I May Destroy You (2020) Review: Memory as a Crime Scene

Is I May Destroy You worth watching?

Yes, if you are ready for it. I May Destroy You is one of the most formally daring British dramas of recent years, a series about sexual assault and its aftermath that refuses easy comforts and still finds room for sharp, surprising comedy. Michaela Coel’s writing and performance are extraordinary, and the show’s honesty about consent, memory and friendship is rare. The reservation is that its structure is deliberately unconventional: some detours and flashbacks are more successful than others, and its subject matter makes it a demanding, sometimes painful watch.

What is I May Destroy You about?

Arabella (Michaela Coel) is a carefree, self-assured Londoner with a group of close friends, a boyfriend in Italy and a burgeoning career as a writer, thanks to a first book that turned her online popularity into a publishing deal. Under pressure to deliver her next manuscript, she takes a break for a night out with friends. The next morning, she is left with fragmented memories and the dawning realisation that her drink was spiked and she was sexually assaulted. The series follows her as she tries to piece together what happened and rebuild every part of her life, alongside her best friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), who have their own experiences of consent and boundaries.

I May Destroy You was created and written by Michaela Coel, who also co-directed and starred, and it was made for the BBC with HBO. This review covers the complete series: one season of 12 episodes, and the story has ended.

Coel’s writing refuses easy answers

The series is remarkable for how it approaches its subject. Rather than a straightforward story of trauma and justice, it examines consent in all its grey areas: situations that are not clearly criminal but still feel like violations, the ways people deceive themselves about their own behaviour, and the uncomfortable gap between what the law recognises and what people experience. It is frank without being lurid, and it never treats its characters as symbols.

Coel’s writing, which won her an Emmy, is also very funny. The comedy comes from the rhythms of friendship, social media and London life, and it keeps the show from becoming a lecture. The balance of humour and horror is one of the series’ most distinctive achievements.

Performances rooted in friendship

Coel is magnetic as Arabella, capturing her charisma, self-absorption, anger and fragility with astonishing precision. She makes the character flawed and sometimes infuriating, which is exactly what keeps her human. Weruche Opia is excellent as Terry, whose loyalty is complicated by guilt, and Paapa Essiedu gives Kwame a quiet, affecting vulnerability as his own storyline explores how assault affects men and the queer community.

The friendship between the three is the show’s emotional core. Their loyalty, jokes and failures to understand one another feel entirely real, and the series suggests that recovery happens through community as much as through any formal process.

Where the structure frays

The show’s ambition sometimes outpaces its execution. Several episodes take significant detours, into the past or away from Arabella’s main storyline, and while some are revelatory, others feel less essential and slow the momentum. The series’ shifting tone, from social satire to psychological drama, can be disorienting, and not every experimental swing lands. Viewers who prefer conventional storytelling may find it frustrating, though these are the costs of a series that takes genuine risks.

Who should watch I May Destroy You?

It suits viewers who want challenging, adult drama and are interested in stories about consent, trauma and recovery told without simplification. Twelve half-hour episodes make it a short commitment in time, if not in emotional weight. It carries mature ratings and includes depictions of sexual assault, drug use, sexual content and strong language, so viewers should approach it with care.

Two companions:

• Fleabag, another creator-led British series that uses comedy to explore grief and self-destruction.
• Adolescence for a more recent British drama that tackles gender and violence with similar seriousness.

The verdict

I May Destroy You is bold, uncomfortable and essential in its ambition, a drama about consent that is also a portrait of friendship and a creative voice finding itself. Its structure is uneven and its subject matter is demanding, but Michaela Coel’s writing and performance make it one of the most important British series of its era.

Rating: 4/5