Bad Vegan: Fame. Fraud. Fugitives.
Fascinating and compassionate portrait of a woman who doesn’t really know what she feels and thinks, and keeps suffering because of it.
<PERSON> seems to have been raised by an unbelievably cold father and to have had a hard time with her parents’ separation. I think it’s telling that she first ended up in finance because “everybody else was doing it,” and only after a year and a half in that environment did she realise she didn’t really like it - she’s so detached from her own self that she can’t make decisions by herself. Perhaps that difficult childhood meant that she never felt safe enough to express emotions and explore her personality, and find out what she wants out of life. Even though the restaurant business was where she found success, she ended up in that industry kind of randomly too!
She was the perfect prey for this madman: he was very charismatic and sure of himself, so she grabbed on to him and his ideas and began to believe them herself. 975
She says that she liked how big and strong he seemed, like he could protect her and perhaps then she could finally have feelings. He showered her with compliments to poke at her self-esteem and push her to believe him.
During the talking head interview that appears throughout the show, <PERSON>’s eyes are watery but she doesn’t fully cry. Even in this moment, as she’s talking to people who are more than willing to listen to her and believe her, she can’t let her emotions flow freely. I’m sure there are sides to this story that the show has carefully omitted, but it is heartbreaking to think that some spectators could watch this version of events and believe that her story is too crazy to be true, and that she must be in on it. She’s not perfect at all, but I think that’s not for lack of trying to be. She seems to be in a lot of pain as she tries to navigate the world and her restaurant was her way to fit in and find some kind of identity and acceptance, and she’s now lost it.
How refreshing to see a Netflix show that actually, genuinely, goes beyond the tabloids. 427