Adolescence writer confirms there is an answer to remaining mystery – but he won't reveal it

In an interview with Deadline, Thorne said: "There is a real joy in how partial this show was able to be. It was written in a really partial way, we couldn’t cover all corners.

"For instance, episode 2 has a whole question going through it, of where is the knife? That’s why DI Luke Bascombe [Ashley Walters] is there.

"We cannot answer that. We don’t answer that. I could have tried to fit it into dialogue in episode 3, but that would have felt inauthentic and wrong."

He continued: "The audience understands the rhythm that we’re in as dramatists. An audience has certain expectations as to what will happen when that has been embedded in the backs of their heads through watching drama as long as we all have.

"What this show can do through the one-shot format is challenge those expectations in a different way."

One of the main things that viewers have been left wondering about is where the murder weapon used by Jamie (Owen Cooper) and given to him by friend Ryan (Kaine Davis) actually was. Was it found and where was it?

"I’m not going to answer that question because if I did, then that would spoil it," Thorne revealed.

But it is something that Thorne knows the answer to, simply opting not to reveal that detail as that would spoil the very nature of the series. He said: "I have an answer because Stephen [Graham] 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."

Read more:

• Adolescence star Ashley Walters says harrowing script had him crying most nights
• Adolescence writer warns funding crisis could wipe out such shows – as drama's Netflix ratings confirmed

Across the four episodes, the hit Netflix series throws the viewer right into the centre of the tragic murder of schoolgirl Katie, who was killed by Jamie for reasons that become increasingly clear as the series continues.

We see through insight into the officers working the case, his family and an attending psychologist just what conditions and motivations spurred Jamie on to commit such a horrendous crime.

The very nature of the storytelling in Adolescence is something that lingered with series star Ashley Walters, with the actor revealing to RadioTimes.com that the whole process was "intense".

He revealed: "I came into this job personally thinking that I was going to quit acting. So before I was like, 'I’ve had enough.' And obviously I've started directing and I was like, 'I want to pursue that a bit more, slow down the acting a bit, and eventually phase it out.'

"And Stephen called me and was like, 'No, you got to come and do this job.'

"So I came, didn't realise how intense it was going to be, but it was so intense. The challenge was great. I was crying into my script most nights in the apartment, so scared I'm not going to remember the material.

"But actually, coming out of it, I grew. There was a newfound love for the craft and what I do."

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.

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