And this is only the halfway point – Arabella still has answers to find, truths to discover about her own relationships, self-worth and confidence and shame and desire and satisfaction to untangle and grow with. I May Destroy You asks questions out loud that until now have lingered in the subconscious.
#I may destroy you theo skin
How did the colour of Theo’s skin give her an upper hand? Do such hierarchies hold as much water when women, years together, come together because no one deserves to be alone? The racial politics are fraught – making this an uncomfortable but deeply stimulating watch. “White girl tears have high currency,” Terry and Arabella say when it seems some plotholes emerge in Theo’s story.
She is scorned, but then makes her own violence too. Such a distinction matters, as her own story reveals the shady politics of teenage boys, and girls, who push their privilege too far and cause irreparable damage. Theo, when introducing the support group, speaks of sexual abuse, assault, grooming and exploitation. Here, a flashback fills the episode and shades Arabella and Terry’s characters as well as that of Theo, their former classmate. She goes to a support group chaired by a girl she went to school with. How much is too much?Įpisode six sees Arabella keep pushing forward, seeking out her own kind of relief, the sort that Terry’s words of encouragement can’t quite stretch far enough for. Arabella’s best friend Kwame is wrestling with his own secrets, and while Terry, Arabella’s other best friend, is doing everything to keep spirits up, his discomfort feels raw and unstable – a true masterclass to the complicated dynamics that come with suffering and friendship. Coel isn’t taking any prisoners – and why should she?īut the brilliance of I May Destroy You lies in its subtleties, too. “Not rape adjacent, or a bit rapey, he’s a rapist,” Arabella makes sure to clarify. It feels like the kind of climax you’d imagine the protagonist to then wake up from, something most everyday dramas would only direct as a daydream. The initial intrigue, of Coel’s character Arabella trying to piece together the missing memories of her date rape in a club, never fades from view, but other story strands are interwoven, making such an incident feel even heavier.Įpisode five sees a new blistering truth come to light, once Zain, a work acquaintance Arabella had slept with, proves to be his own kind of dangerous criminal – rape doesn’t have to be cinematic to be true, there are “nice guys” who still commit harmful acts.Īrabella, so fearless and forthright at all times, takes to a public platform to call out Zain for what he has done. When we came back to her at the end and she gave her spiel again it felt quite sinister.Every episode of Michaela Coel’s outstanding I May Destroy You deals in corrosive levels of comedy, but also offers a new breathtaking twist with each new development. I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to think of Theo as another victim who is genuinely seeking to help or another abuser who is exploiting others’ pain for kicks. Being a survivor of child abuse probably does qualify you to lead. I was thinking this was a support group for survivors of adult rape but maybe I was thinking too narrow. I found it surprising that the headteacher (I assume it was) only seemed to be bothered about the alleged rape, and once he knew it wasn't a rape at knifepoint, apparently he wasn't concerned that kids were having sex on the premises and taking, and sharing, photos of it? And didn't they say it was a Catholic school?! And were the kids even over 16? Surely the boy only took photos, rather than filming? This was back in 2004 and one of the kids was amazed that a phone could even have a camera in it. Is that not child abuse? We're living in pretty horrible times if that is the case. So nowadays what is it called when someone films themselves having sex and sends it to third, fourth, fifth and sixth parties without a thought for the person they are having sex with? Does that pass for normal behaviour? And being coerced by your mother into lying to the authorities when you are seven (knowing that it will result in losing proper contact with the father you love). Should Theo be taking a support group if she hasn't actually been abused? Is this not another part of the inability to face up to living a lie which is thematic to the show?
She becomes good friends with Arabella and Terry doesn’t take too well with it.
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