Of all the emotional scenes this show has, this one was the most devastating. I absolutely despise bullies. I always imagined If I had a younger sibling and I caught someone bullying them I'd end up going to prison for murder. Plus there's something about seeing a mentally challenged person that instantly makes me feel sad for some reason. This scene had me fighting back tears.
shareWhat's curious is when the show first began, MARE also asked her if she was being PICKED ON at school and she never tells her about it.
And since the way her brother reacts also indicates that wasn't the FIRST time that she'd been BULLIED by that jerk, the question is WHY didn't she tell MARE about it who also offered to STOP IT???
What's also interesting is how similar that scene was to the other one where BRIANNA BULLIES Erin (as if to indicate putting up with BULLIES is a way of life in this town).
PLUS we also saw JESS being BULLIED by DYLAN when he puts the GUN in her face and threatens to KILL HER.
And we also saw BRIANNA's father BULLY MARE by STALKING HER and then throwing that HEAVY Gallon of MILK through her window.
And Katie's kidnapper was also a BULLY as well.
And ERIN's father KENNY is also in PRISON now for the way he BULLIES and tried to KILL DYLAN.
And there was also that other FLASHBACK scene where we saw MARE's SON KEVIN and CARRIE BULLY her in the bathroom when they wanted money from her purse for DRUGS.
And in the PREVIEW CLIP it also looks like JOHN is going to BULLY his brother BILLY in the SERIES FINALE.
The scene that choked me up was when DYLAN walks over to the BABY's crib in the hospital with a PILLOW in his hand (as if to KILL IT), and then picks it up to HOLD it and COMFORT it instead.
But after that he also went right back to being a PRICK again.
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I thought it rang false.
Putting the online environment aside, where some of the worst bullying occurs, things are better today than probably ever before. Junior high was almost thirty years ago, and I can't imagine some punk getting away that. Openly assaulting someone with Down's? More than once. The most popular kids in school often befriend developmentally disabled peers.
The series has been great so far, but that was a mis-step.
Since this town is one of those that are "economically challenged" (which is also the reason why there's so much drug abuse), is it possible EASTTOWN didn't have the FUNDING like other towns have to educate against BULLYING???
What made no sense and rang false for me is ERIN not being able to get the EAR SURGERY that she needed for her son (which MOST places would also pay for with the MEDICAID program for needy children).
I can buy that this is the kind of town where it's more acceptable to call someone a "faggot" than to be gay (in which case the openly lesbian daughter seems rather out of place), but no, throwing food at a girl with Down's in plain view? More than once? I don't buy it. It's a sure-fire way to catch a beating. And not the beating that was delivered, but one delivered by high schoolers who heard about the incident from multiple witnesses.
Imagine thinking bullying doesn't exist in 2021, couldn't be me.
shareI'm sorry but your straw man is just retarded.
Of course bullying occurs in 2021, especially online. But the scene depicted here is incredible. Cartoonish. This girl gets bullied when three assholes walking home from school mockingly say she's pretty and ask if she'll go out with them.
You're even more of an R word for thinking a bullying scene is far fetched. Guess what, mentally handicapped people get bullied, genius.
shareI went to a pretty good junior high 40 years ago in a higher income neighborhood and the staff still policed the lunch room like it was fucking San Quentin. Almost never could hijinks like that go off without the first kid who threw food getting yanked out, and I mean yanked in the literal sense -- I saw kids dragged out of the lunch room. About once a year a fight would get kicked off for about two shoves before both kids got dragged out.
That incident went on too long for it to be credible. A single, sly act of bullying? Yessir, that's possible, throwing shit multiple times while everyone laughs? Wasn't going to happen. And if it did, they would get caught and probably expelled from the school. Even in a shit-ass failed town like Eastown the district would be terrified of a lawsuit.
I agree about how the way that she was BULLIED MAKES NO SENSE.
Because the way Ryan reacts indicates this wasn't a new situation or something that hadn't happened before.
And no other kids do anything about it, and NO ONE else reports it, and his sister also LIES to MARE when she asked her if kids at school were picking on her, which makes the whole thing NOT a bit plausible.
PLUS if it had been reported then RYAN could also have gotten some help with the ANGER ISSUES he carries around (which we also don't see happening even after he has a MELT DOWN and attacks that BULLY with the TRAY).
So why even have this scene if all they do is GLOSS OVER IT without any other exploration of it???
Simply because it makes Ryan's look more EVIL to have him hit the BULLY in the HEAD with that TRAY when we finally learn that he's the one who killed ERIN???
The WRITING in this show is EXTREMELY UNEVEN and is all over the place to the point where things just don't ADD UP right or MAKE enough sense by the end of the story.
I think you're right, but I also think your EXPECTATIONS of INTERNAL CONSISTENCY with even HBO writing are perhaps A LITTLE OPTIMISTIC.
I also wonder if THE WRITERS actually INTENDED for the sister to be a DOWN SYNDROME kid, or if this was some late addition to the CASTING because someone in PRODUCTION found out about a DOWN SYNDROME actress capable of playing a part.
A NORMAL child actress in that role might have HAD OTHER BACKSTORIES that would have made that plot element MORE COHERENT AND RATIONAL.
Since Guy Pearce (aka: Richard) was also a last moment replacement for another actor what you say may be the case.
But it still doesn't ADD UP that she or her brother or someone else wouldn't have reported that other kid who BULLIES HER (whether or not the character was played by someone with DS or not).
And it also doesn't explain why she LIES to MARE telling her NO when she asked her if anyone was picking on her at school or not.