Written by the show's co-creators Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan and directed by Bradley Buecker, it aired on Fox in the United States on March 20, 2015, along with the previous episode, "2009", as a special two-hour finale.
The episode features the aftermath of New Directions' victory at the 2015 Nationals show choir competition, as changes are in store for both the school itself as well as Will Schuester.
New Directions wins, and afterwards, Superintendent Bob Harris (Christopher Cousins) tells Will that McKinley High is being converted into a performing arts school, and that Will is to become its principal.
Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) invites some friends to the auditorium to announce that she has been selected as the opening act for Beyoncé so she will most likely not see any of them again for some time, and she leaves the building with a song.
Meanwhile, also in 2020, Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) reunites with Mercedes, Blaine, Kurt, and Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) and Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz), who are now a couple.
In the fall of 2020, Vice President Sue Sylvester rededicates the McKinley High auditorium to be named in honor of Finn Hudson while apologizing for her previous poor perception of the glee club.
Other regular character guest actors in this episode were: Dianna Agron as Quinn Fabray, Jacob Artist as Jake Puckerman, Jessalyn Gilsig as Terri Schuester, Blake Jenner as Ryder Lynn, Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury, Heather Morris as Brittany Pierce, Alex Newell as Wade "Unique" Adams, Mike O'Malley as Burt Hummel, Naya Rivera as Santana Lopez, Mark Salling as Noah "Puck" Puckerman, Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang, Becca Tobin as Kitty Wilde, Jenna Ushkowitz as Tina Cohen-Chang, Max Adler as Dave Karofsky, Christopher Cousins as Superintendent Bob Harris, Laura Dreyfuss as Madison McCarthy, Ashley Fink as Lauren Zizes, Noah Guthrie as Roderick Meeks, Samuel Larsen as Joe Hart, Vanessa Lengies as Sugar Motta, Billy Lewis Jr. as Mason McCarthy, Finneas O'Connell as Alistair, Lauren Potter as Becky Jackson, Romy Rosemont as Carole Hudson-Hummel, Dijon Talton as Matt Rutherford, Iqbal Theba as Principal Figgins, Josie Totah as Myron Muskovitz, Samantha Marie Ware as Jane Hayward, and Marshall Williams as Spencer Porter.
[11] Series regular Jenna Ushkowitz, writing in a column for The Hollywood Reporter, revealed that the last scene filmed was the gathering in the choir room when Will Schuester sings "Teach Your Children" to the five original New Directions members from the pilot episode.
[12] Lynch took some of her signature tracksuits; Criss came away with trophies, some soundproofing from the choir room, the couch from Figgins' office, and his Warblers jacket; Riley claimed her sneakers from the pilot episode; Overstreet's souvenirs included trophies, photos and clothing; Dot-Marie Jones kept a football championship ring; and Salling took a plaque with Monteith's picture.
[14] Lauren Hoffman from Vulture rated the combined episodes of "2009" and "Dreams Come True" at four out of five stars and summarized "Glee's later seasons have been uneven, but these final episodes get back to the core ideas the show started out with about humor in unexpected places, joy in music and dance, and the importance of working hard to create things with the people you love.
"[15] Christopher Rogers from Hollywood Life stated in his review "We honestly couldn't have asked for a better, more fitting, conclusion to the show that made being a loser seem cool.