I Am Not Okay With This: 5 Funniest Sydney Novak Quotes (& 5 Most Heartbreaking)

Sydney Novak is one of Netflix’s most iconic teen superheroes. Here are her funniest and saddest quotes in I Am Not Okay With This.

Sydney Novak is Netflix’s newest teen superhero icon. Based on the comic by Charles Forsman, and produced by creators of Stranger Things and The End Of The F***ing World, Sydney is almost a combination of Eleven and Alyssa, but with her own fair measure of teen angst and sarcasm.

Sydney’s always irritating other characters, especially her mom. But she also has a lot of witty quips up her sleeve, most of which we hear in her voiceover narration. Here are five of Sydney’s funniest quotes, and five of her most heartbreaking.

10. FUNNY: “Paint Me Yellow And Call Me F***Ing Sunshine, Goob.”

This is the most out-of-character line to come out of Sydney’s mouth, and the absurdity of it is enough to laugh at. Just as everything seems to be heading steadily south, Sydney decides to turn her attitude around and become peppy. Her faux cheeriness is so easy to see through that it’s a little bit sad, but mostly it’s just funny.

She starts to repent treating everyone badly by making breakfast and lunch for Liam. He’s a little confused by her sudden 180, and she responds with this memorable quote.

9. HEARTBREAKING: “My Dad Was Just Like Me, And It Destroyed Him.”

As Sydney contemplates her fate, she makes the connection between her powers and her dad’s history. She comes to the conclusion that he killed himself because he couldn’t handle what was happening to him, which paints a grim prospect for her own future.

Sydney expresses grief for her father at the beginning of the series but as she learns more about him, her feelings tilt more towards anger. She begins to grieve her own lost childhood and the loss of her family’s dynamic. Yet when she realizes the truth about her dad’s abilities, she pities him — and herself. No matter which way this quote is interpreted, it’s heartbreaking.

8. FUNNY: “Just Mountains Of Cocaine.”

This is Sydney’s casual response to Stanley asking her what she’s doing … Get it? Stanley has just arrived at Ricky Berry’s party to ask Sydney to homecoming.

He’s nervous and fidgety, but Sydney has other matters on her mind. She doesn’t think much of Stanley’s words and agrees to go with him to the dance, though she regrets leading him on. She definitely isn’t doing cocaine, though — that’s just typical teenage banter, apparently.

7. HEARTBREAKING: “… I Lock Myself Away From The World And Just Disappear, Let This Stuff Just Destroy Me …”

When Sydney lays out all of her options, none really appeal to her. She recalls her dad’s course of action, how he withdrew from life, and let his wellbeing spiral downward. The prospect of Sydney following the same path scares her, but it seems like the only feasible option.

Though Sydney doesn’t always treat everyone around her in the best way, the thought of her abandoning her life, her friends and family, and any dreams she had for her future, is heartbreaking. She would have to subject herself to a lonely, miserable life based on survival and not happiness.

6. FUNNY: “Well, I’m Pep As F*** Today, Dina. Let’s Do It!”

After Sydney decides not to go to homecoming, and Dina breaks things off with Brad, the two friends have an honest conversation after gym class. One of their classmates happens to approach Dina to ask her to the dance, but she declines.

They both admit that they’re “done with boys”, so Dina asks Sydney to the dance. They recall their joke from earlier in the season about people with “pep”, and Sydney brightly responds with this quote, even adding a jock-like “let’s do it” at the end.

5. HEARTBREAKING: “Just Not In That Way.”

At homecoming, Sydney finally tells Stanley the truth about her feelings for him. He first tells her that he really likes her, and she delicately reassures him that she really likes him, too … just not in that way.

Stanley hangs his head, but he’s not really surprised. He even says he expected her to say that at some point, which makes this quote even more heartbreaking. Sydney also appears to feel guilty, but at least the two remain great friends.

4. FUNNY: “Well, I Guess I Should Tell You … Today I Had An Apple …”

Here’s another quote from the gym class scene. Dina tells Sydney that she hasn’t been as open and honest with her lately, that she doesn’t even know what she has for lunch these days. Sydney agrees.

She takes a deep breath and gravely begins, “Well, I guess I should tell you …” and then lists everything she ate for lunch that day. The list is surprisingly extensive, and Sophia Lillis does a great job at delivering the line with equal parts gravity and levity.

3. HEARTBREAKING: “It’s Probably The Most Exciting Thing That’s Happened In His Entire Life.”

Sydney, Stanley, and Dina come together at homecoming to enjoy the night and joke around. One of their jokes includes Mr. Whitaker’s paranoid supervision of the trio after the detention episode’s eventful occurrences.

Sydney comes out with this line, which may seem funny, but it’s actually just mean. Mr. Whitaker isn’t exactly treated with consideration and respect, and Sydney’s comment is degrading and extremely judgemental. She hates being put down herself, and we see her stand up for other characters in the series, so it’s quite sad to see her being so rude later, even if it is in fun.

2. FUNNY: “It’s 7:45.”

Dina arrives at Sydney’s house to go to homecoming, where she’s met by Liam. Something seems off about Liam … he’s being very mature and chivalrous. Dina just looks at him funny, but for the audience, the scene is one of the funniest in the series.

He continues playing Dad as the girls are leaving, telling them to be home by eight o’clock. They exchange a glance, and Sydney tells him it’s already 7:45. Liam says nothing, only smiles. They turn and leave. A cinematic masterpiece in comedy.

1. HEARTBREAKING: “I Think I Finally Understand How Lonely My Dad Must Have Felt.”

At the end of the series, after Sydney’s blown Brad’s head off and run from the crime scene, she suddenly realizes how alone she is in this. Nobody she knows can help her. She doesn’t know where to go, what to do, who to turn to.

And at last, she recognizes her father’s struggle and why he withdrew into himself, why he was driven to suicide. Understanding how he felt means that she feels it, too, which is both sad and terrifying on many levels. Being so young, Sydney should have everything ahead of her, but instead, she’s only afraid and alone. Or so she thinks until the shadowy figure appears. It seems like she may have a mentor.

[Originally shared with ScreenRant.]