How can you not love Will Arnett? I’ve been circling around the Will Universe for a while now, from his movies to TV shows to his present super success on the SMARTLESS podcast. I find him a delight- a hilarious, honest, snarky, authentic, passionate, compassionate friend, fellow sober human whose humor brings me joy. Since I’m a 64-year-old addiction psychologist who has listened to people’s pain, drama, trauma, and torturous histories for over thirty years, a little joy is what I need. Enter FLAKED.
My first time binging this show, I’m assuming based loosely on Will’s experience in recovery and relapse, was during the days of the pandemic. I remember laughing out loud five times in the first five minutes and many times throughout that viewing. I’ve been working with addicts in and out of recovery for years, and for the first time, I felt like I was seeing in real-time the true-life experience of someone struggling with addiction. I felt like I knew many of the characters due to being in recovery myself for over forty years and attending thousands of meetings.
Many parts of the show hit me in the gut, moved me, and made me tear up and feel. Feel for the characters, for their struggles, their dishonesties, their secrets, their losses, their loneliness, and their attempts to figure this sobriety thing out. I knew these people. Will’s character, Chip, presents himself as the kind, giving, selfless pal you find at any AA meeting, willing to help anyone in any capacity. The idea of “giving it away to keep it” was in full view at the beginning of the show. What is slowly revealed is the clear struggle Chip is having with his sobriety. He is suddenly faced with the need to confront his history due to a new woman in town connected to his past. The most moving theme throughout the show is his relentless struggle to want to do the right thing but the complete inability to do so.
Watching it a second time brought more into view the extent to which Chip spent all his time trying NOT to think or feel the ever-looming truth in his world. Whether this was the trauma from his past, the lies in his marriage, the denial/rationalization about his drinking, his fear of growing up, his isolation, his chronic disappointments to others, and facing life’s responsibilities. The thinking patterns, his old behaviors, and his need to escape his underlying feeling states are shining bright lights as he attempts to navigate the percolation of unending issues that continue to surface. The lying, the so easy ability to lie, the roll off the tongue lies, the – this is how I’ve survived for years, lying, – the manipulation, the excuses, the rationalizations, the need for approval, the need to be liked, the fear of being found out, the fear of getting to know who he really is or how he really feels, the progression of people, things, attachments, distractions to get him further and further away from himself. I can relate. He is me.
An addict spends all their energy trying to escape the inevitable, facing one’s pain. Addiction at its finest. We watch uncomfortably as the lies get more complicated, the friends begin to leave, his community doesn’t trust him anymore, he loses his shop, his purpose, and his dignity, and he disappoints everyone repeatedly. He believes he is hiding it all, but it is so clear and obvious to everyone around him. By the mid-second season, he is completely lost. There is a parade of all the wounded, broken people trying to help him and trying to help themselves to create a more fulfilling life. But interwoven among this reality are hope, humor, beautiful people, authenticity, the real struggles of being human, and how everyone is just trying to do their best. The characters are trying to grow and change and heal, not in a therapist’s office but with one another. It is a show about the Japanese art of kintsugi. Where beauty is in the healing of the brokenness, even when it isn’t put back together quite right, there is more beauty to witness.
Themes throughout the show are numerous and not just about addiction but things we all face, such as responsibility, maturity, bad decisions, sacrifice, coping, escapism, friendship, true love, old love, facing our past, making amends, doing the right thing, finding meaning and purpose as well as, the harsh consequences of not facing the truth. The truth of addiction, the truth of our behaviors, the truth of our sobriety, our self-worth, our fears, a delayed life, and the costs of not facing the past that unconsciously is still running us.
Freedom is in getting sober, doing the right thing, being a good friend, being honest in relationships, finding one’s purpose, and growing up. It’s all hard when you’re an addict, but it’s possible because I’ve witnessed it repeatedly. Miracles happen every day in the world of recovery. This show was a true joy. Witnessing the possibility of freedom for one more addict, riding his bike through the streets with a smile. Watch this show and meet old friends, make new ones and get some hope to stay sober just one more day.
The Mindful Binge Sobees Score: 4.5 out of 5
Flaked – Season One Trailer
Flaked – Season Two Trailer
Will Arnett draws on experiences with alcoholism for ‘Flaked’
SOBER ENTERTAINMENT: A Curated List of SmartLess Episodes Featuring Sober Celebs
SOBER ENTERTAINMENT: Let us entertain you! Here, you’ll find a curated selection of podcasts, book reviews, TV series & movie reviews, music, and sober pop culture + celebs with the underlying theme of addiction. We’re sober, not boring! We’re covering it if it’s trending in pop culture and relates to sobriety. Our taste is eclectic, and our reviews are honest. Check out the sober entertainment you never knew you needed until now.
