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Aug 25, 2020 · I May Destroy You is a cryptic title. It could be a threat, a warning or merely an observation. But throughout Michaela Coel’s phenomenal HBO series, whose finale aired on Monday, the phrase ...
- Judy Berman
- 2 min
Aug 24, 2020 · The original working title for I May Destroy You was January 22.Michaela Coel eventually scrapped it, in part, because she felt it would invite too many questions about how her own experience with ...
- E. Alex Jung
- Features Writer
Aug 25, 2020 · A review and analysis of the final episode of the HBO/BBC One series I May Destroy You. If trauma is a closed loop, then fantasy — which Michaela Coel makes nimble use of in “Ego Death ...
- Angelica Jade Bastién
- Critic
- The First Sequence Demonstrates Closure Through Revenge
- The Second Sequence Offers Her Closure Through Empathy and Compassion
- The Third Sequence Demonstrates Closure Through Reclaiming Her Power
- The Looped Ending Highlights There Is No Simple Answer to Trauma
- As Arabella Clears Under Her Bed, She Also Processes Her Trauma
- Arabella Actually Finds Closure Through Her Writing
The first sequence involves wigs, costume, drugging, violence, murder, a dead body under a bed and blood-splattered book notes. It is the epitome of Arabella’s anger and her need to destroy the attacker in the same way he destroyed her – “I May Destroy You” may have been Arabella’s thoughts on repeat when she thought up this scenario. This is how m...
On the other end of the spectrum is the second sequence. Although the initial plan is for Arabella to trap the attacker in the toilet so Terry could call the police and get him arrested, she empathises with him and takes him home. Rather than seeking revenge, she rises above the situation and hears him out. She finds a sense of closure through unde...
The third and most interesting scenario seemed to playout Arabella taking back power. It’s daylight so she may feel less vulnerable, she’s also the one to approach him, buy him a drink, take him into the bathroom and eventually invite him back to hers. Not only is she taking back power but the gender roles reverse. Terry is receiving the lapdance, ...
There’s nothing more annoying than a film that spends two hours delving deep into a load of complex, upsetting and very real themes and then offers a “happy ending” conclusion. It’s not realistic and it’s always really disappointing. Michaela doesn’t do this. She gives us various possible endings that are all equally right and wrong, just and unjus...
Okay so, the bed. A big ol’ symbol in this series and one that features a lot in the last two episodes. We know that the bed has significant meaning because in one of Arabella’s therapy sessions her therapist says that as she (A) represses her trauma (X), she also physically puts a hard line between the two (A/X) by storing stuff under her bed – th...
Though we see three ways Arabella could try and find closure, when none of these endings happen it becomes clear she finds it through finishing her book. Michaela highlights this through the design of Arabella’s book cover – it’s an A and an X overlapping. This is the same symbol her therapist drew after the A/X. She merges the two letters to show ...
- Bean Urquhart
Aug 25, 2020 · The finale of I May Destroy You is an examination of the complexities of evil, and the grayscales of human behavior when it comes to cruelty, power, and trauma. Coel depicts willingness and ...
- Camila Barbeito
Michaela Coel, star of HBO's groundbreaking series, 'I May Destroy You' explains the series finale's 3 different endings in Arabella's journey and how she transformed the pain of her sexual ...
People also ask
What does I may destroy you mean?
Is 'ego death' the final episode of 'I may destroy you'?
Why did Michaela Coel stop 'I may destroy you'?
A subreddit dedicated to the Emmy Award-Winning HBO Limited Series created and written by Michaela Coel. Set in London, where gratification is only an app away, the story centers on Arabella (Michaela Coel), a carefree, self-assured Londoner with a group of great friends, a boyfriend in Italy, and a burgeoning writing career.
