Insatiable.  An appetite or desire that is impossible to satisfy.  This is a word that describes exactly how I felt after I finished watching this Netflix show.  “Insatiable” describes the life of Patty Bladell (played Debby Ryan) and her struggle of overcoming the physical and mental obstacles in her life.  Patty is an overweight, bullied teen who after being forced on a liquid diet for three months, loses weight, becomes thin, and commits to taking revenge on any and everyone who bullied her.  Patty is mentored by Bob Armstrong (played by Dallas Roberts), a disgraced lawyer and pageant coach who finds that his law, pageant, and personal career will be turned upside when he agrees to represent Patty in a case.  

Ryan plays the deranged, overweight girl turned beauty queen role well and exemplifies many aspects of the regular teenage girl’s life, but Netflix really highlighted other characters and their aspects.  Many of the characters in “Insatiable” struggle with sexuality issues which is a key part of today’s teenager’s lives and even adults. The show tells the very well known “I’m in love with my best friend, but she doesn’t know” story between Patty and her best friend Nonnie (played by Kimmie Shields). The show hits base with characters taking charge of their ability to think for themselves and embrace who they truly are.  The story develops, and Nonnie, who is in denial about her sexuality the majority of the show, comes to terms with the fact that she is, in fact, a lesbian. Also, the story explores the sexuality of Bob Armstrong, helping him come to terms with what kind of relationship he wants to have with his wife and his male lover. Many adults even today are still confused about their sexualities and have no way of understanding what they are feeling, and having a show that helps them understand that sexuality is fluid and that they are understood is very important in 2018.

“Insatiable” also highlights to the viewers that anxieties and disorders are rarely fixed by changing how you look or what you outwardly do.  Patty has struggled with body image issues all her life, and after getting skinny, she thinks that everything is going to change but soon discovers that everything can’t be changed as easy as you can change your jean size.  She continuously struggles with people bullying her which pushes her back into eating disorders and a lot deeper into a depression/passive-aggressive state that she is in most of the show.

Altogether the show is a continuous roller coaster of anger, sadness, and a heaping amount of thrill that most of the time makes your regret even watching the show in the first place.  But nonetheless, the show exaggerates the points that many people in society are struggling with which makes the show entertaining to watch, and hopefully, the desire I feel can be filled when the second season comes out.