Ariel Baxter

Ariel Jasmine Baxter is a major character on Glee. She is an alumna of William McKinley High School as of Goodbye. She was one of the first members of the New Directions. At the beginning of the series, she formed a close friendship with Kurt Hummel and Mercedes Jones, as well as having a crush on a football player, Noah Puckerman. In the episode The Power of Madonna, she and Finn Hudson gave their virginities to each other so that Finn's first time can mean something before he has sex with Santana Lopez to regain his popularity. The two date for a while before becoming best friends

In Season Three, she left for New York with Rachel Berry, looking to become an actress. While in New York, she met a NYADA alumnus named Evan Simmons, who tried to convince her to go to the school, but she ultimately decided to stick with an acting and dance career. She rekindles her relationship with Finn after flirting with an attractive NYADA student, Brody Weston. The two later break up, and she begins dating Brody after he and Rachel split. Though this is initially met with disdain by Rachel, the relationship continues for the rest of the series.

In Season Six, she returns to Lima with Rachel and Kurt as the choreographer for the New Direction. She decides to pursue an acting and screenwriting career, and later moves back to New York and co-writes Jane Austen Sings with Jesse St. James. She and Brody eventually get married, and they have a son, Christopher Allan Michael Weston.

Ariel is a series regular in seasons one to six, and she was portrayed by Cristin Milioti.

Personality
Ariel was introduced as a median of sorts, as she is not quite popular but not unpopular either. She wants to fit in without losing who she is, so she signs up for the glee club. She often butts heads with Rachel, as she sees her as a snobbish and overly ambitious brat, and though she initially has a crush on Puck, she grows to dislike him for taking advantage of the drunk Quinn. Though she dislikes Rachel and Puck, she befriends Mercedes and Kurt. She makes friends with many people, as shown when she he befriends Sue's sister Jean, who has Down's syndrome.

Ariel is a very romantic person, and often gets involved with romances other than her own, such as attempting to get Will and Emma together throughout Season Two.The people she befriends find themselves caring about her very easily. There are, however, characters who dislike her for her unwillingness to take sides and be popular or a loser.

After Season Two, Ariel seems to mellow out a bit, losing some of her more childish tendencies. She becomes more mature and capable of holding back her romantic urges much better than before. She continues to mature more throughout the series, and she becomes more involved and interested in her friends' problems. She also discovers her talent and decides what she'd really want to do with her life.

In Season Six, Ariel is far more confident after having been cast in a film. She and Rachel get off to a rough start because while Rachel's Hollywood exploits failed, Ariel thrived. The two eventually start to become friends after years of resentment, and Claire becomes the New Directions' choreographer. Her wardrobe has also changed a bit to match her personality.

Finn-Ariel Relationship (Baxson)
In The Power of Madonna, Ariel talks to Finn about losing his virginity to Santana. Ariel tries to dissuade him, but he wants to become popular once again. The two kiss, and Ariel suggests that they have sex so that Finn can have sex with Santana and regain his popularity, as well has having his first time mean something more. The two then have sex, swearing not to tell another person. Later, during Like a Virgin, she replaces her pictures of Puck with pictures of Finn. At the end of the episode, Finn, after blessing Jesse and Rachel's relationship, asks Ariel out. She happily accepts, unaware of his feelings for Rachel.

In Bad Reputation, Ariel becomes angry when she is high on the "Glist", which leads Finn to think that she may only be using him to get a reputation. She gets angry at him for accusing her, and she sings Dirrrty while blatantly flirting with the other males in the club to get back at him. This worsens the situation, causing Finn to agree to being in Rachel's Run, Joey, Run video. The two later reconcile, though both are still angry and hurt. They sing Total Eclipse of the Heart with Rachel and Jesse.

In Laryngitis, Ariel misses school to go to the doctor, where she overhears Finn talking to Rachel. She cries, and later is angry when Finn performs Jessie's Girl. She then gives him the silent treatment. At the end the next episode, Ariel tells Jesse what happened while he was gone. He doesn't believe her, although she refuses to give up. She vows to get revenge on Rachel, joining the Cheerios.

