Adolescence 1-2 | Full-Length Reaction
Added 2025-04-07 05:59:34 +0000 UTC
Comments
Oh wow the whole thing is set in Doncaster, that’s even crazier
Jaimie-Lea Livingstone
2025-10-31 22:15:22 +0000 UTCOmg also I’ve never seen this before… hearing the “appropriate adult” in the van when Jamie got arrested in ep 1 say he’s from Doncaster… I’m also from Doncaster😩😩😩 it’s such a little city in the uk, it’s so eerie when I hear it be mentioned
Jaimie-Lea Livingstone
2025-10-31 22:09:56 +0000 UTCAs someone from the uk… Seeing the police riot van with police men/women coming out with guns in the UK is such a rarity it’s so alarming
Jaimie-Lea Livingstone
2025-10-31 22:03:26 +0000 UTCI refuse to let my son become a man who hates women
Stefan and Erin S
2025-08-06 21:02:44 +0000 UTCThis show is how I found you ❤️
Stefan and Erin S
2025-08-06 16:21:27 +0000 UTCThank you. I'm glad when people appreciate that. Some of these things are too heavy and just need to be processed verbally. I love that. Haven't heard singing the song Adds so much
Franklin
2025-06-23 21:36:21 +0000 UTCIm currently binging your videos on here (you are incredible and I love that you pause the shows to speak your mind without accidentally speaking over something of importance) but anyways I know I'm late to this and someone else has probably said this to you but the girl singing the last few lines of the song (Fragile) on her own at the very end of the second episode is the actress that played the victim Katie. It adds such a haunting yet beautiful quality to the episode.
Ella
2025-06-23 21:24:30 +0000 UTCOne thing that stuck out to me near the end of episode 1 is how Jaime wasn't saying "I didn't do it". He was saying "I haven't done anything wrong". You touched on that as well and I do think it's an interesting choice of phrase. It does make it seem like he knows what he did but he just doesn't think it's wrong. He thinks it was justified somehow.
Kim D
2025-04-23 20:57:26 +0000 UTCYes, it starts so early for girls, so the education should start early for boys too! There's been a lot of discussions on Spanish Bluesky on this for a couple of weeks now, because a male journalist wrote an article about how trying to make boys aware of feminist points "so early" is actually what is driving them to become incels... But! I got my first period at 10 years old. Many girls get theirs at 11-12. Most (most!) women report having their first sexualized comments on the street from adult men at around 12-13 (I certainly did experience that). Girl childhoods stop being genderless really early*, so boys of 11-12 should already be made aware of the patriarchal dynamics around them and within them! Girls certainly are. (Edit to post my addendum because I hit the wrong key too early): * Black kids childhoods also end too early. Black boys start being seen as adult "menaces" at 12 too. Black kids have to have talks about how a racist world will treat them from primary school too, so there are similarities there. White kids need to be made aware of racist dynamics just as early as their Black classmates are. It's never "too early" to help kids spot and undo the bigotries around them.
Lola Lirola
2025-04-12 14:38:51 +0000 UTCYou are 1,000% not reading too much into this. Especially the racial aspect. When looking over my video, that's the one thing I regretted not speaking more on. The moment he asked that question, my mind just went to the many times young white boys have asked me some questions that came from their understanding or misunderstanding of black people. I'm 6'4, and the number of times young white boys have asked me if I can dunk a basketball or called me LeBron James is nauseating. Those are some things they feel are cool and want to identify with, not knowing how dehumanizing that is—not even knowing that they're playing into stereotypes. So yes, his asking Detective Badscombe about girls on popularity just signifies what he finds cool and wants to also identify with. And I believe race is a big part of the show as well so far. Especially the bullying in the school, as well as Kate from episode 2. Maybe they're not explicit with it, but it's there. And I've heard the Uproar online against Kate, I bet you any amount of money people won't be calling her an unreasonable girl who is crashing out if she was a little white girl. There's already that whole angry black woman stereotype on her.
