![]() When she tries to go back to “normal” after her assault with a casual hookup, it turns into another kind of rape. She is a mess, and the book that she is trying to write becomes the show that we are watching and ultimately experiencing with her. With Arabella, Coel gives us a young woman who is not trying to be a poster child. The events of that night come back to Arabella in confused flashes, and while she does go to the police and ultimately seeks therapy, she is hesitant to believe the worst-or even (initially) that anything happened at all. Back in London, Arabella is being pushed to finish the manuscript for a book that landed with a major publisher, but in the middle of her all-nighter she goes out to meet up with friends at a bar where she is later drugged and date raped. His reticence sets up the first of many romantic disappointments, a theme throughout this episode and the season as a whole. The half-hour series begins with Arabella returning from an Italian sojourn to visit Biagio (Marouane Zotti), a local drug dealer with whom she wants to have an actual relationship. Playing out as a series of vignettes, the season is tied together by a close-knit group of friends who must confront everything from their own biases to sexual crimes perpetrated against them. The Ghanaian-British creator and star explores the pain, confusion, and eventual road to healing regarding the rape experienced by her London-based lead, Arabella. It’s both pain and love, suffering and redemption.There may be few series as difficult but as important right now as Michaela Coel’s new 12-episode HBO show I May Destroy You. The TV-MA rating for this series is well-earned. Is Arabella ready to make a good choice at this point? Good choices haven’t been her strong suit. Criminals always return to the scene of the crime, right? When she finally sees him, her memory comes rushing back. That makes it harder for her to see what’s happening with Terry and Kwame.Īfter a few months pass, she stakes out the Ego Death Bar, looking for the man who raped her. She gives advice to rape survivors everywhere. Who is guilty, who is innocent, who is free of blame? What happens to the unbearable memories? What, exactly, is consent? It gets deep.Īrabella’s not writing that overdue novel, but she’s turning herself into a social media influencer. ![]() It takes a while before Arabella can even see his problem.Īll these situations, and others, allow Michaela Coel as the writer of the series the freedom to expand the sexual assault theme with subtle nuance and depth. Kwame’s a gay man who has a sexual assault story of his own. Terry and Kwame are there for Arabella through every stage of her struggle, even when she’s unbearable. Kwame (Paapa Essiedu) is Arabella’s other best friend. Zain instead becomes a sexual predator himself. Her editors assign Zain (Karan Gill) to help Arabella get her novel going. The twists and turns that she goes through to dig out of what happened to her bring up events from high school and her childhood. She goes to therapy, sobers up, and attends group sessions for survivors led by her old high school enemy Theodora (Harriet Webb). She goes to the police, but they can’t put together enough evidence to figure out who did it. She meets friends at the Ego Death Bar, is drugged, and is raped. She gives herself an hour to take a break. Now she’s under contract to write a novel. Her first book was a series of Twitter posts. Terry engages in a threesome that she later learns may not have been what she thought it was.īack home in London, Arabella has a book draft to finish. Arabella hooks up with the guy who sells drugs, Biagio (Marouane Zotti). The story begins with Arabella and her best friend Terry (Weruche Opia) in Italy. Her performances in Black Earth Rising, Been So Long, and other works absolutely cemented my opinion on this, and I May Destroy You is further proof. I consider Coel one of the most talented and important creatives in the industry today. In an effort to survive that, she’s created this challenging and frank work of art. Coel suffered a sexual assault when she was making Chewing Gum. It’s hard work, it’s laid bare, it’s honest, and it’s real. ![]() I May Destroy You takes a non-linear approach to telling the story of Arabella (Michaela Coel) and her efforts to remember a sexual assault, make sense of it, relate to other people’s assaults, and process the troublesome memories from her past. ![]() Powerhouse talent Michaela Coel starred in, created, and co-directed the series with Sam Miller. It’s a story about sexual assault and recovery, about consent, about friendship, and about facing your own truth. I May Destroy You is a British series from the BBC, now streaming on HBO Max.
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