Baby Reindeer – Series Review
Equal parts moving and frustrating, Baby Reindeer shines a light into the life of a struggling comedian.
Plot
“I felt sorry for her. That’s the first feeling I felt.” – Donny
The series begins with Donny (Richard Gadd), as he reports his stalker to the police. The officer speaking to him seems to discount the issue at the very beginning because Donny’s stalker is a woman. After expressing to the officer that he is really worried and the woman needs help, the officer asks how long it’s been going on. 6 months. As he’s asked why it took so long for him to report, the scene cuts to a place back in time about 6 months earlier.
Donny is a struggling comedian living in London, who works a day job at a local pub. One day, a woman (Jessica Gunning) walks in, appearing to be uncomfortable and down on her luck. When Donny sees her, his first instinct is to feel sorry for her, but he regrets that as “it’s a patronizing, arrogant feeling.” After sitting at the bar, Donny tries to take her order, but she tells him she can’t afford anything. As Donny offers to get her a cup of tea on the house, her eyes brighten.
Donny makes small talk, and the woman is quick to begin bragging about how she’s a top rated lawyer who works with high profile people and is a leading advisor to the government.
“She had this incredible laugh. This giddy, slightly disconcerting laugh. Her name was Martha, but all I could think was, if all of this is true, then why can’t you afford a cup of tea?” – Donny
Although he doesn’t believe that Martha is really a lawyer, and she can never afford her drinks, Donny allows Martha to sit at the bar and serves her soft drinks on the house whenever she comes in. Which is every day he works. She knocks on the door, insisting to be let in before the pub even opens, and she stays at the bar flirting with Donny for hours on end. Even though Donny isn’t interested in Martha romantically, he enjoys the attention and complements she gives him. The man he’s trying to project to the world is the man Martha projects back at him. Donny even gives her the occasional complement to brighten her day.
Problems arise when it becomes apparent that Martha’s taking their “relationship” far too seriously. As Martha’s childlike crush morphs into severe stalking and assault, Donny begins to genuinely become worried. After several attempts to distance himself from Martha for the safety of both himself and his loved ones, Donny begins to realize Martha will never stop on her own.
Will the police step in to stop Martha? Will Donny’s career survive as Martha does her best to tear him down? Watch Baby Reindeer on Netflix to find out!
My Thoughts
Baby Reindeer was really good at striking a raw, emotional note, but it could also be hard to watch at times. You want to just shake Donny and tell him to do things differently, but the man is human. His character has to develop for him to have the confidence and self-respect to confront his demons. The narration looks back on Donny’s decisions with the criticism of yourself looking back at bad decisions you made when you were younger. There’s a reason for this.
You see, Baby Reindeer was actually based on the real life experiences of its main actor, Richard Gadd. I know, right? That adds a whole new level to the story. I knew watching it that the story was based on real life events, but I had no idea that Richard Gadd was essentially playing himself going through what could have been the most traumatizing experiences of his life. It really explains why some of those scenes were so raw. That man truly deserves all the accolades and recognition he’s getting for this series being the number 1 most viewed show on Netflix for the third week in a row.
The acting in Baby Reindeer was fantastic and the story seemed genuine to a fault. One thing to keep in mind though is that Baby Reindeer contains themes that may be especially disturbing for some viewers. There are multiple instances of sexual assault in the series. These are some of the hardest scenes of the series to watch, but they do give added depth to the character, as well as some context to how they react. These scenes are made especially sad knowing this is a true story. So, just keep that in mind. If you want to avoid most of the sexual assault in the series, skip episode 4.
Baby Reindeer is essentially a very sad story for everyone involved. And the ending is… complicated. But the truth is, in life there aren’t always easily wrapped up happy endings. The purpose of Baby Reindeer was to tell the story of a young comedian as he went through some really messed up experiences. And it did that well.
That’s it! Grab your softest blanket and curl up on the couch to watch Baby Reindeer on Netflix!
