Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.

I Am Not Okay With This—directed by Jonathan Entwistle—is a coming-of-age story and a superhero origin story rolled into one. Sydney’s life seemed normally awkward until she developed superpowers that she couldn’t possibly understand or control on her own. So, it wasn’t exactly Carrie or The Breakfast Club. There was an episode—my favorite one out of the series so far—where the characters had to do a The Breakfast Club-like mission during Saturday detention.

The first season—seven 20-minute episodes—had an interesting Stranger Things vibe going on based on music, clothes, and tone. The series also moved like a full-length movie as all seven episodes were short, concise, and ended in cliffhangers until the very end.

I Am Not Okay With This started with a flash forward scene: the main protagonist Sydney Novak (Sophia Lillis)—covered in blood—was running down a street in a clear panic. Five seconds after watching that scene, my first thought was, “This is basically Carrie, huh?”

Then we’re thrust into a simple present-day narrative where Sydney is okay with being a weirdo at school with her best friend, Dina. However, she has a lot of anger bottled inside her—about her horrible mother, dead father, and recently her best friend hooking up with a toxic male jock—that manifested through explosive superpower rage.

Sophia Lillis portrayed Sydney’s anxiety and superpower induced panic attacks very well throughout the first season. Sydney’s diary entry narrations were helpful for the audience to understand her mindset in each episode, and how she buried her actual feelings underneath a quirky persona. She was the best part of the entire series—well, she is the main protagonist—as there wasn’t much plot progression, which was fine. In the end, the audience will invest in characters to keep them going.

Overall, I enjoyed the first season and its explosive finale. Sydney’s character story—involving poverty, grief, sexuality, and superpowers—was conveyed very well. The ending was a cliffhanger, so hopefully the series does get picked up for a second season.

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