There’s a moment that really stood out to me around the wedding dress. She doesn’t even want the dress; she just wants to get through the situation, and still, that decision is taken away from her. Nicky listens to his family instead of her. How do you see that dynamic, especially in terms of her not being fully heard?
I think from the moment she arrives, everything starts to feel off. Even small things like that become part of something bigger. She feels like she’s losing control over what’s happening around her. She remembers seeing the dress, and then suddenly it’s not there, and no one acknowledges it. There’s a lot of gaslighting happening. She’s trying to trust herself, but she’s constantly being told that she’s wrong. And that creates a really disorienting experience. She just wants to get through it, but at the same time, she knows something isn’t right.
There is a strong psychological tension around perception, memory and reality. She feels something very clearly, but at the same time, she is being told she is wrong. How does she deal with that?
It’s a really terrible place to be in mentally. When something feels very real to you, but you’re being told that it’s not, and that your feelings are wrong. There’s a lot of gaslighting happening. She becomes very disoriented. She wants to trust her gut, but she’s constantly being told that she’s wrong. It’s a very isolating experience to be in that headspace.
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At times, Rachel is even questioned intellectually, even though she is highly perceptive and analytical. Do you think the story is also exploring how women are positioned in that way, even when they are reading reality clearly?
Yes, I think that’s a big part of it. Haley [the show’s creator] is really commenting on women and how we’re perceived. How we’re made to feel crazy for having feelings. How we’re put in a box for expressing them. She writes against that. She writes against the idea of women needing to conform. That’s a big part of her voice as a writer.
By the end, do you think Rachel still believes in love in the same way?
I think she believes in love in the same way. But she understands that he is not the right person for her. She needs someone who will truly see her and believe her. That becomes essential for her.
You can watch Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen on Netflix.