Insatiable has been the center of controversy ever since the release of the trailer last month. Thousands even signed a petition to cancel the show but to no avail. In case you didn’t know, the entire first season is streaming on Netflix right now.
After all the backlash, I wasn’t sure if I was going to watch it or not but I was so intrigued that I did. The first episode starts off with Patty who is bullied at school because of her weight. In a rut, she goes to a convenient store to buy some snacks. She starts eating a chocolate bar outside the store and a homeless man sits beside her and calls her a “fatty.” They get into an argument and he punches her in the face. The blow breaks her jaw, which is why she had to get mouth wired shut and only consume liquids. This is why she ended up losing weight.
Now, this is where the many problems of the show start to unfold. Like the trailer suggests, she wanted revenge on everyone who ever bullied her. Not only does this portray the wrong mindset, but the lengths that she goes to is way too much. She even almost kidnapped someone.
The show in its entirety tries to tackle social issues like body-shaming, LGBTQ+ community, and struggling with one’s sexuality. However, the way they did it seemed very off putting.
Throughout the show Patty wonders why her life isn’t better now that she lost weight. One character pointed out that just because you’re beautiful on the outside, doesn’t mean you’re beautiful on the inside. This scene made it seem that only “skinny” people are considered beautiful.
I’m not part of the LGBTQ+ community but watching the scenes that tackled their issues felt unpleasant. One of the main characters in the show realizes that he’s attracted to men after being kissed by one of his friends. It is important to note that both of these men were married to women and had kids. He then expresses that he’s having a hard time with his new-found bisexuality and they just disregard it completely saying that he’s gay. There’s nothing wrong with being gay but this is a perfect example of bi erasure.
This whole storyline goes to sh*t when he tries to make a relationship happen between himself, his wife, and his new boyfriend. It was messy, confusing, and unnecessary.
Aside from the body-shaming, the show also had a big problem with the revenge plot. Patty kept doing horrible things over and over and over again but people kept giving her attention and even feeding it. The better thing to do would have been to help her out of the mess she got into. Here are some of the different things she did to get revenge/her way:
1. Out someone when he wasn’t ready
2. Break up a marriage
3. Plan to kidnap someone
4. Plan to set a guy on fire
5. Steal evidence from the police
Trust me, there was definitely more.
Not only was the show tone-deaf, it also felt like it didn’t know what it wanted to be. At first it felt like a comedy show and then drama. Towards the end, it felt like a thriller/horror show with kidnappings, an exorcism, and two murders.
Insatiable was just all over the place. It had too many storylines and themes. More importantly, they were given the opportunity to address urgent issues and sadly didn’t make the cut. At the end of the last episode it seems like there’s going to be a second season. If it is picked up, I hope they take everyone’s qualms into consideration to make it much better than this first one.
Have you seen Instiable? What did you think about it?
Art by Marian Hukom
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