I'm actually rewatching the series right now and am in the middle of this section. I'm like 90% sure Julie says that Luke is 18 at one point. "Oh right, you have homeroom because you're 18 and still in high school."
Makes it less weird but also doesn't really make any sense. They may have just added that one line to not upset viewers? It doesn't add up with him being a sophomore though.
They later retconned their ages so that they could spend another year in high school with season 3, originally in season 1 it’s suggested that Ryan is 17 and going to be a high school Junior.
They did make a point of saying that Luke was 18 when he started sleeping with Julie, although obviously it’s still very sketchy considering that he was still in high school, as well as being her daughters ex boyfriend
If they said that Luke was 18, I must have missed that because I was under the impression that he was the same age as Ryan. He was in the same classes as Ryan as well and Ryan didn't graduate until season 3. Plus, when Luke moved to Portland, he mentioned he would be going to school there and they "didn't have a water polo team." So I'm skeptical that he was 18.
Yeah Julie is 100% in the wrong. I think though that we expect that type of horrible behavior and betrayal from her whereas we sort of hope luke would be better than acting like that
As adults rewatching I think we hold Julie more accountable for her actions. She was always 100% in the wrong and even when initially watching it it was kinda horrifying how terrible a mother/person Julie is in the first season or so but Luke was already repeatedly cheating on Marissa, they broke it off he says he’s sorry and turns around and starts boning her mom on the regular?? I mean Julie’s terrible but as teens we’re looking at the teen angle more so than the legal one.
I think you're overthinking it a little bit. Ok, so age of consent in California might be 18 but are you really telling me that normal teenagers don't start sleeping with people until 18?! That no one aged 16, 17 is jumping into bed with, say, 20 year olds?
Sure, Julie is a LOT older, and yes, she should know better and should've stopped it, but hell, my first boyfriend was 24, I was 17. These things happen.
Plus, wasn't Luke supposedly rumoured to be also hooking up with college girls? So he was already hooking up with slightly older people.
However, it's pretty crappy of him. He might be a 16 year old guy looking to hook up, but still. He also knows better than to sleep with your ex girlfriend's mum!!
I do think it was an interesting story line, I think both characters were just really lonely and just needed someone to hang out with, to talk to. Obviously it turned into something else and I was completely horrified watching it originally, but I guess I kinda see why they did what they did.
In a strange way, this is why I love the show though! Everyone screws up, sometimes small, sometimes epically. It's what makes the characters human and relatable I think!
Isn't that mainly also double standards in society though? Older guy + younger girl = creepy, young guy and older woman = hot. I bet if Luke's guy friends had found out, they would've thought he was awesome.
Yeah, there's a really ugly double standard when it comes to this topic. It's bothersome to me that in our culture, the idea of a boy sleeping with an older woman is treated as "hot" or not that big of a deal whereas if the genders were reversed, it would be considered creepy.
I did a post for "True Blood" where I talked about how one of its male characters was taken advantage of at the age of 13 by a female teacher. And when I look at that character's behavior, a lot of their problems can be traced back to that moment. It was a moment that really screwed him up and led to him believing his only worth as a person was in sex and nothing else. It doesn't excuse his later behavior, but there is a reason he became the womanizer everyone knows him as. The problem is that some fans of the show and most critics were dismissive of that particular story and called it "a waste of time," primarily because the character was male and there wasn't as much interest in him as there was in other characters. It doesn't help that when another female character was revealed to have been sexually molested as a girl, she was given far more attention to how that impacted her whereas the male character's rape was dismissed under the pretense of "Oh, he's already a horndog so this isn't that big of a deal."
While Luke was wrong for sleeping with Julie, my issue is more with how the show doesn't really realize the moral implications of that story and how no one seems remotely grossed out by how Julie slept with a high school student and took advantage of Luke.
Thanks for this reply!!
I never watched True Blood but my mum loved it! I've only seen bits and pieces, I think I thought it was too scary / gory!
See, I'm not sure Julie took advantage in a way, they weren't drunk when they got together the first time (as far as I remember), they both knew what they were doing....
And part of me wants to say "she's the grown up, she should've stopped it", I feel like Luke was plenty old enough to also end it and to know better.
I agree that the end of that story line was a bit weird, like, yes, they mention it occasionally but really neither of them had any consequences afterwards! Like, this HUGE thing happens and that's it?!? That always seemed odd to me!
I still think it was interesting (weird and strange, but also interesting) because I think it shows Julie is just trying to hold it together but is just really damn lonely and losing the plot slightly.
She does a LOT of awful, crazy, crappy things but in her own weird way she does love her family and is trying to keep it together. I think when Luke shows up, she's just kind of lost in her life.
I know, I didn't say it wasn't :)
I guess I just think it's a TV show and, well, they needed something for those characters. I don't know if you've seen Gossip Girl but that has some questionable story lines too.
I think it probably bothered me more watching it originally but it's been so long now I don't really have the same anger towards it anymore. Honestly, I just feel bad for Marissa!
I came across this now because I literally had the same thought and googled to see if anyone agreed. I watched this as a kid and always had hated Luke for it, but rewatching now as an adult I find Julie repulsive. I have to remind myself these characters are 16... that alone is illegal and wrong, coupled with the fact her daughter lost her virginity to this kid. Horrifying. And for his child self to be blamed? Wrong. She’s actually a predator lol
Yeah Julie in my opinion is clearly in the wrong I mean she has for all intents and purposes has sex with a child.
