Fling). She is the one to humiliate him, however, and even notes his inability to satisfy her in bed. As revenge, Todd has his fraternity brothers Powell Lord (the III) and Zach Rosen help him rape her after she is left alone upstairs in Kevin's room. Analyst Jennifer Hayward described this aspect of the writing as not being about sex, women, or Marty herself, but rather about what takes place between men and women in the aftermath of rape. The story draws out powerful archetypes, such as the fight between good and evil, reminiscent of 19th-century melodrama, where critique would be given to "power relations, especially the oppression of the poor by the rich and of women by men". Malone had Powell initially resist raping Marty, harbor deep guilt for his part in the rape, and act as a conscience that Todd ignores. Analyst Mary Buhl Dutta reasoned the storyline invokes "rape myths" cataloged by scholar Martha R. Burt, such as "only bad girls get raped," "women ask for it," and "women 'cry rape' only when they've been jilted or have something to cover up". Burt said such myths "deny or reduce perceived injury, or ... blame the victims for their own victimization". Author Gerry Waggett said the "close-ups of the rapists' faces during the assault, distorted to capture Marty's scared and drunken perspective, rank among the show's most graphic images" and that "Marty's subsequent quest to bring her rapists to justice dominated throughout the summer". Howarth considered Todd's rationale for raping Marty as a complex matter. "Todd was in love with Marty," he said. Though Todd and Marty initially have a one-night stand, she rejects his later romantic advances; this begins to upset Todd and eventually starts to fester. Todd failing an exam only adds to his frustration because everything "had always come so easy to him". Rather than admitting that he himself is the reason for failing his exam, he blames Marty; it has to be his tutor's fault. Todd subsequently tries to cast all of his problems off on Marty. Marty initially thinks Kevin raped her as well. When the rape trial begins, she realizes that Kevin did not rape her and recants her testimony so that Kevin is exonerated. Malone chose the rape trial to reveal Todd as a serial rapist; the character had also raped a woman named Carol Swift, and likely young women before