So, throughout the series, they had the killer be opposed to violence against women (unless he was trying to kill them himself...) and treated this as an aberation and a weakness to be exploited. As opposed to, you know, smething most people should be. The one thing on his criminal record was when he was accused of assault when he saw a man abusing a woman. His hate for violence against women was used as proof that he was mentally unstable. The show clearly saw him as a sociopath even though, well, a sociopath wouldn't have such a strong moral stance.
So, we start out at : anger at violence against women is strange and unnatural, a weakness to be exploited, and proof of mental instability
Then we move on to the killer aspect. We get hints early on an later confirmation that he's going after men who attacked a woman from his past, presumably his girlfriend, who most likely died. Ok, fine, terrible handling of mental illness is still there and very troubling attitude abot what people's attitude towards violence against women should be, but sympathetic enough backstory.
Then we get to The Twist. She wasn't his girlfriend, but a girl he had a crush on. She was gang raped. He was one of her attackers, though I think the last episode (that I didn't watch) clarified that he chased her, but didn't participate in the rape, but also didn't do anything for her, and he's blocked those memories. so now we have a serial killer who's motivation is avenging a fridged woman who he himself attacked, whose insanity was him freeing himself of moral responsibility, and he only hates violence against women out of self-hatred. So opposition to violence against women (unless it's "your" woman, of course) is even more stigmatized, a greater proof of insanity, and still and unnatural general stance.
It was a bad plotline all along (interesting reveal that he WAS the killer after being proven innocent, but that was the only good thing going for it) on multiple levels that just got inifnitely worse with one scene.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2017-09-27 02:06 am (UTC)So, throughout the series, they had the killer be opposed to violence against women (unless he was trying to kill them himself...) and treated this as an aberation and a weakness to be exploited. As opposed to, you know, smething most people should be. The one thing on his criminal record was when he was accused of assault when he saw a man abusing a woman. His hate for violence against women was used as proof that he was mentally unstable. The show clearly saw him as a sociopath even though, well, a sociopath wouldn't have such a strong moral stance.
So, we start out at : anger at violence against women is strange and unnatural, a weakness to be exploited, and proof of mental instability
Then we move on to the killer aspect. We get hints early on an later confirmation that he's going after men who attacked a woman from his past, presumably his girlfriend, who most likely died. Ok, fine, terrible handling of mental illness is still there and very troubling attitude abot what people's attitude towards violence against women should be, but sympathetic enough backstory.
Then we get to The Twist. She wasn't his girlfriend, but a girl he had a crush on. She was gang raped. He was one of her attackers, though I think the last episode (that I didn't watch) clarified that he chased her, but didn't participate in the rape, but also didn't do anything for her, and he's blocked those memories. so now we have a serial killer who's motivation is avenging a fridged woman who he himself attacked, whose insanity was him freeing himself of moral responsibility, and he only hates violence against women out of self-hatred. So opposition to violence against women (unless it's "your" woman, of course) is even more stigmatized, a greater proof of insanity, and still and unnatural general stance.
It was a bad plotline all along (interesting reveal that he WAS the killer after being proven innocent, but that was the only good thing going for it) on multiple levels that just got inifnitely worse with one scene.