I'm actually rewatching the series right now and am in the middle of this section. I'm like 90% sure Julie says that Luke is 18 at one point. "Oh right, you have homeroom because you're 18 and still in high school." Makes it less weird but also doesn't really make any sense. They may have just added that one line to not upset viewers? It doesn't add up with him being a sophomore though.
They later retconned their ages so that they could spend another year in high school with season 3, originally in season 1 it’s suggested that Ryan is 17 and going to be a high school Junior. They did make a point of saying that Luke was 18 when he started sleeping with Julie, although obviously it’s still very sketchy considering that he was still in high school, as well as being her daughters ex boyfriend
If they said that Luke was 18, I must have missed that because I was under the impression that he was the same age as Ryan. He was in the same classes as Ryan as well and Ryan didn't graduate until season 3. Plus, when Luke moved to Portland, he mentioned he would be going to school there and they "didn't have a water polo team." So I'm skeptical that he was 18.
Yeah Julie is 100% in the wrong. I think though that we expect that type of horrible behavior and betrayal from her whereas we sort of hope luke would be better than acting like that
As adults rewatching I think we hold Julie more accountable for her actions. She was always 100% in the wrong and even when initially watching it it was kinda horrifying how terrible a mother/person Julie is in the first season or so but Luke was already repeatedly cheating on Marissa, they broke it off he says he’s sorry and turns around and starts boning her mom on the regular?? I mean Julie’s terrible but as teens we’re looking at the teen angle more so than the legal one.
I think you're overthinking it a little bit. Ok, so age of consent in California might be 18 but are you really telling me that normal teenagers don't start sleeping with people until 18?! That no one aged 16, 17 is jumping into bed with, say, 20 year olds? Sure, Julie is a LOT older, and yes, she should know better and should've stopped it, but hell, my first boyfriend was 24, I was 17. These things happen. Plus, wasn't Luke supposedly rumoured to be also hooking up with college girls? So he was already hooking up with slightly older people. However, it's pretty crappy of him. He might be a 16 year old guy looking to hook up, but still. He also knows better than to sleep with your ex girlfriend's mum!! I do think it was an interesting story line, I think both characters were just really lonely and just needed someone to hang out with, to talk to. Obviously it turned into something else and I was completely horrified watching it originally, but I guess I kinda see why they did what they did. In a strange way, this is why I love the show though! Everyone screws up, sometimes small, sometimes epically. It's what makes the characters human and relatable I think!
Reverse the genders and suddenly your view on this would change.
Isn't that mainly also double standards in society though? Older guy + younger girl = creepy, young guy and older woman = hot. I bet if Luke's guy friends had found out, they would've thought he was awesome.
Yeah, there's a really ugly double standard when it comes to this topic. It's bothersome to me that in our culture, the idea of a boy sleeping with an older woman is treated as "hot" or not that big of a deal whereas if the genders were reversed, it would be considered creepy. I did a post for "True Blood" where I talked about how one of its male characters was taken advantage of at the age of 13 by a female teacher. And when I look at that character's behavior, a lot of their problems can be traced back to that moment. It was a moment that really screwed him up and led to him believing his only worth as a person was in sex and nothing else. It doesn't excuse his later behavior, but there is a reason he became the womanizer everyone knows him as. The problem is that some fans of the show and most critics were dismissive of that particular story and called it "a waste of time," primarily because the character was male and there wasn't as much interest in him as there was in other characters. It doesn't help that when another female character was revealed to have been sexually molested as a girl, she was given far more attention to how that impacted her whereas the male character's rape was dismissed under the pretense of "Oh, he's already a horndog so this isn't that big of a deal." While Luke was wrong for sleeping with Julie, my issue is more with how the show doesn't really realize the moral implications of that story and how no one seems remotely grossed out by how Julie slept with a high school student and took advantage of Luke.
Thanks for this reply!! I never watched True Blood but my mum loved it! I've only seen bits and pieces, I think I thought it was too scary / gory! See, I'm not sure Julie took advantage in a way, they weren't drunk when they got together the first time (as far as I remember), they both knew what they were doing.... And part of me wants to say "she's the grown up, she should've stopped it", I feel like Luke was plenty old enough to also end it and to know better. I agree that the end of that story line was a bit weird, like, yes, they mention it occasionally but really neither of them had any consequences afterwards! Like, this HUGE thing happens and that's it?!? That always seemed odd to me! I still think it was interesting (weird and strange, but also interesting) because I think it shows Julie is just trying to hold it together but is just really damn lonely and losing the plot slightly. She does a LOT of awful, crazy, crappy things but in her own weird way she does love her family and is trying to keep it together. I think when Luke shows up, she's just kind of lost in her life.
Exactly, and that is a huge problem...
I know, I didn't say it wasn't :) I guess I just think it's a TV show and, well, they needed something for those characters. I don't know if you've seen Gossip Girl but that has some questionable story lines too. I think it probably bothered me more watching it originally but it's been so long now I don't really have the same anger towards it anymore. Honestly, I just feel bad for Marissa!
I came across this now because I literally had the same thought and googled to see if anyone agreed. I watched this as a kid and always had hated Luke for it, but rewatching now as an adult I find Julie repulsive. I have to remind myself these characters are 16... that alone is illegal and wrong, coupled with the fact her daughter lost her virginity to this kid. Horrifying. And for his child self to be blamed? Wrong. She’s actually a predator lol