Everything's Gonna Be Okay: Review

When I heard there was a new show with a female autistic character (played by an actually autistic woman!), I was definitely intrigued. Then I was separately intrigued by the trailer, not even realizing it was the same show I'd been reading about.

Everything's Gonna Be Okay is the story of two teen girls who, after losing their father to cancer, gain their twenty-something brother who doesn't particularly excel at "adulting" as their guardian. And, of course, heartwarming chaos ensues.

One thing that I like about this show is that it's not all about autism. I liked Atypical a lot, but Sam's autism is the story in a lot of ways. We're only four episodes into Everything's Gonna Be Okay, but so far seventeen-year-old Matilda is unashamedly autistic without beating us over the head with it quite so much. It's not that she never mentions it. She does. But it's more about her living her life as an autistic person and other people living theirs.

As for the portrayal of an autistic woman? Well obviously, props for actually casting an autistic woman. I think Matilda is a realistic portrayal of some autistic women, though I couldn't help but wish that the show had chosen a slightly more nuanced portrayal of what being an autistic woman can look like.

I guess television tends to gravitate toward more visual, obvious examples of an identity, especially when a minority is first gaining visibility. But I think that can serve to perpetuate myths of what autism really looks like. If your autistic friend doesn't jump up and down in public like Matilda, can she still be autistic? If she manages to hit on someone a bit more smoothly than Matilda does, is she outside the spectrum?

In defense of the character's validity, I'll admit that Matilda's experience is at least consistent with reality. We're told that she was diagnosed as an infant and we know that generally, most young girls who are diagnosed with autism are those who present more blatantly. She might also be far less likely to feel the need to mask her autistic traits since she has understood that she's autistic from a young age. In other words, there might be less pressure to "look normal."

Overall, I think the show is great. We are getting visibility for autistic women in a show that's actually really good. The other characters have depth, and the story manages to simultaneously be lighthearted and meaningful. It will be interesting to see how the show plays out for the rest of Season One and how the network deals with other issues facing autistic people. Overall, I'd highly recommend checking it out on Thursdays on Free Form or Fridays on Hulu.