S01.E11: Would You Like to Know the Sex?

[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!

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Arabella re-engages with her work and continues staking out the scene of her attack. Kwame follows Tyrone into uncharted territory, and Terry has some luck in work and romance.

Original UK air date: 7/14/20
Original US air date: 8/17/20

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I appreciate that Kwame contacted the girl he hooked up so he could apologize to her in person.

Wow, Bella is having a pretty terrible day. Dropped by her publisher and her agents AND now she has to pay back her advance. If only she hadn't been so desperate to meet Della who turned out to be Zain. TWIST! I was surprised that he offered to meet her and let her know the truth, especially considering that the last time they saw each other she announced to everyone that he was a rapist.

After a year of writer's block and procrastination, it was great to see Bella get so motivated to finish her book. It was great that learning about writing structure was enough to nudge her out of her perpetual inaction.

I really like that Kwame is letting himself open up to the possibility of changing and becoming nice.

And yay for Terry getting that job! I was worried that she was going to just sneak out the back of the restaurant when she found out that Kai was trans so I was glad that she stayed even though it seemed a bit of a struggle when she came back to the table. Kai seemed like a perfectly nice guy so it would have been shitty of her to just leave.

I was both relieved and horrified when Arabella finally remembered what happened. What an evil piece of shit. Now my only question is if he's the one who dosed her drink too. I know that's splitting hairs in which circle of hell he belongs in, but still.

Edited July 13, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Joimiaroxeu]

Does Ben "like" Arabella? In a more than just being roomates way but he's shy or something?

I thought Bella was looking a bit Grace Jones-ish in that black hat. I bet she gets that a lot. Both of them are stunning women, IMO.

Wait, what? Zain writing under a female pseudonym? That's almost offensive to me given what he was doing to women. I guess I'm glad though that he helped Bella with her writing and that she was willing to accept the help. (Also, is it possible Ben knew who Della really was and that's why he recommended "her" book to Bella?)

It's hard for me to believe Terry hadn't realized those guys she had the three-way knew each other. Kai picked up on it right away as she was telling him the story. Was she just in denial?

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Now my only question is if he's the one who dosed her drink too.

I think maybe he and the other guy worked as a team and the other guy was probably the one who messed with her drink. I just hope it isn't some kind of monstrous "service" where the pimp arranges for men to rape women who've been randomly chosen and drugged.

[Empress1]

23 hours ago, Joimiaroxeu said:

Does Ben "like" Arabella? In a more than just being roomates way but he's shy or something?

I'm not sure if he likes her romantically but the video he was watching makes me think he's lonely and he might like to be better friends with her and the crew. Like, instead of them just coming in and out and asking him questions about their adventures, he might like to be included in more of their adventures.

When Arabella was staring at the man and piecing together what had happened, I was like, holy shit, Michaela Coel is striking. Those cheekbones could cut glass. She pulls off a bald head so well because her face is amazing.

Was Arabella only raped by the white guy? If so, what's in it for the Black guy?

On 7/13/2020 at 10:57 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I really like that Kwame is letting himself open up to the possibility of changing and becoming nice.

Yes! He deserves a nice guy and to be cared about.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The flashbacks and Bella's realization of exactly how it happened was so intense.  The horrible things was how many men were complicit in her rape.  He was able to take her to the men's room in a club.  Aaaaaaarghhhh!!!!!!  Having this follow Terry telling her story to Kai who immediately realized she had been set up just added to it.  

I weirdly liked that Zain showed up and helped Bella.  He cannot take back his "Oh, I thought you knew I removed the condom" rape, but he did try to rectify that he also didn't help her the way he was supposed to in the first place.  Initially he harmed her in two ways, personally and professionally.  He is trying to make up for the professional hit.  I wonder if she can get the draft done and present to her now former publisher to get out of her financial predicament? 

[DanaK]

So were those scenes with Zain telling us Bella didn’t really know how to write; that is, write a structured thing like a book? I’m forgetting what drew the publishing house in the first place. Just her social media postings?

I would be pissed that Zain was essentially absolved by his (female!) publisher and given a fake name to use so he could still write. I told you all there was something nasty about that woman. I hope Bella doesn’t return to her; she’s a backstabber

Edited August 18, 2020 by DanaK

[Blakeston]

I've been wondering this whole season if Arabella would ever figure out what happened to her.

In a weird way, I was sort of hoping she wouldn't find out - just because in real life, it's common for people in that situation to never get that closure, and it would be nice to see that acknowledged in pop culture.

