Line #14 Series/IAmNotOkayWithThis


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ianowt_s1_vertical_main_rgb_en_us.jpg]]
2	''I Am Not Okay with This'' is a 2020 Creator/{{Netflix}} supernatural {{teen dram\|a}}edy series created by Jonathan Entwistle and Christy Hall and starring Creator/SophiaLillis, adapted from the graphic novel by Charles Forsman (who also created ''Series/TheEndOfTheFuckingWorld'').
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4	Sydney Novak is a [[OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent "boring 17-year-old white girl"]] whose family moved to [[FlyoverCountry small-town Pennsylvania]] two years earlier. She's made a best friend in Dina--both of them having been the new girl at the same time--and has started a friendship with Stanley Barber, the quirky, pot-smoking boy down the street who works at the bowling alley. Despite this, Syd still feels like an outcast. And just when she thinks her life can't get any weirder, Sydney discovers that she has [[MindOverMatter telekinetic powers]]. You know--typical teenage stuff.
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6	A second season had been announced, but in August 2020 Netflix reversed their decision and [[CutShort cancelled]] the show due to concerns about the cost of filming safely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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9	!!Tropes:
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11	* AbusiveParents: Stan's father is neglectful, verbally abusive, and heavily implied to be physically abusive as well.
12	* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Sydney accidentally does this to Brad in the first season finale via YourHeadAsplode.]]
13	* AdaptationalHeroism: DownplayedTrope: Brad is not a particularly nice guy, but he isn't the [[spoiler: [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil callous rapist]]]] of the graphic novel either.
14	* AdultsAreUseless:
15	** There are very few grownups present in the series, and the ones that are there tend to provide more obstacles for the teenage characters then anything. Justified with Syd's mother, as she's working 60 hours a week to provide for a family of three.
16	** This is also clearly present at Westinghouse. The school counselor's main form of therapy is giving Syd a diary and none of the school's faculty even attempt to intervene when [[spoiler: Bradley outs Syd at the dance and then punches Stan]].
17	* TheAllegedCar: Stanley drives a 1978 or '79 Ford Fairmont whose power window (a rare option to begin with) strains to go down. Sydney later says that it smells like weed. Becomes even worse when he crashes it after Rick's party.
18	* ArtStyleDissonance: The comic is drawn like a comedic Sunday strip, except the subject matter is, well, depressing. They're supposed to be drawings drawn by Syd in her diary.
19	* AscendedExtra: Stanley is a relatively minor character in the graphic novel. In the show he's effectively the {{deuteragonist}}.
20	* TheBlindLeadingTheBlind: Stanley appoints himself Syd's mentor, despite his knowledge coming only from comic books.
21	* BloodSplatteredInnocents: [[spoiler:After Brad's head explodes, his blood splatters all over Syd and everyone around them.]]
22	* BloodierAndGorier: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig-Zagged]]. In the comic, [[spoiler:Brad is internally hurt just enough in his head by Syd's psychic powers that he keels over and dies while having a nosebleed]], whereas in the show, [[spoiler:his entire head explodes, [[LudicrousGibs gibs]] and all]]. However, the alteration in the show is based on the ending of the comic when [[spoiler:Syd blows up her own head]], which was adapted out from the show.
23	* BookEnds: Syd's first use of her powers is to give Brad a nosebleed, [[spoiler:and her last use of them in the first season is to [[YourHeadASplode cause his head to explode]]]].
24	* TheBreakfastPlot: Episode five, "Another Day in Paradise", with Brad as the athlete, Dina as the princess, Jenny as the criminal, Stan as the nerd, and Syd as the basket case.
25	* BroodingBoyGentleGirl: Inverted when it comes to Stan and Syd. She's the brooding, troubled girl with a HairTriggerTemper, he's a more kind, laidback boy who's [[ThePollyanna highly optimistic]] and TheStoner.
26	* CassandraTruth: In the graphic novel, after [[spoiler:Brad dies]], Syd is visited by the police because she looked like she was arguing with him just before it happened. She outright tells them "[[spoiler:I did it. I killed him with my mind because he raped my best friend]]", but the officers don't believe her, simply saying that [[spoiler:he died of an aneurysm]].
