Carole Hudson-Hummel

Carole Hudson-Hummel is a recurring character on Glee. She is Finn's formerly widowed mother and Kurt's stepmother, and wife to Kurt's dad Burt. When Finn was young, she had a relationship with a lawn-care worker named Darren who left her for a younger woman, leaving Carol distraught.

Upon discovering that Quinn is pregnant, she allows her to move in with them when Quinn's father kicks her out. Kurt sets Carole up with his father Burt in an attempt to get closer to Finn. They decide to move in together, until Finn uses a homophobic slur against Kurt and Burt refuses to allow him to stay in his home. Their relationship continues, however, and Carole visits Burt's bedside when he suffers a heart attack early in the second season. She marries him later that fall.

In Season Three, she tells Finn the truth about his father and she tries to stop the marriage between Rachel and Finn with the help of Rachel's gay dads, LeRoy and Hiram.

During Season Four, Carole sticks by Burt when he gets cancer, which he beat. Sadly, however, she loses her son, Finn, in Season Five. Later in this season, she attends Nationals as a chaperon and witnesses the New Directions pay homage to him.

In the final season, she happily witnesses the wedding of her stepson, Kurt, and attends the rededication of McKinley Audtorium under her late son's name in the series finale.

She is portrayed by Romy Rosemont.

Early life
Originally from Toledo, her first husband, Finn's father, Christopher, a US Marine, was killed while serving in the Middle East when Finn was a baby, leaving Carole a widow, a loss that she was still wounded by fifteen years later. As a single mother, she often took many jobs and did everything that she could to make sure her son was happy and healthy. Late in season one she found new happiness with the man she would marry in Season Two, Burt Hummel.

Episodes
S1= Pilot

Despite her love for her son, Carole also craves romance. She had a short relationship several years before with a lawn care worker named Darren. During this time Darren helped Finn discover his singing voice and the three of them would often sing together on the front lawn as Darren painted it. The relationship ended when Carole found out that Darren had started seeing a sexier and younger girl, abandoning her without so much as a word. This abrupt and upsetting end led to Finn becoming fixated on making his mom proud, above all else in his life.

Ballad

Carole, while stopping by Finn's bedroom to drop off clothes, finds him singing to a sonogram of his girlfriend Quinn Fabray's baby. Upon confronting him, Carole discovers to her shock that Quinn is pregnant with what they both think is Finn's baby (the baby is actually Puck's). Despite the upset of knowing her son is going to be a father at the age of sixteen, Carole consoles Finn as he breaks down crying. Soon after, Quinn is kicked out of her parents' house, and Carole lets her stay with them.

Home

At a Parent/Teacher Conference, Kurt introduces his widower father, Burt Hummel, to Carole in the hope that it will spark romance, and thus hoping that it will result in him and Finn (who Kurt has a major crush on) to grow closer. The plan works spectacularly as Burt and Carole quickly fall in love with each another. Kurt helps Carole make herself over, wearing new clothes and redecorating her home. Finn remained unaware of his mother's new love life, until Carole attempts to redecorate the living room and get rid of Christopher's old arm chair, much to Finn's disapproval. Finn is very unsettled at his mother moving on, believing that she is forgetting about his father, and is initially cold towards Burt when the two families sit down for a 'family' dinner of sorts. However, he begins to warm to Burt when they begin to talk about sports. While Carole is content about this, Kurt feels left out and hurt at his father's new friendship with Finn, and suggests to Finn that they break Burt and Carole up. Finn attempts to make his point about his mother forgetting his father, by pretending that he is going to flush his father's ashes down the toilet, stating that is essentially what Carole is doing by dating Burt. Carole tells him emotionally that as much as she loved and continues to love his father, she needs the chance of a family and a home for herself and for Finn, with Burt. She later invites Burt over, during which Finn relents and accepts him as a part of Carole's life, inviting him to sit down in his father's prized recliner chair and watch a game on TV.

