Adolescence Ending Explained: Did Jamie Commit the Crime? What Happens in the End?

In this Netflix British crime-thriller series, a young boy’s life goes into disarray when one fine morning he is arrested for murdering a classmate. As everyone else around him tries to understand this shocking and seemingly senseless crime, more and more information comes out that leaves everyone unsettled.

With only 4 episodes, the series has a runtime of around 1 hour each episode.

Adolescence Ending Explained

The series opens with 13-year-old Jamie getting arrested from his home one fine morning. A young girl, his classmate, was found stabbed to death the night before and although they don’t share anything with the family at first, after the initial process is over, they do tell them that they have video evidence of him stalking and attacking her. Although Jamie continues to cry about his innocence, there is a ton of evidence that suggests otherwise.

What Evidence Did the Police Have?

The police find video evidence of him stalking Katie after hanging out with his friends the fateful night. Although they aren’t able to find the murder weapon they are able to see Jamie and Katie having words in a parking lot and then him attacking her. He walked by his school after that, but the detectives have nothing else to go on and have no clue where the knife could be.

What Did the Police Find in Jamie’s School?

The police go to Jamie’s school after they see in the video that he walked by the school after ambushing Katie. They ask the different students for their cooperation if they know anything about the incident, especially if they know the location of the knife. However, a big breakthrough comes when DI Bascombe’s son Adam, who also studies in the same school, tells him that the messages that Katie left on Jamie’s Instagram photos don’t point to them being friends that they had initially thought but rather to her bullying him by calling him an incel.

Bascombe takes this as a shock since he had no idea that these emojis have such a big significance. When he goes to ask Jamie’s friend Fredo about the emojis, he makes a run for it. Bascombe catches up to him eventually and he finally lets slip that the knife that was used in the murder belonged to him, although he has no idea where it is now.

Who is Briony Ariston? Why Did She Break Down in Adolescence Episode 3?

7 months after the incident, Jamie is visited by a psychologist, Briony, with whom he seems to have a good relationship. They banter about things and she even gets him a cup of hot chocolate just the way he likes it. Here, we see Jamie opening up to Briony about his complex feelings surrounding his sexuality and women, albeit enthusiastically at first. Briony is a professional who seems to have a great moral compass, but she is shocked to see Jamie exploding in rage all of a sudden, especially when talking about his father.

From their conversations, it becomes clear that Jamie idolises his father and has a terrible idea of himself. The bullying that he faced in school just made all of this worse and the red-pill nonsense was just the icing on the cake. It’s heartbreaking to watch him come undone at the more probing questions, especially because it’s clear that Jamie understands the intent behind it. However, he is still a very young child going through something traumatic and, Briony breaks down after Jamie is taken away by the guard because it is clear how desperately he seeks her validation and doesn’t want her to stop visiting him.

Is Jamie the Killer? Why Did He Do What He Did?

Yes, Jamie is the killer. However, the why of it all is quite a bit complex. Jamie is an impressionable teenager with a terrible idea about his self-worth and he seeks a lot of validation from his peers and family. However, adding to these confusing times all of the incel discussion, it gives birth to someone who loses himself in an incorrect sense of masculinity. The series presents a complex and multi-fold dialogue surrounding what this terrible and narrow-minded approach towards love and sex is doing to young impressionable minds, and although it’s clear that Jamie is not a bad person and has done a terrible thing in the heat of the moment, as Briony puts it, Katie will never come back, regardless of how sorry Jamie feels about it all.

Also Read: Adolescence Review: Unnerving and Disturbing In So Many Ways