27	* {{Cliffhanger}}: Season 1 ends on one. [[spoiler:Syd flees to the water tower to try to figure out what she's going to do next, only to be met by a mysterious man who confirms to her that people ''should'' be afraid of her and that now they can "begin" something...]]
28	%%* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Stanley Barber.
29	* CockroachesWillRuleTheEarth: A variation; Stan believes that jellyfish will rule the Earth after humanity destroys itself, which is why he, in one of his drugged-out hazes, wishes he could be a jellyfish after the apocalypse so he could lead them to victory over the roaches.
30	* CordonBleughChef: Liam's "loaded lasagna" is made from random stuff he found in the fridge and the pantry, some of which he doesn't even know. Sydney thinks it tastes surprisingly good, though.
31	* DaydreamBeliever: Stan suspects that the authors of superhero comics must have done some research on the supernatural abilities they depicted in their stories, and uses them for research once he finds out that Sydney has PsychicPowers, envisioning her as a budding {{superhero}} and himself as [[TheMentor her mentor]].
32	* DetentionEpisode: Another Day In Paradise takes place almost entirely in detention.
33	* DisappearedDad: Mr. Novak killed himself, something that continues to trouble Syd by the time the show starts.
34	* DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler:Reading someone's diary in front of the entire school and outing them]] is a nasty thing to do to be sure. But it still doesn't even come close to merit [[spoiler:death by having your head ''explode''.]] Sydney herself seems to realize this (it was accidental).
35	* DownerEnding: The comic. [[spoiler:After accidentally killing Brad, Syd believes that she's too dangerous and is DrivenToSuicide.]]
36	* DrivenToSuicide:
37	** Sydney's father hanged himself, an incident that remains a BerserkButton for her mother, who refuses to talk about it. [[spoiler:It was due to [[ShellShockedVeteran trauma]] from his service in the Marines, and possibly also because he feared what he might do with his powers.]]
38	** In the comic only, [[spoiler:Sydney decides her powers are too dangerous and uses them to kill herself, leaving her diary behind.]]
39	* DrugsAreBad: Generally averted, with the exception of Stan's homecoming date, who believes marijuana is a gateway drug that leads to death. It's PlayedForLaughs.
40	* DrugsAreGood: Syd and Stan bond while smoking weed together and Syd later writes in her diary that it helped her forget about her anxieties.
41	* EmbarrassingCoverup: Syd claims that she and Stan had sex in the library in order to hide her powers from Dina.
42	* EmotionalPowers: Syd's powers tend to be more destructive whenever she's scared or pissed-off.
43	* {{Expy}}: Many aspects of Stanley's character are based on Ducky from Film/PrettyInPink.
44	* {{Fingore}}: In the comic Syd does this to her own finger, [[spoiler:foreshadowing the fact that she can harm herself with her powers.]]
45	* FlyoverCountry: The show is set in a town in western UsefulNotes/{{Pennsylvania}} that has clearly seen better days. (It was filmed in Brownsville and Wilmerding outside UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, both of which are real-life {{Dying Town}}s whose populations have declined by over two-thirds since their peaks.)
46	* ForcedOutOfTheCloset: [[spoiler:Brad outs Syd in episode seven during the homecoming dance, having stolen her diary and found out that she kissed Dina and has romantic feelings for her.]]
47	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
48	** In the comic only [[spoiler:Syd accidentally blowing up her finger shows her powers can hurt herself. Later used for her suicide.]]
49	** Brad's remark just before the homecoming dance [[spoiler:that what he has planned will be "fucking mind-blowing". Somebody's mind was indeed [[YourHeadASplode blown]] that night--namely, his.]]
50	** Stanley asks Syd if [[spoiler:she has met any strange men who can act as her mentor and teach her about her powers. In the finale she does.]]
51	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: While [[spoiler:exposing Syd with her diary at prom, specifically about her kissing Dina]], [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain Brad]] starts out by saying that he "totally" gets that girls get experimental when they're drunk and he supports it, wording it in a way that implies this.