Franklin
2025-04-11 18:09:25 +0000 UTCreal talk
Franklin
2025-04-11 18:00:59 +0000 UTCright
Franklin
2025-04-11 18:00:24 +0000 UTCNothing Like the Sun is such a brilliant album...Fragile is one of my favorites.
ArcAngel
2025-04-09 23:17:15 +0000 UTCYeah I also thought at the start, wow...the cops must have some serious evidence just to send a dozen cars over to pick up a 13 year old. It can't be just a vague suspicion and bring in that much firepower.
ArcAngel
2025-04-09 20:19:16 +0000 UTCI second your closing opinion so much. Most people spend their attention too much on the red pill, but to me I think the root of the problem is we, as an adult, don't try to understand kids enough. We don't want to emphatize with them and acknowledge their need. Like, you see online adults tend to alienate kids even more now. If they're naughty, then they're evil, a lost cause. If they're nice, then it means we don't need to do anything, just let them be. And don't even started how some adults even hate kids and babies now, wanting them barred from some public spaces. They're just mini humans FFS. they cry because they don't understand anything else. There's always something adults can do for those children.
crazykuroneko
2025-04-09 17:48:10 +0000 UTCI might be reading too much into this, but I haven't seen anyone mention it. When Detective Badscombe speaks with Ryan for the first time, it sort of seems that on top of being really curious about Bascombe's romantic life as a teen he just assumes that Bascombe must have been popular with girls in school. I don't know, that stuck out to me a lot, the incel movement also overlaps with a lot of racist/stereotypical thinking, in some spaces they view black men (and other races) through narrow racial lenses, they even have racist nicknames (eg curry-cel-referring to indian incels) and names for the 'chad' archetype (eg. Tyrone-referring to black guys that get women). On top of a bunch of stuff, they view black men as cartoonishly masculine, which puts them sort of at an advantage with women due to the sexual stereotypes etc. It probably wouldn't have mattered had the detective been a white man, he most likely would have asked the same questions but it always struck me that Ryan starts their conversation by almost immediately asking these presumptuous things. I just wonder. Anyway, race isn't really a talking point in the show, though I've seen a lot of push back about Detective Bascombe being a black officer from some white men online. Yikes
Tariro
2025-04-09 02:10:06 +0000 UTCHello. Folks usually just leave their recommendations in the comment section. Feel free to also direct message me
Franklin
2025-04-08 22:17:36 +0000 UTC😭
Melissa
2025-04-08 22:15:32 +0000 UTCI am so pleased you are watching this show! It's really incredible, and I like that it isn't your typical whodunnit show and focuses more on the social climate and impacts on the people left behind. REALLY excited to see your watch of episode 3, which was my personal favourite. Regarding the casting of Jamie - as other commenters have surely said, his performance is incredible especially as a new face, but I also think it was quite brilliant of them to cast a child actor who actually looks very young. It just makes the contrast between the crime and his attitude toward girls/women all the more jarring. I also thought that Jade's character was very interesting, and I really felt for her. You could tell that her teacher was very emotionally invested in Jade but her response was limited by what is "appropriate" or sanctioned by the school. As an adult, I found the school scenes (particularly the behaviour of a lot of the boys) pretty unsettling, but also imagine it's quite a realistic portrayal of the full range of reactions you might see amongst young teenagers after an event like this.
Megan
2025-04-08 17:05:09 +0000 UTCAnother great reaction, Frank. As a parent, I think this show should be required viewing for anyone with young people in their lives. My daughter is only 9 years old, and yet you can already see the way boys are treating girls and the way the lines are drawn between the two groups so early. It's honestly quite scary. Parents have to talk to their kids and pay very close attention because they don't know what their peers' families are letting them watch or listen to. It's a scary, scary world. I'll also piggyback on some other comments here where I don't think Jamie is posting the model photos on IG because he wants to prove the incel comments wrong. Unfortunately, that sort of behaviour is very normalised and expected at that age these days.
N. Cat
2025-04-08 02:22:41 +0000 UTCThe song at the end is a cover of Sting’s “Fragile.” Perfect choice. I cried a bucket.
Susan B
2025-04-08 00:34:34 +0000 UTCThank you for this, Frank. Needed to watch with people who get the point.