If Bella finishes her project (and I assume she will now), I hope she gets it published somewhere other than Henny House. Suzy is vile.

[Empress1]

8 hours ago, DanaK said:

So were those scenes with Zain telling us Bella didn’t really know how to write; that is, write a structured thing like a book? I’m forgetting what drew the publishing house in the first place. Just her social media postings?

I would be pissed that Zain was essentially absolved by his (female!) publisher and given a fake name to use so he could still write. I told you all there was something nasty about that woman. I hope Bella doesn’t return to her; she’s a backstabber

Yes, it was Bella's social media that got her her book deal. I'm not sure if it's for a novel or what (and I don't know why social media postings would convince publishers that she could write a novel - a collection of essays, maybe). I remember when she and Zain first met, Zain was pissed that she got the deal because Zain has formal education and Bella doesn't, at least not with writing (did Bella go to university? Her brother is working his way through, but did she go?). When Zain was helping her this episode, he said he'd learned how to map out a novel in school and Bella said "At Cambridge?"

I thought it was really interesting that Bella was able to piece together what happened to her that night after she was able to piece together her book. She got clarity across the board.

I laughed when Terry asked Bella how she was going to pay back her advance and she replied. "I don't know. That's why I'm crying." It was the delivery. (Ben is a better person than I am because I'd be wanting that back rent from Bella - the way she was like "Ben, you're going to have to cover my rent" an episode or two ago didn't sit well with me. Maybe he can afford it with no problem.)

[PrincessPurrsALot]

It seems that Bella had some major issues prior to the rape (mainly around drinking and drugs), but her life was getting on track.  She landed a book deal based on her social media presence.  I don't think they expected a novel.  Zain confirmed it was non-fiction since that was the structure he presented to her. She had given him a hard time about Cambridge previously so it landed for me that she was doing it again.  He has the formal education she lacks and it is from a top school. 

Since the rape her mental health deteriorated.  Her interactions with others became less focused.  She was increasingly self-absorbed, missing even the simplest or most direct things others would say.  I think the show has done a great job of showing the impact of such an event, especially with how disconcerting it is to not be able to remember yet to know that something horrible happened.  Too many shows hand wave the impact or only bring it up when the person is helping someone else (as if they are somehow healed enough to help out other people). She has been a terrible friend of late.   Hopefully with the realization of what happened and whatever next actions she takes she can heal more from the experience.  Then, if she can finish her book, she can dig out of her financial hole too. 

I'm not saying she won't still be messy, but at least she can be less messy? 

[Blakeston]

In the early episodes, people kept coming up to Bella and mentioning her work "Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial." I had the impression that was some sort of book. (More likely a collection of essays, or something to that effect, than a full-fledged book.)

The more I think about it, Kwame's conflict with that woman (no clue what her name was) can mostly be chalked up to differences between gay and straight dating/hookup culture. In the gay world, chatting online, meeting up at a restaurant and going back to someone's place for sex is not necessarily a signal that you're looking for something serious. But a lot of women would feel taken advantage of if all a guy in that scenario wasn't interested in a relationship.

I appreciate the point being made with the characters taking responsibility for their actions and moving toward healing, but I can't say I necessarily find it believable. I don't buy Zain suddenly being such a good guy that he'd go out of his way to help Arabella. I don't buy that Kwame would want to sit down with that woman, knowing fully well that she's homophobic and nutty.

I also didn't find it believable in that previous episode that Arabella would delete her social media accounts, knowing how central they were to her identity and her career. It was a healthy step, but people don't make that much progress that quickly.

[Empress1]

46 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

In the early episodes, people kept coming up to Bella and mentioning her work "Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial." I had the impression that was some sort of book. (More likely a collection of essays, or something to that effect, than a full-fledged book.)

Maybe it was a blog?

[luckyroll3]

On 8/19/2020 at 2:48 PM, Blakeston said:

In the early episodes, people kept coming up to Bella and mentioning her work "Chronicles of a Fed-Up Millennial." I had the impression that was some sort of book. (More likely a collection of essays, or something to that effect, than a full-fledged book.)

 

On 8/19/2020 at 3:34 PM, Empress1 said:

Maybe it was a blog?

She's already written one successful book that was based on her social media musings.  This book deal was for a follow-up/second book.

Kwame got big props from me for apologizing to his date, but when she said something along the lines of "anything you may have found offensive that I said, you wouldn't have heard if you had you not stepped into my house under false pretenses," I was like

Henny House lady is batshit crazy, and I don't find it surprising at all that she would encourage a man accused of rape to take the identity of a woman to release a book.  What a kook.