Been discussing this often with @everythingisdragons and I don't think we'll be the only ones to see it...
Compare and contrast:
Max Carter in Bail Me Out (S25 E14) Righteous Kill - Part 1 (S25 E12), Righteous Kill - Part 2 (S25 E13) Country Cowboy (S24 E38) Trust Me (S25 E54) Backlash (S25 E55)
to
Max Carter in That Type Of Cop (S26 E18), Walk On My Grave (S26 E20), Ultimatum (S26 E21), Who Dares Wins (S26 E26) Balance Of Power (S26 E27)
It's like he's a completely different character and almost painful as a Max fan :( Yes, there's the cocaine thing but given ITV shitting on the show it was handled incredibly poorly and there's no way he'd be as heavily addicted (or as stupid as to literally bring out a wrap in his hand in front of another officer) in such a short amount of time.
He was always a little bit cocky with a swagger and a bit of arrogance and the ability to twist the rules in the favour of 'right' even if getting to the 'right' wasn't strictly done in the 'right' way but he listened to his team, he took their suggestions, he backed off in favour of other officers doing interviews because it was right for the case. He was a bit brusque and not politically correct but he wasn't an out and out arsehole who actively took obvious pleasure in winding up his colleagues (The Max spreading rumours and gossip about Grace and Neil was like a whole other character!)
Even in Smash and Grab he messed up with Millie (who lost her crush there and then in those eps!) and he tried to apologise. In Beth Undercover he was very sweet with Beth even if initially against her being sent in and he did take her for a drink after to make sure she was ok after a 'friend' she'd made whilst undercover got shot. In Righteous Kill he's adorable with Honeysuckle Week's character and her kid. Yes he may have shot her husband whilst in SO19 but we don't mention that. He was naughty.
They might have been buried deep down but he did have feelings and a brain and did engage it! He was in no way perfect and he really did some dickish things in S24 and 25 but they REALLY amped it up for S26 and changed him. Reeeeeally hate what they did to him with the reboot.
I also really wish we'd been told what the storyline projections would have been if they were allowed to continue for each character. I mean they'd have had the plotting meeting many months beforehand, most likely back in mid 09. It would have been plotted out for S26, it'd be interesting to see where a lot of them were heading A lot was set up and quickly edited to come to a quick conclusion, forgotten, completely abandoned or a mix of all the above.
ETA: On The Streets (Last ep of S25) - he rushes to help Grace with heavy boxes!