Theatricality

Eventually the relationship between Burt and Carole proceeds to the point where Burt invites her and Finn to move in with them. While Burt, Kurt and Carole are thrilled with the idea, Finn is not particularly since he will be forced to share the room with Kurt. Finn's discomfort towards Kurt along with many other factors results in him to explode upon seeing how he decorated their room, calling the decorations "faggy." Burt overhears this, rants at Finn for being a "bigot," before putting him out on the street. Finn later comes to Kurt's defense and the two manage to repair their friendship somewhat, which is helped by Kurt's crush on Finn having ended. S2= Grilled Cheesus

It's revealed that despite the unfortunate incident between Finn and Kurt, Carole and Burt have remained a couple and he has repaired his relationship with Finn somewhat. However, when Burt suffers a heart attack, neither Finn nor Carole are initially alerted. While Finn is angry and upset for not being told, both he and Carole go to Burt's bedside, and with the rest Kurt's friends Rachel, Tina, Mercedes, and even Quinn pray for Burt's well-being. Kurt however, who does not believe in God, is furious at them all for forcing their beliefs into his and his father's life. Carole attempts to explain that they are all just trying to do what they can for Burt and Kurt, but accepts Kurt's feelings as he asks her and the others to leave.

Furt

Burt and Carole reveal to Finn and Kurt that they are getting married, and they ask Kurt to be the wedding planner. Burt states he doesn't care about what kind of food or how the wedding looks, so long as Kurt gets a great band to perform. Kurt offers up New Directions. The New Directions perform a cover of Bruno Mars's Hit song Marry You. Burt and Carole marry, making Finn and Kurt stepbrothers. At the reception, Finn says that "Furt" has been born and he has Kurt's back no matter what it costs him, cementing the family bond between them all. However the happiness is marred due to the fact that Kurt has been bullied terribly at school by Dave Karofsky, a closeted homosexual boy, who, unable to deal with his own sexuality, has taken to terrorizing Kurt in order to deal with his own emotions. Worried about Kurt, Burt and Carole use their honeymoon money to pay for Kurt's tuition at Dalton Academy, feeling that it is safer for him to transfer there than to remain at William McKinley High School.

The Sue Sylvester Shuffle

Carole, along with Burt, Kurt, and Blaine, cheer on Finn's football team and New Directions' performance of Thriller/Heads Will Roll. Carole is shown being proud of Finn and the teams winning victory. S3= Pot o' Gold

Carole returns in this episode, and she supports Burt's congressional campaign. She also encourages Finn to help manage the tire shop, as Burt will be busy in Washington DC.

Yes/No

Carole is seen alongside Burt, Will, and Emma confronting Finn about his decision to join the army. After a brief conversation, Carole told Finn the truth about his father, that he didn't die in Iraq, he died of a drug problem. Finn is upset that she didn't tell him sooner, but Carole claims that she wanted to wait until he was ready and she told him that he died in Iraq as not to tarnish his memory. Finn storms off, angry that they never told him. Later while Finn is at Breadstix with Rachel and Kurt questioning why she would tell him sometime like that.

Heart

Carole appears briefly at dinner at the Berry household, meeting and dinning with Rachel, Hiram and Leroy.

On My Way

Carole is seen discussing how to stop Finn and Rachel's wedding with Hiram, LeRoy, and Burt. Carole says that she knows how determined Finn can be and that he would get married to Rachel. Hiram eventually suggests a plan to stop them, which involves having Carole distract the Justice of the Peace.

Goodbye

Carole talks to Finn about not being able to give his father an honorable discharge. She is later seen with Burt  watching Finn and Kurt graduate, proud of her sons. S4= Glee, Actually

Although she doesn't appear, Kurt mentions that Carole is visiting her sister for Christmas.

Wonder-ful

Carole is at Burt's doctor's appointment along with Kurt. All three are ecstatic when they are informed that Burt is cancer free. S5= The Quarterback

Carole is seen with Burt and Kurt going through Finn's things to either donate, give away, or keep. She breaks down after questioning how parents go on when they lose a child. Carole is last seen sharing a hug with Kurt and Burt.

