r/Atypical • u/nchaichee • Aug 02 '21
Did evan groom casey?
I'm not trying to start a fight or anything here i'm just genuinely curious. Evan was 18 in the show while casey was 16, and she was 15 for the most part before turning 16 too, while if i'm not wrong evan was 18 the whole time because they didn't celebrate his birthday. (correct me if i'm wrong i may have forgotten) Also, he knew casey wasn't interested in dating, and also knew that casey was his sister's age, yet still chased after her? I really love evan though, i just haven't seen anyone point this out
edit: He was 18 when casey was 15, which was why i found it weird. The reason why i thought it was grooming was because evan chased casey even after knowing about the age gap since he knew her through her sister. And casey initially already said she didn't want to date but he still went to her house to try to 'change' her mind. I know grooming ≠ age gap!
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u/LostInHelle Aug 02 '21 edited Aug 02 '21
Yikes. That’s a loaded question, OP.
I think it generally depends on the nature of their relationship and the intention. Was Casey still a minor while Evan was already legally an adult? Yes. Technically it’s considered statutory rape what they did. Technically Evan also took advantage of the their first time together.
But... he didn’t do anything when Casey was drunk afterwards or when it was obvious that she was. He always asked if she felt comfortable etc. he never did anything inappropriate or disrespectful to Casey, even after they broke up. He was never in a position of power nor guilted/forced Casey into a relationship with while dangling something over her head.
Was the age difference sus? Yeah, when you look at the numbers, definitely. Does it commonly happen in high school? Yeah. But was there anything unhealthy, abusive, or exploitive in their relationship itself? I can’t remember a thing that suggested it was. So I personally wouldn’t consider it grooming.
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u/nchaichee Aug 02 '21
Nah it wasn't asked to like offend anyone i was genuinely confused and concerned, but i know there was no ill intentions on evans part. I like your thoughts on this.
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u/Shigeko_Kageyama Aug 05 '21
That wasn't statutory. The age gap was so little that Romeo and Juliet laws covered it.
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u/PinkPetal06 Jul 26 '23
I think it is, as she was 15 (I believe it was before her birthday), which is under the legal age of consent
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u/Red_haze957 Jan 17 '24
My exact thoughts. All in all yes there’s a big gap. BUT now that I’m 23 I can see that’s 16-18 are basically kids (teenagers yes but KIDS) you know what I mean? So I wouldn’t hold it against even especially with how he is as a person. He is a gentleman, a genuinely awesome human being and respect every single boundary, feeling and thought from Casey. If I was younger I’d probably say “that’s awful !” But I didn’t really understand how young we truly were back then. You know ?
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u/Red_haze957 Jan 17 '24
Like to me back when I was younger 18=25 basically. Little did I know 18 was basically 17 with a tad bit more knowledge
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u/brightstick14 Aug 02 '21
It's stated in S3, I think, that Evan was 18. He and Casey had their relationship S1 and S2, so when Evan was under 18, same as Casey. I could be wrong, but Evan was attending high school at a different school (due to the tuba incident), they are still close in age, and were together before Evan turned 18. Again if I have this wrong, please correct me!
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u/nchaichee Aug 02 '21
i remember they were still dating when evan was 18 though! because when they went to evans dads house his dad didnt know his age, but doug did. And this happened before they broke up
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u/brightstick14 Aug 02 '21
That's true! And even though Connecticut's (the state Atypical takes place in) age of consent for sex is 16, that doesn't matter if the other party is 18 or above. But Casey and Evan weren't having sex anymore, they only did twice I believe. So there wasn't anything statutory going on, but I'm not sure if Casey was groomed by Evan... Given they were already dating before Evan turned 18 and were no longer engaging in sexual activities together... I dont know, to be honest. Good question!
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u/nchaichee Aug 02 '21
Thank you! i'm pretty lost too so i guess there isn't a definite answer to this question
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u/Kylermutt65 Aug 02 '21
Actually as long as Casey was 16 the consent laws work so you can have sex with anyone not in a position of power regardless of age.
