Episode #1.3

If we're still talking about this show in 40 years, and like Cathy Come Home I think we will be, then it will be because of this episode. It's urgent, it's essential, it's topical without being hectoring. It rips your soul apart.

I genuinely think Adolescence Episode 3 is the best hour of TV that Britain has ever produced. Maybe the best single episode of any TV show ever.

It's exquisitely written, acted, directed, produced, filmed, sound designed, set designed... I mean literally every part. There's not a foot out of place.

But that acting! Owen Cooper and Erin Doherty should win all the awards, I'd give them a Grammy and a Tony for this as well if I could.

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)

Another great episode of that series!

Is it possible that 45 minutes of constant conversation won't bore a viewer? Until today I'd say it isn't, but this episode changed my mind 180 degrees! Even though I'm a person who prefers action to psychology in TV, this episode hooked me from the beginning. The tension between 13-year-old boy (possibly a sociopath?) and the shrink was quite easy to feel with those outbursts of him.

Another admirable thing about this episode is acting. Owen Cooper who plays Jamie seems like a very promising actor, who might achieve a lot seeing his performance in two episodes he appeared in so far.

And last but not least, but this series being recorded in one-shot is absolute masterpiece! I mentioned it in my review of episode 1, but I'm so impressed by that, that I felt the urge to emphasize it once again.

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.