After Elton's "TV Bad Boys We Love"

Bad Boys. We love them. Even when we try to deny it, we know that a part of us gets starry-eyed at the leather, the attitude and the checkered pasts. It’s long been a cultural stereotype that girls love the bad boys, but in reality gay and bi men are just as susceptible to their charms. Ever since James Dean rumbled onto the big screen, people have been hooked.

But what is a Bad Boy, exactly? It used to be enough to simply be from "the wrong side of the tracks." But the concept has evolved over the years and today the Bad Boy is something more complicated and full of shades of gray. And sometimes a Bad Boy is really a bad boy, although that is a relatively new development when it comes to TV Bad Boys.

A criminal past is helpful to earn Bad Boy cred. That's a surefire way of telling everyone that you think you are above society's rules.

A cocky attitude is a must. Even if secretly you are convinced that no one can ever like you for who you are, you must exude confidence.

Sex appeal is huge. A guy who is bad but isn't sexy is just a punk.

A recent Bad Boy who shows how Bad Boys have evolved and who really turned out to be bad was Glee's Dave Karofsky who took viewers into uncharted waters of Bad Boydom. Here is a guy who is actually dangerous. You never know if he’s going to threaten to kill you or plant one on you. As the major antagonist to the much beloved Kurt Hummel, this is a Bad Boy who might be too bad even for all but the most die-hard Bad Boy fans.

But Glee's writers understand that almost any amount of bad boy behavior can be washed away a genuine show of regret. Dave breaking down crying and begging for Kurt’s forgiveness may well have been just the thing needed to cement his place in the pantheon of Bad Boys we actually love.

With all the griping about Dave Karofsky being a bully, the Gleeks seem to have overlooked that we already had another bully on the show who has also been in the process of redeeming himself.
One Noah "Puck" Puckerman stole people’s lunch money, threw kids in dumpsters, and bragged about ruling through fear and intimidation. Then came his ill-advised scheme involving stealing an ATM which resulted in a stint in juvie. So, he is definitely a Bad Boy, albeit a reformed one.

The way he has treated the girls on the show hearkens back to the days of the Fonz — he soaked up their adoration and worship, and was also quite the player. This is the guy, after all, who seduced his best friend’s girl.

But Puck is definitely on a quest to better himself. His time in juvie was apparently scary enough that he decided to mend his ways. He also suffers from the Glee effect — that is, any time anyone on the show sings or dances, they immediately lose all of their Bad Boy cred and become targets for bullies themselves.

I think it’s fair to say Puck’s Bad Boy days are behind him. He’s like a domesticated Doberman now. He barks and growls, but he doesn’t really bite anymore.

Bad Boy Rating:

source: afterelton.com