'Grand Army' Episode 3: Rape shows Joey limits of her freedom as childhood mates violate her in cab
In Episodes 1 and 2, we see Joey's "gang" Tim Delaney, his sister Anna, Luke and George. It is obvious they have grown up together, going to the same kindergarten up to now, their high school. They wrestle, tussle, hug and literally hand off each other in a collective ball. At school, it is just Joey and "her boys" mostly in the same class while Anna is just a little older than them. Tim has an obvious crush on Joey, but so do Luke and George. Having grown up with them Joey is also not afraid to explore her sexuality with them, wrapped in the 'whatever you can do, I can do better' attitude. The boys agree with Joey's brand of feminism because being woke gets them closer to her.
Joey is both one of the boys and yet not. This becomes horrifyingly apparent in the way Luke, George and Tim discuss Joey in typical frat boy speak when she is not around. "She is up for anything... you know how Joey is... she is a slut/whore". George's treatment of Leila where he fetishizes her being Asian and how he treats her tells you exactly the level of respect he has for girls. Joey, the hot cute manic pixie girl, is the exception until she is not. Joey, within her privileged bubble, having never encountered violence of any form — physical or sexual — exudes confidence and boldness. She is provocative, never scared of displaying her desirability or her body. Her male friends provide her with an additional layer of security wherever she goes.
We even see Anna judging Joey's behavior. She tactfully asks Joey to "never sleep with Tim", her brother, because Joey is not looking for a relationship and neither is Tim since both have the love-'em-and-leave-'em style. As Joey is "shared" between the three boys, the inevitable jealousies develop with Tim being particularly hard hit. Joey starts getting closer to Tim but also wants to keep her independence. When Tim calls her out on her attention-seeking behavior, she takes her 'revenge'. She taunts Tim about being possessive and curtailing her "freedom" to behave like a man, and makes out with Luke and George, to make a point.
They are all a little drunk in the back of a cab and after Joey kisses them and Tim sulks, George and Luke start pawing and groping her aggressively, even as she asks them to stop. It isn't clear how far they go, but it becomes obvious a bit later that she has been raped when she cleans herself with tissue and her underwear is bloody. The worst part is that when the boys get out of the car, they are laughing and joshing around, leaving Joey to pay the cab fare. They also post videos and pictures of Joey's 'orgy' with them in the car. They all behave like nothing out of the ordinary has happened and it is just more "Joey-being-outrageous". Even she tries to minimize what has happened as the boys gather around her like they do every day. The thing that gives her away is the way she flinches each time they come near her.
In school, thanks to the social media posts, she gets looks, snarks, and smirks as she looks hollow-eyed and depressed, after barely getting out of bed. In the eyes of her peers, she has crossed the line from being a provocative goddess to being an available slut, willing to do anything for "attention". The false safety cloud that she believed she was ensconced within has disappeared and we see exactly what the trauma has done to her. Worse, even Anna questions her behavior asking what she was doing after seeing the pictures and videos.
Of course, currently, there is a very robust dialogue around loud and vocal consent — but this episode shows just how blurry the lines can get, especially when women are around men they have known a long time and trust implicitly. It isn't clear if the boys even realize what they have done is unforgivable and everyone is quick to brand Joey a whore. None of the boys face any censure. This is exactly what Joey has been screaming about since Episode 1 but Episode 3 is a harsh reminder that she lives in the same unjust world that everyone else lives in. She realizes just where her privilege ends and where the privilege of her White male friends begins.
'Grand Army' premiered on October 16 on Netflix.
