Even though the set-up of the third episode of Netflix’s Adolescence is simple, the results are breathtaking. A meeting between two people, one adult and one young teen, turns into a flex for power as the clock ticks down to the meeting’s end. How does one say the right things before time runs out? After this meeting ends and they never see each other again, will they regret their tone or how they said things to one another? Erin Doherty delivers a fearless, compassionate performance as an appointed psychologist who witnesses pure anger from a young accused killer.
It’s unique that Jack Thorne’s script plunks us down at this moment. We learn that this is the final meeting between Owen Cooper’s Jamie Miller and Doherty’s Briony. It automatically ups the ante dramatically, and they already have a familiarity with one another as the episode begins. Doherty admits that rehearsal aided her into getting to know both Cooper and Cooper’s character, and what we see in the final edit was the last time these two actors went head-to-head.
“That was done over the course of two weeks of rehearsal and even in the week of shooting,” Doherty says. “We were building up this rapport, and they ended up using our last take, I think, from all the energy that we built over during the shoot. I think, in hindsight, all that rehearsal really pushed us for that hour. We were both so exhausted that we reached the end of our ability to sit in that room anymore. There was that sense of familiarity, but we were both genuinely exhausted, and that helped with the danger and let it be a bit more frenetic. It must have fed into the reality of what it would have meant to have met so many times and gone through that process. For Jamie to be able to tow that line and play with and tease Briony in that episode, it’s a testament to how Owen was able to grow during the rehearsals. When we started working through it, we didn’t talk much about the other meetings that our characters may have had. Phil knew the necessities of that, and it really just built over time.”
Before she enters the interrogation room, Briony buys Jamie a cup of hot chocolate before she takes a contraband bag of mini marshmallows out of her purse and tops off the cup. It could be seen as a tactic to get Jamie to trust her, but it feels genuine. After all, Jamie is fourteen years old. Getting people to trust Briony is part of her job in order to get to the truth.
“That’s so part of the fabric of what it is that she does,” she admits. “She has to be that in tune with what people are presenting and what people want. What people present and what they are actually feeling are two completely different worlds, and that’s something that Briony is constantly keyed into. What I chose to play and what I found very interesting was that there was this innate, undeniable connection that she had with Jamie. I created a backstory where she had a relationship with a younger male–like a brother. I was building on my own history of my relationship with my brother, and I think when you witness a young boy grow up, there is just a real empathy and compassion for any young male now. If you have a younger brother or sister, you form these formative bonds. You can’t help but bring those to the forefront, and that was very helpful for me to play with this role.”
Before the conversation becomes more intense, Jamie is happy to see Briony. It even appears that he flirts with her before they settle into their usual rhythms, and she takes it in stride. She’s there to observe, an open vessel for Jamie to spill his truths and understanding. We have to remember that while Briony is trying to receive information, Jamie is withholding.
“The nuance of that is so brilliant,” Doherty says. “It kind of fluctuated with every take, and that was what’s so extraordinary about Jack [Thorne]’s script. The writing is so rich and layered that it allowed us to go in different places every time. It forces you, as a performer, to stay that focused and listen that intently, because even just the intonation of a sentence is so important. If it changes, the entire scene could change.”
One of the intense moments of the entire series is when Jamie becomes frustrated and hurls his anger in Briony’s direction. He kicks back his chair and rails at her, his raspy voice become more strained as Briony plants herself in her chair. Her eyes become wide as he towers over her, his fury climbing higher by the syllable. When the camera pans back, though, we notice that she has her hands firmly pressed together. It served as an anchor for Doherty to help maintain Briony’s professional control.
“Honestly, the hardest part of everything was maintaining that professional armor,” she says. “The pressure on my hands felt safe to help keep me grounded. I have such respect for therapists and for what they do, and having gone through the therapeutic journey myself, I feel like you can slowly start to recognize that maybe there is a sweet spot of safety that they have to kind of provide for themselves. When someone throws something unexpectedly in their face and they are shocked, they have an ability to process it inwardly whilst, outwardly, not revealing anything. Their job is to allow whatever’s in front of them to exist and not be judged.
As Erin, that was the hardest thing that I’ve had to do, because everything in me, even though I knew that he was going to do it, was frightened. Her reaction–the way that she has to take it all in and let it exist for him–goes against my instincts. That was the joy of the part, in a lot of ways. It was such a challenge. With every conversation, there’s a power play, whether the characters are aware of it or not. The power is always in flux, and you have to keep in mind of who holds the power, who is doing what to who, and you’re under a microscope. Could a blink of my eyes be revealing to him? There is so much scrutiny.”
Jamie is escorted out of the room at the end of their session, and Briony can barely catch her breath. He bangs on the opaque window’s glass and his voice rings through the hallway. Once he is out of sight, Briony can release that tension as her ragged breath fills her lungs once more. I imagine the sound of Jamie’s flat hangs banging on those windows will haunt her for months and months to come.
“In my mind, she leaves the building, and she sits in her car,” Doherty says. “I honestly think she could sit in there for hours. Briony needs to be alone, because she has that emotional release. But then, I’m sure, her professional voice chimes in, and she has to get out. When we leave her, she’s nowhere near done processing what has just happened. Maybe she won’t for weeks, for months, and she will replay so much of that meeting in her head.”
Adolescence is streaming now on Netflix.
