Despite what the title suggests, Netflix and Channel 4’s Feel Good might not be the comforting series you need right now—and it doesn’t claim to be. It’s a rallying cry for the queers, the addicts, and all of the ways they intersect, for better or for worse.
Full disclosure: I’m no stranger to addiction. It dominated my household growing up—whether it came from substances that made you feel numb or dangerous habits that made you smaller, more desirable to others—and no matter how much time passes, the scars left from addiction never really go away. Feel Good understands that better than most media about addiction I’ve seen, largely due to Martin’s personal experiences, which help guide the series with a comforting authenticity.
For George, the biggest roadblock is opening up about her queerness to other people. Mae is the first non-cis man George has ever dated, and her less-than-accepting friends automatically assume that she’s dating a man, so she just goes with it because it’s easier. Queer people are used to living our lives in the shadows to some extent, but it cuts much deeper when that existence arises from your partner’s own internalized shame. As Mae is treated more like a secret than a partner, she becomes a frustrated ball of insecurities. Mae often walks a fine line between feeling like she is too much to handle because of her past and feeling like she’s not enough of a man for George to truly love her.
Now streaming on Netflix
