Adolescence ending explained: Why did Jamie do it?

Co-written by Jack Thorne and cast member Stephen Graham and shot in one continuous take per episode, it stars newcomer Owen Cooper as 13-year-old Jamie Miller, a schoolboy who's arrested on suspicion of murdering his classmate Katie.

While Jamie initially insists he's innocent, as episode 1 comes to an end, it becomes apparent that he did stab Katie to death, and the rest of the series focuses not on whether he committed the crime, but rather why, with multiple explanations for his behaviour coming to light.

But how does Adolescence come to a close? Here's the final episode and the Netflix drama's resolution explained by those involved in making it.

Adolescence ending explained: Did Jamie really kill Katie – and why?

While initially Jamie insists he's not guilty of killing Katie, the close of episode 1 sees him and his dad Eddie (Graham) being shown CCTV footage in which Jamie pushes Katie over in a parking lot and repeatedly stabs her.

Rather than an exploration of whether or not Jamie committed the crime, what follows is an examination of why he would do such a thing.

As the series unfolds, it becomes apparent that a combination of factors have led to Jamie murdering Katie, including his lack of confidence, bullying at school and radicalisation through online incel propaganda.

Graham and Thorne previously revealed that the drama was inspired by shocking real-life events and by the growing knife crime epidemic in the UK.

Speaking about what they hope viewers will take away from Adolescence, Christine Tremarco, who plays Jamie's mum Manda, said: "It's to make people aware because even when I first read the scripts, I had no idea what an incel was. I had no idea that this was happening, and with kids as well. [We want] to educate everyone – parents, children, because it's happening with children.

"And also that level of misogyny towards young girls and women, and just on a computer that our kids can get sucked into, that you can have no idea about, it opens difficult conversations that need to be had."

Graham continued, discussing "how much the world has changed" for children and their guardians.

"We think he's safe in his room... that home is the microcosm, and that's where you should be safe. That's where he's raised and that's where your security is. But through the telephone, through the internet, there's a whole macrocosm out there of stuff that we have no control over as parents."

In the final episode, we see Eddie and Manda ask themselves questions about whether they should blame themselves for what's happened and how responsible they are for Jamie's actions.

"And we were never saying one particular person is to blame, or one thing is to blame. It's surely, as a society, we should look at this, and we should all be accountable," Graham added.

"The children are our future. We are all accountable for raising this next generation – parents, schools, government, community, society as a whole. We all should be accountable... because there was a few incidents, there were a good few incidents why this idea came to my head. And it hurt my heart that young boys, they're not men, they're young boys, are killing young girls.

"So it's just creating conversation in the homes, because I think it’s imperative for the future of our next generation."

What happens at the end of Adolescence on Netflix? Final scene explained by Stephen Graham

The harrowing ending sees Adolescence cast headliner Graham's character and Jamie's dad Eddie return to his son's room, a scene the actor and co-writer knew would close the series.

"That was an idea we had at the beginning," he told RadioTimes.com. "Me, [director] Phil [Barantini] and Jack had this idea that we'd end it in the room, because of where it all began."

Graham added: "And also that thing of 'you never know what's going on behind his door', so to be immersed in that room, where this wonderful boy was born, and to see his pictures on the wall, and his pens and his pencils and all of those things in that room, but also the room where the mindset was created for him to commit such a horrendous thing."

After Eddie sits on the bed, he breaks down, unable to control his emotions as tears stream down his face. Eddie then takes his child's teddy bear and tucks it beneath the covers, as he would have Jamie, once upon a time.

"I'm sorry, son," he says. "I should have done better."

"Phil just said to me, 'I'm going to leave a teddy bear on the bed,'" explained Graham. "And I was like, 'OK, all right.' And just instinctively, I kind of took the teddy bear as the last little remnant of my boy."

It's an extraordinary moment, courtesy of that particularly tender detail, but also the intense outpouring of emotion from Graham, who revealed the "secret" that helped him to inhabit that headspace.

"The take we actually used was... the last take of the whole thing, and on that final take, my wife [Hannah Walters, who is his producing partner, and also plays a teacher in Adolescence] and my two kids were there as well. And so when I go into the bedroom, what they'd done was they put some pictures on the wardrobe, and it said, 'So proud of you, we love you, dad.' And it was pictures of my two kids, Grace and Alfie, who I adore.

"So that kind of sparked that last, final scene in that moment as well while I was thinking of him [gestures to Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie], who I've had the most amazing experience with."

Graham also praised Tremarco for helping him to produce some of the best work of his career.

"Sharing that whole run up to that scene with Christine, who is phenomenal," he added. "She's unbelievable. And we've known each other for a long time, so there's a real trust there.

"So to be able to bear your soul in that respect... [and] go into that room and finish it like that, for me, it was wonderful. And what we really wanted to show as well is that inside Eddie's heartbroken, he's heartbroken. He's tried to keep it all together, but inside he's got a broken heart, and he doesn't know how he's going to mend that."

Why is the ending about Jamie's family?

Graham and Thorne have said they wanted to challenge any negative assumptions viewers may have had about Jamie's family, and highlight that, despite the positive influences he had at home, Jamie still managed to lose his way.

“You’re understanding the final part of Jamie,” Graham told Netflix of the final scenes.

“You’re getting a new perspective on Eddie – the complicated vision of Eddie. You need to understand how he allowed his son to become absent, what Eddie taught his son, and what he didn’t teach his son. You need to understand that for the whole family.”

What happens to Jamie at the end of Adolescence – and does he go to prison?

While the series doesn’t show us Jamie’s trial or reveal his sentencing, his decision to plead guilty heavily implies that he'll be given a life sentence in prison, as is mandatory for people under 18 convicted or pleading guilty to murder.

It would be up to the court to decide if and when Jamie would be able to get parole, but he would be on licence for the rest of his life.

Discussing Jamie's plea, Cooper told Netflix: "Jamie is always trying to impress his dad and make sure his dad is proud of him. But I don’t think he finds that."

He added: "He’s obviously bothered about the plea, but he’s more bothered about his dad. Although he doesn’t want to let down his whole family, his dad’s at the core of his heart. Jamie doesn’t want to let Eddie down."

What does the final song mean in Adolescence?

The final scene features the song Through the Eyes of a Child by Aurora.

In the series, the track is sung by Emilia Holliday, who plays Katie, the girl Jamie stabs to death at the beginning of the show.

Speaking about the meaning behind the song choice, Barantini told Netflix: "I couldn’t stop thinking about [the song]. It’s just absolutely incredible. The voice in the score is Katie’s voice. Katie is a part of the whole series. Her presence is always there."

Read more:

• Adolescence age rating – how old do you need to be to watch?
• Adolescence soundtrack: Full tracklist for Stephen Graham Netflix drama
• Stephen Graham and Adolescence director explain why Netflix crime drama is filmed in one take
• Adolescence makes ratings history – enormous viewing figures confirmed
• Adolescence star Owen Cooper's audition tape for hit Netflix show has been released

Adolescence is available to stream now on Netflix. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.