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

She is visioning that guy. May turn out to be someone else completely. Could be her Flatmate.

They are very alike to be a simple coincidence.

Oh, I didn't think they looked all that similar. Ugh, that would be a gut-wrenching twist

Each episode stuns (if right word) me more

So Theo was lying about dad and Ryan

Yet Bella is in her support group - doesn’t make sense

Was funny to see their awe at camera in the phone

The whole storyline is clever. Tho someone ssid is based on a true story

I assumed her rapist was the floppy fringe guy in the bar that night.

I never watch much telly, but I'm getting into this.

For anyone who is missing the subtleties of the dialogue, may I suggest turning on the subtitles?

Honestly. I rewatched one of the episodes with them on and had a few lightbulb moments.

Michaela Coel is such a good writer and slips foreshadowing and hints into the conversations that are so easy to miss if you're as cloth-eared as me. I blame my misspent youth in clubs and gigs (not quite as misspent as the I May Destroy You characters though).

It also displays the lyrics to the soundtrack which sometimes echoes the plot.

I simultaneously loving this series, from my vantage point of a 40 something smug married, but hating it for an insight into the world my teens will have to navigate.

I also hope Biagio redeems himself. The victim blaming was heartbreaking.

And was Theo pocketing money from each person who attended her session (apart from Bella)?

I assumed Theo had been awarded some sort of grant, given she wasn't using domestic premises. (Social services/counselling equivalent of the Arts Council type of thing?) Presumably she's looking to monetise her trauma vampirism via a YouTube channel or TV.

And yes, the victim blaming was astonishingly painful to watch. Guess we'll find out in later episodes whether he was reacting out of impotent love and anguish or just spouting the usual misogynist bs.

Poor Arabella. Despite the wonderful scene at the start of Ep 5 echoing Amy Winehouse's You Know I'm No Good:

Thinking of you in the final throes
This is when my buzzer goes

she knew Biagio too well to expect any comforting words from him. But she looked so sad as she ended the call.

@KitchenDancefloor

And was Theo pocketing money from each person who attended her session (apart from Bella)?

Was she?!

Missed that.

'I also hope Biagio redeems himself. The victim blaming was heartbreaking.'

There was so much going on in that episode that I completely forgot that bit! Yes, it was hideous, and very realistic

And yes to Theo and the money! More than one person handed her a white envelope at the end of the session. Yet another thing I vaguely noticed but didnt properly register. God, it's so good and so brilliantly written

KitchenDanceFloor yep, agree with you re being 40s having been there and done that - although not to that degree - and worrying about teens and what they will have to navigate.

At the end of the show did you see how Thea looked towards Bella? Like out of... not out of disgust but of unfriendliness

I've been overthinking the Theo/money situation.

The women who were disclosing their sexual harassment handed over money to Theo for providing a space to be listened to. There was no suggestion of Bella paying to be in that space. Maybe being the victim of two rapes provided her with a currency of sorts whereas the other women were willing to pay for a validation of their experiences.

I also wasn't sure if Theo's introductory speech at the end of ep6 was a recap of her welcome into the original session, or word-for-word the same at a later session. If it was a repeat, it is quite chilling having the 'I'm not a stone cold bitch' as part of her repeated script. Almost like she needs to convince herself and others.

I'll probably watch ep7 onwards and be off beam on all of this. The last time I analysed any series this much was Fleabag. I hope Michaela Coel gets as much acclaim as Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

And yes @buildingbridge that was an ambiguous look between the two of them

I didn't realise there was 12 episodes, I thought the 6th was the last. This has made my day, it's one of the best shows I have ever watched.

Also missed the envelope /paying at the session

Just watched 5 episodes in one evening.
Gripping,
fantastic stuf
marking my place to read later

I really love it and I'm very old! I can't wait to see how the title will be played out and who will be destroyed...

I've been doubting myself about Theo taking money so I've done a screen shot. It took ages, it's really easy to miss.

I can't wait to see how the title will be played out and who will be destroyed...

I've assumed that the title I May - as in am permitted to / free to - Destroy You is being played out all thorough the series rather than / in addition to being a destination we reach at the end. She's portraying a resolutely permissive society - everything is allowed and everyone is driven purely by the pursuit of their own pleasure. It's taken for granted that my satisfaction may irreparably damage your life. Tough.

Wow! What a powerful series. I second to watching it with subtitles.

I'm looking forward to exploring Theo further, we were subtlety being steered towards the step father being abusive weren't we. Growing up as the girl who cried wolf will have left her open to abuse throughout her life so I'm reserving judgement on her. I think she may well have valid reasons for setting up the group.

The 'teenage' Terry and Bella were expressing wonder at the lad with the phone, but then he sent the incriminating photos to Bella's phone. Continuity error or did I miss something?

Kwame was googling 'non consensual humping' so I don't think he was 'raped', but it's exploring the different areas of sexual assault.

This is the focus of the programme for me, identifying the subtleties of what we perceive to be assault, I think teenagers should watch it.

I wonder if Theo has welcomed Arabella into her support group, acting all chummy because they were at school together, giving her free sessions when all the other attendees were paying... because she is planning to destroy her in some way. Her look at the end says to me that she is planning something awful. Theo knows that Arabella and Terri were involved in exposing her accusations as false in the school flashbacks. I think she has been waiting all these years to get her revenge and now she has the opportunity.
Can't wait to see where Coel goes with this storyline.

I thought that too about the camera phone. How can they send photos between phones when he is the only one with a camera phone? A mistake on the writer's part I think. Surprised no one spotted that when it was a key plot point.

Yes I wondered that about the phone, unless there were phones back then that were able to receive pictures but not take them? The other thing was it was expensive sending pictures to people back then.