The firestorm that tore through Los Angeles in the second week of January 2025 left a scar not only on the Los Angeles landscape but also on the collective psyche of its residents. This was no ordinary fire—it was a natural catastrophe fueled by a perfect storm of severe winds, parched earth, and a climate increasingly shaped by global warming. Winds reaching 100 mph rendered firefighting efforts nearly impossible, and as the flames engulfed homes, schools, and businesses, they erased entire communities in their wake. What remains is a haunting, apocalyptic scene of loss and devastation.

‘Baby Reindeer’ is a Netflix drama which has recently captivated a global audience, earning wild praise from both critics and viewers alike. What makes this series so compelling is not just the frightening stalking relationship dynamic portrayed in it, but the fact that it has managed to capture and portray the most primitive parts of all of our conflicts and yearnings in relationships that we are both repelled and fascinated by. All of us, on some deep level, can at times identify with and understand the powerful desires that drive the behaviors of Donny and Martha because all of their behaviors are driven by a deep longing for connection. We are all driven towards connection, even sometimes when it is unhealthy or pathological. Yet, it is impossible to understand the relationship between Donny and all of these characters without understanding how trauma shapes attachment and how the most undesirable of our feelings and urges can get transferred and contained within a relationship.