Adolescence

⭐ 10/10

I watched this entire series with a knot in my stomach. From the very first moments something unthinkable happens and a family is left in turmoil. I hate to pull the dad card so early in my dad journey, but as a father there was so much here that wrecked me. All of it is impossible to imagine, but the family reactions and the long lasting fallout is so painful, and I thought Stephen Graham was phenomenal, my favourite performance of the show. His short but bulky stature, his hard accent, pitbull eyes, all while being completely helpless, dragged along in a current with no control, an incredible performance by someone who created and wrote the show as well.

Each episode is a single take, which aside from being flashy, really immerses you. We have to sit through the grief of the family, or the awkwardness of these conversations. Early in the first episode there is a drive to the police station where we have to watch this boy reckon with what is coming for him, and even if you know whether or not he is innocent your heart completely breaks for him during that ride. I think filming like this was an amazing choice, but also super athletic, as we see in episode two as we dance around a school and end with the camera soaring through the air back to the grief-stricken dad. Its unrelenting, and its effect can't be overstated.

Episode 1 is incredible, a look at all the moving pieces around these institutions that deal in tragedy. All these people having a normal work day while the family is experiencing the worst day of their lives, it was stark for me to watch. There is a bombshell reveal at the end, but episode two doesn't go into a CSI episode, it goes to his school, where we see some tremendous kid acting! These students are annoying and do not co-operate or answer questions or provide anything meaningful. The girl who is murdered, her best friend is an absolute mess, and even though in your head you think she would be the most useful person for the police to interview she is just freaking out and not helping at all, probably how an actual girl that age would behave! Episode 3 is the psychologist episode that plays out how you might expect, offering you a huge window into this boy's psyche, with some incredible writing and acting by the two stars of the episode. The actor playing the boy is incredible here, can't believe how someone so young could be this good. There are so many moments and lines in this one that still haunt me,

Episode 4 completely crushed me, as we see the family still reeling but trying to celebrate a birthday like a normal family. Mundane moments burst into fits of rage, which transition into tender moments between a husband and wife and daughter, which then escalate to utter heartbreak. I was a puddle for this one, left with the tremendous fear of the unknown, being unable to control the thing that matters most to me now in my children. There is this guilt the father is carrying and trying to make sense of, where his wife feels almost dead inside, resigned that there was nothing they could do. But there are also sprinkles of internet danger, a boy with potential getting dragged into toxic subcultures, a danger I think about every day as a dad. I just felt so vulnerable, so hopeless, and this episode will be the lasting memory of this show for me. The dad reflecting on his own childhood, how he felt he did so much better for his own boy only for all this to happen, feeling like he failed his kid, just an absolute dagger.

Netflix putting out something this good is rare, and I basically watched it a year after the rest of the world, so nothing I write here is new. I just love something so fresh and new and relevant being dropped into the sea of content and actually being this high quality. Some real geniuses behind this one for sure, and while I would be skeptical of any sort of second season they have earned my trust. A difficult watch, but one I won't ever forget.