‘Glee’ episode spoilers: Will Max Adler’s Karofsky return?
We hear all sorts of questions asked by “Glee” fans time and time again, but this is one of the ones we typically receive most frequently — when it the world are we going to see more of Karofsky?
Max Adler has made the character a fan favorite despite only appearing in a limited number of episodes in season 3, and speaking to E! News he suggests that the hospital scene after his suicide attempt may actually be the end of him for now — at least pending a last-second surprise:
“There’s always a chance. There’s a chance for everything. I’ve loved playing him, and I would love to play this character the rest of my life. As always, it’s not up to me.”
It’s still feasible that Karofsky could turn up during the season finale, but the only way we feasibly see it happening is if he shows up at the McKinley graduation to support some of his former classmates. It’s almost torture in a way — while we have to sit through some characters on the show that we have so little of an emotional connection to at the moment (like “The Glee Project” finalists, who — no offense to them or their tremendous talent — have been thrown around in the story like rag dolls), there is a stellar character out there being underutilized.
We’ll maintain that Adler should have been nominated for an Emmy as a guest star, and should be considered this season once again. His performance is jarring, and the character is one you can’t help but root for even through the darkness.
Do you want to see Karofsky again in the future? As always, we’ll have more as it breaks.
Photo: Fox
John
May 2, 2012 @ 1:41 am
I only watch the show when Max is on…which means I don’t really watch glee.
Mike
April 27, 2012 @ 3:00 am
As a gay adult male I’ve been also 17 and don’t find the slightest representation in Klaine as a couple (and much much less Blaine as an individual). On the other side Dave Karofsky (thanks mostly to Max Adler) has been interesting, compelling and fulfilling. Not every character has to be a role model from minute one and Dave is someone people can learn a lot from. They chose not to use him despite being a lot of possibilities and it’s a shame. Glee has lost almost all of its appeal and more of its loyal fanbase is growing disenchated because we feel cheated. It’s not that we are frustrated if characters don’t do what we’d like, but with good sensitive writing, if we love them we can enjoy other possibilities you never thought…Glee has betrayed almost every fandom and surely the general audience. Summarizing: Dave will always be welcome. Let’s hope he arrives before the end…
Liz
April 26, 2012 @ 8:45 pm
Mad Alder coming back might make me want to watch the show again!
Debora
April 26, 2012 @ 8:01 pm
Agree with all of this. And not only the glee project participants – and Blaine – are uninteresting, but also quite a few storylines as well. Max’s Karofsky was a powerful, inspiring, interesting and thriving storyline that was dropped in favor of poorer ones. I still hold out hope, and will be happy if he appears in the finale, but what I really wanted was to HEAR MAX ADLER SINGING!
Penguin
April 26, 2012 @ 2:08 pm
‘Glee is a comedy’ appears to be the only argument people make against the return of Dave. What do I say?
1. Dave had/has great comedic potential. Something people don’t appear to realize is that the kurtofsky friendship can easily be the funniest the show ever had. We’ve got polar opposites here! Why, their dynamic is so naturally humorous that there were even some unintentionally funny moments in the beginning of season two—like, for example, the time when Kurt insulted Dave in his usual Kurtsy way and Dave couldn’t understand what he was saying, so “I don’t know what that means” ended up being his clever comeback. There’s no frigging way that the writers can even write them as friends, keep them in character and /not/ have the audience loling. It actually angers me that they haven’t used this to their advantage before. The way I see it, displaying Kurtofsky as a humorous friendship would not only mean more comedy on Glee, but it would also 1. Give Dave a much bigger fanbase 2. Make Dave a more sympathetic and lovable character. 3. Mean that most people would learn to forgive him for his past, something that I find incredibly crucial.
Just because the writers are constantly using him for angst [most likely for good critics response], doesn’t mean the character is at fault. It’s just bad writing.
2. So, what, leaving us with Dave on a hospital bed after a failed suicide attempt is better? I don’t really see the ‘comedy’ in that. People called OMW “depressing”, “not very Glee” and “gloomy”. I didn’t. Why? Because of its optimistic nature. Because of its “it gets better” message. Because it didn’t lie and say it was going to be all rainbows and butterflies, but that it was ultimately going to be ok. It was really powerful for me and actually the very opposite of depressing. So why not continue this? /WHY/ would you, writers, include this episode and then act like it didn’t happen outside of Quinn’s accident? I just…I’m so baffled. If they weren’t going to take this seriously enough, though I don’t like the idea of TFT being the last we’ll see of him either, I would’ve much rather that then…then /this/. Ugh. You can’t have your dessert and just skip over dinner.
