S01.E01: Eyes Eyes Eyes Eyes

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

After visiting her long-distance boyfriend in Italy, burgeoning writer Arabella returns to London, where her literary agents have left her several frantic messages; with mere hours left to finish, she is tempted to join a friend on a night out.

Promo:

Original air date: 6/7/20

Edited June 6, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[luckyroll3]

What an incredible first episode!  And I'm honestly surprised their haven't been more comments.  Great writing and acting all around, and I'm really hoping I can make it through the entire season. 

[Adgirl]

I love Michaela Coel. I'm all in on this. 

Looking forward to the rest of the season.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I loved Chewing Gum so I was excited to see that Michaela had a new show! Not at all surprised that the writing was great.

Pilots can be clunky or too expository so I loved that we got dropped into Arabella's world and we already have a good feel for her and we got a good idea about who's in her life.

Her married (?) friend Simon convincing his wife Kat to convince him to look for a girl for a threesome so that his side piece Alessia could meet her was all kinds of shady.

I really felt for Arabella when she was trying to finish her draft because creativity doesn't always happen on demand.

Her Italian boy toy Biagio can suck it.

I am looking forward to the story about being drugged and raped unfolding because I want to know who dosed her drink as well as who raped her, but I am also dreading it all. I'm going to be furious if it was one of her friends.

Edited June 9, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[scrb]

So her first book that people know her from on the street, that was entirely written in tweets?

She's just relating the experiences she goes through?

But apparently her life includes partying and blacking out?  Or she remembers parts of what happened now and then.

 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Her life includes partying.  Not sure if she often blacks out.  This was a great first episode.  Michaela Cole is incredible in everything she does.  

[Chicago Redshirt]

This is my first exposure to Michaela. So much to try to unpack in such a short space.

 

[Milburn Stone]

On 6/9/2020 at 5:55 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I really felt for Arabella when she was trying to finish her draft because creativity doesn't always happen on demand.

This is why I didn't like the show. I think creativity does happen on demand, in the sense that sitting down to work is the predicate for all creativity to happen. I stopped watching after the scene where she basically jerked her agents around. I found it highly annoying that she treated her obligation--i.e., just fulfilling the agreement with them that she entered into of her own volition--as a joke.

[meep.meep]

Arabella is an infuriating character.  This show is definitely not about black and white or good vs evil.  If you don't watch more, you'll really missing out on something groundbreaking.

[Milburn Stone]

On 8/18/2020 at 1:59 PM, meep.meep said:

Arabella is an infuriating character.  This show is definitely not about black and white or good vs evil.  If you don't watch more, you'll really missing out on something groundbreaking.

OK, this is helpful. I'm pretty conditioned by TV to feel that I'm supposed to like--at least a little bit--the central character. To be able to find at least one redeeming characteristic. I pretty much despised everything about Arabella, or (more charitably) her worst qualities were so disqualifying for me that I didn't care to find any good qualities, if they exist. Irresponsibility, I can handle by itself. Arrogance, I can handle by itself. Irresponsibility combined with arrogance, a dealbreaker for me. But maybe I'll give it one more shot.

Edited August 20, 2020 by Milburn Stone

[meep.meep]

One of the reasons this show is so good is that all the characters are gray.  They do great things and then they do shitty things.  Or perhaps the other way around.  It's really brilliant writing.

[DanaK]

I recently re-watched this first episode and paid full attention and it’s surprising how much of the plot I missed the first time around

[auntiemel]

I'm an author, and I SSSOOO related to the struggle to finish an almost-due manuscript in a mad rush of an all-nighter. Is it the most responsible thing? No. But I'm sure as hell not gonna pretend I've never done it! 🙂

[Lois Sandborne]

I've been putting off watching this show all year because I've been parceling out Things I Can't Handle (I Hate Suzie is next, on track for maybe next spring, lol). So anyway, I'm incredibly late. But this pilot is amazing. I argue that there's a ton of exposition, but it's done so neatly that no one can mind it. I enjoyed Chewing Gum so much, and this is shaping up to be ten times livelier and sharper. I'm sure I'll be done with it by morning.

[sugarbaker design]

17 hours ago, Lois Sandborne said:

I'm sure I'll be done with it by morning.

You won't be sorry, it's one-of-a-kind TV.