Watercooler Pick
I May Destroy You
- Series
- Where to Find It: HBO Max
- Rating: TV-MA
- Release Date: 2020
- Seasons: 1 Season
- Episodes : 12 Episodes
- Length: 30 Minutes
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Vanity Fair has called it the “undisputed show of the summer,” and with each week and each new episode, more outlets and threads are taking on this BBC One-HBO series.
The episodes are only 30 minutes, the length of comedies, and the show is set against an escapist back drop: mesmerizing dance clubs, glamorous trips to Ostia, handsome Italian boyfriends, and a sunny version of millennial life in London.
But the story pivots when its lead, a famous millennial author, Arabella (played by Michaela Coel, also the series’ creator), is haunted by flashbacks after her drink was spiked during a night out. The viewer is left to process what happened as she does, in fragments, doubts and denials. What unfolds is a series that explores power, consent and sexual exploitation in its many forms—and from many different points of view, including that of the falsely accused.
As Tom Long from the Detroit News explains it, I May Destroy You “can be shocking, it can be fun (which is also somewhat shocking), it can hurt and maybe even heal.”
An addictive, provocative, and timely series to watch that challenges how we think and feel about our own relationships.
Find a friend to watch this one with—you’ll likely want to talk about it afterward.
Rape is at the center of this series, and some (consensual) scenes are graphic.
While it’s earned a 97% rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics, detractors feel it loses focus with too many stories, and that the comedic elements undermine the trauma of Arabella’s ordeal.
- Interests: conversation worthy, international
Melissa Roth
