I MAY DESTROY YOU - mon and tue bbc 1045

[Blondeshavemorefun]

New dram series starts tonight on bbc 1

With only hours left to deliver a draft of a book to her publishers , writer Arabella is tempted into a night out with a friend ........

the series is set in London and centers around the story of a young woman who must rebuild her life after her drink is spiked with a date rape drug

I think the show is very much based on showing different consent scenarios, and I think putting them all together like she did helps to compare them, so it seems like the show is based on almost educating people about consent, then twists into something else. I don't think it needs to be cut to fit in with some formula of how many rapes per episode... although I read something by the script editor on twitter and he mentioned something about making it go into episodes so perhaps that was something they struggled with/made a deliberate choice about?
Hollow I think I felt similar to you though after just 3 eps! Hits you over the head a bit.

BTW I just went back to see the hovering figure on the Halloween ep - HOW on earth did I not see that? It's terrifying, and yes the bags under the bed are very clear once you've already watched the end...

Just re-watching halloween episode to find the creepy figure, and remembering that one of Bella's bags contains a scan photo, and she talks a bit about how she had an abortion...

The scan photo I understand but why keep Bloody clothes as a reminder

Do we know whose baby it was

Plus the book she was meant to write - been 9mths as police woman told her - is she not writing it now due to her trauma

There's a great podcast on BBC Sounds called Obsessed with: I may destroy you - talking about each episode and has interviews with some of the actors.

I have to this yet but it's a podcast by the Economist. Michaela Coel interviewee by Anne McElvoy.

I'm pleased to see her getting recognition in more mainstream places.

www.economist.com/podcasts/2020/07/09/why-is-it-still-so-hard-to-talk-about-sexual-consent

Enjoyed the Economist podcast. More painful Guildhall revelations - I imagine the Drama department will be issuing a statement pdq if they haven't already. (Though the problem is far wider than that one place. And I think they've become more aware of problematic practices - if not attitudes - in the more recent past.)

But I don't think we need fear that MC is a hidden secret; she's been covered by major news outlets in the UK, US and elsewhere. And IMDY is, after all an HBO production!

Here's Paapa Essiedu talking about the show in the New York Times:

www.nytimes.com/2020/07/06/arts/television/paapa-essiedu-i-may-destroy-you.html

I am so pissed off. Rarely anything on tv I like then I keep missing it. Cannot believe I twice stayed up to watch it and then fell asleep during the news. Woke up 3 am! Haven't got catch up. Boo hoo.

It’s on BBC iplayer which you can access if you have a laptop/smartphone/tablet

All the episodes so far shown can be bought, individually or as a season, from itunes.

I suspect, as you are using the internet Deathraystare, that there probably is a way you can access the show!

I’ve been looking for a thread for this, started my own in Streamed TV and there was absolutely no traffic. But here you all are!

I am obsessed with this show. Only started watching at the beginning of this week so I’ve been able to binge them. I think I’m up to episode 10 so will probably finish over the weekend.

I think Michaela Coel is an amazing writer, on a par with Phoebe Waller Bridge I feel. I like the way she writes her character with little ego and doesn’t feel the need for her characters to be perfect. Arabella is actually fucking annoying. Self obsessed and a total nightmare. The one thing that I do actually have an issue with is that nobody has words with her over her destructive behaviour (other than Biaggio with the lovely victim blaming conversation). Time and again she willingly puts herself in these dangerous situations and nobody really ever calls her out on it. I think it’s awful that Terry left Arabella in the club in Italy when she can quite obviously see that she is out of it. Yet Terry appears to have little concern for that (I think there is a brief discussion where Terry states that she told Arabella she was leaving but she didn’t remember but that isn’t good enough.)

Also Arabella locking Kwame in the bedroom and then forgetting about it. It doesn’t even occur to her that this is inappropriate given what has happened to him. But yet again she’s smashed and caught up with her own night. At least she does apologise for it later on.

But I just wish they would call out the destructive behaviour a bit more. That’s a big part of true friendship.

