Joseph Bender is the antagonist on The Savages. He was a former member of The Savages in Season 1, but was, off-screen, kicked out prior to persuading now-ally Nate Osbourne to leave the group. In Season 2, he and Nate form their own super-group The Glamouflage to take over James A. Masters High School, to which he is a junior in.
In Season 1, Joe is best described as a blunt, open-minded, often rude and hot-tempered person, but his manipulative ways make others, especially Nate, consider otherwise. Joe's original motive is to take over The Savages, but his current motive is to take them down. He does this by eventually convincing Nate to quit The Savages, even convince Trae to smoke and spark romance, but other members of The Savages are aware of his suspicious behavior.
After events leading to an altercation between Joe and Trae, in Season 2, he develops a super-group with former members of every clique to take over the social status by storm.
He is portrayed by Alex Saxon and is based on Naya Rivera.
Biography[]
As a child, Joe always had tendencies to be rude and brutally honest, and this caused him a myriad of trouble, forcing him to attend different schools. In The Blackout, it is revealed that he lives with his mother and father, and his younger sister Hannah Bender. His mother and father are in a very abusive, tumultuous relationship that somewhat affects him and his sister. He admits to being abused as a child, forcing him to feel worthless and desperate to get what he wants.
Personality[]
Joe is very manipulative, brutally honest and hot-tempered character in the series; he isn't afraid to speak his mind, especially when he first appears and insults Felix Winchester during a class debate in Literature in Season 1; he goes on to confront THe Savages before joining to tell them that they try too hard to be rebellious, and that the clique isn't anything without him. When he joins, however, he manages to use his manipulative behavior to control Nate Osbourne and ruin his relationships with Trae Ventura and Sydney Prescott. In Season 2, he appears more controlling and manipulative, especially when he tries to get what he wants in spite of Trae. It is revealed, however, that he is rather guarded and jealous of Trae, and he has a softer side when it comes to his younger sister, Hannah.
Series[]
Joe Bender is introduced mysteriously; he is one of the fellow students in Trae's Literature class. He brazenly confronts Felix Winchester, a member of The Moneybags for his debate on The Great Gatsby. When Trae speaks on his perspective of the book and further confronts Felix for it, Joe is impressed, which suddenly encourages him to join The Savages. Despite insulting their agenda, he considers himself a possible impact on the clique, and Trae hesitantly accepts his offer to join. However, his intrusiveness and mysterious persona rubs members of the Savages the wrong way, especially when he sets his sights on Nate Osbourne, the secretary of the clique.
Joe reveals, via voice-over, that his motive is to turn The Savages against each other and take over Trae Ventura's leadership in the group. He begins this plan solely by developing a closeness to Nate, who feels like the black sheep of the group. Eventually, Joe tries to manipulate Nate into believing that Trae and Sydney are using him as a puppet in the group. Assuming he's convinced, Nate's behavior slowly changes when Joe teaches him how to be aggressive. (The Mafia, The Devil's Protégé)
Meanwhile, Joe also uses his manipulative charm by attempting to make friends with Sydney, who notices a change in Nate's behavior. He gives Sydney a ticket to Nicki Minaj's concert, but when Nate confronts her about stealing his 'new friend', Sydney catches on to Joe's schemes. (The Boomerang Effect]])
Later on, Joe goes with The Savages on a road trip to Portland, Oregon, where tensions between Joe, Nate, Trae and Sydney rises. The gang gets stranded, and Joe continues to encourage Nate to behave rudely towards the members for attention. Eventually, Trae and Alex start to realize that there's something fishy about him. Joe attempts to communicate with Trae while stranded, which also leads to a sudden closeness to each other when they are high off drugs outside of The Rave. Joe kisses Trae, but their moment stops when Zachary catches them.
Joe doesn't appear after the Oregon incident, but Trae believes that Joe put a wedge in a potential bond with Zachary. Everyone slowly realizes Joe's affect on Nate and his affect on them, especially when Nate decides to quit The Savages after Trae is suspended. (The School For Scandal, The Psychological Warfare)
Feuds, then, escalate between Joe and The Savages during Trae's premeditated riot. The two get into a physical altercation when Joe makes clear that they'll never be rebellious. Once Trae is shot, Joe hopes to seek revenge on him knowing that he's still alive. (The Beast Unleashed)
Joe Bender becomes a central antagonist in this season, as he and Nate become aware that Trae was responsible for the video scandal between Brian and Viktor. Considering that The Savages would turn against Trae, he plans to take over James A. Masters High School by storm; he then recruits former cheerleaders Alyssa Tanner and Claudia Wu to further develop a super-clique of former clique members, going against The Savages. Noticing that Alyssa and Claudia are in dire need of attitude checks, he and Nate assist them in changing their looks and behaviors, despite admittedly using them for unnecessary favors. When Trae returns from being hospitalized, meanwhile, the plan to develop a super-group goes in effect, as he, Nate, Alyssa and Claudia come up with their group name: The Glamouflage. (The Alibi, The Scarlet Letters)
As The Glamouflage slowly builds in numbers, Joe recruits members behind the scenes, starting with Cass Everett, former member of The Moneybags, alongside Rufus and Vik of the jocks. Similar to how he convinced Alyssa and Claudia, he manipulates the three of them in joining forces with them based on their tarnished reputations. He calls out Cass's decision to leave The Moneybags, Rufus's lack of star quarterback quality after quitting The Savages, and Vik's ruined reputation. However, his friendship with Nate becomes jeopardized when Nate feels isolated and inferior to Joe as a leader of The Glamouflage.
