On Oct. 10, “Glee” aired its first in-show acknowledgment of the death of Cory Monteith, who played Finn in the program and died from an overdose of heroin and alcohol. The episode took place three weeks after Finn’s funeral and talked a lot about grief, but completely sidestepped the issue of addiction.

The decision not to deal with Monteith’s drug abuse was called “bold and respectful” by The New York Times‘ Alessandra Stanley, but some drug experts feel it was a wasted opportunity.

Writes David Sheff for Time, “Hollywood isn’t obliged to portray reality—indeed, authenticity is anathema to feel-good shows [such as] ‘Glee’—but by whitewashing addiction, the producers are failing its audience of young people, the group most vulnerable to overdose. A tribute replete with sad songs will make the audience cry, but it also could wind up romanticizing the star’s death. So while the episode may help Monteith’s fans grieve the loss of their idol, it won’t help them understand why they never would want to be like him. This is a disease that needs to be shown with such ugliness that even a face as beautiful as Monteith’s will make the millions of young people who watch the show recoil in horror.” (New York Times, Time)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife Wendy and his two children. Follow him on Twitter.