Also I agree with what others have said upthread in that it’s an uncomfortable watch for me. I have had many similar drink and drug fuelled nights in London throughout my 20’s and it did make my 45 year old self cringe remembering some of the states me and my friends used to get in to. But the difference was we always stuck together. Never left a clearly fucked friend on the dance floor to find her own way home. And if a friend was to repeatedly be an absolute nightmare and get herself in that kind of state on a regular basis she’d have been called out on it.

One thing that's dawned on me is that, apart from Simon and Kat at the beginning, (and Bella's fuckwit father way back) no one has what used to be known as a 'steady' relationship. Terry in particular is neither hopelessly in love with a rejecting drug dealer, nor dealing with the aftermath of assault - but she appears to have no one at all. And there's no explanation or exploration of this so far. Do people just not bother with boyfriends / girlfriends now?

I see countless threads where people call someone their partner after three weeks and an easyJet weekend - but I really mean an established relationship where you don't live together but are seen as a couple.

I'm perturbed. I'd assumed the younger generation of my family will grow up to enjoy all the awkwardness and fun of developing relationships - but perhaps all they have to look forward to is an interminable series of random hook-ups ...

And on that depressing note.....

Maybe society will reach peak dating app soon and come back to a better "normal" 🤞.

Yes the constant quick hook-ups and lack of meaningful connections between anyone is pretty depressing. There is zero effort put in by anyone. I really do worry about my kids trying to navigate through the emotionless wasteland of modern dating as they grow up.

Already my

Yes i just went back to watch the creepy figure of herself hanging over her, a bit later i had already noticed the figure in the chair.
good episode.

would anyone find the show triggering?

i wanted to persuade my dd to watch but she is still effected by a sexual assault that occurred at the start of university

I find it very triggering but also compelling

The scan photo I understand but why keep Bloody clothes as a reminder

I think this is reoccurring theme in the whole show though. She shoves stuff to the back of her mind till they all come out - fine with most stuff but not with rape and miscarriage (? not sure if miscarriage or abortion).

It has been brilliant to watch, hard, but brilliant. I watched all ten available episodes this weekend, didn't realise there's 2 more to come as the title of ep 10 seems like it's done. Glad it's not though!

I'm also glad I've found this thread, I need to get some thoughts down, some of which have come from reading this thread:

• Theo - right from the start of her flashback I thought she was Troubled. It's not normal behaviour for a kid her age to creep back in the house after shoplifting aftershave, so I had assumed that the non-rape story at school was possibly the least-worst thing that had happened to her, and possibly the first time she'd taken control?
• Nilufer (although I hadn't caught her name!) I thought was interesting how she sees an issue with using racist words but not homophobic words, or that racism/homophobia/sexism are on a sliding scale for her.
• I love the realness of the relationships. For me, it really represents a way people are in real life - there are shades of grey in all relationships. On here we see people who can't even say to their sister who they're really close to that she's upset them - I never understand this, if you're close, do you really think they'll cut you off for being truthful with them?!
• I didn't see anything untoward with Ben and think people are expecting drama with him, just like they're expecting it with Theo. I don't think the programme is written like that at all though!

Hope I'm not wrong on the last point!

Oh I forgot to mention - the threesome, I think Terry basically decides to 'own' what happened despite it not being quite what she expected as she was played by the two dudes. I think a bit like (clumsy feminist analogy!) women only wear make up and shave legs 'for them' and claim no influence from society, so she has decided that she was totally in control and therefore it was freeing rather than slightly uncomfortable.

Also the bits I didn't like were the social media stuff, but I have to admit this is really because I don't get that at all. I'm only 5 years old than MC but it's clear this makes a huge difference!

Episodes 11 and 12 on iPlayer now ... then that's it, done 😢

Have watched at BBC1 pace so far but might have to watch both tonight. I think PPs are right; we won't find out who the rapist is.

What a fab ending, anyone else watched the last 2 episodes yet?

Right, need to stay away from this thread until I have watched the last two episodes!

I’ll be watching ce soir. I don’t want it to end!