I Am Not Okay with This

High school is already a complete nightmare before you add uncontrollable superpowers to the equation. Back in 2020, Netflix dropped this incredibly bingeable coming of age series starring Sophia Lillis as a grieving teenager who accidentally discovers she can blow things up with her mind. Co starring Wyatt Oleff as her eccentric neighbor, this tragically short lived supernatural comedy perfectly balances dark humor with genuine emotional trauma. I always recommend this specific show to anyone craving a messy superhero origin story that entirely skips the glossy costumes and focuses heavily on the awkward reality of puberty. It throws you right into the grimy working class environment of a dying town while asking terrifying questions about repressed anger. Looking beneath the retro outfits and indie rock music exposes the actual mechanics of the script. A structural analysis reveals that every seemingly spontaneous argument between Sydney and her exhausted mother is carefully timed to mirror their deeply rooted, inescapable similarities.

For the visual aesthetic, cinematographer Justin Brown relies entirely on a heavily muted and intentionally dated color scheme. You instantly notice how the dreary Pennsylvania skies and dying autumn leaves create a deeply oppressive atmosphere that makes the whole town feel like a prison. I do have to admit that the lighting choices become genuinely frustrating whenever the characters hang out in the dark high school basement. Hiding the actors in incredibly flat shadows makes those crucial indoor conversations look washed out instead of properly moody. Stepping back into the bright neon lights of the local bowling alley thankfully restores a much needed pop of visual clarity. Visually softening the brutal reality of teenage depression, the warm analog film grain also reflects a desperate wish to return to a simpler childhood before the trauma hit.

Pay close attention to the set design and you will see how the physical environments are built to completely suffocate the main character. The chaotic interior of Sydney's bedroom feels incredibly authentic because the cluttered desk and chipped wooden furniture perfectly match her turbulent mental state. Visiting the pristine modern house belonging to her wealthy classmate Brad leaves a completely different impression entirely, as those perfectly aligned kitchen counters come off almost like a sterile display window. My biggest complaint actually centers on the grocery store sequences because the perfectly stocked aisles look a bit too polished for a supposedly dying industrial community. Still, forcing these awkward teenagers to constantly bump elbows in tight school corridors makes their mounting social anxiety feel very tangible.

To truly understand the horror of losing physical control, you have to listen to the incredibly tense pockets of dead silence right before an object violently explodes. My ears constantly pick up the heavy breathing and frantic heartbeats blending into the background noise just as Sydney starts getting angry. Throughout the most intense telekinetic outbursts, the editing moves at a bizarrely unpredictable pace that perfectly mimics an actual panic attack. The original indie rock tracks by the fictional band Bloodwitch are undeniably catchy, yet they occasionally threaten to make the tragic emotional sequences feel a little too much like a trendy music video. Hearing the heavy metallic crunch of crumpled school lockers actually grounds the extravagant supernatural elements.

Before we get to the final rating, let us clear up some common mysteries surrounding this acclaimed television series.

Is the show based on a comic book? Yes, the entire narrative is adapted from a graphic novel written by Charles Forsman, who also created the source material for another darkly comedic television series called The End of the Fucking World.

Will there ever be a second season? Unfortunately, Netflix officially canceled the series shortly after the premiere due to unexpected production complications related to the global pandemic, leaving the story on a massive unresolved cliffhanger.

Where was the television series actually filmed? The production crew shot on location in the real industrial town of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, utilizing the authentic rusty bridges and foggy streets to capture that specific working class atmosphere.

The incredible central performances and the killer soundtrack keep me completely hooked, but I cannot ignore how abruptly the pacing falters during the middle episodes. Certain high school hallway interactions look so artificially staged that you practically forget you are watching a gritty drama about supernatural trauma.

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