The Final Scene In Adolescence Left Me In Tears Thinking About My Own Son

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for the Adolescence ending. If you’ve yet to check out the 2025 Netflix show, please exercise extreme caution.

Like a lot of other folks with a Netflix subscription, I recently watched Adolescence, a new four-part limited series about a 13-year-old boy being accused of viciously murdering one of his classmates and how the heinous crime impacts his life as well as that of his family. Before watching the show after it hit the 2025 TV schedule, all I knew about the series was that it was a tough watch and that each episode was a one-shot. Little did I know, four hours later, I would be in tears thinking about my own son and the mad, mad world in which we live.

Let me tell you, the Adolescence ending broke me in a way that hasn’t been done in a very long time. And while I will admit I’ve always had a soft spot for riveting father/son stories in movies and TV shows, few, if any come close to how much this crime series chewed me up and spit me out before the credits rolled. Let me explain…

So, What Happens During The Adolescence Ending?

Again, spoilers below…

To get to the Adolescence ending, we first have to start way back in the first episode when 13-year-old Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) is accused of brutally murdering a female classmate. Though there is a video of Jamie stabbing the victim seven times, her blood is found on his shoes, and a friend admits that he helped him get the knife, Jamie denies having any involvement in the crime. That is, until the series finale when he calls his dad, Eddie Miller (Stephen Graham), to inform him that he is pleading guilty.

Clearly distraught after hearing his son is finally accepting responsibility for the murder, Eddie goes to Jamie’s bedroom and finally cracks and has an incredibly powerful mental breakdown. And in the final moments of the episode, Eddie tucks in his son’s teddy bear, apologizes, and says he “should have done better.” The camera pans out as Eddie leaves the room and the screen cuts to black.

Eddie Miller Tucking His Son's Teddy Bear And Saying 'I Should Have Done Better' Broke My Heart Into A Million Pieces

Adolescence was full of so many emotional scenes, but the ending with Eddie Miller essentially saying goodbye to his son and apologizing for not preventing him from taking that path broke my heart into a million little pieces. The bedroom, once a place where his young and innocent son laid his head each night, became nothing but a memorial of a life that once was and a future that will never be. The room is only seen a couple of times in the series – first when Jamie is arrested and then when Eddie has his breakdown – which really made the whole ordeal with the tearful apology of “I should have done better’ even more heartbreaking.

I can’t imagine the anguish, anger, and feeling of failure that must have overtaken Eddie in that moment, and I hope I never have to go through something like that.

Throughout The Entire Series, I Kept Thinking About My Son, And Now I Kind Of Dread Him Growing Up

I watched Adolescence not long after revisiting Father of the Bride, an experience that helped me come to a realization about parenthood, but this powerful Netflix original series put me in a completely different mindset. Though both experiences led to me thinking about not taking my children’s younger years for granted, this stirring crime drama left me with a great deal of dread, especially when it came to my son.

At the time of this writing, my son is seven years old. He’s not quite the same age as Jamie Miller, but that day will soon come and I’m terrified about the world in which he’ll have to navigate and figure out right from wrong. Social media and its firm grasp on the adolescent mind wasn’t really a concern when I was a teenager, but after watching Adolescence I had a bit of a wake-up call.

I’m not calling Jamie a victim who should be absolved of his crimes because his worldview was tainted by things like toxic masculinity and the “Manosphere,” but the world is a frightening, maddening, and confusing place. This is especially true for a formative teenage mind.

Adolescence Tackles So Much, But The Bond Between Father And Son Is One Of Its Best Aspects

Despite consisting of four episodes roughly an hour apiece, Adolescence tackles a great number of different topics in a way that never feels overstuffed or undercooked. Toxic masculinity, bullying in a digital age, crime, punishment, death (and a teenager’s inability to properly understand it), and so many other issues are dissected throughout the series. However, it’s the show’s focus on the bond shared by father and son that really got to me.

And it isn’t just Eddie and Jamie Miller’s story that was so impactful. DI Luke Bascombe (Ashley Walters), a major player in the first two episodes, is also coming to terms with the changing relationship with his own son, Adam (Amari Bacchus), in the wake of the murder. There’s a moment near the end of the second episode where Bascombe, a dedicated and determined detective, stops being a cop and starts being a dad for his son, and it is wonderfully impactful.

This Story Doesn't Have A Happy Ending, But It Does Offer Closure

Though Adolescence is a show with a great ending, it doesn’t conclude on a happy note. A young girl is still dead, a teenage boy is in prison, families are forever ruined, and a community is left trying to make sense of it all. However, the show does offer closure and does a fantastic job of tying up all the loose ends before the credits roll. Yeah, it’s heartbreaking and grueling in those final moments, but I wasn’t left guessing.

Going back to Eddie Miller in his son’s bedroom crying while he tucks in a stuffed animal in place of his youngest child, I just can’t get that image out of my head. I was up late the night I watched the show and went to my son’s room to check on him before going to bed. Adjusting his blanket and making sure his “Doggy” was tucked in tight, I quietly prayed that I would never have to go through something like that.