52	* GoneHorriblyRight: In episode seven, Syd wanted Brad to stop talking and he definitely did.
53	%%* HateSink: Bradley.
54	* HighSchoolDance: Episode seven takes place at the homecoming dance, [[spoiler:where Brad plans to get revenge on Syd in true ''Literature/{{Carrie}}''-esque fashion]].
55	* HopeSpot: At the homecoming dance, [[spoiler: when Syd has just made up with Stan, and her friendship with Dina seems to be developing into something more, Brad decides to read from her diary in front of the whole school]].
56	* ImplausibleDeniability: When Stan sees that the shockwave that just knocked down several trees was centered on Syd, she tries to claim that it wasn't her.
57	-->'''Syd:''' "It was like this when I got here, I swear!"
58	* IncompatibleOrientation: The relationship between Stan and Syd dies (at least romantically-they remain friends) as she realizes she's a lesbian soon after they sleep together.
59	* JadedWashout:
60	** Stan likes watching the high school's football games because he believes that most of the players are destined to turn out like this, saying that they're the ones who will attend the ClassReunion in five, ten, and twenty years because even those who go on to middle-class success rather than burning out will still wind up as mediocrities who look back on their high school years as their GloryDays. He compares high school football to a Shakespearean tragedy in that the players, at the peak of their lives, have nowhere to go but down.
61	** Stan is likely speaking from experience, given that his father was the homecoming king in 1991 and turned into a layabout drunk.
62	-->'''Mr. Barber:''' Still got my picture hanging in the auditorium.\
63	'''Stan:''' How's that working out for you?
64	* JerkJock: Bradley "Dick-for-Brains" Lewis and Ricky Berry find sex ed class more amusing than anything, Ricky harasses Sydney when she's not amused by their jokes, and Brad cheats off of Dina's test. Dina's dating Brad, much to Sydney's chagrin, with her comparing them to a SickeninglySweet '50s teen movie couple. [[spoiler:After Syd reveals that Brad cheated on Dina with Jenny, therefore destroying their relationship, he plots revenge on her.]]
65	* LighterAndSofter: The show is considerably more funny and upbeat than the dour graphic novel.
66	* LoveDodecahedron: Stan is attracted to Sydney (and the two of them had sex), who is attracted to Dina (who [[AmbiguouslyBi may feel the same way]]), who is dating Brad, [[spoiler:who is cheating on her with Jenny]].
67	* LowerClassLout: Stan describes all the men in his family as dickheads, saying that his life is always better when his truck driver father isn't around. He hopes that he can break the "Barber curse". When we're first introduced to his dad in the fourth episode, his first words to Stan are "you look like a faggot."
68	* MindOverMatter: Sydney can move objects with her mind, with enough power to topple several trees in a shockwave blast.
69	* MissingMom: It is implied Stanley's mother left the Barber family.
70	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Syd is visibly shell-shocked after she [[spoiler:accidentally kills Brad]].
71	* NoodleIncident: How Stanley discovered burrito bombs or why he set one off in his house, we will never know.
72	* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: How Stan sees Brownsville.
73	-->'''Syd:''' Why are you still talking to me?\
74	'''Stan:''' Because everyone else here is boring.
75	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: After accidentally killing Liam's hedgehog Banana with her powers, Sydney's speech as she and Liam are burying him in the backyard starts to spill over into her feelings for her late father, wishing that she could've been there for him before he killed himself.
76	* OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent: Sydney's opening monologue spotlights the fact that, as far as she's concerned, she's "not special". Sure enough, guess who turns out to have PsychicPowers.
77	* ParentsAsPeople: Mrs. Novak often shoves her responsibilities onto Syd, doesn't make an effort to connect with her grieving daughter, and tends to skirt around the topic of Mr. Novak's death. However, it's revealed that it's because she's exhausted from working 60-hour weeks as a waitress, just to provide for her family, and is still processing her husband's death herself.
78	* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain:
79	** Brad displays misogynistic tendencies but is also openly homophobic. In the comic, he takes this to StrawMisogynist[=/=]HeManWomanHater levels [[spoiler: and eventually ends up [[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil raping]] Dina.]]
