Baby Reindeer Review: Netflix's Most Unsettling and Essential Watch of the Year
Richard Gadd's semi-autobiographical series about stalking and trauma is one of the bravest, most uncomfortable things on television. It demands to be seen.
昨夜长风
There is no comfortable way to watch Baby Reindeer. Richard Gadd's semi-autobiographical account of being stalked — and of the complicated truths that lie beneath any simple victim narrative — is one of the most bracing pieces of television in years. It is not easy viewing. It is absolutely essential.
A Story That Refuses Easy Categories
Gadd writes and stars as Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian who makes a small act of kindness toward a woman named Martha (Jessica Gunning) and finds himself ensnared in a years-long stalking campaign. But Baby Reindeer isn't a straightforward thriller about a stalker — it's an excavation of trauma, complicity, and the stories we tell ourselves about our own victimhood.
The series is as interested in Donny's own moral compromises as it is in Martha's obsession. His prior abuse at the hands of a prominent TV writer, which he has buried and rationalized, haunts every episode — complicating the audience's sympathies and forcing a reckoning with why victims sometimes behave in ways that seem counter to their own interests.
Two Extraordinary Performances
Gadd is revelatory in a role that requires him to be simultaneously sympathetic and frustrating, funny and heartbreaking. But Jessica Gunning as Martha may give the year's most complex performance — making a stalker genuinely pitiable without ever minimizing the damage she causes. It's a tightrope walked with extraordinary care.
The Courage of Its Convictions
What separates Baby Reindeer from lesser trauma narratives is its refusal to offer resolution or reassurance. The ending is deliberately incomplete, true to the messiness of real experience. Some viewers will find this frustrating; most will recognize it as the only honest choice available.
The Verdict
Baby Reindeer is a series that will stay with you long after it ends. Be prepared for it to be uncomfortable. Be prepared for it to be brilliant.
Pros & Cons
- ✅ One of the bravest pieces of autobiographical storytelling on television
- ✅ Both Gadd and Gunning give extraordinary performances
- ✅ Refuses to simplify its moral complexity
- ✅ Short runtime — seven episodes — is perfectly calibrated
- ❌ Deeply uncomfortable subject matter (stalking, sexual abuse)
- ❌ Deliberately unresolved ending divides viewers
Baby Reindeer
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