End of the F***king World A Retrospective
I know technically the show hasn’t officially ended but
after Season Two I think it makes a perfect ending to this fascinating story that
I find effortlessly captivating. It is so ridiculously polished and precise in
every level that every decision feels intentional and really well constructed.
The story of these two lost sociopathic teens fighting against a world they
hate is equal parts ‘Bonnie and Clyde’ as it is ‘American Psycho’ and I really
enjoy everything about it. It’s not for everyone and it’s not perfect but it is
engaging, challenging and highly entertaining. I’m going to look back at both seasons
and see what made them so engaging.
There is a lot going on thematically in ‘End of the F***king
World’ and it has this unique way of broadcasting it by using extremely dark
ideas and narratives to explore a more human and down to earth set of themes.
We get countless of ‘Edgy films’, films that rely on shocking and unnerving the
audience with dark and boundary pushing imagery but that is really all they offer.
I’m not a fan of media that only purpose is to shock its audience, but this
show does something very different with how it demonstrates taboos. There is
nothing romantic about this story, it is kind of melancholy and upsetting watching
James and Alyssa go through all these events, I really admire how brutally honest
this show is at times with how miserable and challenging it is to feel left out
from the rest of society. The title is genuinely everything this show is about,
that aching feeling of wanting to rebel and go against everything by fighting
the system is not presented as the power fantasy it usually is instead it is as
brutal and uncomfortable as real life. I went in quite dubious about this show’s
outlook, I was worried we were getting another story about fighting the system
in a romantic way, but instead we getr a deconstruction of that very idea.
James and Alyssa are fascinating characters and the best
vehicle for this narrative, they radiate with charisma and honesty and are completely
what make this show. Throughout the series there is this repeated motif of a non-diegetic
voiceover delving into our protagonist’s thoughts, which is not only used for
comedic juxtaposition but also for excellent character moments. James is
originally a complete and utter psychopath, he is introduced as this character
that seems genuinely disturbed and his character arc throughout the show is to become
more and more human, in every single way. Alex Lawther plays these sociopathic
tendencies ridiculously and worryingly well, the glimmers of hope in his facial
expressions as well as his excellent deadpan delivery make him this believably deranged
character. But as he progresses, he becomes more complex to understand, he
starts as this character full of bottled trauma and mental health issues and the
way he progresses is by addressing this trauma more and more, the way he puts
it is ‘by starting to feel things’. On the other hand, there is the absolute Pandora’s
Box of angst that is Alyssa (Jessica Barden), an equal parts enthusiastically
rebellious as she is dangerously vulnerable. Her character gets more focus
throughout the show, she is unpredictable, aggressive and chaotic in every
single way and we get to explore why she is this way throughout and this kicks
of the brilliant romance between our protagonists.
James’ aim throughout the first season is to try and kill
Alyssa, whilst Alyssa’s aim is to break free and fall in love with James. That
is the essential backdrop to the show and kind of isn’t what makes it
interesting. From first glance these arcs seem like they would be the highlight,
but the real captivating angle is these two characters learning to break out of
these arcs. That is the grand strength in the show, how the two learn to love
each other and their maturity throughout the whole run. They start craving this
idea of maturity, which is sexual freedom, violence and rebelling against the man
but by the end of Season Two they learn real maturity is compassion and human
sympathy. Season Two introduces the character of Bonnie who is aiming to kill our
protagonists as revenge for the Professor they murdered, however I perceive her
as a metaphor for the people they were in the first season. It is the quintessential
messed up coming of age story that is so twisted and backward yet so effective.
James and Alyssa are some of the best and most honest portrayals of being a
teenager with abandonment and trauma coming to terms with the world they live in.
There is this old running joke about British television that
there are only 10 actors and three sets, this show features a range of familiar
actors that are all amazing and are all the worst people. Every character James
and Alyssa meet are horrible, vile and wicked in every single way, whether it
be a paedophile or a sex offender or Alyssa’s dirtbag dad they all make this
world ten times worse. In comparison James’ dad (Steve Oram) and Alyssa’s mum
(Christine Bottomley) are drenched in sympathy and they develop into compelling
characters throughout the run. The reveal of what happened to James’ mum and
what happened with Alyssa’s Dad are emotional complex moments, as well as the
incredibly upsetting death of James’ dad in season two elevate the emotional
potential of the season. I have a recurring love for stories that revolve around
the messiness of human beings and this show is all about that, the adults are vile
and messy, and the kids are impulsive and lost. It is a bleak approach to the
world, but the show is called ‘The End of the F**cking World’ for a reason, yet
the brief glimpses of human connection hit even more in comparison.
I’ve talked so much about the shows ideas and concepts that I
have hardly touched on the style and technical elements of the show. There is
this timeless element to the show stylistically rather than narratively, with
this constricted aspect ratio that makes the show feel claustrophobic and
unnerving. Accompanying this is a soundtrack revolving around almost purely
classic rock and showtunes from the 50s, the soundtrack does occasionally get a
bit overwhelming, but it adds this otherworldly element to the whole show and
surprisingly helps a lot of the emotional moments land. The editing is also on
point and equally precise, there is this repeated stylistic element where it
sharply cuts away to a poignant moment or situation which the character is
thinking about, sometimes it is comedic, other times it is relentlessly
emotional. The cinematography is sharp and really unique, the way the lighting and
framing bends around the characters is impressive, there is always a focus and precise
reason for the way the shot is framed and that amount of effort is usually hard
to find.
I don’t know if they are going to produce a third season, but
for where it stands, I think Season Two is a perfect ending in every way. The
whole season is more mature and more introspective than the first, analysing
the way these characters acted and have grown from the first, mostly through
Bonnie’s arc. I can't really put my figure on how to describe the second season’s
tone, it is much more melancholic and realistic in the presentation of these characters.
They feel older, they feel more grown-up and I really appreciate that step of
human characterisation and those closing moments summarise the exact thematic
approach to the show. James and Alyssa go from characters chasing what it means
to grow up through a misconstrued mentally ill perception to characters attempting
to grow and understand what it truly means to be mature through compassion.
Thanks for reading!