Susan B
2025-04-07 20:09:01 +0000 UTCFrank and community, I read about a study of how quickly a social media algorithm will target teenaged boys for Andrew Tate type content. The person conducting the study created a profile as a teenaged boy, and chose fitness as an interest. Clicked on an ad for gym equipment, and presto, the bodybuilder stuff became linked to misogynistic content.
Susan B
2025-04-07 19:37:46 +0000 UTCSocial media has taken bullying to a nuclear level. Imagine being 13, unpopular, but now there is a visible, public and permanent record of where each kid is in the pecking order.
Susan B
2025-04-07 19:11:54 +0000 UTCThe girl Jade saying that her mom doesn’t want her at home, and that Katie’s parents won’t want to see her either. Heartbreaking.
Susan B
2025-04-07 18:49:43 +0000 UTCShe also, based on dialogue clues, may have come to the school more recently than other kids & she says Katie is her only friend. She's also mostly among white kids, which, like Adam, might be another reason she is alone. As Frank noted all of those other kids sort of group up (even while their focused on phones - she doesn't appear to have one), and she's alone, looking heartbreakingly for Katie. (And an incredible incredible actor!!!!)
Melissa
2025-04-07 18:16:08 +0000 UTCI don't know the last two things you mentioned (goes to Google . . .)
Melissa
2025-04-07 18:12:21 +0000 UTCEpisode 2: flashbacks to how much I feared and hated those years at school. Kids at that age can be deeply cruel, testing their power and the power in numbers.
Susan B
2025-04-07 17:57:56 +0000 UTCI don’t think Jamie shared pictures of those girls to try to prove he wasn’t an incel. Sharing pictures of half dressed women and writing aggressive comments toward them is the opposite of that. I’m not sure which came first. If Jamie did that stuff before Katie started saying he’s an incel, then that might be why she thought he was one. If he started doing those things after she started calling him that, then it seems like he decided to lean fully into it, even eventually going as far as to murder a young girl. I don’t know. It’s crazy how easily he conforms to viewing women/girls a certain way when he feels slighted.
Tammy S
2025-04-07 17:22:58 +0000 UTCBlows my damn mind that so many ideas and things started by edgelord morons on 4chan boards have ended up going mainstream among the youth and even people our age of today. Alternative example to all the incel ideology is something like NoFap. Literally started as a joke/meme and has slowly become an actual movement men use to try and break porn addictions or make themselves more attractive to women. It ranges from self help to straight up pseudo-science. Another less extreme but weird and likely somewhat damaging thing for kids is Looksmaxxing. Really wild stuff. This is probably already a thing I just don't know of but I really think it's important for us to have some sort of historians for the virtual world/internet. Remembering how and why these movements come about, what they started as and what they become is important and I think will continually get more so as these things develop over time and shape issues in our societies.
Shane
2025-04-07 16:54:33 +0000 UTCTHANK YOU for showing some understanding and validation toward Jade! I've been kind of crushed by so many reactors responding to her like she's out of pocket. She's a kid whose best friend just got stabbed to death by a classmate! She's boiling over with grief and anger –as anyone would be!
melskmelsk
2025-04-07 16:45:54 +0000 UTCThis kid had never acted before. His performance is breathtaking.
Susan B
2025-04-07 16:07:55 +0000 UTCThis series is so well done, so impactful. Really glad you're checking it out. I interpreted Jamie's repetition of "I haven't done anything" "it wasn't me" (even after the video) as him being in a big messy swirl of shock and denial. Self-soothing as well. Dad is clearly his rock, clearly on his side, but that's because he believed Jamie didn't do it so Jamie keeps repeating his denials because he knows on some level that that's what his dad needs to hear, that's what needs to be true or everything falls apart and he can't face that
melskmelsk
2025-04-07 16:07:31 +0000 UTCHey I have a question for you. How do you usually do movie recommendations I’m fairly new to your Patreon so I’m not sure where your suggestions go.
