Adolescence

Part of the last episode made me want to go down a half star, but then I realized it's purpose, which I feel like sis rare when you start to question a creator's intentions while engaged. Tension: E1 - Did this boy actually murder someone? E2 - Who is hiding information? How will this school react to the death? Will they find the murder weapon? E3 - Why did he kill her? Will Jamie lose it? E4 - How will this family cope and heal? Will they be able to get through this emotionally? Will they tlak about what they are feeling? Theme: E1 - Do we know people as well as we think we do? The fine line between guilt/innoncence. E2 - The educational sytem is falwed and the youth of today are at risk of negative influence. E3 - What does it mean to be a man? How do our actions have unintended consequences on others? We put so much value on being liked, and we choose to not like ourselves. E4 - Families need each other to heal. It’s okay to not be okay, you don’t have to pretend for others. Parents have a hard job, but they still need to be doing more. Children are not safe alone in their rooms. Responsibility/stewarship in procreation and rearing children. A human’s potential for evil and greatness. Writing: E1 - This first episode was so procedural and process-oriented yet kept the tension super strong which isn’t easy. You were kept in real-time tension like the family was — without much more context and slowly learning information. Very observant letting you learn things for yourself based on people’s actions rather than forcing you to go somewhere even though there were still limits. Very strong dialogue here, and it’s so necessary for something like this. Where the simple moments are the big moemts leading up to reveals. The pacing worked really well with the lawyer and practicing with him, as well as just continuing forward because of the dad and how much that affected things even though it would still be inevitable. E2 - There were a lot of interesting choices on who the camera followed at certain times. There was so much to explore with the school, and sadly it reminded me of my high school. There were so many good points made with how shallow it can become just playing videos, having to yell at kids so much, and an inability to properly handle and inspire the youth. Jade’s character was so interesting, slightly annoying yes, but there was so much genuine grief to her objectives. I loved the scene between her and her teacher, showing how teachers really do want to make a difference and also how hard it for them when sometimes they are just supposed to refer a student over to a counselor. Misha, the girl detective, had a strange role in this episode at times. Almost a little passive, but it felt like it was her choice. I liked the subplot between the detective and his son too, showing that it’s about understanding on a different level than the one we’re used to, and to listen to the people who are right in front of us. E3 - I’ve seen so many tv shows and movies with therapy scenes, and I don’t like a lot of them becuase they kill tension and lose nuance. But this one did such a good job. It was a constant power fight between these two characters. Yo ujust never knew when Jamie was going to snap, or when the therapist would put her foot down in a different way. It showed how smart both of them really were, trying to analyze what the other person was doing and calling them out for it. The pacing was super strong for this one, between simple moments of joy, rage, and despair. It kind of breaks my heart to see this boy tell himself he’s ugly and that people don’t actually like him. And to care so much about his father’s image, it showed how far familial bonds can be even with distance. E4 - I questioned this episode quite a bit in the first third, but it wasn’t until other stuff happened that I realized what I questioned before was important. Like why so much time was wasted on useless exposition of love, when in reality we can’t crush this family unitl we know just how strong they are and really really love them. The mixed reactions and feelings throughout were so good, like wishing you could believe others when they think your son is innocent, or hearing him change his plea to guilty, and all on top of it being the dad’s birthday was so heavy-handed. Acting: E1 - Jamie was a terrific actor and so was Eddie the father. This goes with writing as well, but they had so much depth and nuance. I felt so many different ways toward each character, and it wasn’t necessarily right or wrong. For example, I’d wonder why the female detective was being so stand-off-ish compared to everyone else, and then to see how much she empathized with this case made more sense, and then you’re forced to understand as you see that video they show. E2 - Again, Jade was great. So was her teacher trying to help her out. Ryan had a mysterious nuance to him, so chill ut sometimes avoiding duscussion, and then the sudden run-off. A lot o the teachers and kids were so accurate for the chaos of a public school. The teachers that really aren’t fully there, the kid that’s always trying to be a class clown but at the same time a kiss-up who pushes his limits, and even some special needs I beleive with the detective’s son. I probably should mention more about the detective himself and how well he had to go about things, but the people around him he was interacting with were just so interesting. E3 - These two could get some emmy nominations from this episode, they had to reveal so much with such subtle expressions and phrases. The timing had to be just perfect, and Jamie had so many mood shifts and revelations for himself and the audience. ANd to be able to see the therapist in action and then away from him in the small moments was very powerful and showed how much she had to put on. E4 - This episode required some strong acting with all the grief that was protrayed directly and so complexly. Is that a word? Anyways, seeing the parents trying to help each other out while still grieivng themselves was powerful, as well as the daughter who was a symbol of everything her brother could have been but wasn’t. And just the reactions to the world around them throwing them in for a whirl, over and over again. The dad with the paint and the water and soap, and taking the kids on their bike. With him just losing it in a sad, but “do you understand what I’m going through?” kind of way. Cinematography: E1 - This is overall for the show first, but the one-take episodes were extremely impressive. I really want to see a BTS to know how they did it all, and how much of it was legitimate or not and how much practice would have been needed. The closing images of this show are so good, and the way they revolve around people in sitting conversations is so engaging and mysterious still despite it being so simple. E2 - There would be many little spots the detectives would take a break at and just have some well framed imagery. Super impressed that the camera-ops had to switch off with the window scene and actually run. The ending image of this episode with the father at the crime scene bringing flowers was so strong, because it really could have ended as a drone shot, but it chose to add meaning to the end. E3 - Again, super storng ending shot with the sandwhich and just having to figure out how you feel about this boy. And not being able to see the other at times felt like a use of shift in tone throughout. I noticed how well they kep the focus throughout, another nightmare I’m sure. E4 - I don’t know how they did this so well with so many outdoor shots and driving shots without it getting bumpy. The ending shots again, with the teddy bear on the galaxy bed showing, that this was just a kid, one we all would love, and he was emotionally manipulated online. Sound: E1 - Overall, I wonder how this would be to record as a sound tech. If lavs were used, maybe a nightmare. But maybe a nightmare for a boom op as well. Nothing stuck out to me too much here except the ambience of the police station. E2 - Mostly thinking of the fire alarm and the children’s choir at the end which was so strangely ominous yet lovely at the same time. E3 - Can’t remember much besides Jamie’s outbursts, I like the little effect they have where they fade voices away and just let the audience think about the subtext of the visual image. E4 - Mostly the fading voices thing again, but also I liked the music at the very end as well. Very transcendent. Production Design: E1 - Very simple and informative of each step of an arrest and where it all takes place back and forth in the station. It wasn’t anything flashy, more bare bones to focus on the character and the context. E2 - The school was an interesting setting, I think it was either just an actual school or a super well-done set. Lots of yellow and the same with the uniforms. Wasn’t used to the tiny tie thing, I wonder if that’s a British thing. E3 - Nothing crazy here, enough to establish a government center that was centered around kids being treated. I though the security room was interesting, yet I wasn’t sure the therapist’s intention in looking at him through it during her away moment. E4 - I mean, it was all very home or store focused, except the paint on the van. Gosh that would be so hard to figure out in the props department, making it perfect enough to not come off while still looking fresh. And the paint. I feel like there was some symbolism between the colors yellow and blue, since there was so much yellow in the school and the spray paint, but I don’t know what that might have been. Maybe blue was just the innocence that was trying to be recovered but really couldn’t ever be no matter what you did. Effects: E1 - N/A E2 - N/A E3 - N/A E4 - N/A Editing: N/A