Episode #1.3

Jamie is interviewed by child psychology Briony Ariston, who attempts to get him to open up with hot chocolate and sandwiches, but she finds him reluctant to talk, until he expresses his real views on Kate.

Such is the way this series is going, you never quite know what's coming next, I don't think I was expecting this.

The first two were excellent, this third episode was nothing short of sensational, the level of acting here was off the scale, two powerhouse performances.

In every episode we've been taken down a path, we've seen a seemingly sweet boy, who loves his dad commit a shocking act, we now get an insight into the dark recesses of his mind, even at this age, he is one disturbed boy, the interview clearly had a big impact on poor Briony.

Erin Doherty and Owen Cooper were both sublime in their respective roles, I honestly cannot throw enough superlatives at the pair, unbelievable.

Off the scale!

10/10.

After all the choreography required in the first two episodes, this one is much simpler and yet the writing and the acting makes it one of the best pieces of screen time I've seen.

Owen Cooper is simply extraordinary. He'll earn all the praises and deservedly so, but the performance by Erin Doherty is perfect. You wouldn't expect the bouncing off and on that this two achieve. It's like prime Federer against prime Nadal.

Haven't seen the last episode yet but if this limited series had ended here nobody could complain.

And the directing simply meets everything at the top. "Only" doing what is required (the single frame is still amazing)

Absolutely phenomenal writing, directing and acting. The dialogue felt very grounded and raw; I enjoyed that the therapist actually stayed professional rather than trying to act as a friend to him, it's so hard but it's the reality. So often shows like this take a maternalistic approach with therapists and teachers (ie. Gifted, Shrinking, Palmer, etc) where they go out of their way to unprofessionally take the client or student under their wing, treating them as their own child. This show did it RIGHT, and it made it all the more emotional and REAL.

Obviously we all know Owen is a star in the making, if he delivered each of those monologues with little to no cuts that's unbelievable; he embodied exactly the emotions an angst filled teenager would portray when faced with such conflicting feelings. Oscar worthy all the way.

Watch it. Just watch it. I just seriously hope that he's not emotionally affected by this. They are both amazing though. I'm stunned by the acting here. Stunned enough to write this carp. It's all so hard to watch and at the same time compelling. So disturbing and also enlightening as to how children are affected by modern technology and opinions. The wee boy is so amazing in portraying the character making it all so real. And yet, he's still a child. Modern life was rubbish when Blur released that album but it's got a lot worse since we moved from dial up modems. This is great but disturbing viewing.

This is the most interesting, captivating, shocking, and frankly scary episode. Owen's performance as Jamie was nothing short of an Oscar- or Emmy-winner. He is so young but he conveys the turmoil, and complex emotions of a psychologically unstable teenager so incredibly well. He did it with such ease that even made I was scared for my life whenever the outburst began.

In conjunction, Erin's performance as the psychologist matches that of Owen. The episode is literally just 2 characters playing a mind game. One is young yet cunning, while the other is older but calm, collected, and experienced yet vulnerable.

If this episode didn't win Owen at least an Emmy nomination, I don't know what deserves more.