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I may destroy you reviews6/4/2023 Still, it’s a tiny price to pay for what is overall a compelling series. And so a clever and satisfying beginning and ending are slightly betrayed by a somewhat messy midsection that slows things down a tad. These are mostly well-executed secondary storylines even though they may feel formulaic, and are maybe too dragged out in order to fill out the season’s 12 episodes. Terry engages in a knotty threesome with two men which leads to some self-reflection, and Kwame has a forced sexual encounter with one of his Grindr hookups, but isn’t quite sure if he indeed was assaulted, and goes on his own personal journey to try and understand what assault actually looks like. The characters played by Opia and Essiedu, and their own individual storylines, are just as vital to “I May Destroy You’s” success. This isn’t so much a whodunit series or one about seeking vengeance, as much as it is about an unraveling life placed under self-scrutiny.īut Arabella’s story, while central to the ambitious series, is just one of several threads that looks at various instances of sexual consent in the present day, and where the sketchy lines fall. Her piecing together the puzzle of the night of her assault helps move the plot forward, but the story starts to broaden, becoming less about what happened to Arabella, and more about the incident’s effect on her life, her relationships, her hopes and dreams, and her emotional and physical wellbeing.Īnd when she seems to finally have solved the mystery, Coel concludes the series in a way that implies a neat resolution is not at all something she’s interested in, and maybe not even realistic given the circumstances. If the series at first feels disorienting, it should be, because Arabella’s life has been disrupted by a traumatic experience she doesn’t quite remember, and it is primarily through her POV that the series unfolds.Īrabella is depicted as a habitual partier who indulges in all kinds of drugs and alcohol, but this nonjudgmental portrait presents these fact simply as details of her life, not justifications for her assault. Initially unwilling to come to terms with the possibility that her drink might have been spiked and she may have been sexually assaulted, she eventually does decide she wants to solve the mystery of what happened to her, although reluctantly, because she doesn’t trust her own memory. Her initial reaction isn’t dread as one might expect, but instead more of a curiosity. Her memory of the previous night is blurry and splintered, including a very brief, disturbing flashback of a man towering over her in what looks like a public restroom stall. The next morning she discovers a bruise on her forehead, but can’t remember how exactly she got it. At some point she decides to take a break and meet friends for drinks. The ‘Succession’ Finale Set a Series Record in Viewership, but…īut she’s young and hip, with an array of friends who are just as cool, and she’s the personification of the smart, intense, hyper-conscious millennial, although, in this case, minus the awkwardness of the character she played in “Chewing Gum” (the series that launched her career), but with a similar captivating vibe.Īs the story opens, she’s saying goodbye to her Italian friends-with-benefits pal and drug supplier, Biagio (Marouane Zotti), having gone to Italy to finish her second book, which, in her procrastination, she never did actually write.īack in London to her fun-loving circle of friends - most notably the dramatic Terry (Weruche Opia), an actress, and fitness trainer Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), who has a penchant for Grindr hookups - she has no choice but to spend an entire night in her publisher’s office writing to produce material to show them. Now writing her second novel, she’s struggling to create captivating characters and stories that aren’t based on 280-word Twitter posts. It’s challenging and not always easy to watch, but will surely spark many conversations on the subject matter it so candidly explores.Īt the center of this unconventionally structured series is Arabella (Coel), a bestselling author of a book about her millennial experience, “Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial,” which was essentially a series of tweets cobbled together. And the series doesn’t offer any pat, compact answers to the big questions it raises. There’s nothing tidy about how this timely tale unfolds, but there’s nothing tidy about sexual assault. Titled “ I May Destroy You,” the series alternates between broad stories about sexually adventurous friends, and more individual and upsetting moments of persistent trauma. British multihyphenate Michaela Coel returns to television with a new 12-part, half-hour HBO series that takes on weighty notions about sexual consent in the present day, given how much the landscape of dating and relationships has changed.
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