3. I don’t want to bring other characters into this, but isn’t it funny how people complain about Dave angst, but other character angst like Quinn angst or Blangst is completely welcomed? Like, after Quinn’s accident, although there were a lot of complaints about it, people /wanted/ it continued because they understood that it was necessary. Big Brother, however, didn’t begin straight after the episode and not only gave Quinn a subplot but had her looking fine/dandy. There was a lot of backslash. A lot. People /wanted/ angst. But nobody [except for Dave fans] are going to complain about Dave not returning? Nobody’s going to bring up Dave disappearing after a suicide attempt? /Really/? People rant about how Glee should be a comedy when it comes to continuity for Dave’s plot, but not other characters [and don’t even get me started on Blangst]? It’s like ND members are literally all that matters to most people. Nobody ever seems to give a rat’s ass about the other characters.
Sorry for my rant. I just have a lot of feelings haha. But thanks a lot for this lovely article!
Andy
April 26, 2012 @ 1:13 pm
Yes, I agree. Glee creators have such a complex, interesting character with a lot of potential for captivating storylines, and they’ve wasted so many opportunities with him. Moreover, Max Adler can actually act *and* sing. The producers either want to keep him as a trump card or they succumbed to the pressure of the loudest (not the largest) part of the fandom, who still to this day adamantly insist the character is a ‘rapist’ and a ‘bully’, therefore, his storyline should be wrapped up and forgotten. I hope that producers just want to save the best for last and Max would return in season 4 as a regular. Nevertheless, the fact that so far he has appeared only in 3 episodes in the 3rd season of Glee (and there’s no mention of him after “On My Way”) is extremely upsetting and disappointing.
Megan
April 26, 2012 @ 12:22 pm
I agree so much with everything you have said here. I want to have hope that they will bring Dave Karofsky back in some capacity, but this is Glee and it has become the ultimate let down so I am not holding my breath.
Gary
April 26, 2012 @ 11:24 am
Thank you for writing this article. I completely agree with you. Max’s presence on Glee as Dave Karofsky always packs an emotional punch. Not only is it a shame that the producers/writers failed to bring Max on as a regular character this year, it’s shameful that Dave’s story has been completely ignored since his suicide attempt in “On My Way”.
There was so much potential at the start of this season with new writers to bring consistency and new ideas to the show. With few exceptions (most exclusively Dave’s story), there have been few highlights and little consistency. Even worse, the original concept behind Glee has been lost.
I’m watching the rest of this season because I still have a sliver of hope that Dave will return. Although I would support Dave’s return in season 4, I don’t believe that Glee producers will bring Max back. I’m really hoping that Max finds a show that will respect him and fully utilize his amazing acting skills.
Amy
April 26, 2012 @ 11:15 am
If I live to be a hundred, I’ll never understand why the writers of Glee didn’t take full advantage of Max Adler’s acting talent and the way he and Chris Colfer, together in a scene, were always, always fascinating to watch. It was good TV. Why they would limit this character to a very few, short scenes while bombarding the viewers with hour after hour after hour of the make-up/break-up routine of Rachel and Finn, for instance, is truly a mystery.
It also makes me sad for Chris Colfer. He’s a phenomenally talented actor and this season, he’s been horribly underused. And when he is in a scene, it’s usually with Darren Criss who, while a great singer, is just not in the same ballpark with Colfer, acting wise. Their scenes are boring and lackluster and shallow. With Karofsky’s last episode, I thought the writers had finally figured out the best way to use Criss — have him use that beautiful voice to provide the background music to scenes with more substance played out by actors with more acting talent. Looks like that was a one-time stroke of genius.
But the gravest injustice the writers of Glee have committed is to have this character, Karofsky, attempt suicide and then just completely DROP the storyline. How is the message of ‘It Gets Better’ going to come across to the people who need it if we don’t SEE things get better for Karofsky? A 30 second fantasy of what the future might be like isn’t going to help kids who need to know how to cope with the here and now.
But on a positive note, I’m looking forward to the new show that Max Adler will be in this fall, Last Resort. The writers of this show have, between the two of them, worked on three of my favorite shows: Lie to Me, The Shield, and Dead Like Me. So I have high hopes for this one, and hopefully we’ll be seeing more of Max Adler there.
Melanie
April 26, 2012 @ 11:14 am
I hope there is a story to break. I’ll admit to not understanding why Max Adler wasn’t made a regular this season after all the season 2 build-up. But for the writers to have decided to SHOW Dave Karofsky having made progress this season (The First Time), SHOW him put his heart on the line (Heart), then SHOW him attempt suicide (On My Way), that he hasn’t even been mentioned since is a new low. Makes me question whether Glee has any real interest in showing “it gets better” at all … or if they’re just interested in exploiting tragedy in order to attract viewers.
