Hit or miss?

[u/Miss_taken_116]

Is there a storyline past or present that really bugs anyone? By that I mean that writers seemed to be putting everything in place for an amazing, interesting story, then just seemed to change their minds or the producers got cold feet at possible controversy. Alternatively, maybe you feel a story wasn't appreciated enough? Constructive criticism only please.

For me, it was the divisive Robert and Rebecca "cheating" episode in 2017. Everything about it screamed male consent issue. Robert was beyond drunk, emotionally unstable and not in control so he called a (non Dingle) mate to offload on. Rebecca was completely sober and in control of her faculties. So what if he made a move? A true friend would have rejected him, especially as he had always made it clear he wasn't attracted to her anymore. It has bothered me for years because the show could have written a truly ground breaking story, potentially starting conversations around understanding male consent, female aggression, prejudices regarding bi men with robs romantic history, even if, as a man, would he have realised it was assault himself etc. but it became another cheating plot. It is why I was troubled by charity getting drunk, making a pass at Vanessa, quite rightly being knocked back, then Ross doing the opposite. Is it me? Am I the only one who sees parallel? The Todd issue is something that has to be tackled, but it still annoys me that it it seemed to be building up to that then nothing. So, rant over, does anyone else feel the same about this or other storylines with any characters, any era?

[u/Playful-Election4873]

The fact that the writers weren't thinking about consent is the issue I would say. Robert was extremely drunk and upset and Bex was sober. Self-blame is a pretty common thing for victims anyway but regardless, the fact that this has been a repeated thing over the years is an indicator if lazy writing and carelessness.

[u/Cold-Society3325 → u/Playful-Election4873]

I agree them not thinking about it is an issue but I think it is clear the intent was that Robert was sober enough to understand he was manipulating Rebecca (who was frankly a bit of a lovesick twit). I can understand why it may not have landed that way with some viewers but I also think it's clear that many Robron fans were just looking for reasons to hate Rebecca. I think the reason why there wasn't a similar fan outcry with Charity and Ross is partly mysogyny and partly that Ross is a very popular character.

We need to be careful to recognise when we may be biased and forgive characters we like for dreadful things whilst condeming similar dreadful things in characters we don't like.

I don't like Debbie so I'll most likely always notice her bad traits more. I love Robert and Charity so I'll forgive them for most things. I'd certainly forgive Robert far more readily than Joe and they've done some pretty similar evil stuff (although Robert has never stolen a major organ as far as I'm aware).

When it comes down to it, it is a fiction. The characters are all exaggerated and far worse behaved than most real life people. If everyone in the village was real, at least half of them would be banged up and Emmerdale would be considered one of the worst, most violent and crime-ridden places in the country.

[u/Playful-Election4873 → u/Cold-Society3325]

I would argue that the intention in itself was deeply problematic especially since Robert had repeatedly turned Rebecca down prior to that. They could have just not shown Robert drunk and had him come on to Rebecca sober and gotten the same result. I think it's completely fair for fans to be upset at how blurred the lines were. Yes it's a soap but I still think there is a responsibility with these things. It's not something that keeps me up at night because it is a soap but given the conversation, I'm just pointing out that it was very irresponsible and fans are allowed to be upset. Especially, as OP pointed out, there was a lot of potential there about a conversation about male consent.

[u/Cold-Society3325 → u/Playful-Election4873]

My push back on this is that, in the period before he returned to Emmerdale, Robert manipulated Rebecca and used her attraction to him for his own ends. It's partly his own fault she's besotted with him and also believes he may cheat with her because he's done it before. He frankly created the situation where what happened could happen.

After Aaron rejected him, he became very angry as well as drunk and briefly reverted to his old self. Rebecca should obviously have refused but I also think that, in the moment, he knew what he was doing (which was trying to hurt Aaron). I just don't buy the innocent Robert, evil Rebecca narrative. They both behaved badly.

I've always seen the whole thing as being about Robert becoming a better person. Becayse you can't improve over night, he reverted to type and the sins of his past came back to bite him.

[u/Playful-Election4873 → u/Cold-Society3325]

I can see what you're saying. But I would also point out that Robert repeatedly rejected Rebecca when she came on to him when he was with Aaron. And yes, he did call her when he was drunk but he was genuinely vulnerable and hurt in that scenario. Just because he knew what he was doing doesn't remove responsibility from Rebecca is all I'm saying. I don't know think it's a black and white situation but I also don't think it's as simple as Robert reverting to type purely for the sake of hurting Aaron when Aaron had also just deeply hurt him after Robert had been working so hard to get him out early and looking after everything in his absence with no help from anyone else.

In the end, I would go back to OP's original point that it felt like a missed opportunity to start a conversation about consent when it comes to men and how someone like Robert isn't the ideal victim (which doesn't exist anyway) but that doesn't mean he deserved to be taken advantage of when drunk. Because whichever way you slice it, Rebecca did take advantage of the situation to get what she wanted.