7/1/2023 0 Comments Nam yoon soo beyond evil![]() ![]() ![]() And so Beth's actions are motivated by a desperation of a different flavor and her bitter remarks take on a different flair. Addy's apparent refusal to acknowledge the physical, romantic, sexual attraction between them holds Beth captive because Beth wants all of that from Addy: Addy's love, attention, acknowledgement, honesty. To remove that choice is to open the door for all the ambiguity and tension that had me squinting with uncertainty at the screen wondering if the subtext really was subtext.īut the reveal of the kiss shifts the power dynamic and suddenly we see it's much more even than we'd assumed and, in fact, Beth is quite possibly under Addy's sway. I think about that interesting change between script and final edit in 1x01 where Beth was meant to touch Addy and her touch was supposed to convey a sexual intent and the familiarity of history between them regarding this degree of intimacy, that this was far from the first time. ![]() Or 2) nothing beyond that kiss happened between them and they've skirted anything more by sublimating it all into BFF-skinship but with that electricity always threatening to spark and itching beneath their skin. Because how do we go from a moment wherein both Addy and Beth look so happy and full of wonder and awe at what just transpired between them to the fraught silent tension between them where none of that physical attraction and intimacy is acknowledged? The two big scenarios that leap out as more likely in my mind is that 1) they moved onto deeper intimacy with one another and by the time the show starts they've pulled back from it, both of them acting out on the growing distance between them (more unwilling on Beth's behalf?) by the performative pursuit of hookups with boys (where each girl insists on receiving oral sex from her partner and we don't see any progress beyond that), all while this physical thing that was between them goes undiscussed. The thing is that we really have no idea from what the show shows us what happened in the aftermath of the kiss. All my thoughts come with the preface that there's a lot of harmful, hurtful, toxic behavior across the spectrum as a result of any number of factors (uncertainty, feeling socioeconomically and geographically and emotionally trapped, limited opportunities and outlets, competition, powerlessness, high school social drama, etc), with the scale of least to most harmful to others being probably Addy, Beth, then Colette-but the reveal that once upon a time a kiss happened between Addy and Beth (and that Addy initiated it!) deepens and complicates how we understand the reasons and motivations behind Addy and Beth's dynamics, the behavior they exhibit toward one another, and what they say, rife with the undercurrent of unsaid feelings and desires and frustrations that color every interaction. My brain keeps reviewing all the sharp edges with which Addy and Beth can approach each other, Beth from the get-go and Addy increasingly so as she pulls away from Beth, who in response tries to find a handhold with which she can cling back onto Addy. ![]()
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