The Hottest Glee Take To Exist: Karofsky Over Sebastian Any Day

Summary:

• Glee was a Fox musical TV show focused on the High School choir New Directions and its members.
• The show was praised for highlighting and exploring the struggles of LGBTQ+ youth.
• However, not all characters deserve such praise equally, fans believe.

Even after all the gross things that Mr. Schuester, Sue Sylvester, and Rachel Berry have done all combined, there isn’t a character that would get more hate in Glee fandom than Dave Karofsky. Not only for being a complete bully but for getting in the way of the most beloved ships of all time. However, did he really deserve it all?

That is questionable. In fact, there was one character who had almost all the same qualities about him, and was way more malicious in what he’s done, but got an army of fans instead a legion of haters. That character is Sebastian Smythe. And if anyone was forced to pick a favorite between two pretty horrible characters, it would be a hard choice to make.

Back in the day, when the show was airing, the hate for Karofsky’s characters was overwhelming even after the heartbreaking portrayal of his struggles with mental health. The character turns out to be a closeted gay teenager, who almost takes his own life because of the treatment he receives when outed.

Sebastian, however, is openly gay but exists in a much safer environment at Dalton Academy. He doesn’t bully people because of prejudice against them based on their sexuality, but because of the rivalry that Dalton’s Warblers have with McKinley High’s New Directions. He’s very straightforward and doesn’t hold back from violence.

Do Dave Karofsky and Sebastian Smythe Deserve a Second Chance?

While the show certainly gives us a deeper look into Dave Karofsky's character and development, and we know pretty much nothing about Sebastian's past and the motives behind his behavior, we can still judge them by the things they have said and done.

Dave Karofsky's bullying of Kurt was certainly unacceptable, as was the non-consensual kiss. He was in a desperate state, but he caused Kurt a lot of fear and made him physically remove himself from the dangerous situation, which led to him changing schools. However, he was remorseful.

And the things he told Kurt later on are just character development.

With Sebastian's crush on Blaine, the motives seemed wrong, as did the execution. He was trying to get the guy to come back to the Warblers because he saw him as an asset. Besides, all the compliments and flirting were mixed with insults to all his friends. The supposed love story ended in an assault in which Blaine almost lost an eye.

Although we see Sebastian change a bit in season 5 and happily sing along to Blaine's proposal to Kurt, it's really hard to believe that he has changed as a person. And that makes his popularity within the fandom even more questionable.

If you feel like you don't remember these characters and their storylines well enough to make a judgment, you can re-watch Glee on Hulu.