City of Angels

Carole and Burt accompany the New Directions to Nationals as chaperones. Carole is initially excited; she feels that being close to Finn's friends will help her feel closer to him. However, after Tina makes an insensitive remark she realises that it is just upsetting her more by acting as a reminder of the brevity of Finn's legacy at McKinley. Burt suggests that they leave Will and the Glee club and return to Ohio, which she accepts. Just before the New Directions perform, Sam checks to see if she and Burt have arrived with Mercedes to watch them, but realises that they must have bailed. Just as Will is delivering the pre-performance pep talk, she reappears, revealing that she just couldn't bear to abandon them, and encourages the New Directions to "wipe the floor" with the competition, Throat Explosion. As they perform a tribute act comprised of Finn's favourite songs, she is emotionally overwhelmed. Back in McKinley, she consoles the club over their loss, reminding them of how Finn still lives in all of them, no matter whether they won or lost. S6= A Wedding

Brittany, Santana, Rachel, and Mercedes are figuring out the arrangement of the seats at the wedding when the latter realises that Sam and Rachel haven't been put together even though they are a couple now. Rachel explains that she doesn't want to upset Carole specially now that they haven't talked as much as they used to. Mercedes says that she will understand since she has been in a similar situation. Rachel changes her mind and decides to go with Sam.

Before the wedding, Carole is hanging out with Maribel when Pam introduces herself to her. They nicely shake hands.

Later, Burt and Carole meet Blaine and Kurt at the wedding. Carole remarks how handsome they are and Kurt reminisces about her and Burt's wedding, and they share a kiss. Carole says that she has learnt to treasure every good moment since that's what Finn taught her. Then, Burt makes a tiny speech and he Carole go away insisting that he's not drunk. When Kurt and Blaine enter the room during At Last, Carole is as astonished as everyone and shares this with Blaine's mom.

During the reception, Carole is seen dancing to Hey Ya with Kurt and Rachel and performing I'm So Excited. While Our Day Will Come is being performed, Rachel and Sam hesitate for a moment about whether dance or not, and when they look at Carole, she smiles and indicates that she's okay with it. Carole dances with Burt, and when they swap dance partners with the other couple, she ends up with Sam. They all have fun during the rest of the song.

Dreams Come True

Carole appears for the last time, sitting in the Auditorium, alongside Terri, Emma, Becky, Burt, Figgins and Will. Then, Sue appears saying that the auditorium has been renamed as the Finn Hudson Auditorium, which makes Burt and Carole applaud happily. She watches the former members of New Directions perform I Lived. During the song, Carole is seen celebrating and enjoying the performance.

Personality
Carole, from what we have seen, is a good and caring, hardworking mother, raising Finn single-handedly after his father's death and taking on the role of mother to Kurt Hummel in season 2. She supported Finn when he thought that he had fathered Quinn Fabray's baby and took Quinn into her home after her own parents threw her because she was pregnant. She seems to have done a very good job raising Finn despite her difficult circumstances, him becoming a basically kind, decent and generous young man. Carole has been shown to be quite an emotional and direct person at times, and in Home, she casually tells Finn, after he protests about her selling off some of their old furniture - including her honeymoon set - that he was "conceived on a pinball machine." Perhaps Finn takes after Carole in his tendency to speak before he thinks at times.

For a long time, Carole had become a somewhat desperate woman, taking what little joy she could from the attention of the men who gave it to her. As a result, she would become visibly hurt and angered when that attention faded. However, following meeting Burt Hummel and thanks to the friendship of Kurt, Carole has become stronger and more self-sufficient woman, finally moving past the death of her husband and allowing herself to be happy.

At her wedding she expressed her pride in Finn and her joy at gaining a son and a friend in Kurt. She was visibly moved by Finn's serenade to Kurt during the wedding reception, Just the Way You Are.

She has always supported and helped Finn in many certain ways. In Season Three, she revealed to him the truth about his father's death and was honest about it. Finn later chooses to break up with Rachel and let her go New York while he decides to train in the Army to represent his father.

She's crestfallen when she loses Finn and states she has a void in her heart because of that, but has to keep going on in life.

Trivia

 * She and Principal Figgins are the only characters that appear in Pilot and throughout the entire series without ever becoming a main character.
 * She is the first relative of a main character that is introduced.
 * She is one of the few recurring characters that have appeared throughout the entire series' run.
 * She is from Toledo, Ohio.

Songs
S6=
 * Back-up singing

Quotes
"Finn: Don't you have any feelings about it? It's your and dad's honeymoon set. I was conceived in that bed. Carole: You were conceived on a pinball machine."

"You think what we have is normal."

"We don't need any more memories or ghosts. We need a family. A home."

"How long have we been waiting?

Carole: I don't know like...15 minutes

Kurt: After half hour in the waiting room"

"You have to keep on being a parent even though you don't have a child anymore."