Adolescence Netflix: Did he do it? Jamie's role in murder explained

We explain what role Jamie played in the murder from Netflix's Adolescence.

March 14, 2025 01:55

Source: Adolescence, Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, Netflix, 2025

Netflix is conquering a new original crime production, shot in an unusual way – in one-shot style. Adolescence, as this is the title of the series in question, takes on the story of 13-year-old Jamie Miller, who is arrested for the murder of a classmate. The suspenseful production has quickly gained popularity, and viewers are most concerned with one question – did Jamie really do it?

Adolescence Netflix: Did Jamie commit murder?

Yes, Jamie did commit the murder, as shown as early as episode 1 of Adolescence – all revealed by the CCTV footage showing the murder. Nevertheless, Jamie didn't admit his guilt for a long time, only doing so in the finale of the gripping series, changing his confession from “Not Guilty” to “Guilty.”

The creators of Adolescence deliberately made sure that the audience would find it hard to believe that a 13-year-old could commit such an act. To make his arrest shocking, they made sure to emphasize the fact that Jamie is just a child.

However, the truth soon comes out – the CCTV footage shows what Jamie was capable of. How gruesome his act was, watched by his shocked father, also representing how viewers may have felt at that moment, deceived to believe that Jamie, the frightened 13-year-old, could not have done it. The evidence is indisputable, however, and the culprit is confirmed as early as the first episode.

The series, however, was not about pointing out the guilty, but rather exploring the reasons why such a crime occurred and whether it could have been prevented. Adolescence tries to show us how many things can add up to such a tragic event and what can push a young person to such an act.

The series examines how the crime affected the individuals involved – the school's students, Jamie, and his parents, who realized at the end that they could have done more to help their son, who was unable to deal with his own emotions, which pushed him to commit a crime for which he will now have to suffer serious punishment.