With half-hour episodes, enticing cliffhangers, and a fully binge-able season released at one time (thank you, Netflix) it's very possible that many viewers have already finished watching the first season of I Am Not Okay With This.
The high school dramedy based on a comic book series of the same name by Charles Forsman. Forsman was also the writer of the comic series The End of the Fun***in World, another Netflix show that premiered in 2017. What you may not have noticed were a few minor details connecting the two shows, and their timelines, along with a few extra shoutouts to 80s films and comic book heroes. Here are ten details you may have missed on your first viewing.
Connected Timeline to The End of the Fun***in World
The visual stylings of both Netflix programs are similar, but there are also specific shoutouts to The End of the Fun***in World in I'm Not Okay With This. There is no need to watch both programs in order to understand anything, but for fans of both the shout outs are cute.
For one, it is possible to read "TEOTFW" on one of Sydney's notebooks. Again, it doesn't pertain to the plot or storyline, but it's a clear reference to the first of Forsman's Netflix's shows.
It's Like The Movie Heathers
Have you ever seen the 1980s movie Heathers starring Winona Ryder? The movie, very much like I'm Not Okay With This, is dark. Ryder and her onscreen boyfriend accidentally and then on purpose begin killing students they don't like.
While we do see Sydney accidentally kill someone, we also see Sydney take note of her powers and the strange occurrences around her in a notebook (offered to her by a school counselor). Winona Ryder opens Heathers by also taking note of the horrible events taking shape around her in a notebook.
Chalkboard Signs
Sydney plays the hero when she stands up for her best friend (and love interest) Dina when Dina is caught letting her then-boyfriend, Brad, cheat off of her test paper. It's very honorable of Sydney to stand up for Dina, but she obviously wasn't reading the signs around her, particularly one behind her.
The chalkboard at Sydney's back read, "Major Mistake Territory" which is what happens. Dina doesn't get out of trouble, rather Dina and Sydney are sent to detention together for disrupting the class.
Call Out To Carrie
Season one both begins and ends with Sydney, wandering down the street, in a fancy dress, covered in blood. Where have horror movies and 1980s fans seen that image before?
Even if you have never seen the film Carrie, based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, you are probably familiar with Sissy Spacek also covered in blood after (as well as during) a school dance. This is an obvious shout out to the horror classic, both the novel and the 1976 film.
Stephen King Books
Stephen King obviously had quite a bit of influence on I'm Not Okay With This. Beyond the reference to his first novel Carrie, some of his other novels actually appear in the background of the show as well.
The Drawing of the Three, the second novel in King's Dark Tower series can be seen on a shelf in Sydney's bedroom during a fight with her mom. Perhaps if Sydney had kept a copy of Carrie on hand instead she might have avoided some of the drama that comes later on.
The Kids From It
One more for Stephen King. If you were wondering where you had seen Sydney and Stanley before, Sophia Lillis and Wyatt Oleff, it's probably because you saw the most recent version of Stephen King's It on screen.
Lillis played Beverly Marsh and Oleff played another character named Stanely, Stanley Uris. It seems like both young actors may owe a great deal of their early success to the Maine based horror writer, or at least owe a great deal to his influence on popular culture overall.
I Kissed a Girl
When Dina and Sydney are preparing to head to a high school party (not the Carrie dance at the end of the season) Dina insists that Sydney dress up. Sydney does her best, though she refuses certain things, including most makeup, and lipstick. She settles for a layer of cherry chapstick instead before they roll out.
The cherry chapstick is both seen and mentioned. Why does this matter? Well, because later in the episode Sydney kisses Dina. This was likely a very deliberate shout out to the Katy Perry song, "I Kissed A Girl."
Women's Suffrage
During detention, Sydney and Stan enlist Dina's help to get the keys to the principal's office so they can steal the security footage the shows Sydney destroying the library with telekinesis. Dina approaches the janitor with her shirt rolled up and her ditz voice on in hopes of getting him to loan her the key ring.
In good news, the janitor is not a pervert and offers her the keys if she promises to return them, also warning her off of such behavior in the future. What you may not have noticed is the women's suffrage poster on the wall behind Dina as she puts on her performance.
Mark 1
We learn early on that Sydney is not a superhero fan and has a lot to learn from her friend Stan. Who else is a superhero fan? Obviously Sydney's little brother Liam.
When he reveals his newest illustration for his costume to allow him to confront his bullies at school he refers to it as "Mark 1". Any superhero fans watching I'm Not Okay With This will recognize that name as a shout out to the first iteration of Iron Man Armor in the Iron Man franchise.
School Mascot
There's a lot going on in the first season of I'm Not Okay With This which means a few details might have slipped through the cracks on the first viewing. One interesting detail though happens to be the name of Sydney's high school athletic teams.
The W on Brad's Varsity jacket happens to stand for The Wolverines. Sure, the wolverine is a real animal, but it's also the name of one of the most famous X-Men of all time. One who spends part of his life trying to discover where it was his powers came from in the first place.