TV Series Thread

[mugatiya]

(04-15-2025, 09:12 AM)slcricfan1 Wrote:  Inevitable. But we will adapt as we always have.

Slfan sounds like Thanos

[JamisBanda]

I would have gone with no smartphones policy but it doesn't help when school have apps for children to deliver homework and other information, so they have to have one, but his phone is locked during school times and only unlocks for few hours before he goes to sleep.

[mugatiya]

(04-15-2025, 09:23 AM)JamisBanda Wrote:  I would have gone with no smartphones policy but it doesn't help when school have apps for children to deliver homework and other information, so they have to have one, but his phone is locked during school times and only unlocks for few hours before he goes to sleep.

Homework is via Google classroom so far which is fine

She got her own laptop for school cuz it’s needed now for homework and assignments

Not sure if it will change in high school

I think screen time is ok. Can’t avoid that. Just need to guard against all the bad social media elements and aspects

[Regista]

(04-15-2025, 08:41 AM)mugatiya Wrote:  I think Regista’s entire assessment of the show misses a key point: we have clear evidence from the family’s daughter that their home environment can produce a well-adjusted child. She grew up in the same household and seems to have turned out fine, just like Jaime—at least initially. It’s a working-class family where both parents likely work long hours, meaning they have limited time with their kids. That’s not uncommon in today’s world. How many of us are in the same situation even as professionals. Sometimes I barely get a chance to talk my kids during the day. It is easy for me right now. No screen time during school week etc. But once they get older they will want more freedom. Access to smart phones/devices for their personal use. I'd like to think I can police all that and I know I have a strong connection with my kids. But as a parent, I know I can't be everywhere, all the time. That is the difference these days cuz the bad influences are not at home. I could easy say my girls can't go to parties or go out after dark. But is that the solution? It's a lot more complicated than that..

What the show really highlights—is the pervasive influence of online culture. Bullying, the manosphere, “Andrew Tait” style extremism—these toxic spaces can easily reach kids right in their bedrooms. The danger isn’t necessarily outside the home; it’s online, where parents have less oversight. Yes, the parents share blame for not paying closer attention, the school is partly at fault for losing control, and other kids contributed through bullying. But politics and society play a role, too, in normalizing some truly disturbing ideas. We have all these discussions on this very forum. But we are older, more knowledgeable, we didn't grow up on smart phones (well I didn't) this is a brand new world for most parents to navigate.

Stephen Graham (show's creator) said it best: “It takes a village to raise a kid, and it also takes a village to break someone down.” He wrote this show after reading about two separate cases of young boys who stabbed girls in different parts of the UK, and he wanted to explore how such tragedies could happen. Sadly, stories like these reflect a broader reality: we’re living in an anxious generation with rising depression and crazy online harassment. This show simply pushes that notion to its logical, horrifying extreme.

My kids are taught about this even at this age - police come to their school to explain these topics to them. My kids are 7/10. This is not a lived reality for anyone over 40.

Regarding the therapist, it’s made clear that Jaime’s session with her is far from their first. She demonstrates concern—bringing him a sandwich, establishing a rapport—and does her job: to figure out what’s going on in Jaime’s head. She expertly unravels how he views women and where those views originated, eventually revealing a dark side she didn’t initially suspect. That balance between her initial sympathy and her ultimate discovery is riveting—and absolutely Emmy-worthy.

Anyway - good luck out there to everyone who is doing their best in this modern age. No judgement here from me.

You're right that the show succeeded in one of its aims to make me think about parenting. I am not a parent yet, like you so you have insight into this that I don't. I agree about online culture being an issue. Stuff like bullying and “manosphere” content can mess kids up right in their own rooms, no question. But I don’t think that’s the whole story here. For me, the show screams about how nobody really cares enough—parents, school, therapist, you name it. Everyone’s just going through the motions, and that’s what screws over kids like Jaime.

Take the parents. Sure, they’re working-class, stretched thin, I get that. But man, the dad just plops a computer in front of Jaime instead of, like, pushing him to keep up with art or history—stuff he actually liked. And the mom? She hears him go quiet after lights out but doesn’t even check on him. That’s not just being busy; that’s missing the ball. I don’t buy that the daughter being okay means the home was fine. Kids aren’t the same—Jaime’s getting bullied, spiraling online, while she’s dodging that heat. It’s not proof the parents did enough.

Your “village” point aligns with my initial point—it takes everyone to raise or wreck a kid. But the show’s village is cold. Look at the therapist. You see her as caring, bringing sandwiches, digging into Jaime’s head. I see her playing him, messing with a 13-year-old’s emotions, then tossing him to the system like trash. She “did her job,” sure, but that’s my problem—nobody goes beyond their job. The system chews up kids and spits out unempathetic wrecks. The girl’s death? Horrific, no excuse. But Jaime’s bullying gets swept under the rug, and that bugs me. Both messed up, but the show only calls out one.
I know the show’s pushing the online danger angle, and yeah, toxic spaces are bad for kids already hurting. But if the parents kept a closer eye—less “go play online,” more “where are you?”—maybe this doesn’t happen. The real knife crimes out there aren’t all about incels either; feels like the show’s forcing that narrative. Anyway, parenting’s tough, and I’m not judging anyone trying their best. Just wish the show showed more heart.

[mugatiya]

Well I think you’re basically agreeing with what I’ve said so not sure there’s anything else to debate

How did Jamie’s bullying get swept under the rug ? It’s shown in episode 3 when he talks about it.

The show specifically focusses on Jaime’s side of the story and that’s what wanted to tell. There are plenty of stories about the victims life and how their death impacts that families life but this show is not about that.

In fact the lady police officer calls this out ep 2 at the school when she says she hates how the girl gets forgotten in all this.

I’m not sure what you’re expecting the therapist to do ? She is doing her job because she’s trying to understand why Jaime did it. It’s her job to bring out Jaime’s true nature. It would be on her if she said Jaime is fine to be out in society when he’s troubled and needs help.

At the end of the day he killed someone.. and while he denied it until the end he eventually admits he did it.

It seems like this show opened up your eyes to how society works in general.

The very things you’re questioning about why didn’t the parents do that or this is the same thing they are asking themselves in the end. You will not get that part until you become a parent. Trust me. So it seems easy enough to judge but this is why this is resonating with so many people and especially parents.

[Regista]

When I'm saying Jamie's bullying got swept under the rug I mean nobody seems to show empathy that he was bullied. Yes the lady officers says the victim got forgotten in all of this, but the show is trying to bring awareness to incel culture. Yet they completely failed to condemn the bullying of these kids before they got radicalised. They just kept painting them as monsters.

Your comments about the therapist is exactly my problem. She's "just doing her job" while probably making Jamie's hatred towards women worse. She manipulated a 13 year old into thinking she was a friend and then brutally cuts off the conversation. Now Jamie will be an even bigger burden to the system.

Yes he killed someone, and he deserved punishment.

[mugatiya]

SHe didn’t manipulate him. It’s clearly established she liked him but then in the final session her world view of him comes crashing down once he learns his true nature.

[Regista]

(04-16-2025, 11:48 AM)mugatiya Wrote:  SHe didn’t manipulate him. It’s clearly established she liked him but then in the final session her world view of him comes crashing down once he learns his true nature.

I guess you may be right

[rsk19]