![]() Kwame walks away, still uncomfortable talking about his experience, and joins a dejected-looking Terry a few feet away. On their walk home, Arabella runs into a fan who thanks her for her social-media activism and shares how it’s helped him talk about his own trauma. Still, in the spirit of Halloween, they agree to go along with it and even let Terry have her pick of a group costume. Terry has redoubled her efforts for Arabella’s self-care journey, but Kwame and Arabella’s enthusiasm for things like elaborate paint-and-wine nights has waned considerably. Her relationship with Biagio now officially over, her search for validation has taken her to the company of online strangers. When we last saw Arabella, she was wading in the pristine waters of a beach in Italy. Even stressful virtual threats and demands can directly affect someone’s mental and physical health. ![]() It’s something that may hurt some people more than others. It’s a powerful moment, not just because Terry spoke up about a medical issue and, instead of being ignored, she was listened to, but because it acknowledges stress as a genuine cause for concern. In a final attempt to be helpful, the doctor tells Terry that perhaps Arabella should quit vaping if her blood pressure remains high, to which Terry counters by pointing out that Arabella’s stress over working day and night to combat rapists online is doing more harm than any type of smoking could. Arabella storms off in anger, leaving Terry to have the last word with the doctor. She lectures the stunned doctor about the problematic nature of being generalized, but the best explanation he has for her is that it’s a phrase from a form, not him. With Arabella’s attention back in the room, her doctor warns her to watch her blood pressure because of the heightened risk it poses for people of Afro-Caribbean descent, a phrase that ignites Arabella’s anger. Terry jumps in the frame to plug her social-media handle and try to wrap up Arabella’s stream-of-consciousness rant. The moment is so unabashedly self-absorbed that her doctor and Terry exchange awkward looks as Arabella tells her followers a flurry of self-care catchphrases. Instead of listening to her latest health results, the budding influencer interrupts her doctor to share her MRI results to prove she’s not “crazy” for waging a crusade against rapists. No scene better encapsulates this full-bloomed obsession than when Terry accompanies Arabella to the doctor. In this latest episode, “Social Media Is a Great Way to Connect,” I May Destroy You takes on a heavier double meaning: As Arabella is trying to help avenge those speaking out against their abusers, she is herself drawn into the vicious cycle of sharing her private pain for public consumption - the likes and shares that drive internet interaction. Another user follows up: What if they started doxing men? Arabella looks reinvigorated. ![]() She’s overwhelmed not only by the internet’s support but also its new demands of her: to keep outing and fighting against abusers. She may have just wanted virtual camaraderie, but her fans want a hero. Arabella’s eyes well up, and tears roll down her cheeks. Her search for comfort in her social-media presence takes a more serious turn when a stranger tweets their rapist’s address at her account. Ignoring the flashbacks of her rape, she says yes to soothe his concern before going back to being absorbed by her phone. “Are you all right?” Arabella is not in the mood to answer her well-meaning roommate, Ben (Stephen Wight).
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