Adolescence director reveals secret meaning behind hit Netflix show’s heartbreaking ending – but did you spot it?
THE director of Adolescence has revealed the meaning behind the show’s heartbreaking ending.
The programme, which stars Stephen Graham and Ashley Walters, has become a runaway success on Netflix thanks to its gritty scenes and hard-hitting plots.
It has left fans in tears thanks to its incredibly moving nature with the closing scene in the fourth and final episode becoming one of the stand-out moments.
Show director Philip Barantini has opened up to Netflix’s Tulum about the haunting scene and who it is really all about.
Fans will recall how Jamie confesses that he was the person to stab his classmate Katie, the central plot to the entire series.
He tells his father that he will plead guilty to the murder at the final moment of the show.
The scene is accompanied by the song Through the Eyes of a Child by Aurora, whose lyrics describe the loss of a childlike soul.
However, in a haunting twist, the song is performed by Katie and becomes the only time that viewers of the show hear her voice in the entire series.
Upon Phillip learning that Katie actress Emilia Holliday could sign, they asked her to perform the lead vocals for the final moments of the show.
He said: “The voice in the score is Katie’s voice. Katie is a part of the whole series.
“Her presence is always there.”
The show has become a mammoth success for Netflix and has already broken a major streaming record.
The hit show managed to achieve a whopping one million viewers in a single day on the site.
This is more than double Netflix’s previous highest single day rating when Black Doves brought in 500,000 viewers.
The ratings for Black Doves eventually consolidated to four million suggesting that Stephen and Ashley’s show could bring in FAR more.
The hit show centers around a father of a young boy accused of murder, and one single shot is used to tell the story in each of its four episodes.
Director Philip Barantini, known for his work on Boiling Point, pulled off a seamless one-shot transition in episode two – going from a school to a brutal crime scene in a single, fluid take.
However, fans were left amazed over an impressive but impossible drone shot, including Jeremy Clarkson.
Taking to X – formerly Twitter – Clarkson wrote: “Adolescence. The camera at the end of show 2. How on earth did they do that? It’s impossible. I’ve been in the business for 30 years and I cannot work it out.”
Another viewer penned: “i just finished adolescence on netflix and f***ing hell. everyone on that show needs an emmy, how could they manage to act out a storyline like that all in one continuous shot it’s insane. episodes 3 and 4 might be some of the best tv i’ve ever seen.”
Writer Jack Thorne spilled the secrets behind the “impossible” shot, revealing: “We strapped a camera to a drone that took off over traffic lights and suddenly you’re at the murder scene.
“Emotionally, it kicks you in the stomach.”