So that was interesting (trigger warning)

So I'm watching this show. A recent episode caused a bit of controversy.

Here's the scenario.

A group of people become vampire-like creatures with superpowers, however there's a side-effect where they go into a trance-like berzerk state and attack people to bite them, with glowing eyes and cross-shape face marks and vampire teeth and stuff. The characters discover that you can knock someone out of the trance with a hard blow to their body. However, the main character's trances have been occuring more and more frequently.

In the latest episode, one of the characters enters a trance which is more intense than the previous ones, and instead of jumping on the nearest character and biting her, he then proceeds to rape her instead while berzerk.

Naturally, several people are upset by this, including Joe who also watches the show. And I'm pretty shocked and feel horrible for them both as well.

However a lot of viewers are blaming the male protagonist, which I think is odd, because it's shown he has no control over these berzerker states. Additionally, the female character, instead of kicking him in the stomach like she did earlier in the episode or anything, instead gently takes his hand and holds his head while he commits the act.

My theory is that this girl believes that his constant attacks are increasing in intensity because he hasn't been "sated", and by giving him what his trance seems to want, she'll help calm him down and stop him from attacking someone else. Naturally I feel bad for her having to go through that. I also feel really bad for the guy because he's a shy, nice dude who would never normally do such a thing, but as been completely screwed over by this horrible power he's been given.

Then of course, there's the whole rape thing itself. The girl does not attempt to resist, and chooses to bear the brunt of his assault, so some people have considered that to be a sign of consent. I temporarily thought of it like that but after musing on it, I don't really think it's applicable since even if she sees it as necessary, it still isn't the best response to the situation. Rape is generally defined as proper intercourse, so it can count in this situation, however any sort of lawful repercussions won't happen til next ep.

Then of course there's the fact that the boy committed the act against his will. He also did not want sexual intercourse but something else forced him to do so.

So my conclusion is that both individuals were raped. Neither of them wanted this, and the end result is more tears all around.

So yeah, that's what I thought of it. Joe's rather upset about the whole thing and has considered dropping the show altogether, but I'm going to stay the course. Rape is a horrible thing, but if it develops the story and characters, well, perhaps it will ultimately make the show more powerful and emotional. I think the reaction already suggests as much.