Compassion for Children/Olivia's Sister

[Joy]

I think that Walternate got the "line that should not be crossed" value when he saw young Olivia and her fear/panic regarding her stepfather.

Also, I wonder where Olivia's sister was... did she not suffer the abuse as well?

[birdandbear]

Walternate must have spent the last couple decades imagining people doing horrible things to his 8 yr old son, it makes sense that he'd have a violent knee- jerk reaction to the thought of harming kids himself. But Olivia was no doubt another influence, parents have a tendency to want to protect all kids.

As for Rachel, it's not unusual for an abuser to choose one child to take out their aggressions on, and leave any others practically alone. A lovely way of adding even more emotional trauma to other abuses. The ones singled out end up with even more "There must be something wring with me" syndrome than your usual abuse victim.

Maybe she's with Mrs. Dunham, wherever she is...I always thought that Rachel was a few years younger than Olivia.

[gillybee]

Maybe he only abused Olivia because she wasn't his daughter and Rachel was??

[cynthia rose]

Rachel is the younger sister, though the show never mentioned how much younger. Are Olivia and Rachel half-sisters? If Olivia's stepfather was Rachel's birth father then that could also be the reason he singled out Olivia, but not Rachel. If they both had the same father then this theory of course doesn't work.

I type too slowly, gillybee had the same thought :-)

[wongwizard101]

I've always wondered if Olivia & Rachel might be half-sisters...but Altlivia also had Rachel as a sister, and presumably no stepfather. Perhaps Rachel is just that much younger...or Olivia may have protected her younger sister (as she continues to do now)

[TheOtherMe]

I think that Walternate got the "line that should not be crossed" value when he saw young Olivia and her fear/panic regarding her stepfather.

Also, I wonder where Olivia's sister was... did she not suffer the abuse as well?

I kind of thought it was weird that we didn't really see or get a mention of Olivia's mother either. Perhaps they were just out of town...or maybe there is something else missing.

Perhaps Rachel is a lot younger than we think and she is not even born yet??

[Joy]

I kind of thought it was weird that we didn't really see or get a mention of Olivia's mother either. Perhaps they were just out of town...or maybe there is something else missing.

Perhaps Rachel is a lot younger than we think and she is not even born yet??

But if they both have the same mother why would Olivia be left in the care of the stepfather, especially if Rachel is a lot younger. Olivia looked much younger in the fire where she was found in the corner of the office alone.

Olivia does looks older in this episode than she did in the other fire episode. I mean I realize they needed a child that could act the part perfectly, therefore older, but.....

[gillybee]

I think these are two separate incidents in the video yellow dress Olivia was in the corner of the room in this episode she is standing in the middle of the room. I believe the trails we saw in last nights episode where carried out a few years later hence Olivia being older. They also used actors that were older as they would be more convincing in their acting.

[TheOtherMe]

But if they both have the same mother why would Olivia be left in the care of the stepfather, especially if Rachel is a lot younger. Olivia looked much younger in the fire where she was found in the corner of the office alone.

Olivia does looks older in this episode than she did in the other fire episode. I mean I realize they needed a child that could act the part perfectly, therefore older, but.....

Right, that's what is weird, what I think the topic starter is trying to figure out, unless Rachel isn't alive yet. I don't think it has been revealed how far apart they are in age.

Either there is something big we're missing or it's something simple where Olivia's mom is working and Rach just isn't there yet...or Rachel refused to go to daycare, or they are visiting relatives (aunt Missy)...

I mean you could even theorize that maybe Olivia's mom is pregnant, her step dad hit her and Olivia's mom is in intensive care or something. But it is curious that there were no drawn pictures or mentionings of Olivia's mom period, let alone Rachel...It does feel like something is a miss...

[LovinSha]

In a way, I did kinda like that they didn't show Olivia's mom or sister because it made her situation with her stepfather all the more lonely and intense for her to deal with. It's seeing the situation from Liv's perspective.