In Theatricality, Ariel is bitter, and obviously sings Bad Romance about Finn. When Will talks to her, she refuses to break up with Finn, not yet ready for her revenge. In the next episode, she sees an opportunity to get revenge by defecting to Vocal Adrenaline, however, she realizes just how much she cares about the New Directions. She instead tells Jesse that she was right and convinces him to egg Rachel.

In Journey, Ariel sees Rachel kissing Finn and punches him, breaking up with him. She then sings Once while crying and contemplating what to do. She stays on the team, but refuses to talk to Finn or Rachel under any circumstances.

In The Break-Up, Finn returns after being in the army, and he and Rachel try continue their relationship. When Rachel performs with Brody, Ariel consoles Finn, as the two had become good friends since their break-up. When Finn leaves Rachel at the apartment, Ariel consoles him and the two end up having sex, rekindling their relationship. She goes with him back to McKinley, and when Rachel comes and breaks up with him, Ariel makes it clear that their relationship started while still in New York, and that Rachel is the one who is wrong, not Finn. She later sings The Scientist with the others, though it was only Finn who was actually singing.

In The Role You Were Born to Play, Ariel convinces Artie to let Finn co-direct Grease, as he's still torn up over Rachel. She later goes on a picnic with him and asks him not to hurt her again. He apologizes, and agrees to spend more time with her. She stands behind Finn's decision to cast Unique as Rizzo. She later demands that Finn make it up to Sue for calling Robin "retarded". In the next episode, Glease, Ariel stresses over the choreography for the show. Finn calms her down with a date at Breadstix. Later, during the show, she sees Finn and herself singing the song, though she occasionally sees Rachel in her place. She then becomes paranoid, leaving while telling Rachel to stay out of her relationship.

In Dynamic Duets, Ariel joins Finn in running the New Directions, and becomes his sidekick Choreogirl. She helps with the lesson and provides moral support to Ryder and Marley. The two go on another date, where they talk about their former relationships and if they can stay in it for the long run. Finn states that he believes that they can do it, causing Ariel to smile.

In Sadie Hawkins, Ariel demonstrates the lesson to the club by performing I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore, asking Finn to be her "date" to the dance, which he accepts. Later, in Diva, Ariel is excited about Will and Emma's wedding. She decides to help out, but finds Finn kissing Emma. As he runs out, she stops him, calls him a "stupid lying douche", and slaps him. She runs off in tears. In I Do, Finn tries to apologize, but she refuses to listen, saying that he broke her heart again and that he and Rachel deserve each other. Ariel struggles with whether or not to tell Will what she saw, but she ultimately keeps it to herself. She accepts Finn's apology, and the two make up, becoming friends.

Ariel takes Finn's death harder than anyone, refusing to even speak, only singing My Heart Will Go On before running out of the choir room. She is later consoled by Brody, and even later Santana. She then tells only Santana that she and Finn had given each other their virginities, making her swear to keep it a secret. She then makes a capsule of things that remind her of Finn and buries it under his memorial tree, crying herself to sleep. She remains sullen and occasionally angry until the episode 100, in which she reveals her secret to everyone. They console her, and she sings I Can't Fight This Feeling Anymore in honor of Finn.

Brody-Claire Relationship (Wester)
In The New Rachel, Ariel arrives in New York, and she goes to meet Rachel, where she and Brody meet for the first time, and Brody flirts with her. In the next episode, he has her help him demonstrate a tango to help Rachel. Later in that episode, she and Brody share another flirtation, but when Brody gets nervous and reveals that he likes Rachel, Ariel puts on a brave face and says that she still has feelings for Finn, and though she picked a random person, she finds it to be true. Brody leaves her with a flirtatious farewell, further confusing her.

In Makeover, she and Brody have no interaction until the end of the episode, when she brings Finn to Rachel's apartment as a ploy to see if Brody would be jealous of her with another man, though he does not react much at all. In The Break-Up, she eventually gives up on Brody and decides to rekindle her relationship with Finn instead, having sex with him. Kurt discovers the two sneaking away the next morning.

