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‘Do Revenge’ is for the Girls Who Secretly Wished They Had

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at App State chapter.

We’ve all been there. We’ve trusted someone – most of the time other girls – and built a seemingly unbreakable friendship. Then, whether you least expected it or things led up to it, everything crashed and burned. The bond you thought was unbreakable, broke. They screwed you over and most likely got out unscathed while you were left to pick up the pieces.

It can be unsettling and hurt like a bi***, and some part of you may wish that they feel even a fraction of what you do. If any of that hits a nerve, then I suggest you do revenge. Specifically, watch Netflix’s current number-one film Do Revenge with Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke.

Spoiler alert: This contains spoilers for Do Revenge

Do Revenge opens up with Drea – played by Mendes – hosting a launch party in the Spring. We quickly learn that she is popular, has a boyfriend, and wasn’t born into the luxurious life that her friends were. 

Her boyfriend Max, played by Austin Abrams, tells her that he loves her after the launch party and that he’ll miss her over the summer. He suggests that she send him a certain kind of video to help with that. Long story short, she makes the video and he leaks it. They break up and as a result, she is no longer in the popular crowd.

Over the summer she works at a tennis camp and we are introduced to Eleanor (played by Hawke). That’s where Drea and Eleanor meet and quickly become friends with motives. They bond over having both been wronged by someone who they thought was close to them and wants those who did them wrong to pay.

They set off doing each other’s dirty work. Drea gets Carissa (Eleanor’s childhood crush who made her out to be a predator) expelled because she was growing weed on school grounds and Eleanor infiltrates Drea’s old friend group.

As the movie progresses, both Eleanor and Drea find romantic interests – Eleanor with Max’s sister Gabbi and Drea with Russ, Carissa’s friend. This becomes a sticky situation however when Gabbi overhears Eleanor tell Drea that there’s no proof that Max leaked the video. And of course, Russ finds out that Drea is the reason that Carissa got expelled.

Drea and Eleanor get what they wanted, revenge on those who harmed them. However, Drea gets more than she bargained for. After paying Carissa a visit, she discovered that Eleanor was actually out for revenge on Drea herself. As she was the one who made Eleanor out to be a predator when they were kids, not Carissa. From there, Drea lands in the hospital – courtesy of Eleanor – but recovers in time for a party that Eleanor blackmails her into going to. 

At the party, Drea makes fun of Eleanor in front of her former friends which causes Eleanor to get emotional and leave. Drea follows after her and apologizes for everything. Out of the shadows, Max appears revealing that he found out what they’d been up to the entire school year. Unsurprisingly, he’s not going to change, but luckily Eleanor caught every word he said on tape.

The girls expose him at the party, and end the school year skipping graduation and driving off to new lives while also reconciling with their love interests. 

So, that was a twist of revenge gone semi-wrong. And while betrayal sucks and can hurt deeply, the solution is not always revenge. After all, karma exists. While that doesn’t erase what happened or take the pain away, your true support system will be there for you through it all.

That being said, you can grab that support system and enjoy Drea and Eleanor’s revenge story in Do Revenge on Netflix.

Sophia Alayna

App State '24

Sophia is a Senior at Appalachian State University. She is pursuing a degree in English Creative Writing and Gender, Women's, & Sexualities studies! Sophia enjoys writing, getting in her feels, and creating/maintaining connections with loved ones.