Discuss Switched at Birth
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Give Tank A Proper Resolution!!
posted by Nephlim14STAFFMOD on April 4, 2017 at 6:59 PM
I will confess that I am not normally an avid fan of this show, but I heard about this storyline and made sure to catch up with it. My reaction is "Oh my God, these people have made me fell bad for DAVID FRIGGIN KAROFSKY!!" And they expect us to just see that Tank is now living in shame, but Bay deserves more sympathy and attention. Why?! What is supposed to make us care more about her then the guy who is now labeled a date rapist because of this mess.
SPOILERS!!!
- They say that both sides made mistakes, but why are they acting like Bay was victimised?
- How could people say that Tank deserves it in ANY way? Because he didn't feel bad afterwards? Because he remembered more?
The claim that they both made mistakes is reasonable since they got that level of drunk. However, I find myself being more angry at Bay than Tank. Not because of what she did, but what she did afterwards. I know she felt uncomfortable the "morning after", but she had no business letting the word RAPE fly around. And she had no business trying to blame Tank. Tank didn't drug, force, trick, or take advantage of her. His only mistake was getting the same level of intoxication as her, and this just because it's dangerous in general.
As far as the event it seems to have been this.
- Bay got drunk
- Tank got drunk
- They somehow met and ended up in bed. This something they've done with adult characters from other shows and there are even real life situations of intoxicated people having consensual sex.
"This will ruin my life. Do you think I deserve that?" he asked. "Did I deserve having something done to me when I was too drunk to give you permission?" she replied. "I didn't know it was without your permission!" Tank said. "Somewhere, in your mind, did some part of you know that what you were doing was wrong?" "I was drunk, too!" "But, did you have a feeling that you were doing something wrong?" "I don’t know! I don’t know…"
Bay had no had no business trying to make Tank feel guilty or say he was to blame too. He was just as drunk as she was and he didn't even plan to see her that night. How was he suddenly responsible for her choices? How was he supposed to read her mind and tell what she wanted or not? especially since she was in that bar after a fight with her boyfriend. How was he supposed to magically be the first one to overcome his intoxication and rescue her from herself? If Bay had ended up driving and hurting someone, If she punched someone, If she killed someone while under the same level impairment, It would be on her only. This means that unless Tank hauled her over his shoulder, she was still responsible for her actions.
Like I said before, Bay let this turn into a scandal where there was none. She didn't have any evidence of an actual crime aside from her regret and uncertainty. Neither of these give someone the write to say they were victimized especially since there were at least a few people that saw them and think there was nothing bad going on. She should've just admitted that she made a mistake, told Emmett, taken her break up and tried to move on. If she was still uncertain, she should have tried to figure out what happened before making complaints. She should have also just said NO when people asked her if she was raped. If Tank had raped her, he wouldn't have told her and everyone else that they had sex.
To me this whole thing seems to be a case of two people that had a drunk hookup, the girl regretting it so much she wanted to shift the blame.
What I am hoping for is at least one more appearance from him in season 5. Since their basing this on the real life case, they can do an episode where he chooses to fight through legal means and Bay is forced to give testimony. It would make sense especially since his dad might decide to get involved. Another possibility would be his suicide since they showed him depressed.
Overall, I just would like the show to either give him a more absolute conclusion, not some fanfic fuel.
If you agree or disagree please reply.
Reply by TrentTX
on April 4, 2017 at 7:57 PM
Are you current on the show? Tank returned this season, and they moved forward on the issue. I never liked the story line. I guess it served a purpose if some of the show's younger fans are more careful around alcohol. Maybe the writers think the fans enjoy controversial stories where no one is right and people make human mistakes. Society does seem to assume females need protection and their rights are more important in these situations.
Reply by Nephlim14
on April 4, 2017 at 9:03 PM
I am caught up, but he only appeared for only one episode so far. And I just wanted to bring my opinion of the arc into it and get feedback
Reply by TrentTX
on April 4, 2017 at 10:09 PM
In his return episode, I thought Tank was seen more as a victim too. I guess in most shows there are "stars" and supporting players. Usually the stars are seen in the more favorable light as Bay was in this situation. Your commentary is accurate in that it was the story of 2 young people equally at fault in a bad situation, but maybe in was realistic to have it less than fair to both parties as life often is.
Reply by Nephlim14
on April 5, 2017 at 9:15 PM
That's just it. Is it really that bad of a situation that there should be any fault. While it was unintentional, it completely seems like they just hooked up while intoxicated. It was probably bad for Bay because she was still with Emmett, but Tank always wanted to sleep with Bay. He may not have wanted it in that circumstance, but as far as he was concerned, he got to be with the girl he still had feelings for. This kind of situation is usually depicted in every other tv show and I think it happens in real life. I thought it was the kind of thing where the whole "walk of Shame" term came from. Whoever's involved ends up with a little embarrasment, but nobody deserves to be shamed or judged over it. And this is what I saw their situation as.
Reply by rumble88
on April 11, 2017 at 6:56 PM
Ya i agree..in my high school it would blow your mind how many ppl went to parties, drank too much and had random hookups..and none of them ever said they were raped. Imo i think bay was just trying to justify her actions Cuz she felt guilty cuz she was still with Emmett.. However before she even got to that point of intoxication she shouldn't have been flirting with tank and leading him on the way she was.
Reply by Zero-angel
on April 16, 2018 at 8:27 AM
Come on he raped her, she was so drunk she didn't move. That's why the girl always has to start on top, if she does the cowgirl, she's sober and game. The show shined a light on that if a girl or boy is to drunk to consent, it doesn't matter how they dressed, flirted and so on, it's just a no-go. Now I do hate the show, for using Tank to show this point, because I really liked his character and thought they should have kept him as a good guy.
Reply by rumble88
on March 7, 2019 at 6:52 PM
How do u know she couldn't move? The truth is we (the audience) have no idea what happened.. We only seen the aftermath.. Tank said he thought he had the "green light" and considering the character we saw beforehand and the guy we knew do u think he would rape her? No, he was generally a nice guy... There was an episode on Beverly Hills 90210 that was like this only Steve (one of the main charaters) was accused of rape all because the girl said she never said yes (but she never said no either). If anything Tank misread the singles but he didnt force himself on her and even Bay was trying to defend Tank to Emmett when she said it wasnt all his fault. So how could one think they were raped and then defend their rapists? Makes no sense