Drew
April 26, 2012 @ 10:37 am
Couldn’t agree more. The writers should have brought Dave Karofsky back long time ago. Unfortunately, they only listen to a very convenient part of an audience… the part that loves rainbows and unicorns but hates reality and good stories. His suicide and struggle about being gay were the closest we had from an amazing show. Now it’s just “sexting”, whether KLAINE will last forever or not… a waste of time.
Sarah
April 26, 2012 @ 10:32 am
I feel like the writers didn’t treat Max and his character the right way. They never made Max a regular on the show even when HE WAS THE ONE TO RAISE THE AUDIENCE. His plot was, by far the best on the show, but still they prefered to stick to other small insignificant stories. The writers began to build a KURTOFSKY story, gave us hope and then, nothing. They just forgot about it, like they do with everybody (and everything) else that is really important to the show.
If they don’t want Kurt and Dave to be together, give Max, at least, a chance to finish his character story.
To be honest, I don’t even watch it anymore… the show is in a downward spiral and Max and Dave were the only motivation I had to watch it… So now…
Gord
April 26, 2012 @ 10:15 am
I’ve totally given up on Glee. They just jerk around with the audience, that “to be continued” after the Quinn car accident scene was just what did it for me. They implied that after the long hiatus, that Glee would resume from that scene. But no, the story resumes months later. The car crash? Just an excuse to cancel the Finn and Rachel wedding and an even more lame excuse to put Quinn in a wheelchair.
Ugh. I hate Glee. I simply can’t be bothered to tune in anymore. The Dave Karofsky character and storyline were one of the few things which made it sometimes interesting to watch. The whole season sucks.
Shanna
April 26, 2012 @ 9:49 am
It is inexplicable to me that David Karofsky — whose chief flaw as a character seems to be that he has accidentally become WAY too real and relevant for the comfort of Glee’s glossy storytellers — is hauled out periodically for dramatic effect and yet the show runners seem to have no real interest in continuing to tell his story.
This was merely irritating to fans of the character and Max Adler, the actor who portrays Dave on Glee, up until February, when Karofsky was shown spiraling into despair and attempting suicide. Now, the absence of Karofsky — or even any mention of an off-screen Karofsky’s recovery — seems downright irresponsible.
Vicki
April 26, 2012 @ 9:30 am
Yes, I have wanted to see much more of Dave Karofsky this year. It’s been very frustrating that they’ve doled out only a couple of minutes here and there, leaving us anxious to know what’s happening with him, especially after “On My Way.” Without him, the show holds little interest for me these days.
Stan
April 26, 2012 @ 9:28 am
Fantastic article.
I have missed Dave this whole season, there was so much potential from Max, I can’t begin to understand why the writers put him on a bus after Prom Queen. And then only giving him minimal air time in this season (which he totally killed, don’t get me wrong). And he still hasn’t sung. I mean come on, there must be loads of songs for someone like Dave. Songs about changing for the better, about repression, about surviving hell, and you could probably find even more themes with him.
What pains me most is that people (and media) are only just beginning to ask for Dave now (with the exception of Pirates ofc).
Ash
April 26, 2012 @ 9:26 am
I completely agree with you. I have been totally drawn into Dave Karofsky’s story and to think there is a large possibility that he won’t be returning, breaks my heart. I don’t understand how the writers themselves think that the hospital scene was a fitting end. He was far from okay at the end of On My Way and I’m disappointed that he hadn’t been mentioned at all in the last three episodes. As you said, Max is a wonderful actor, so I’m sure he’ll be fine without glee. It’s just sad to think that an amazing story like Dave’s could be dropped with a second thought.
RachelA
April 26, 2012 @ 9:25 am
You could not be more right. It’s extremely odd how they’ve chosen to give this character such depth and such compelling storylines, and then just drop him for no discernible reason. Both Max Alder’s talent, and this character’s story arc have been under utilized in the show and it is exceedingly frustrating. Dave Karofsky is always the thing I most look forward to seeing on Glee and it’s endless disappointing that he’s almost never there. REALLY hoping they bring him back before the end of the season.
Silke
April 26, 2012 @ 9:16 am
Just all if this!!! That can’t be the end of Dave Karofsky there is still so much to tell (what about is parents, his new school, his friendship with Kurt). Thank you so much for writing this !
Stephanie
April 26, 2012 @ 9:13 am
I wholeheartedly agree with you. Thank you so very much for this. Dave as a character and Max’s presence on screen are very sorely missed by a lot of people, and we often feel ignored as he keeps being underutilized.