80	** The first time we see Stan's father, he nonchalantly says that Stan (who is dressed up for a party) looks like a [=f*ggot=].
81	* PowerTrio: Syd, Stan, and Dina are this, particularly in episode 5.
82	* PromWrecker: [[spoiler:First Brad, then Syd.]]
83	* ProperlyParanoid: Turns out Syd is right about [[spoiler:someone following her]].
84	* PseudoRomanticFriendship: Sydney and Dina's friendship starts taking on these overtones by the third episode. Sydney wants to take it further, while Dina doesn't, though she later indicates [[AmbiguouslyBi her feelings may be growing]]. Regardless, they go to the homecoming dance together, with Syd unsure about her feelings for Stan and Dina [[spoiler:coming off a bad breakup with Brad]].
85	* PsychicNosebleed: Not Sydney herself, but she accidentally gives one of these to Brad while wishing that he'd wipe that stupid smile off his face.
86	* PsychoactivePowers: Emotional distress, especially anger, causes Sydney's powers to fully erupt, in a manner similar to [[Literature/{{Carrie}} Carrie White]]. Stanley tries to invoke this by insulting Sydney, which just causes her to laugh until he starts going after her family.
87	* RapeAsDrama[=/=]RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: In the comic only, [[spoiler:Brad rapes Dina in anger at her TeenPregnancy, which is what drives Sydney to kill him.]]
88	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Mrs. Novak chews Syd out for refusing to go to school and saying that it's not fair that she has to take care of Liam, pointing out that ''she's'' not being fair to ''her'' for not wanting to do anything while she (the mom) works 60 hours a week to make barely enough money. She goes further in accusing Syd of favoring her father even after he's dead and that he was [[BrokenPedestal "vacant"]] unlike her.
89	* RetroUniverse: While it's not explicitly set in TheEighties like ''Series/StrangerThings'' (modern cars are sprinkled amidst older ones, people have smartphones, [=HDTVs=], and flash drives, Sydney refers to TheNineties as being in the past), the setting and aesthetic of the show are still heavily evocative of the time period, from the color palette to the music to the downplaying of modern technology to [[Film/It2017 Sophia Lillis]] playing the protagonist. Justified by it being set in a small, rural, working-class town that is [[TwoDecadesBehind behind the times]], while Stan's collections of Platform/{{V\|CR}}HS tapes and vinyl records are due to him being a retro enthusiast.
90	* RightBehindMe: Syd walks in on Brad and Jenny talking about how [[spoiler:Brad cheated on Dina with her]].
91	* SedgwickSpeech: [[spoiler:Brad, when you read the part in Syd's diary where she describes her powers in ''full detail'' so that you could mock her for it, ''maybe you should've believed her''.]]
92	-->'''[[spoiler:Brad:]]''' "But that is not even the weirdest thing about Sydney Novak. Get this: Sydney claims that she has-" '''''[[spoiler:[[YourHeadASplode SPLAT]]]]'''''
93	* ShellShockedVeteran: [[spoiler:Sydney's father served in [[SemperFi the Marines]]. He was so horrified by what he saw and did that he refused to talk about his service, and it eventually [[DrivenToSuicide drove him to kill himself]]. It's also implied that he had similar powers to Syd and that she inherited them from him, going by an incident where he was the only survivor of a massive explosion that killed both his squad and the enemy force they were fighting, and that he might have committed suicide due to fear that he might hurt someone else.]]
94	* ShoutOut:
95	** StockShoutOuts: The opening shot is of Sydney walking down the street in [[BloodSplatteredWeddingDress a spaghetti-strap dress covered in blood]] with a ThousandYardStare, looking very similar to the title character of ''Film/Carrie1976'' during her psychic rampage. The fact that [[PsychoactivePowers anger sets off her powers]] only furthers the comparisons, [[spoiler:as does the fact that it turns out she killed someone at the HighSchoolDance]].
96	** ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' gets a big one when [[spoiler:Syd causes Brad's head to [[YourHeadASplode explode]] in front of everyone]].