Joe considers himself the voice of the clique, and calls Nate a "visionary". Still dissatisfied, Nate goes into a passive-aggressive phase with Joe that leads to a confrontation between them. Nate confronts Joe for using him to be like Trae. When this happens, Joe surprisingly kisses Nate, imagining that Nate was Trae. It is revealed that Joe harbors romantic feelings for Trae, despite their rivalry; this complicates his friendship with Nate when he secretly likes Joe as well. (The Rose That Grew From Concrete)
Despite these hidden feelings, Joe goes forth with making The Glamouflage known to the school, including The Savages. He confronts the clique and stands off against them, and awkwardly reunites with Trae after weeks of keeping distance from each other. Ironically, the two are paired up together for a class project, making tensions worse. Upon dealing with his rivalry with Trae, and constant issues with Nate (brushing off the kiss as a way to shut Nate up), it is revealed that Joe lives in a physically abusive household. His mother and father struggle with domestic violence issues that not only affects him, but his younger sister Hannah, whom he seems to care and console in light of their fights. Joe is aware that both of his parents aren't a good support system and they are the reaosn why he behaves the way he does.
More of Joe's vulnerability is revealed when he and Trae are coincidentally stuck on a school elevator, causing a power surge. The situation forces the two to hash out their differences with each other when both of their cliques plan to face-off with each other in a fight. After Trae accuses him of attacking them with scarlet letters, Joe confronts him for having a "hero" complex, vying for attention, and intentionally treating him with inferiority when he wanted to be Trae's friend. The argument causes Joe to have a nervous breakdown on the elevator and he calms down with the help of Trae, who has a change of heart for him. After the argument, the two set aside their differences and agree to respect each other for the sake of the school, and they both realize they have a lot in common than they thought. (The Blackout)
With that slight reconciliation, Joe berates The Glamouflage, particularly Nate, for instigating a fight with The Savages without his consent or involvement. Upon this confrontation, Joe and Nate's friendship becomes permanently strained, especially when Nate continues to suspect that Joe is obsessed with Trae and obsessed with being in a position of leadership like Trae is. (The Family That Preys)
Joe starts to distance himself from Nate and The Glamouflage's antics, while keeping them from getting expelled under Principal Gordon's authority, and he seems himself bonding with Trae discreetly. Realizing that Trae isn't as problematic as he used to be, he starts to question whether working with Nate is worth the trouble he could cause. At the same time, news of Zachary's suicide attempt makes Joe empathetic for Trae, who suffers from a nervous breakdown and attacks Kyler for enabling Zachary's drug abuse and forcing him to relapse. He surprises most of the students, especially The Glamouflage and The Savages, by publicly hugging Trae in the hallways when he cries uncontrollably. (The One That Got Away)
Joe's surprising support of Trae creates a bond between the two, especially when Trae avoids contact with The Savages after Zachary's transfer to the psychiatric ward. Joe and Trae develop a secretive friendship within the next few months, especially during their partnership in class projects and assignments. Eventually, his friendship with Nate and The Glamouflage is put at stake when they come to a consensus that Joe shouldn't be the president of the clique. Dealing with that ultimatum, he also faces strife with his abusive father who continues to attack his mother in front of Hannah. When Joe sticks up for her, his mother chooses a side and kicks Joe out of the house for good.
With nowhere else to go, Joe hesitantly asks Trae for a place to stay, considering his friendship with Nate and The Glamouflage is on the rocks. Trae and his mother allow Joe to stay for as long as he needs, although Trae admits he doesn't trust Joe enough still. The two build on trust when they both leave prom, and Joe introduces Trae to the life that he's experienced. The two exchange many heart-to-heart conversations while drunk after prom, and the two share a passionate kiss. Joe admits blatantly that he always wanted Trae, and goes forth into sex. (The Promenade)Appearances (11/18)[]
Songs[]
- Solos
- Duets
- Solos (In a Group Number)
| Season One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song | Episode | Solos with |
| Teenagers | The Mafia | Alex, Carl, Gina, Nate, Sydney and Trae |
| Young, Fresh N New | The Wild Ride | Alex, Carl, Gina, Lily, Nate, Sydney, Trae and Zach |
| Born To Be Wild | Lily and Nate | |
- Solos
- Solos (In a Group Number)
| Season Two | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song | Episode | Solos with |
| Let Me Blow Ya Mind | The Scarlet Letters | Alyssa, Claudia and Nate |
| Feel Good Time | The Rose That Grew From Concrete | Alyssa, Cass, Claudia, Nate, Rufus and Vik |
| We Run This | The Blackout | Alex, Alyssa, Carl, Cass, Claudia, Gina, Iesha, Lily, Nate, Rufus, Sena, Sydney, Trae, Vik and Zachary |
| Takeover (Five To One) | Alex, Nate and Trae | |
| This Town | The Promenade | Claudia, Lily, Nate, Sydney, and Trae |
Trivia[]
- Joe was the seventh person to join The Savages in Season One.
