Finally finished it. Thought it was decent.
Up until the last episode, it reminded me a lot of Atlanta: starting out with a regular plot then making numerous digressions into dramatic surrealism and high concept commentary about society.
Like everyone, I reckon the last episode was the most interesting. I'm not sure if I liked the path that Arabella finally chose, but I guess that's the writer's prerogative.
But I did really liked the way the show subverted the Magical Negro trope with Ben. Rather than having a wise, middle-aged black lady imparting wisdom, it was a vacuous white bloke tending an empty garden.
Could you dumb that final episode down for me? Because a lot of it went completely over my head!
Different ways to deal with the aftermath of the rape:
1. Revenge. But this path ended with a dead body under the bed (which is where Arabella told Zeyn she hides all her shame, regrets and fear, eg. the pics of the abortion). After the murder, when she jumped up on her bed to finish the story-board, every post-left a smudge of blood on the wall. Effectively, taking the route of vengeance was going to consume her and mark every chapter of the rest of her life.
2. Forgiveness. She sat down with David, understood him, empathised with him and forgave him. Only problem was that David was an irredeemable rapist, so it didn't achieve anything. Anyhow, the story-board she put up after the police left was the most detailed and rich of all the scenarios. This one might have been a commentary on the patriarchy rather than just the individual; not sure.
3. Rationalisation. Convincing herself that act of rape wasn't rape. It was actually just sex. She even 'shut the door' on the concept of rape down in the bathrooms. By flipping the script, she re-imagined her participation in the act as one of power rather then victimhood. Obviously, this is the sort of reframing you hear about most often in spousal rape. There was no story-board after this scenario, possibly because she'd given up her own agency.
4. Acceptance. Giving up on reccing Ego Death and moving with her life. Her A/X story was complete (both literally and narratively) and Arabella finally came to terms with the fact that she was a product of the light and dark of her experiences. She hadn't forgotten it, but she wasn't going to let it stop her from living life with her friends or pursuing professional success.
Actually, now that I've written out point 4, I'm finding the ending a lot more palatable.
