S01.E05: It Just Came Up

[ElectricBoogaloo]

BBC1 is airing two episodes per week while HBO is airing only one episode per week. If you enter this thread before the US air date, you may encounter spoilers!

Quote

Arabella reassesses a sexual encounter with Zain and threatens to break the internet when she goes off script at a literary event. Kwame seeks help from the police.

Original UK air date: 6/22/20
Original US air date: 7/6/20

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What the detective told Arabella is true - people don't always realize that a crime has been committed. Often they think a shitty thing has happened but they don't know it's illegal until someone tells them. I was glad that both Arabella and Kwame realized that what happened to them was NOT just shitty but also a crime.

I know that some people will take Zain's side and say that Arabella should have known he took the condom off, but that's simply not true. She didn't see him do it and he didn't inform her that he was doing it. What kind of an asshole does that? Especially right after she specifically asked him if he had a condom before they started having sex. FFS.

Poor Kwame. The way he was treated at the police station is exactly why so many people don't report sexual crimes. That police officer had absolutely no desire to do anything but the bare minimum, which was fill out the report. He was clearly uncomfortable, but so what? IT'S YOUR JOB TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE REPORTING CRIMES. Yes, even if it makes you uncomfortable because this isn't about you. It's about the victim and the crime.

Similarly, Zain was so uncomfortable that he couldn't even bring himself to say the word "rape." Biagio can go fuck himself. I am not here for his victim blaming or his ridiculous hypocrisy. As Arabella pointed out, he was a stranger who gave her a drink and it wasn't a problem then.

[Blakeston]

I'm confused about several things. Who was arrested for raping Arabella? It sounded like the police officer said "Derae." Do we know who that is?

And the officer said something about Simon being "okay" or "fine," or something to that effect. What does that mean? That he was found to be completely innocent?

And if the man who was arrested raped her mouth, that still doesn't explain her memory of someone pounding away at her body, right?

[scrb]

First half of the episode Arabella seemed like in denial when she found out about the Reddit postings.

She was all smiles at the police station and then at the sit down meeting and even afterwards when she was with Zain.

Then she pounced, maybe the rage built up.

However, she wasn't hysterical in tone, though she might have been considering what's happened to her.

She was matter of fact and unrelenting in the recitation of what Zain did.  She could not be refuted.

The only down side may be that she's going to be famous before her work was evaluated by the public at large.  It will overshadow her work but that may be alright.

Kwame has a bit of PTSD and is doing the right thing but he's in a no-win situation.

[Joimiaroxeu]

When Bella was doing the yoga poses I was like "Dayum!" She is quite flexible. Not sure why Zain was kind of threatened by it though.

Chills when Arabella first realized Zain likely played her on the condom thing per the reddit instructions.

OMG, when Arabella Freudian-slipped Zain's name as her rapist at the publisher's meeting. They all thought she was joking. Except Zain. He knew.

It's hard to image how Kwame didn't know whether he'd been penetrated or not. I guess the guy who assaulted him must've been rather small in the crotchular area.

The stunned look on Arabella's face when she learned Zain had left a trail of victims and she was just the latest one.

Poor Kwame. Heartbreaking.

Holy crap, the way Bella took Zain down was a thing of beauty. And in public too.

Well, Biago was straight trash, making himself the victim of Arabella's rape. Ugh.

Quote

Kwame has a bit of PTSD and is doing the right thing but he's in a no-win situation.

Right now, anyway. What if he finds out that guy has assaulted other people, like Arabella learned about Zain? There's strength in numbers, as the saying goes. A group might have more ability to get the police to take their situations seriously.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I absolutely loved the scene when Arabella named Zain as her rapist.  It was so powerful to see person after person stand up and them not letting him quietly slip out.  There are so many different communities (work, organizations, etc.) in which a predator like him is allowed to continue their behavior because people don't feel empowered to speak out.  It was great to see an immediate comeuppance.  I hope this has real ramifications for Zain. 

[saltylemon]

The absolutely matter of fact, confident public takedown of Zain was so powerful. Just jaw dropping. I can’t wait to see the fall out from this scene. And Zain looked to be sitting next to his mother. Wow. Hopefully Henny House dumps his ass.

 

Comparing this absolute moment of empowerment to poor Kwame alone in the station & the contrast is devastating. I hope he confides in his friends next episode because I hate that he’s dealing with this alone. 

[DanaK]

I totally did not expect that moment of Bella calling out Zain as a rapist. She seems to shift quickly between unbothered to really bothered that it’s hard to keep up

Was it just me or was that woman in charge at the publishing house a really nasty person? It seemed like she was feigning being nice while being as mean as possible. Maybe I just wasn’t understanding what was going on

Edited July 8, 2020 by DanaK

[Blakeston]

20 hours ago, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I hope this has real ramifications for Zain. 

With so many people sharing that video of him being confronted, I think the incident will haunt him professionally and personally for the rest of his life.

5 hours ago, DanaK said:

I totally did not expect that moment of Bella calling out Zain as a rapist. She seems to shift quickly between unbothered to really bothered that it’s hard to keep up

Was it just me or was that woman in charge at the publishing house a really nasty person? It seemed like she was feigning being nice while being as mean as possible. Maybe I just wasn’t understanding what was going on

I think Bella was furious once she heard the podcast, and stayed furious. She made a point of switching back and forth between being friendly to Zain and subtly antagonizing him, just to mess with him, before dropping the bomb on him publicly.

[Empress1]

This show is just devastating, in a good way. Watching Bella come to terms with what happened to her, realize that there were others in that boat with her, and take some of her power back was amazing.