Joanna Psaros
27 July 2024
Baby Reindeer, the Netflix limited series that dramatized harrowing real-life events experienced by comedian and writer Richard Gadd, had audiences on tenterhooks with its slow-burn sense of escalating menace, shockingly unexpected plot twists and turns, and unflinching depiction of a lonely woman’s spiralling obsession sparked by the casual kindness of a stranger.
The surprise smash hit, which rocketed to number one on Netflix’s television list and has amassed over 85.5 million views, hits every genre-defining mark of true-crime drama. In doing so, Gadd’s uniquely personal spin on the familiar stalker/prey narrative brilliantly subverts the dynamic and redefines dramatized true crime while cementing the series as one of the genre’s best.
Boy Meets Girl
Sociopaths of the small screen including Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Dexter, and You’s Joe Goldberg reflect the social reality that violent crime perpetrators are overwhelmingly male. Baby Reindeer flips the script with Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, who develops an unrequited crush on Donny Dunn, a struggling stand-up comic and part-time bartender with the misfortune to serve Martha her trademark diet coke. Donny’s initial sympathy for the lonely, eccentric but ostensibly harmless patron gradually turns to annoyance, unease, and outright fear as Martha’s unshakeable presence threatens to derail every aspect of his life.
The gender-flipped version of stalking and harassment in Baby Reindeer contextualizes Donny’s hesitancy to report Martha’s stalking and general powerlessness. The barman co-workers who witness her unashamed infatuation and relentless presence are more entertained than disturbed. Even the police from whom Donny eventually seeks help wildly underestimate the threat posed by a seemingly innocuous middle-aged woman. If roles were reversed, it’s hard to imagine a young woman’s complaints of a forty-something man following her every move and flooding her inbox with 40,00 sexually aggressive emails being met with anything short of alarm.
Drawing on personal experience, Gadd subverts the gender norms underlying Donny and Martha’s toxic dynamic by showing the social taboo of a heterosexual woman sexual assault and harassment of a male victim. In a particularly confronting scene which sees Martha accosting Donny on a deserted street and groping his genitals, the shock violation renders him frozen and speechless. The scene is not only realistic (freezing is a common response to real-life sexual violence), but also shows Martha’s ability to hurt and frighten Donny despite his gender and establishes the unequal power dynamic sexual assault can create. Martha’s aggressive pursuit of her beloved “baby reindeer” makes for deeply uncomfortable viewing, spotlighting the shamefully often ignored pain and distress of male victims of sexual harassment and abuse. Gadd’s brave disclosure spoke to viewers so powerfully that support organization We Are Survivors reported an 80% increase in first-time callers following the program’s release.
Martha- Villain or Victim?
Mindful the “real life Martha” would likely be watching, and of the probable psychological and social issues behind her actions, Baby Reindeer’s humanizing portrayal of its two leads results in a more emotional viewing experience than procedural thrillers in the vein of Mindhunter. Donny never quite loses the initial sympathy that led to offering a free coke to the frumpy, middle-aged woman crying alone at the bar. The audience further empathizes with Martha as she describes her lonely childhood during a heartfelt voicemail message at the series’ end (we also finally learn where the nickname “baby reindeer” comes from.)
Nor is Donny portrayed as entirely blameless. Gadd’s narration confesses his own insecurity and desire to be liked, which enables Martha’s romantic delusions. Accurately or not, Donny perceives himself to be an easy target for Martha due to a painful past experience viewers only discover several episodes deep. This mid-series revelation implies the character’s loss of self-worth sustained during previous trauma causes him to accept mistreatment in relationships.
Once exposed, Donny’s original abuser replaces Martha as the true villain in Baby Reindeer.
Unlike Martha, cult comedy superstar Darrien O’Connor (Tom Goodman-Hill) knows exactly what he’s doing before inflicting sexual and psychological abuse on his young protege. Encouraging Donny’s reliance on their friendship to make it in the world of comedy, Darrien weaponizes the success, wealth, and social status Donny and Martha so conspicuously lack. As Baby Reindeer’s credits roll, shellshocked viewers are left distrusting black-and-white distinctions between crime drama’s villains and victim, and wonder if the two aren’t so different after all.
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