This is mostly just rambling, but I can't stop thinking about the parallels of Beth's neck/lace in Dare Me. There's multiple things that all relate back to her insecurity and hidden/repressed emotions. There are definite spoilers under the cut if you haven't finished the series, and mentions of rape for TW.
First up, her necklace and what it signifies. A choker, tight around her throat and a gift from her inattentive father. The last gift from when they "last felt like a family". It could be used as symbolism - a collar holding her back, choking back her emotions she wants and needs to express but can't because it's too much for her handle. Her obsession with being tied back to those times.
If you think about the extent that the necklace means to her, how much weight it holds, you can see why Addy giving her bracelet away to Coach devastated her. Her dreams of Addy holding her wrist and letting it go is again, using the symbolism. The bracelet was Addy's hand. And it let Beth go. That hand, that choice, that symbol that held their hands together moved on to someone else.
So, the symbolism and importance of jewelry to Beth is made clear, and then the rape occurs and Beth's stability is quite literally ripped from her. The one thing that was holding her together, or in her words: "it keeps my on head on", is forcibly removed from her in an utterly traumatic way, violent, out of her control, and unexpectedly. Suddenly, her barrier to everything is broken, and her true broken nature is released.
In relation to Addy, Beth shows her vulnerability to Addy, and Addy alone, at least initially. Coach is the first to see her vulnerability after the choker is removed, the morning after the assault. Coach instantly picks up that Beth isn't okay, despite her usual angry and defensive remarks. Already, she's unable to hide because that barrier is broken. We see Beth fall further and further, distant, depressed, and traumatised with dreams and constant panic attacks. All valid responses to trauma. Even her mother picks up that Beth is not okay, and even refers to her as being heartbroken after Addy's continued rejections.
Before the collar is removed however, Beth offers herself to Addy. The night of their kiss, it's shown that Beth pushes her hair to the side and reveals her neck. This particular notion sticks in Addy's muddy memories. In this case, Beth is sticking her neck out. She's giving Addy access to the clasp of her necklace. Beth also pushed her hair away from her neck purposefully after Addy seeks her out and offers to massage her shoulder. Beth is resistant and you can SEE the hesitation to accept the massage because if she was to accept it then she's admitting the injury hurt, and Beth can't admit that anything hurts because it all hurts. Her mum, her dad, the coach, and mostly Addy. She doesn't show any sign of weakness to anyone... except Addy. So she pushes her hair aside, offering her neck, and again, the clasp of her necklace. She takes her shirt off, and Addy's hands immediately caress her. It's also worth mentioning thay Addy's hands due brush the necklace and that's when Beth instantly melts, because Addy's hands are her safety. They are the hands that hold her up, that make her who she is. Her safety, her heart, her control. This juxtaposes the previous scene where Kurtz hand touches Beth's necklace and she instantly recoils and becomes uncomfortable leading him to remark about it. There is a blatant parallel to the comfort of Addy's hand on her neck vs. anyone elses, especially a dudes
The only other times we see Beth's necklace (before its removal) off is when she showers. And showers are always an open and vulnerable time. Not only that, but for Beth, they are a memory trigger. The water = the rain. They kissed in the rain, and she's reminded everytime, but Addy continues to ignore it happened.
Anyway, I could totally go on about this and how once the necklace is removed Beth lets everything out shes held in: "falling for you again and again" etc. In which she just loses all filter and throws it all away because that barrier was ripped from her, from both her trauma and from Coach.
There's just so many layers, parallels, and symbolisms to this show - people need to look beyond the "teenage angst".
