​If you know you are crazy, are you still crazy? If you are self-aware enough to notice the difference in your treatment within society if you go up Ladder A or down Ladder B—are you crazy? Or are you simply aware of how the world will label you the moment you behave outside its expectations? I want to preface by explaining there will be slight spoilers, and if you retain one thing from this analysis, let it be this: if you loved the show’s ending (which you should), don’t read the book. If you hated the show’s ending, read the book!  The Girlfriend by Michelle Frances is a psychological thriller novel following a young 27-year-old man named Daniel, his incessant “boy mom” Laura, and his new girlfriend Cherry. While the novel provides insight into the actual retelling of events, the show provides perceptions that amounts to four different characters: Cherry, Cherry from Laura’s point of view, Laura, and Laura from Cherry’s point of view. Combined with a man who avoids conflict and confrontation like the plague, the underlying question is constantly being asked. Who is actually crazy here? Cherry knows how the class system works, knows the image she needs to project, and is willing to act accordingly to rewrite the narrative she was born into. And that—her refusal to remain where she was placed—is what makes her a threat.