Insatiable (2018—2019)
"Maybe that's why I couldn't stop eating...I was pushing down the truth."
"What truth?"
"Nothing tastes as good as killing feels."
(Aka: Patty Bladell underrated serial killer 👸🩸)
🎵Song: Chocolate Cake by Ali Barter
This time it’s the well meaning protagonist who gradually morphs into the antagonist of the series. They cover their tracks by spinning webs of lies and eventually realize that what started off as k*lling morally bad people began to snowball…and they actually enjoy the thrill of it and hiding it from everyone around them. They’ve become an insatiable monster who has their priorities backwards and an appetite for power and dominance
A bullied teenager turns to beauty pageants as a way to exact her revenge, with the help of a disgraced coach who soon realizes he's in over his head.
I recently watched both seasons of Insatiable, and certainly did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I of course remember when the show first came out, because of the attention surrounding the way in which Patty Bladell (Debby Ryan) loses weight in the first episode, and the subsequent campaigns to remove the show. Insatiable should come with a big trigger warning for eating disorders and fat shaming, but I also felt that the ways in which Patty’s eating and exercise related behaviours are addressed throughout the show in no way minimise or glamorise the weight loss situation in the first place.
In fact, I don’t think the show would have worked so well if it ignored the issue. Instead, Patty is shown to constantly, realistically, struggle with self-esteem issues related to her weight. Both from the obsessive desire to maintain her weight, and therefore, her newfound value in the eyes of others, but also in the sense that she is never truly satisfied because she can so easily recognise how little people cared about her due to their fatphobia. And whilst many of these scenes could be triggering, I also found them to be relatable in so many ways. I personally liked that the show didn’t shy away from this.
That being said, Insatiable is a highly stylised black comedy, so it was never going to be quite what people may have wanted or expected out of it. Whilst it is no laugh out loud comedy, the ridiculous situations that the characters find themselves in are genuinely amusing, and make for some interesting viewing. I can’t say that I particularly liked any of the characters, but I enjoyed all of the character dynamics. Patty and her pageant coach, Bob (Dallas Roberts), have so many great scenes together and play off each other so well. They are both so similar, ruled by ridiculous dreams and notions of revenge, that their strange relationship makes a weird kind of sense.
But I particularly liked how by the second season so many other character relationships are developed and explored as well. Everyone in this show is the exact kind of unusual that works in a black comedy, yet Patty and Bob absolutely shine amongst them. They cannot help but continue to get into trouble, and their antics drive the narrative forward. What I also like about Insatiable however is that the plot clearly impacts on the character’s own psyches as well – in many ways making them even worse versions of themselves. Whilst I don’t really like any of these characters, I absolutely love watching them, especially when they are at their worst. And to be honest, you can’t help but root for the revenge that is leveled at their enemies.
In a weird kind of way, considering how ridiculous and heightened these characters are, they feel real and compelling because they are constantly changing and influenced by the people and events surrounding them. I actually really enjoyed Insatiable, and was disappointed to discover it was canceled after season 2.
I just watched Insatiable for the first time and, what the hell did I watched?
Hating on Patty was worth it all along, but it was boring and boring watching her do again and again the same mistakes. She was unlikable.
Nonnies character was hidden and made uninteresting when she had the greatest potential.
I watched only for other Bob, who was, by far, the best character of the whole series. He was deep, and well written. Loved him! (but I'll never forgive the writers for making him polyamourous and getting forced to choose only for Coralee and hot Bob to have (no matter how platonic) a relationship)
idk how often these two fandoms cross over but Insatiable on Netflix (that Debby Ryan show that was supposed to be about beauty pageants but then really wasn't) is a Niblenephim storyline imo
Anyone who actually WATCHED Netflix's INSATIABLE would know that it broke a lot of stereotypes, and in fact treated a lot of tricky topics really well....while also being funny as hell, poignant and damn entertaining. The reaction of people who wanted it canceled were clearly peolle who didn't actually watch the show.
Anyone who knows, knows, that the cliffhanger of season 2 was INSANE. Pass this around.
Tons of LGBTQIA+ representation, matter of fact discussions about addiction and the struggle to live a life free from their grasp, a critical discussion of the journey to understanding what beauty REALLY is, an even DEEPER journey into the dark corners of one's self, all with some batshit crazy funny moments. Please....at least one more season to tie up the loose ends.