I May Destroy You Season 1, Episode 3 recap: Don’t Forget the Sea

I May Destroy You Episode 3 recap: Don’t Forget the Sea

In I May Destroy You Episode 3, we get to find out what mysterious event in Italy Terry referred to in the last episode. As a whole, the third outing of this phenomenal series showcases the strengths and weaknesses of Arabella and Terry’s friendship.

We flashback to Osita, Italy, where a lively Bella is ecstatic to learn Terry’s plane has just landed. The women meet-up and embrace before heading back to their posh rental. They make a weed-laced meal together to pre-game for a night out.

Once they’re hitting bars and clubs, it becomes apparent Terry might have some feelings of jealousy toward Bella. She has a successful novel and is busy at work at her follow-up book while Terry is struggling to get a well-paying gig as an actress.

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She feels as if being in the performing world lacks a sense of control. Everyone else decides your fate, are you cast or not? As someone who has had a foot in both the acting and writing world, I think Terry has a point, but I’d argue that writing is very similar and challenging in its own ways.

Nevertheless, it makes sense why Terry felt so upset about the “feminist beauty campaign” she auditioned for in the second episode. Facing yet another defeat in a string of them is not easy.

Back to Terry and Bella’s Italian adventure. The girls get lunch, meeting a friendly young waitress named Mathilde who hooks them up with a friendly, charming drug dealer named Biagio! Yes, Biagio is Bella’s fling we met back in the first episode.

Supplied with cocaine and whatever other mystery substances Biagio has on hand, the girls head off to the club while rolling. Terry opts to play it a little safer, Bella slips off into the club bathroom continues snorting coke.

Terry tires of the neon lights and sweaty, dancing bodies much quicker than her friend. She tells Bella she’s leaving for the night. One should never let your friends travel alone when they’re under the influence, especially in a foreign country. Bella probably should have known better, but she let it happen anyway.

On her way back to the rental, Terry stops by another bar, this one more classy and low-key. There, she meets two very handsome Italian men. Both of them seem quite taken with her, to the point they’re willing to share.

Bringing both men home for a threesome feels daring and just risky enough to be sexy and fun for Terry. However, it becomes apparent through some subtle acting cues and camerawork that these men did not tell the whole truth.

At the bar, it appeared they had never met before. In reality, they’re friends who likely lure girls home for threesomes often.

By the time the sex is over, Terry looks out the window and notices them walking home side-by-side, the betrayal and distress are written across her face, ruining any kind of sexual liberation she might have felt from the threesome.

In the recap from Vulture, the writer noted how I May Destroy You Episode 3 carefully threads in a discussion of the different kinds of consent. What happened to Terry is not as cut and dry as what happened to Arabella, but it is still a kind of sexual exploitation that lacked real consent.

It proves that these issues can be very challenging to navigate. Terry is valid for feeling upset over being duped the way she was by the two men. However, she chooses not to tell any of this to Bella, who has a much different night with Biagio.

They retire to the rental not long after Terry does. Biagio wants to have sex with Bella despite the fact she is on her period. What ensues is a sex scene I can already see landing on many “top 10 most shocking scenes” from 2020.

It’s kind of cute to see Biagio tenderly making Bella feel comfortable with her body, between laying down a towel and pulling out her tampon, but it’s clear she does not feel completely at ease with it all.

It gets even worse when he notices a blood clot on the towel and proceeds to play with it. I can’t blame Bella for calling it quits after that, there are some lines that you just can’t cross, especially with someone you just met!

Biagio and Bella continue spending time together — clothed. She invites Terry out, but she lies and says the men are still with her. Bella and her new beau head to the beach where he reveals the real reason he doesn’t drink. Both his mother and sister died of a heroin overdose.

I May Destroy You Episode 3: Final Thoughts

“Don’t Forget the Sea” is an important episode to highlight the dynamic between Terry and Bella. In the present, Terry is going to have to be there for Bella in a whole new way given the circumstances of her assault.

Spending time fleshing out their background, even the unsavory parts, will make the present journey more meaningful. It will also color Terry’s interactions with her friend in a different light, being aware of what she experienced in Italy. If she does decide to disclose the incident to Bella, we’ll know what that means to her.

Do you think the flashback angle of I May Destroy You Episode 3 was necessary? Will Terry ever tell Bella the truth? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

I May Destroy You has shifted from Sunday nights to Mondays! New episodes air at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. You can also watch via the HBO Max and HBO apps.