97	* ShowSomeLeg: In episode five, Dina tries to do this, tying off her shirt in order to seduce the janitor Carl into giving up his keys so that Syd and Stan can get the security footage of [[spoiler:a freaked-out Syd trashing the library]]. It doesn't work, not least because the janitor is married [[spoiler:and gay]]. He gives her the keys anyway, though, since all she had to do was ask politely.
98	* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:The graphic novel ends with Sydney using her powers to [[DrivenToSuicide commit suicide]] after killing Brad and seeing Dina's reaction at the latter's funeral. The first season finale ends with Sydney very much alive...Brad not so much.]]
99	* StepfordSmiler:
100	** Syd tries to do this in episode seven as her angst builds up, simply pushing it all aside and focusing on happy thoughts in order to keep her powers under control. [[spoiler:Then Brad had to go and ruin it.]]
101	-->'''Syd:''' "The less of a fuck I give, the less likely I am to [[PsychoactivePowers break shit]]."
102	** It's implied Stan is this as well, though we don't see as much of his personal life.
103	* TheStoner: Stan, whose car smells like marijuana and who also sells weed on the side.
104	* TheirFirstTime: Sydney and Stan at the end of episode two. Stan falls in love with her because of it; Syd, on the other hand, simply regards it as a one-time thing. Despite this, they still end up being close friends. It was doomed, given Syd's realized [[IncompatibleOrientation she's a lesbian]], describing having sex with him as "really awkward".
105	%%* TitleOnlyOpening:
106	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Syd and Dina, the former a short-haired lesbian and the latter her more glamorous, more popular best friend who is dating a football player.
107	* TransparentCloset: Meta example: the synopsis for the first episode outright states that Sydney is in love with her best friend, something that takes Syd three episodes to figure out for herself.
108	* TrueCompanions: Syd and Stan become this over the course of the first season.
109	* WhamEpisode:
110	** Episode three, "The Party's Over", where Stan finds out about Sydney's powers.
111	** Episode six, "Like Father, Like Daughter", where Syd finds out that [[spoiler:her father served in the Marines and likely had similar PsychicPowers to her]].
112	** Episode seven, "Deepest, Darkest Secret". [[spoiler:Brad steals Syd's diary and reads it aloud in front of the homecoming dance, touching on everything from Syd's feelings for Dina to her DaddyIssues. When he gets to the part where Syd describes her powers, Syd [[YourHeadASplode blows his brains out]]. Not to mention, TheReveal that she ''was'' right about somebody following her, and that said person has powers as well.]]
113	* WhamLine: [[spoiler:The reveal that Syd's dad had her powers and it's the reason he killed himself.]]
114	* WhamShot:
115	** [[spoiler:A mysterious figure staring at Syd from a distance.]]
116	** [[spoiler:Brad's head exploding]].
117	* WholePlotReference: The plot of the first season plays out like a more comedic version of ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'', albeit minus [[MyBelovedSmother Margaret's religious lunacy]]. Syd is Carrie, the outcast girl with the PsychicPowers who serves as the protagonist. Dina is Sue, the sweet girl who is nicer to the heroine than the rest of the school. Stan is Tommy, the heroine's male friend who she struggles with her romantic feelings for. [[spoiler:Brad and Jenny are a gender-flipped Chris and Billy, the former a popular student who has personal beef against the heroine (for getting her kicked out of the prom in Chris' case, for breaking up his relationship with Dina in Brad's) and tries to get revenge on her at the HighSchoolDance, and the latter being the popular kid's {{delinquent\|s}}, [[HellBentForLeather black-leather-clad]] lover.]]
118	* WildTeenParty: Sydney, Stan, and Dina go to one in the third episode. Stan says that the entire cheerleading squad was snorting cocaine in the bathroom.
119	%%* WorldOfSnark:
120	* YourHeadASplode: [[spoiler:Syd does this to Brad accidentally in episode seven when he starts reading off her diary in front of the homecoming dance. Specifically, when he gets to the parts concerning Syd's powers.]]
121	* ZanyScheme: Pulled off by Syd, Stan, and Dina in episode 5 in order to retrieve security footage from the library.

Context Series / IAmNotOkayWithThis