Adolescence Director Rubbishes Popular Fan Theory: 'That Makes Me Laugh'

Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham played father-and-son Jamie and Eddie in AdolescenceMore than three months on from its release and the world still can’t stop talking about Adolescence. The hard-hitting family drama starring newcomer Owen Cooper and Stephen Graham went stratospheric upon its arrival on Netflix back in March, sparking many important conversations about toxic masculinity and the online radicalisation of young men.Adolescence follows 13-year-old boy Jamie Miller who is arrested after the murder of his female classmate, which shakes the world of his family, who had no idea he was capable of such violence.But as well as big discussions about its central themes, the one-shot phenomenon also sparked some interesting fan theories about some of its most memorable scenes, which the cast and crew have been asked about on more than one occasion.Now, director Philip Barantini has shed some light on two of those, revealing if they actually hold any water.One of the suggestions among fan discussion online was that Owen stashed the murder weapon behind the wallpaper in his childhood bedroom, after viewers spotted a tear that was suspiciously knife-shaped.However, Philip quickly shut that one down in a recent interview with Deadline. Many fans suspected a tear in Jamie's wallpaper hinted at something more sinister in Adolescence“That makes me laugh because that was me saying to Adam [Tomlinson], our production designer, ‘Do you remember when you were a kid and you would rip the wallpaper by the side of your bed?’ That’s what that was,” he said.Another theory that still has the internet in a tight grip revolves around the cheese and pickle sandwich that Owen’s therapist Briony Ariston (played by Erin Doherty) brings him in episode three.Months after the show aired, even Philip was left looking for answers about the sandwich that has transfixed fans, prompting him to text co-writer and creator Jack Thorne: “What does this fucking sandwich mean because everyone’s asking me?”During the same Deadline interview Jack insisted that “the sandwiches don’t mean anything”, elaborating: “She saved half her lunch so that she could start this relationship in this final interview with a tender act of generosity, in the same way that she’s brought a little bag of marshmallows to put in the hot chocolate. She is aware of what he needs, which is comfort, and she offers him comfort.”He added to the director: “We went through the whole shooting process. I would have told you if it meant anything. I hate metaphors.”Philip Barantini at the Adolescence premiere in MarchIn a recent interview with Variety, Jack also described how the sandwich showed that Briony was there to support Jamie. “And then at the end, she [Erin’s character] breaks down when she can’t touch this sandwich wrapper because she’s so horrified by what she’s discovered,” he said.Erin noted that the sandwich “represented all my hopes” that Jamie might not have committed such a terrible crime, before “realising that I have to accept and grieve over this idealised version of you and let go”.Other theories have previously suggested that Briony gave Owen the sandwich to test his response, after he previously admitted to not liking pickle.In an interview with Cosmopolitan UK, Amélie Pease, who plays Jamie’s sister Lisa in the show, shared another theory she’d heard: “I got a comment sent to me by one of my friends not that long ago and it was someone saying something about how it’s like, he bites the sandwich and he leaves it, but it’s like he doesn’t even care what’s in the sandwich. “He just bites it because it’s there and he can. And that’s why he does it. And that’s kind of links to his approach to everything else going on in his life, like he just does it because he can.”Meanwhile, fans are hoping there might just be a chance of a second season, and even Stephen Graham isn’t ruling that out.“It still is a possibility,” the Boiling Point star previously told Variety, adding: “If we were to go again, would I like it to go again? With a different story completely? Yes.”It came after Stephen claimed to Vanity Fair there was a “possibility of developing another story” in another stand-alone season of Adolescence, following a piece in The Sun, which quoted a “TV source” who claimed the show could be set to focus on a “different teen issue each series”.Deadline also reported that production company Plan B was “in talks” about bringing the show back.READ MORE:27 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets You Probably Didn't Know About How Adolescence Was FilmedThought The Cast Of Adolescence Looked Familiar? Here's Where You've Seen The Stars BeforeThese Are Our 9 Top Picks Of The New Shows And Films To Stream On Netflix In June 2025

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