'Everything's Gonna Be Okay' Episode 6: Nicholas has the 'sex talk' with his autistic sister Matilda
Spoiler alert for 'Everything's Gonna Be Okay' Season 1
In the previous episode, Matilda experienced her first sexual encounter with Zane, a boy at her high school. Drunk, crying and autistic, Matilda's 'diminished ability to read social cues' had Genevieve worried. While Genevieve stood up for her sister, she attempted to punch Zane in the stomach calling for a parental principal meeting at the high school.
In this episode, titled "Harvester Ants' we see Matilda deal with the public knowing she lost her virginity and how Nicholas, her brother explains how what Zane did with her might have been quite wrong.
Nicholas was called to the school because Genevieve hit Zane, but she refuses to apologize. The principal says that if she does not apologize, she would be suspended. Passing on the apology Genevieve opted for the suspension instead, and when Nicholas finds out why she hit Zane, he's on her side. Nichols argues that not only is Matilda underage but she was drunk and has autism painting a picture that Zane took advantage of her.
While Nicholas makes sure that Genevieve is not suspended by telling Zane's ignorant father the details, he goes on to deal with Matilda not being able to understand why Zane was wrong. 'I wish I knew the rules,' she says.
Matilda confronts Nicolas, telling him that she 'used' Zane and doesn't understand why no one believes her. 'I ticked a box' she says, emphasizing that she had asked Zane for sex - which is true. Asking her brother, 'Am I or am I not allowed to have sex?', Nicholas has to explain how there is no black and white in situations like these. With a conversation that was hard to articulate and 'in a highly controversial gray area', Nicholas has to confront his first real parental struggle with his autistic sister.
In this episode, we see how growing up with autism has shaded areas - nothing, especially a situation like this, comes with a rule book. Matilda needs structure, she needs to know the rules but Nicholas finds it hard to explain to her how the situation is portrayed on the outside is a lot different. With a lot of care and frustration, we can see that a hard conversation like this would have been easier if their late father were there, 'I wish I could talk to Dad' Matilda says.
In the midst of this insane unexpected situation, Nicholas's sisters urge him to take a vacation with his boyfriend Alex. Hesitant, Nicolas does so and while there, the couple gets into a fight. Playful in nature, with a few emotional breakdowns, the episode ends with Genevieve's impressive poetic skills.
