What I liked
The honesty of self-assessment during Tatum’s struggle was refreshing, as well as the entertaining use of imagined commentators in the angel-and-devil-on-shoulder tradition. I was intrigued by the documentary-like insight into the Mormon church’s marriage pipeline, the dysfunctional relationships that result, and the culture of repression and denial that glues them together even when they don’t work.
What I didn't like
You can’t critique a life for not having a story-like structure. Throughout the show I felt wrung with sympathy, and kept desperately wishing that Tatum would proclaim her right to happiness. Eventually the absence of that became heartbreaking. Tatum’s autobiography can’t be rewritten, but perhaps the presentation of events could have given us light at the end of the tunnel sooner.
My overall impression
A poignant depiction of a doomed marriage, its institutional enablers, and an idealistic woman’s struggle to break free. Presented with humor and self-compassion through a variety of characters, real and imagined.