In Thanksgiving, she holds a "pre-Thanksgiving party" the day before Thanksgiving so that she can visit Kurt in New York. When she goes there, she seems jealous of Brody and Rachel being so close, and she later laments her attraction to him, and returns to Lima with guilt.

In Glee, Actually, Ariel goes to New York to consider applying for NYADA after a talk with Kurt. She runs into Brody there, however, and after the two get coffee and get acquainted, Brody looks at his watch and leaves for an "important appointment", but gives her a gentlemanly kiss on the hand, which leaves her more confused. She then has a fantasy where she and Brody sing Falling Slowly.

Then, in Naked, she stays in the apartment while looking into attending NYADA, where she is challenged by Brody's casual nudity. When she says that Rachel appearing topless might give her the humility she desperately needs, Brody smirks at her and winks. Later in the episode, he is suspicious of her and confronts her about her continued interest in him, to which she counters that he is also interested. The two agree to try to stop, and become friends.

After she breaks up with Finn when he kisses Emma in Diva, she hooks up with Puck in the next episode, but states that she kinda regrets it after. In Guilty Pleasures, it is revealed that she and Puck became friends with benefits when Brody texts her to tell her that he and Rachel broke up. He also admits to being a gigolo, but she is more understanding and offers to come to New York to help him so he wouldn't have to do it, though he told her not to worry.

In Sweet Dreams, she feels that she is starting to have feelings for Puck, so she backs her bags and moves back to her New York apartment. She invites Brody to stay with her and offers him a job as her "live-in gigolo butler", which he declines because he feels the pay is too generous. After she sings Sweet Dreams by Beyonce, the two dance and share a kiss. He then reconsiders and takes the job. In Lights Out, her relationship with Brody causes problems between her and Rachel, and the two almost have a physical altercation at the Ballet Gala, though Santana calls them off. She sings At The Ballet with the others and reflects on her past and future.

In Wonder-ful, she spends the episode looking at everyone else's successes and pondering her own future. She decides to maintain a steady relationship with Brody and finds him another job so he doesn't feel like a gigolo again. Later, the two sing Knocks Me Off My Feet. In All or Nothing, she decides that her friends are ready to know about her relationship, and she goes to McKinley for Regionals with Brody in tow, getting a shocked but eventually accepting reaction.

In Love, Love, Love, Brody reveals that he is worried that he is not equally contributing to the relationship, as Ariel pays all of the bills except for the television and internet bills. She sings Can't Buy Me Love and assures him that things will be fine until he gets onto his feet, but he still has his doubts. In the next episode, he decides to find a better job and sings Eight Days A Week to her to ensure that he'll try harder.

MORE TO COME

Trivia
Though Ariel is only an fanon character, she was envisioned as being portrayed by Cristin Milioti based mainly off of her performance in the musical Once.

Ariel says on several occasions that her ideal guy would be named Ted. This is a reference to Milioti's role in How I Met Your Mother, in which she plays The Mother, who is married to the main character, Ted.

She also sings Once and ''Falling Slowly. ''The film that the songs are from was adapted into a musical in which Milioti played the female lead in the original Broadway run..

She, along with Artie, Carole, Emma, Figgins, Kurt, Mercedes, Noah, Rachel, Santana, Sue, Terri, Tina, Quinn, and Will are the only characters to appear in the first and last episode.

Along with Artie, Kurt, Rachel, Sue, and Will, she has been main cast every season of the series.

Alongside with Finn, Kurt, Rachel, Santana, Sue, Will, Quinn, Mike, Brittany and Blaine, she is the only character to have a middle name revealed.

She is the only member of the New Directions Alumni not to be in a relationship with a love interest they met in high school.

Her son's name is both a tribute to Finn and his actor, Cory Monteith. Christopher is Finn's middle name, while Allen and Michael are Monteith's middle names.