Netflix’s Living With Yourself follows the fictional adventures of Miles Elliot, who’s unhappy, unmotivated, and uninspired. Not only is he making no progress at work, but his marriage isn’t doing so well either. After a coworker tells him about a spa that will improve his attitude and outlook on life, Miles goes in for a treatment only to wake up buried alive hours later. He soon learns that the spa actually created a clone of him, void of all his most outstanding flaws, and sent it off to live in his place.
With Miles having survived his trip to the spa, he and his clone attempt to coexist, but tensions rise when Clone Miles refuses to leave the woman he too feels he married without a fight. And while she’s already decided which version of Miles she wants to be with, we’re not entirely sure whether or not we love Miles more than his clone .
Miles: A Hidden Playwright
If they had a clone, we’re pretty sure most people would send it to do the things that they really didn’t want to do. Miles did just that; while Clone Miles went to work, the original Miles worked on a play that he hadn’t touched for years.
While we don’t think he’s writing the next Hamilton, we have to admire this more creative side to our protagonist that he’d been repressing for so many years, especially given the fact that many people often forego their creative passions in exchange of their stable 9 to 5.
Clone Miles: Dresses Better
It’s funny that Clone Miles dressed so much better than the original Miles considering the fact that they shared the same closet. This means that Miles always owned nice clothes but opted for the sweatpants and messy hair look most days. While it’s important for people to feel comfortable in whatever they choose to wear, Miles barely put in effort while his clone often looked like a completely different person.
Miles: Survived An FDA Kidnapping
The original Miles has been through a lot, unlike his clone, who just thinks he has. Over the course of 8 episodes, he survived a spa trip that was essentially designed to kill him, managed to salvage his job and marriage, and almost suffocated his own clone out of anger. When he was kidnapped in his own driveway, we thought the FBI had a hand in this, but as it turned out, the FDA had actually kidnapped him, keeping him prisoner in the office’s lactation breakroom.
Though this did add some humor around his plight, it didn’t negate the fact that he was in a lot of trouble. While it was hilarious to see him down so much breastmilk during his temporary incarceration, we have to give him props for going through such a harrowing experience without losing his mind as we would expect him to. Instead, he proved us all wrong as he remained level-headed enough to escape the FDA’s grasp as soon as an opening was created for him.
Clone Miles: More Charismatic / Optimistic
While the original Miles had a static social life, Clone Miles wasn’t lacking at all in this department. His natural charisma has an effect on people that just makes them want to root for him. It was this charisma that allowed him to befriend a farmer almost immediately after getting out of the spa, and it also made him the life of any party he attended.
As much as we wanted to find a reason to despise Clone Miles, we found ourselves wishing we had someone like him in our own social circle. It’s no wonder Kate was even drawn to him despite knowing that meeting him for dinner was technically cheating.
Miles: Actually Went To The Fertility Clinic
After Kate’s first miscarriage, Miles and his wife tried desperately to have another child, but for years nothing was working. In an effort to investigate why, a sperm analysis was brought up, but Miles just never went, and every time Kate asked him, he was quick to sweep the topic under the rug.
Towards the end of the series however, Miles actually took it upon himself to go to the fertility clinic for a sperm analysis that he’d been putting off for months. This signified just how much he’d grown, as he finally learned to confront his commitments head-on instead of blowing them off.
Clone Miles: Resorted To Online Dating
Whether it’s Tinder, Bumble, or Hinge, we’ve all resorted to online dating apps at some point, or at least looked into them to see what the big deal is. Online dating’s been on the rise since its introduction, so we’re not surprised when it works its way into our favorite series. After Clone Miles was forced to leave what he believed was his own house and wife, he turned to online dating to ease the heartache.
Most people won’t admit this, but the truth is, many have been in similar situations, turning to Tinder to alleviate feelings of loneliness, especially after a breakup. This makes Clone Miles all the more relatable, showing that behind so much perfection is a man with the same weaknesses as anybody else.
Miles: Supported Kate Through Her Miscarriage
While Clone Miles and the original Miles share the same memories, there’s something to be said about the fact that the original Miles was the one who actually lived through both the beautiful and traumatic moments of life.
After Kate’s miscarriage, we got to see a side of Miles that we’d never seen before; not only was he supportive, but he remained optimistic about the entire thing, becoming a vital pillar of emotional support for his wife. He’ll always get props in our eyes for sticking with her through that.
Clone Miles: Knows Exactly What to Say To Get What He Wants
A wise Chinese philosopher (among other things) by the name of Sun Tzu once wrote that if you “know the enemy and know yourself; in a hundred battles you will never be in peril.” While we don’t know who Sun Tzu would give that advice to if he were still alive today, we can say for sure that Clone Miles definitely embodied this principle, although it did help that he and Miles were the same person.
He knew exactly what to do and say to bend the original Miles to his will, even pushing all the right buttons to compel Miles to kill him! His pitch, which is just a bunch of positive, community-oriented buzz words that denote no real plan of action, was the exact combination of words that enabled him to gain favor in the workplace. He has a way with words that will continue to get him anything he wants out of life.
Miles: Easier To Relate To
Clone Miles embodies perfection: his hair and clothes are never lacking, and he knows just what to say to score points with Kate and his coworkers. The original Miles, however, is the definition of imperfection. He’s stuck in a cycle of pessimism, struggling to get out of an unfulfilling job, something many of us can relate to alone.
Still, he aspired to do better, and grew as a result. A character like that is much easier to relate to than Clone Miles, who’s growth most likely came from a petri dish.
Clone Miles: Experiencing Heartbreak We Couldn’t Begin To Imagine
We won’t be able to find the right words to describe the pain Clone Miles must’ve felt after being forced to give up his relationship with Kate. Sure, he might have memories of his life with Kate, but she’s made it clear that she doesn’t want to be romantically involved with him. Those memories and feelings of love won’t just go away overnight; if someone was prohibited from seeing their spouse despite living in the same town, we’d imagine those feelings would take years to get over.
If there is a Season 2, hopefully Clone Miles gets his own clone of Kate. We wouldn’t want to see him heartbroken for 8 more episodes.