one. (On My Way)
Finn mentions several actions Christopher had done while he was still in the army, while he is holding his picture. When Finn drops off Rachel at the train station, he informs her that he is enlisting in the army so that he may redeem his father's actions. (Goodbye)When Finn reunites with Rachel in New York, he talks about his failed army experience after shooting his gun (named Rachel) into his thigh and subsequently failing to redeem his father. He says he badly wanted to make his father and Rachel proud. (The Break-Up)
Trivia[]
Photograph of Christopher Hudson, from Home
- The first mention of his name as "Christopher" is made in Home.
- Pictures of Christopher Hudson can be seen briefly in Pilot and Home. He is also alluded to in Furt and Funeral.
- While it is strongly implied that Finn's father was killed in the Gulf War (which ended in 1991), that would make Finn around nineteen or twenty years old as of 2009, when Finn is in fact fifteen or sixteen (a sophomore). However, the original script of Glee was written in 2005, though Glee did not air until 2009. This "continuity error" was simply not addressed.
- Despite his loyalty to Christopher, Finn has looked for other men as example of how to be a "real man", including Will, Burt, and Kurt.
- In Ballad, while Finn is going through some of his father's old things, he can be seen to be holding up what appears to be a jacket from a Marine blue dress uniform, suggesting that Christopher was a Marine.
- When Finn was little he used to look up to the picture of his dad on the wall and convince himself they were twins. (Yes/No)
- Christopher Hudson died of a drug overdose as did his son's actor Cory Monteith