Dietland Review: Red Fatties (Season 1 Episode 8)

On Dietland Season 1 Episode 8, “Red Fatties,” Plum finds her brush with viral fame is not all it’s cracked up to be.

Plum found her voice on Dietland Season 1 Episode 7, “Monster High,” so now it’s time for the powers that be and the world at large to try to silence her. It makes for a very disheartening hour of television, culminating in a truly devastating scene.

Plum puts herself out there with a blog post-cum-exposé, and, in turn, opens herself up to criticism. It comes with the territory, but what is disappointing is that the strength she imbued in the final scenes of the last episode and the beginning of this one is hacked away at, leaving her vulnerable. It’s hard to watch our heroine’s confidence shrink before our eyes, and worse to witness a vulture swoop in and prey on her.

Mostly everyone Plum encounters has a use for her current internet sensation status—even the woman serving her papers asks if she can hook her up with Jennifer. Kitty sues her, hoping to maneuver her into apologizing publicly. It’s all a game to her with her main objective being to destroy Stanley. Plum is just a pawn, as is Dominic who tries to use his position as Kitty’s security detail to get back in Plum’s good graces, but it is a half-assed attempt at that.

Plum’s support group at Calliope House turn on her after she pulls them into the spotlight with her. Their reaction is understandable, but Plum goes on the defensive making things worse. She’s had a falling out with her friend Steven, and Leeta, who has the potential to be a great friend to Plum, is still M.I.A.

Plum has grown, and she is strong, but even the strongest people need good friends in their corner. Each scene tears down Plum’s strength or takes away a supportive lifeline. The thread that has been tenuously holding this whole convoluted and messy story together is unraveling.

Or maybe a better metaphor would be a fuse rather than a thread. Plum is a fuse that is burning towards destruction. Every time she manages to focus her strength and redirect it towards positive change someone comes along and lights the fuse again.

I’m hoping for the destruction of the patriarchy, for this revolution we keep hearing about to take a foothold, but the way the main character is abused and debased along the way doesn’t make me optimistic.

The final scene where Plum is raped is brutal and heartbreaking, and, of course, it’s meant to be difficult to stomach. I don’t know if this happened in the book, but it makes me wonder if it is necessary for the overall story they are trying to tell.

One of the Calliope House members accuses Plum of making a competition of who has the most battle scars, who has it the hardest. This rape almost feels like an answer to that, to prove that Plum is treated the worst, and that is what will set off this bomb.

Right now it seems gratuitous. There are two episodes left, and maybe—hopefully—their reason to go down this path will become clear.

What did you think of this episode of Dietland? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Dietland airs Mondays at 9/8c on AMC.

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