Adolescence writer reveals why they ‘cannot answer’ biggest question still left unanswered from the Netflix show
The writer of Adolescence, Jack Thorne, has opened up about the biggest question which the hit Netflix show left unanswered.
The series, starring Stephen Graham, Owen Cooper, Ashley Walters, Christine Tremarco, and Erin Doherty, has been a massive success for Netflix.
While many questions - such as how they filmed some of the ‘impossible’ scenes or what the incel emoji terms really meant - have been answered, there is still one massive question that lies unanswered from the show.
The series centres around first time actor Owen Cooper as a young boy named Jamie who is arrested on suspicion of murder in episode one.
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He is suspected of stabbing a young girl to death, with CCTV footage seemingly showing him in the act.
The series’ second episode, focused on Ashley Walters and his police partner played by Faye Marsay, sees the police head to the school in hopes of finding the knife, suspected to be the murder weapon.
Despite the various reveals and shocking moments in the show’s four hour long episodes, all shot in one take, the knife is never revealed and we never know if it is found.
Though many fans will be wondering whether it’s hidden in the show somewhere and they just need to look closer to find where Jamie hid the knife – the show’s writer has assured you, you won’t find out the answer.
Jack Thorne, who co-wrote the show with Stephen Graham, spoke in a new interview with Deadline about the hit series.
Within the interview, Thorne spoke about why they ‘cannot’ answer the question of where the knife is.
When discussing his feeling of the ‘joy of the incomplete’, he said: “For instance, episode two has a whole question going through it, of where is the knife? That’s why DI Luke Bascombe (played by Ashley Walters) is there.
“We cannot answer that. We don’t answer that. I could have tried to fit it into dialogue in episode three, but that would have felt inauthentic and wrong.”
The interviewer cheekily then asked outright ‘where is the murder weapon’, with Thorne responding: “I’m not going to answer that question because if I did, then that would spoil it.”
When asked if he had a working theory he added: “I have an answer because Stephen and I worked everything out. But the point is that we didn’t have to answer it, and by not answering it, we create a question, and that question hangs on.”
The series has been a massive success for Netflix, still sitting atop the top of their charts both globally and in the UK, with a real chance of being one of the streamer’s most successful British shows ever.
When asked about why he thinks the show has resonated with so many, Thorne told Deadline: “I hope what we’ve done is shine a light on an area which has been talked about but not looked at.
“This is an issue that everyone has been aware of, but discovering it through Jamie is something we’ve been set on capturing. That people are excited to watch and understand Jamie, and try to understand the issue through Jamie, is rewarding.”
Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: TV and Film, Adolescence, Netflix
Michael Slavin