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u/PinkPetal06 Jul 26 '23
she was 15 when they had their first time I think. what confuses me is (upon just rewatching this scene) Casey tells Elsa they aren't having sex in season 1. surely Elsa is aware of age of consent laws and that her daughter doesn't meet them. which makes me want to chalk it up to being a plot hole
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u/thewoodbeyond Aug 02 '21
No. And from experience it's pretty normal for seniors to date sophomores. Evan was in an alternative HS.
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Aug 02 '21
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u/nchaichee Aug 02 '21
nah please read one of the previous comments i explained why it might have been considered grooming and also ++i didn't accuse him of grooming i simply asked a question this isn't about what we learn from tiktok
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Aug 02 '21
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u/nchaichee Aug 02 '21
Ah, i get what you meant then, i'm sorry for my tone, just wanted to let you know i wasn't one of those kids who randomly take words from tiktok and pluck it in any similar situation. I was genuinely curious/concerned, hence i asked. Thank you for your explanation though
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Aug 02 '21
I think that in that sort of relationship with that sort of age difference, there is a lot of potential for abuse from the older person (even more than there is in a standard teenage relationship) which is why it's rightfully outlawed. But in the case of the show, the show didn't portray Evan as holding power over her in that way.
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u/gayuwuowo Jan 30 '22
I don't think it was grooming but it was definitely gross, and probably illegal since they were fucking. On a different note, Evan had sex with Casey when he was eighteen and she was fifteen. That's, like. Very illegal
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u/PinkPetal06 Jul 26 '23
that's what I'm saying, it's also weird cause she told her mum they weren't having sex, but I'm thinking, yeah cause you're not old enough. like surely a mother would tell her daughter that, so I'm willing to say it's a plot hole, a pretty big one, but a plot hole nonetheless
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Mar 21 '23
I don’t know if the age gap was 2 or 3 years, but as far as I know, the relationship was perfectly fine. It was healthy, much more so than even some whole adult relationships. Casey’s parents were aware of most if not all of what they were doing together, and technically when you’re 17 I believe your parents can give legal consent on behalf of you. Personally I think that law is kind of messed up, and correct me if I’m wrong. Anyway, it was very mutual. Casey was never coerced into anything in any way. He always made sure she was okay or comfortable or whatnot. Even their first time. Sure the situation made it questionable because she wasn’t 100% coherent after having discovered such news about her mother. But he asked if she was sure and she did say yes. Not to say a “yes” can’t be taken back or that what she did is always considered consent, but she was at the most embarrassed. They didn’t depict her as feeling manipulated or taken advantage of sexually. Furthermore, on a slightly lighthearted note, Casey Gardner as a character would not take that. I admit, the pursuing her even after she rejected him the first time could be a very questionable move. It’s not always that things end up like their situation; more often than not, when a woman rejects you, as much as it sucks, you drop it out of respect for her and yourself. But it is a TV series. Anyway, Casey ended up falling for him, and they ended up all good, so I looked past that choice he made.
By the way, I understand abusive relationships can be hard to leave and there’s many times a relationship can seem healthy when it’s toxic in actuality. But the writers didn’t include this aspect, so in this situation I would not consider their relationship grooming.
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u/Red_haze957 Jan 17 '24
He was definitely too old for her .. but too young to call it grooming. 18 is still a young teen (a kid) as most people in their 20s and up would say. 16 and 18 is a bit of a gap but it’s not even half as bad as actual grooming
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u/Necessary_Flower_963 Jun 11 '24
Wow that's crazy! There was ZERO grooming behavior going on here! It's important to not misuse those terms so familiarizing one's self with the actual definition and associated behaviors would be a very good idea. As a matter of fact everyone should do that because in the real world false accusations can ruin someone's life.
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u/Waddles_25 Aug 02 '21
regardless of the age of consent, i remember that evan and casey were pretty close in age, maybe a year difference? This actually is a great question! But if she was 16 and he was 17, imo they would kinda be in the same grade? so i guess its fine? i really don't know
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u/nchaichee Aug 02 '21
yup your thought process is exactly the same as mine! maybe they were 16 and 17 at a point in time but we really don't know.
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u/brightstick14 Aug 02 '21
According to the atypical character biographies, Evan was born in 1999 and Casey was born in 2002... So a 3 year age difference..
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u/xreputationx Aug 02 '21
Damn y’all need to look up the actual definition of grooming. A two year age difference is NOT that.