Kurtofsky: What Could Have Been ...
Okay, I’ve long made peace with the fact that Dave Karofsky will never get the happy ending he deserves with Kurt Hummel. Glee has been over for years now but the Kurt and Dave fandom have managed to live on. Back when I became super into the Kurtofsky ship. I would comb Archive of Our Own and Fanfiction Dot Net for stories featuring these two. Back in those days, there was a lot of tension between the Klaine stans and the Kurtofsky stans. I was a part of the latter. I never bought Kurt and Blaine as anything beyond friends who just so happened to share a passion for music. In fact, when Blaine Anderson was introduced in Season 2, I figured he would become Kurt’s fairy godmother of sorts and help him better navigate the extreme bullying he was receiving from Dave. Instead, Kurt left McKinley and was whisked away to this fantasy all-boy’s private school which Burt Hummel would have never been able to avoid on his mechanic’s salary. I never liked the idea of Kurt going to Dalton Academy because I thought it sent the wrong message to LGBTQ+ kids who may be suffering from bullying and low self-esteem. The message seemed to be loud and clear with this one: If you’re being bullied at your school, just leave and go to another school where everyone will accept you. Thanks but no thanks Glee.
Eventually Kurt does come back to McKinley but he inevitably develops feelings for Blaine and the two even attend prom together. Sigh. I get it. Kurt is a openly gay teenager in Lima, Ohio and finding another gay guy who was out of the closet must have felt next to impossible for him. With that said, that was my main issue with Kurt latching himself on to Blaine. In my most humblest of opinions, that pairing always felt like it was borne of desperation. Sort of reminds me of when straight people assume their gay friend will automatically be interested in dating their other gay friend.
When Season 3 roles around, Blaine, for some reason I have never quite understood, leaves his private school behind and enrolls in McKinley High School which has to be on the Top 10 list of worst schools in the Mid West. With Blaine now a McKinley student, he can officially join New Directions and officially overshadow Kurt. It’s bad enough, Kurt is in constant competition with Rachel Berry but now he has to complete with his boyfriend who is considered to be more of a leading man than Kurt which is basically code for Blaine is more masculine than Kurt therefore he should play Tony in West Side Story opposite Rachel Berry, Kurt’s musical nemesis.
Then the night comes where Kurt and Blaine attend Scandals, a gay bar outside of Lima, Ohio. Kurt runs into Dave Karofsky who seems to gradually be coming to terms with his sexuality. This moment right here is where I assumed he and Kurt would build a friendship after years of being adversaries. It was clear to me and so many other viewers that not only Dave had changed his behavior, he was working towards coming out of the closet and having Kurt there to support him would have been an awesome story line. But that story line never came. Instead, after Blaine tries to force himself on Kurt in the parking lot, for some reason Kurt decides to lose his virginity to him.
The next time we see Dave, he admits his feelings for Kurt but is subsequently outed by a teammate who sees him having dinner with Kurt. Again, I thought this would be yet another opportunity to build something between Dave and Kurt. They didn’t have to become boyfriends but after Dave’s suicide attempt, Kurt made a promise to be there for him. Well, the writers must have forgotten about that promise Kurt made because this is one of the last times we see Dave and Kurt together before Season 6.
Season 6 was probably the most frustrating seasons for Klainers and Pirates (Kurtofsky stans) alike because instead of pairing Dave with Kurt - which would make so much sense after all this time has passed - they pair Dave with Blaine, Kurt’s ex-boyfriend. What!? Seriously writers, what on earth were you thinking. There’s no way Dave would have ever gone for someone like Blaine. Blaine was too arrogant and showy for someone like Dave. Even if Dave and Kurt never got together - which they never did - Dave Karofsky does not strike me as the person who would settle for his crush’s ex-boyfriend. Super unbelievable.
Eventually Dave and Blaine are broken up which thank God but that only happened so Kurt and Blaine could become remotely involved again. Remember, from the moment Kurt laid eyes on Blaine, fandom had decided that Kurt and Blaine would be endgame and one of Glee’s major pitfalls was letting the fandom dictate the fates of our beloved characters. In the real world, Kurt and Blaine would be friends who ultimately go on to marry other people. Because Kurt and Blaine’s dreams were too aligned, Kurt would have inevitably ended up putting his hopes and dreams on the back burner to support Blaine which doesn’t sound like a healthy relationship to me. Dave would have supported Kurt and would have gladly have taken a step back to let Kurt shine in the way he deserved. I believe in relationships where one person has a dominant personality or goal, they need someone who is willing to take a step back to be their partner. I’m not saying this is the case across the board but I think this formula would make for a healthier relationship.
By the time the series came to an end, there was zero indication that Kurt and Dave remained friends. We know for a fact they do not not end up becoming romantically involved. It can be assumed Dave and Kurt would go their separate ways and probably never speak to each other again which is super sad to me. Kurt and Dave could have been the ultimate ship on the show if the writers had given them the chance. As someone who loves television, one of my favorite kind of pairings is when two individual who seemingly have nothing in common manage to develop a healthy relationship in spite of having very little in common. How fun would it have been to see Dave and Kurt living in New York City together, David attending NYU while Kurt attended NYADA. Dave showing up with flowers on opening night of one of Kurt’s shows. Kurt and Dave agreeing to marry and adopt a child together. Dave being a stay-at-home dad while Kurt lives out his Broadway dreams. Each being supportive of each other no matter what. No shade, but I can’t imagine this sort of relationship between Kurt and Blaine. I don’t think Blaine is a bad person - I just think, like Rachel, his dreams require him to be the most important person in the relationship. In a Dave and Kurt pairing, each would be able to shine despite having dissimilar career goals.
But unfortunately we will never know what could have been.
The good news, however, is that as long as fanfiction exists, Dave and Kurt always have a chance at a happy ending.
