Primarily, the show uses sex, and especially the idea of consent, as its core subject, but in much the same way that the piecing together of Arabella’s sexual assault often gives way to episodes set many months or years before it, so too do different themes branch out of that central umbrella topic. The frequency with which jokes are deployed here, in both forms, only reinforces the idea that people, particularly women, people of color, and anyone who falls outside of the confines of heteronormativity, are constantly in conflict. The show understands what a vital tool humor is, both as a sword to be wielded in attack and a shield to be raised in defense. And what might be most striking about it is how it continues to be consistently funny even as it depicts extreme trauma and unpacks deep-seated corrosion at the heart of our culture. Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You might be the best show on television right now, but it’s also the hardest to watch, the most painful to think about, and the most uncomfortably truthful. You can check out our thoughts on the previous two episodes by clicking these words. This recap of I May Destroy You episode 5, “It Just Came Up”, and I May Destroy You episode 6, “The Alliance”, contains spoilers. “It Just Came Up” and “The Alliance” prove that Michaela Coel’s I May Destroy You is perhaps the best show on television right now – at the very least it’s the toughest to watch, and the most difficult to think about.

I may destroy you episode 5