Sincerely, Saskia

Adolescence, directed by Philip Barantini, has been the talk of the town for the last week or so, and I can see why.

Lauded for its flawless acting from nearly every single actor, amazing camera work and subverting the crime-drama genre – which has become increasingly oversaturated – Adolescence brings us the story of Jamie Miller. A 13-year-old incel who kills his female classmate, Katie, because she rejected him and then proceeded to bully him online. His parents, blindsided by the fact their seemingly normal son could do such a thing, the series focuses on the harrowing fact that indoctrination into the incel community could happen to any young boy.

There doesn’t need to be family trauma, abuse or anything of the kind going on behind closed doors for the “manosphere” to influence and corrupt a young mind. You don’t need a toxic father or a mother you hate, and it’s the show’s illumination of this that has people praising its existence. That and its scarily, accurate portrayal of teachers… police – an insight into the services this country relies on and a fleeting, but impactful, glimpse into the challenges they face.

There is no doubt that young boys need protecting from such societal and online influences, especially with the rise of people like Andrew Tate and the number of male – and female – supporters he has. However, my issue with Adolescence – and to an extent the praise that surrounds it – is that once again we are focussing heavily on the perpetrator, the struggles they face and not the victim.

From the very first scene where at least twenty armed police bust down the door of this 13-year-old child, who then proceeds to wet himself at their presence, our empathy as an audience is with Jamie. And even when a darker side to him is revealed, you are still forced to see both sides and once again feel for him.

From focussing on his family, his friends, his story; Katie’s parents aren’t even a role in the show. They’re mentioned once by Ashley Walters’ character, Detective Inspector Luke Bascombe when trying to get to Jamie to admit what he’s done, and that’s where it ends.

I understand the focus of the show is to explore the causes of what leads to such crimes against women and girls at the hands of boys and men, but glossing over Katie’s side of the story so to speak, leaving out her family and friends – all except one – felt like more of a misfire.

The conversation around violence against women hasn’t come nearly far enough.

DS Mischa Frank (played by Faye Marsay) said what annoys her most about cases like this one is that the victim is often forgotten, and the perpetrator is the one everyone remembers. That’s exactly how I felt watching the show. Not only did I feel robbed of getting to know Katie and any sign of immortalising the person she was, but all the female characters in Adolescence felt underdeveloped – which is ironic considering.

In 2024, the UK declared violence against women and girls in England and Wales a national emergency, even saying it had reached epidemic levels. Yet, how many women since then have been killed at the hands of men? The numbers in the UK alone are staggering and women still aren’t taken seriously when reporting crimes of harassment, sexual assault or abuse at the hands of men. And when they do make it to court to try and get justice, the sentence never seems to reflect the crime – just look at Gisèle Pelicot’s husband.  

When the conversation around violence against women has not come nearly as far as should have, it’s more annoying than anything that a show that seemingly bypasses the victim is being hailed so vehemently. Putting the spotlight on the victim and exploring what causes young boys to turn violent in cases like this both could have existed in the story without taking anything away from what was already there.

We got very little insight into who Katie was as a person beyond what her killer had to say about her. He paints her as a bitch who rejected him and bullied him on social media. Is that all we’re going to know of her legacy?

A simple scene where the Millers come face to face with Katie’s parents at the police station; ending with a flashback scene to when Katie was alive that showed us the kind of girl she was; a scene between Jamie and his mum or sister, making him come face to face with women he loves after he’s done what he’s done and making him explain himself to them – anything more than what we got would have showed that Katie was more than a means to an end to tell the story told. I’m aware that prevention is one way to stop attacks like this on women and girls from happening, but that also didn’t feel like a vocal point for the show.

The show’s creators Stephen Graham and Jack Throne choosing to focus on this moment in a wider conversation is their creative right. However, when tackling a story that is so prevalent and badly handled in our society, I think artists have a responsibility to do a topic justice, and the justice Adolescence achieves feels one sided. But then again, perhaps they chose the perspective they felt most equipped to portray.

All in all, I agree with the masses that Adolescence is a gripping watch, but the entertainment factor is higher than what it actually adds to the conversation. However, getting people talking is half the battle, and with Adolescence having done exactly that, let’s just hope the conversation doesn’t stop there.

Image credit: Netflix