diff --git a/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js b/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js
index d87982c..5a4547b 100644
--- a/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js
+++ b/core/modules/ckeditor/js/ckeditor.js
@@ -36,14 +36,7 @@
       var label = $('label[for=' + element.getAttribute('id') + ']').html();
       format.editorSettings.title = Drupal.t('Rich Text Editor, !label field', {'!label': label});
 
-      var editor = false;
-      try {
-        editor = !!CKEDITOR.replace(element, format.editorSettings);
-      }
-      catch (e) {
-        editor = false;
-      }
-      return editor;
+      return !!CKEDITOR.replace(element, format.editorSettings);
     },
 
     /**
@@ -67,6 +60,10 @@
           editor.updateElement();
         }
         else {
+          // Try to destroy the CKEditor instance; this may fail if the CKEditor
+          // instance hasn't finished initializing yet, because initializing is
+          // asynchronous (by necessity, because it needs to load plugins, which
+          // themselves may need to load more things etc).
           try {
             editor.destroy();
             element.removeAttribute('contentEditable');