Adolescence
Netflix
Netflix has found a big new hit in the form of Adolescence, the crime drama that has wowed critics with a 98% Rotten Tomatoes score, and racked up 24 million views in just four days since it was released, four times the amount of the next-closest show, Running Point.
The show has hooked audiences not just for its powerful performances, but its totally unique structure where every hour-long episode is a single, continuous shot which yes, actually happened and was not faked somehow to create this effect.
But as I’ve read more about other people’s takes on the show (I loved it), I kept running into a bunch of “Adolescence Ending Explained: Did Jamie Kill Katie?” articles, which I find baffling. Look, I understand the SEO game, and I do think there are many series with nebulous or confusing endings that probably do need some explainer pieces to accompany them. I’ve probably written a few. But Adolescence?
There is no equivocation about whether or not Jamie killed Katie. That is abundantly clear in the very first episode, which is the shocking reveal at the end. This is not a series that is building evidence, finding alternate suspects, offering different theories. Jamie is quite literally on tape stabbing the girl to death.
Yes, he denies this, strenuously, all throughout the first episode, but that was likely because he just did not think it was caught on camera, and if he denied the accusation, maybe they’d believe him and/or he’d be set free with nothing solid to hold him. This is not up for debate, Jamie killed Katie. It’s plain as day.
Adolescence
Netflix
The rationale, however, is the mystery. This is mainly explored in episode 3 where there is a lengthy, one-shot interview with Jamie where his views on women and sexuality are prodded at by a psychologist, and he alternates between attempting to be an innocent kid and a temper-flaring sociopath, at one point actually admitting he did it, before immediately trying to take it back.
The fourth episode has him changing his plea from Not Guilty to Guilty, which in a normal context, may not mean he’s definitely guilty, perhaps merely taking a better deal, but yes, we know he killed Jamie. This is a fact.
Again, the main point of the series is examining the effect this has on his family, along with making a political statement about the online radicalization of young men, in particular their behavior toward women. In this case, that escalated all the way to murder, which of course is something that can often happen in real life, as well.
No, no explanation as to whether or not Jamie killed Katie. But rather, the question explored is why.
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