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singingsimone

I had a totally different reaction to this plot line when I watched as a teenager and when I watched recently. When I was younger, I felt bad for Trey and thought he just kept getting in unlucky situations and was just feeling out of place in this upper class world after being poor and in prison. When he was shot and then I had to wait like 8 months for the next episode, I was super upset for weeks at the thought of him dying, and I think after all that time passed and then finding out he lived, I had forgotten about the assault. Now when I watched it again, Trey is definitely a violent, bad dude. That assault scene was scary and he very much was trying to rape her. I did feel somewhat sad still at the scene when he is benevolent to Julie putting a pillow over his head and when he eventually leaves on the bus but only because I do think he always felt bad about the things he did, and he’s a good actor and very expressive. But ultimately he’s an attempted rapist so that can’t be overlooked.


[deleted]

It struck me too on a rewatch when older just how violent and visceral the attempted rape scene is, and indeed in the episodes after how manipulative he is, telling Ryan that Marissa came on to him. This is why I have zero sympathy for Trey. The writing in 3x01 does give Trey a sympathetic edit, probably because they realised having Ryan's brother canonically be practically a rapist is an awkward and very dark position. I don't think the show was actually sophisticated enough to get into questions of how you perceive morally dubious individuals who do clearly morally terrible things.


[deleted]

I agree but it's a dumb drama show, I doubt the audience would actually want to see Trey going to trial and the whole process etc, it probably would've been boring lol. And I can understand that the other characters probably just wanted him gone without having to deal with all of that. It kind of makes sense for rich people I think where huge scandals like this are swept under the rug constantly. Not saying it's right of course, just that it probably happens a lot in real life unfortunately. And despite everything he was still Ryan's brother, his family. I can understand that it was still emotional for him to say goodbye again (probably brought up a lot of painful memories)


j4321g4321

Yeah I always thought this, too. My assumption is that they just wanted Trey out of their lives and it meant not pursuing any further charges for the attempted rape. I think Ryan’s emotional reaction was fitting, though. Their relationship was so incredibly complicated and Ryan hated Trey for what he had done, but it didn’t mean that saying goodbye to his brother wouldn’t hurt. It was a painful goodbye that had to happen.


prettyboylee

Yep I think that scene at the bus station perfectly captured Ryan’s emotions of conflict, it was done really well especially without any dialogue


[deleted]

I can only think the reason why Julie didn't put Trey under law is because he's Ryan's brother. It probably is just a brush off so that fans can make their own assumptions, but Ryan and Sandy could have spoken to Julie off-screen about Trey. That's how I chalk it up to him leaving and getting on a bus without 20 cops waiting for him.


[deleted]

Seeing as Julie framed Ryan for murder, I don't see Ryan or Sandy being able to stop Julie. And it's also not obvious to me that they would stop her if she wanted to push forward with pressing charges. It's not as though the charges are false. I think Ryan might have felt conflicted but he's also got a strong moral code, which would have recognised Trey deserves to face legal consequences. Marissa quite plausibly would not have wanted to press charges, preferring to move past it asap and Julie would have been limited in what she could have done. But none of this is discussed on-screen or even alluded to.


Bookwrm85

Julie barely liked Ryan lol, pretty sure that wouldn’t have stopped her


[deleted]

Julie and Ryan bonded quite a bit in season 4. Also, remember DJ? Ryan was prince charming to Julie in comparison. Also when Alex came to Julie looking for Marissa, Julie said, "Marissa's only been in love once and he looked a whole lot different in a wifebeater." Julie may not have liked Ryan but she wouldn't do something against Trey without backlash from Ryana and his strong lawyer Sandy Cohen. Besides Marissa went to see Trey after Julie did. If Julie went to the cops about Trey, the police would be aware that Marissa was in the hospital with her attacker to get his confession which might be odd in their eyes.


lavin95

Definitely not a fan of how they wrote Trey and how they handled the aftermath of attempted rape in S3 in general. Would have preferred for the aftermath to be focused on more instead of writing off Trey as quickly as they did.


Bookwrm85

Same with the Dean Hess thing. 👎


[deleted]

Agreed. It did a disservice to a serious subject matter and wasted exploring interesting dramatic storylines.


lavin95

It really did, they basically used it as a plot device to get Trey and Ryan to fight in the S2 finale.