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Spoilers follow for all four episodes ofAdolescence,now streaming on Netflix.
You know what I dont like about all this?
The perp always gets the front line: A man raped a woman.
Weve been following Jamies brain around this entire case.
Katie isnt important; Jamie is.
Everyone will remember Jamie; no one will remember her.
Thats what annoys me.
Thats what gets to me.
What are they like, she asks.
Men, Jamie says.
He accuses Briony of trying to trick him; of being posh; of chatting shit.
She ensures him theyre just having a conversation.
Is his dad funny?
No, thats weird.
Though hes quick to clarify that his father has never hit him: He just gets mad.
It went poorly, as those things so often do.
Quite a lot ofAdolescenceis devoted to plumbing the complicated depths of Jamies relationship with his father.
Its also the only time when we meet anyone who both knew and loved Katie.
We dont see Jade speaking with any of her peers (were she and Katie total loners?
The second episode doesnt give us anything specific or real about Katie.
Its Bascombe listening to a voice-mail from his son that opens the whole series.
It shocked me, he says.
I was thinking,Whats going on?
Whats happening in society where a boy stabs a girl to death?
I really just wanted to shine a light on it and ask,Why is this happening today?
How have we come to this?
Those are seemingly the big questions animating the series: What was Jamies motive?
What causes children to commit violent crimes against other children?
Its in the third episode when we get some answers.
He put on his best tracksuit and asked her to the fair.
Im not that desperate, she told him in response.
Do you like me?
He bangs on the windows, desperate.
Tell my dad Im all right.
Of course, his fathers opinion of him matters more than that of any womans.
And Eddie knows this.
This isnt a story about adolescence today: Its one of inherited rage, shame, and misogyny.
A tale as old as time.
But no longer: Dont laugh at me!
While getting more time with Eddie, I kept thinking back to Katie and Jade, their untold stories.
What happens to young girls who, not so unlike Jamie, are conditioned to hate themselves?
What of their shame and their rage?
We wanted you to look at this family and think,My God.
This could be happening to us!
And whats happening here is an ordinary familys worst nightmare.
With his impressively weepy performance (less so his co-written script), Graham captures that nightmare well.
