The television adaptation of “Baby Reindeer,” the brainchild of comedian and actor Richard Gadd, is unfortunately based on a real scenario that he was once in. The seven-part drama series speaks on Gadd’s past with a stalker, Martha, played by Jessica Gunning, including all the turmoil that her instability and parasitic personality put him through. Considering Gadd’s role as Donny Dunn, a struggling comedian, Gadd freely explores the uncertainty a victim faces when being on the tail-end of a parasocial relationship, along with a view that sheds light on both sides of the story.
The introductory episode begins as Donny finally reports his stalker to the police, revealing the harassment had been occurring for six months. When probed about why the report took so long to surface, Donny’s perspective rewinds to his first encounter with Martha, who arrived at the bar he worked at and talked herself into a cup of tea, paid for on the house. Despite projecting herself as a productive member of society, billing top clients as a lawyer, she could not purchase a drink, yet her charisma could pay for one. Thereafter, she would spend every waking moment in the bar, as if she was a successful “get rich quick” scammer who works minimal hours per day. Little did Donny know at the time that Martha was living an even larger lie than a scammer, and she would soon latch onto him.
Martha is a narcissist to the fullest degree, although so is Donny to some degree, thinking mostly for himself and being a comedian. Those traits are not as harmful as Martha’s disregard for Donny’s sentiments to leave him alone, sending nonconsensual vulgar and sexually charged emails. Her level of entitlement also extends beyond obtaining free drinks based on who she claims to be. She grows possessive over Donny, whose heart was truly with Teri, a trans woman that he met on a dating app while posing as a construction worker named Tony. Martha caught wind of this and eventually confronted the couple, verbally and physically assaulting Teri for her nationality, identity and for being with Donny. This attack was made under the presumption that he and Martha were a couple, which they never were, except in Martha’s mind, as she claims that “men and women can’t be friends.”
Toxic masculinity is shown when Donny’s co-workers take his phone and ask the stalker for sex by email as a joke, making her believe that her one-sided relationship is becoming consensual, an absurd way to think. However, the blame game grows complex when Donny initiates the stalking behaviors by following her home, only for Martha to follow suit, though it is likely she would have done so regardless. It fails to justify Martha’s character and subsequent actions, but it presents the truth that Donny is not without faults.
The most fascinating aspect of the character dynamics is the layers of victim blaming going on. Donny understands that he is in a concerning situation, but he lies to Teri and his ex-girlfriend’s mother, Liz, who he lives with, to mitigate the stranglehold Martha has on his life. Perversely, he enjoys the attention sometimes, as her attendance at one of his comedy performances made the routine a rousing success. Fueling the fire does not extinguish the damage caused by his web of lies, since it gets the other women involved with Martha’s antics, as was discussed with Teri. Moreover, once Martha finds his house, she joins Liz’s cooking club and gets her dragged into the mess.
The tension in the first episodes is unreal, namely when Martha’s boisterous laughter, and later, her crude outbursts, confuse everyone around her. Donny is often there to accompany her, manipulated into participating in dates of sorts. As a side note, it must be nice to be granted access to licensed songs for a monetized creative project, because this series makes excellent use of “I Go to Sleep” by the iconic Peggy Lee, and frequent references are made to the Frank and Nancy Sinatra’s “Something Stupid.” The latter is used by Martha to confess her love for Donny, which he swiftly rejects, only for her to sexually assault him, causing him shame.
I can confirm that the story grows more deranged by the end of the third episode, and it likely gets worse after that. For the first time in my coverage of Netflix shows, I am compelled to continue watching. All I know is that Richard lived to tell the tale, but what about everyone else?
Rating: 8.5/10