Kelaine

First, even though I'm about to make a counter-arguement, let me point out I may be wrong. Not like that's never happened before.

Second, I'm trying to fill in what I see as gaps in the story. I may be over-thinking. It may also be that the script was trimmed. If it was written in 2013 (as the script suggests--unless We just can't do math), that would have been before there was the subplot about Renard's family and Juliette. It may be that there was a longer version of the script at one point that filled in these gaps in a different way than how I'm trying to do it.

Also, I'm not passionate about this. If the writer read this and said, "That isn't even close to what I was thinking," my life would go on.

******

This episode has a lot of potential triggers, so I'm hoping I don't sound too callous as I try to summarize.

If the branding was an attempt to protect the women from sexual assault, there were several problems. First, it was done after an attack had taken place. If it was meant to protect them, it seems it should have been done before. Second, unfortunately, being ugly or disfigured isn't a protection against sexual assault. Some attackers find it easier to dehumanize or devalue a homely girl. Some would see a disfigured, socially isolated woman and see an easier victim. More calculating attackers might see a victim who could be more easily discredited if she came forward because they'd expect people to not to believe anyone would sexually assault someone who looked like that.

In fact, the ending of the episode was that she could still find someone who would be attracted to her and find love despite being disfigured. Of course, this is the problem at the other end of the scale. There's still a danger to decent guys who might be attracted to a person despite her appearance.

On the attraction issue, I'm not thinking they're like Musai. I'm imagining a sort of heightened appeal, but that the neither of the men who were attracted to her were acting far outside their normal range of behavior. The creepiest the apparently decent guy got was taking a lot of photos of a member of his cycling group when she was with them. But, he didn't seem to cross any proper boundaries when he interacted with her. Yes, he stayed when she asked him to leave and touched her when she told him not to, but it was after she'd had a bike accident and was showing signs of being in real pain.

In the same way, I think the guy who tried to assault her wasn't doing anything that he wouldn't have done to a non-Wesen woman he decided he was attracted to who had told him to get lost.

So, I think there is an attraction factor but not one that makes it so the men aren't responsible for their actions.

Also, on the issue of Wesen genetics, these may be like the Naiads who had to find lovers outside their kind but who still bred true--or they might have had a 50-50 chance of having a "normal" child and that they only branded a daughter who transformed.

Lutesse

Kelaine, I do love the way you examine every facet and detail and then flesh out a story!

You may be right that the Folterseele secrete a pheromone that makes them more irresistible. Rosalee only mentioned their beauty, but she may not know about other factors.
As she said, Folterseele are very rare - and with good reason!
Then of course, just being branded wouldn't guarantee they would never be approached or molested again; but it would likely reduce the odds.
The jerk guy who attacked Bella deserved what he got; and really, the stalker type who was taking pictures of her was pretty creepy, too.

Kelaine

I think the reason I don't label him as really creepy is that we found out about all the pictures after he died. In his scenes at the beginning, they played him fairly sympathetically. I think that was a deliberate choice to bring out the shock value of his death. The audience doesn't want something bad happening to him anymore than Bella does.

The photos start to reverse that but they also serve a plot purpose of pointing Nick and Hank towards the right suspect. So, I have mixed feelings. Was that a deliberate element to change how the viewers felt about the dead man and to push us to feel more sympathetic to Bella? Or was it just something to push the plot along whose impact on how we viewed the character wasn't fully thought out?

I'm glad the way I meander is helpful

Lutesse

Helpful AND thought-provoking, kiddo!

NikNak

It is.

Lutesse

Time to unstick this thread and put up the new one for 4x17, "Hibernaculum."

Summer Falls

Caught up an interesting epsiode case wise a girl who poisons anyone attracted to her ok ..

Nick and juilette so scary im annoyed only cause i love them so but i wouldn't be chasing juilette everywhere.. her embracing her innee beast is a great thing but shes so muxh more meaner but as they said shes not Juliette anymore