The four-part series premiered on Netflix last week (13 March) and has since shot to number one on the streaming platform’s viewing charts, as well as highlighting the dangers which extremist content can have on young people’s minds.
Starring This Is England’s Stephen Graham, the series follows a devastated father who learns that his 13-year-old son Jamie (Owen Cooper) has been arrested on suspicion of stabbing his female classmate.
Top Boy’s Ashley Walters features as a detective, while A Thousand Blows’ Erin Doherty plays the child psychologist who interviews Jamie.
Adolescence has since been widely praised by both viewers and critics for its raw depiction of incel culture, the online ‘manosphere’ and how teenagers are utilising slang terms and emojis to discuss potentially violent ideas.
The series has also dominated conversations over the past week, with one observant viewer pointing out how the series cleverly foreshadows Jamie’s guilt from the first episode.
Sharing the observation on TikTok, user @kashi_ibbotson shared a clip which depicted the moment the startled teenager is arrested on suspicion of murdering his classmate.
In the shot we see Jamie place his hands outwards as he’s being apprehended by armed police, with one hand hovering above a tear in the wallpaper which resembles the blade of a knife.
For the first time viewer, the moment wouldn’t stick out too much, as we’re not aware if Jamie is actually responsible for killing his classmate.
However, anyone aware of the series’ conclusion may notice how a small detail on the teenager’s bedroom wall foreshadows his guilt.
“This cannot have been an accident. The level of detail in this show made it a masterpiece,” she added in the caption.
Viewers have noticed the moment after finishing the series (Netflix)
Ibbotson wasn’t the only person to notice the detail either, with one person writing: “Every detail is immaculate in this programme,” while a second commented: “I kept looking at the tear on the wall. It bothered me, but I didn’t put that together! Brilliant!!!”
Meanwhile a third user pointed out how the tear in the wallpaper would later crop up in the final episode when the boy’s father Eddie (Graham) breaks down in tears while sat in his son’s bedroom.
“And the very last scene when the dad is on his bed is like the knife in his back,” the viewer pointed out.