Gabbryelle williams
2025-04-07 15:11:00 +0000 UTCActive listening. I will definitely utilize this more. Thank you
Franklin
2025-04-07 14:11:59 +0000 UTCIt is my grandchildren they keep me young by coming over and allowing me to just listen and ask questions when I don’t understand. They teach me every time something new and vital in order to be permitted into their world by their grace is such a blessing. I know families are so stressed and strained time available with your children are so little now but I promise if you just sit and allow them to be who they are and say what they need or don’t need from you it will open doors for them and yourself to become closer in this ever fast paced low time for family. There is a technique called active listening. It allows space for the youth or your lover or your friend to be able to speak their truth in safety. Just allow them to talk. Don’t interject your opinions or your thoughts because truly it’s not about you it’s about them and once that is established, it’s about us in a delicate and beautiful exchange much like a dance.
Laura Thate
2025-04-07 12:27:40 +0000 UTCI also like how they use DI Bascombe and his son Adam as a mirror of sorts for Jamie/Dad as well as other father/son relationships. Bascombe says he didn't really want to be a father, but he really loves his son. Then, he says, "That's the longest he's spoken to me in a while" and that he doesn't "think he's the right fit" as his father. All Adam wants is his love, attention, guidance. But because he feels inadequate as a father, he isn't fully present for his son. It's a cycle. He's clearly a good man who is successful, smart, and caring. That distance between him and Adam, however, is just one more example of the isolation adult men and young men feel. That part didn't really click for me until this viewing (probably my 3rd or 4th watch). I was so moved by his father's actions at the end. I felt like maybe you were thinking of your dad, Franklin. ❤️🩹 I'll add onto what DS Frank says about the way perpetrators get more attention than victims in media: "man rapes woman" -- but I'd argue that saying, "Female was raped" is also not ideal. Making it a passive sentence by not naming the accused/guilty party almost makes it seem like a crime with no perpetrator. Does that make sense at all? I don't know the answer, but I think I prefer the onus be put on the person who committed the crime not on the victim. All that being said, victims must be advocated for and given the proper focus. As I ponder this, it makes me think of in IWTV when Daniel is talking about Claudia and saying to Louis that "once you put it out there (into the media spotlight), they (the public) decide what it is." It's a similar situation with crime. Ted Bundy is constantly lauded for his "charm" and "good looks" and Dahmer is interesting because he ate his victims. Victims that are deemed "lesser," like prostitutes, homeless, etc. are largely forgotten or seen as partly to blame because not everyone sees them as equal in their humanness. (Think: "The Wire" S5 -- the case is only "attention-worthy" of a sexual element is part of the MO.) Then, there's the other side of the coin where the victim is given more attention if they're famous or well-known or especially beautiful/attractive (Sharon Tate, Nicole Brown-Simpson) - often they're even fetishized (Asian females as an example or given catchy names like the Black Dahlia). Look at stats, too, on people that go missing, esp children and teens: if they're blonde, white, and attractive, much more attention is given to their case (JB Ramsey, Madeleine McCann) over, say, all of the missing and murdered indigenous women or victims of color.
Melissa
2025-04-07 12:20:43 +0000 UTC2:12 I didn't know about the colors either, Frank. So any hearts I've posted on here . . . they're all the same, but some are just prettier to me! :) The Matrix is a great example of the generational gap: To dad, the red pill/blue pill is simply a reference to that sci fi film; to Adam and other teens, it refers to this new application of being red-pilled and "seeing the truth." They're related since the idea Adam discusses is alluding to the film, but it is not just a reference like his dad thinks. It's another layer to show how little adults know about so much of what is going on with kids today. Like the colors.
Melissa
2025-04-07 11:29:12 +0000 UTCWoohooo can’t wait to watch this!!
Sarah Rosa
2025-04-07 10:13:01 +0000 UTCFantastic surprise to start the week! Everything about this series is brilliant: acting, writing, filming, sound design.
Melissa
2025-04-07 09:19:30 +0000 UTCAwesome blossom. What a great treat.
Mary E Crum
2025-04-07 07:45:47 +0000 UTCwhat a lovely surprise to come back to
alex !!
2025-04-07 06:23:28 +0000 UTC
