We've had some problems with "Glee's" bullying storyline since its inception. Karofsky (Max Adler), a closeted football player, targeted the out-and-proud Kurt (Chris Colfer) in several violent outbursts during the first half of the season. He also kissed Kurt without any kind of consent on Kurt's end. Ultimately, the physical assaults drove Kurt to leave his school and enroll in a more tolerant private school.
When Kurt's friends tried to reach out to Karofsky and include him in their "Thriller" performance, we were more than a little peeved. We'd hoped that the Glee Club would be more supportive of Kurt, especially since Karofsky had shown no remorse for his actions.
Tuesday's "Born This Way" episode was centered around a theme of accepting the things that make us different. It was also the episode in which Kurt decided to return to McKinley high, a decision that greatly concerned his boyfriend, Blaine. "Kurt needs to be safe," Blaine says.
Karofsky, coached by Santana, apologized to the Glee club. "I'm really ashamed of who I am and what I did. I know I'll need to earn your trust," he says. "[Santana] showed me all these stories online about kids jumping off of bridges and hanging themselves because they were being bullied so bad. I couldn't believe someone could make another person feel that awful, but she helped me accept that I was one of those bad people. And I don't want to be anymore."
The apology wasn't genuine. Karofsky and Santana - also gay, and closeted - were setting up their plan for "bearding" and their bid for Prom King & Queen. Santana also made the point that her motivations were about getting Kurt to help them win nationals.
After a meeting with their parents, Mr. Schuester, and the principal in which Karofsky swore he was a changed man, Kurt and Karofsky spoke privately. Kurt cut through the crap and demanded that Karofsky explain his angle, and Karofsky confessed that the anti-bullying movement was just a bid to win the prom crowns.
Kurt still badly wanted to return to McKinley and his friends, and he reminded Karofsky that he still had leverage over him: Kurt had never told anyone about Karofsky kissing him, but that didn't mean he didn't keep that in his back pocket. He made a deal - Kurt would return to school and keep Karofsky's secret, but only as long as Karofsky quit bullying and created a McKinley branch of PFLAG.
Essentially, Kurt blackmailed his bully into behaving. He states in the episode that he doesn't believe in outing people, but in order to protect his own safety, he's been reduced to threatening an outing. It's sad, and we wish that Kurt had been able to return to his school without having to compromise his own ethical code.
We are, however, comforted by the fact that "Glee" didn't try to redeem Karofsky in one episode. When we initially heard the premise for the episode, we expected that Karofsky would just "see the light," but he remains a generally unlikable character with very few redeeming qualities. We can sympathize with his fear of being outed, but his deep-seeded homophobia remains, and we're thankful that the show addressed his desperate need to be educated - hence the PFLAG stipulation.
We're interested to hear the Zap2it readers' reaction to the storyline. Can Karofsky be redeemed? Do you feel that the necessary points were addressed? How do you think watching this storyline may impact gay youth or their homophobic peers?
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