Headscratchers / Teenage Crimewave

• So why didn't Mike and Terry just steal Ben's car and run for it? Were they getting off that much on bullying Jane and the farm family so much that the thought of just running for it never crosses their mind?
  • IIRC Terry wanted to do just that, but Mike was waiting for Al. Also, IIRC, she all but called him an idiot for it.
    • Re-watching the episode: it was Mike who wanted to run for it and Terry who wanted to wait for Al.

• And why did Jane keep quiet about the robbery? Who was she protecting? Terry - the girl who set her up with attempted rapist Al? Herself, from the wrath of Mike and Al? Why didn't she at least tell her parents the truth? Yes, the real answer is "There would be no movie if Jane wasn't naive and kind of stupid," but still!
  • No, the real answer is that Jane didn't know anything about Mike and Al besides their first names, and she can't divulge information she doesn't possess; the only member of the gang she knew was Terry, who was already in jail with her. And she did try to tell everyone the truth about what happened, it's just that no one believed her.
    • The judge outright states that Jane didn't even try to say anything in her own defense, not that she simply didn't know anything.

• And why does the news have a frigging swimsuit photo of Jane instead of a mugshot?

• For a supposed war hero, Ben doesn't put up much of a fight.
  • Even war heroes are vulnerable to .38 bullets. Remember, he didn't go home expecting trouble, so he didn't bring a gun or body armor or anything like that. Also remember that at one point Ben was about to do something, namely say "Damn the revolver, I'm caving that punk's skull in", but he was talked down by Jane who realized how foolhardy the idea was. Note that at the climax, once Mike runs out of bullets and can no longer hide behind his gun, Ben totally goes to town on the little coward, and the only reason Mike is able to put up a decent fight at all is because Ben's nursing a gunshot wound.

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