No one loves more than an unstable serial-killer wannabe protagonist and his irrational side-kick in a dark British drama. Even the use of ‘fucking’ in the title gives it that edgy British touch. Netflix’s latest release ‘End of The Fucking World’ has sparked the nation to converse together on the weird but brilliantly demonstrated show, as it centres on a gritty self-discovery journey of two adolescent kids, James and Alyssa, within a world far from our understanding. We get intimate access to their thoughts, their feelings, imagination…and most importantly their mental health.

 

The show ingeniously introduces and centres on distasteful societal topics as each episode unravels. You are confronted with hard-hitting themes from murder to suicide to rape culture, and vitally the extremity of mental health when it’s undiagnosed and misconstrued. The awkward and unstable sociopaths we are presented with in the first episode soon become vulnerable kids throughout the series, revealed to be damaged by their up-bringing and parents. The lead character Alyssa strives for attention in all the wrong places because her parents have failed to acknowledge her. She’s loud, melodramatic, rude and uncensored but aren’t all children when they feel isolated and overlooked? As you watch her guarded persona break down as the episodes expand you can’t help but empathise with her and her mental state. The show echoes the importance of mental health by portraying Alyssa with the similar behaviour patterns to Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD). The disorder in simpler terms means attention seeking disorder; you’re uncomfortable when the situation doesn’t revolve around you and you’re constantly seeking reassurance or approval. Additionally, Alyssa’s seductive behaviour throughout the show isn’t due to being a horny teenager but due to the disorder.

 

Histrionic Personality Disorder is recognized within the field for affecting women more than men, with a suggested ratio of four women being diagnosed to everyone male. If you studied Psychology then you’d be familiar with Freud and his previous studies. Freud believed the disorder branches from distressing experience in childhood such as feeling abandoned by parents. Similar to Alyssa’s case. Freud further created a theory in relation on how children under stress will be more likely to develop ways of distorting reality to protect themselves. Children that are likely to create defense mechanisms will grow up to develop the disorder.

 

Those with the similar mental health state have praised the show for their representation. Ellen O’Connor, a 20-year old student at Goldsmiths University binged watch the series in one sitting. 8 episodes and around 30 minutes long may be a little time consuming when you have deadlines but she still managed it. O’Connor was diagnosed with HPD when she was younger after the following of her parents’ divorce. “I thought the character was a true to life representation of the disorder. You see how someone with this disorder can be vulnerable and emotional, on top of wanting to be the center of the world. I can definitely relate to her shit parents.” O’Connor said. Ellen no longer allows her mental health to define her, she uses art as a surface to help herself as she dreams of becoming an artist.

 

The lead character James shows signs of serial-killing behaviour by viciously murdering animals at a young age. Disturbing and creepy, right? You see a mentally volatile individual imagining what it would be like to kill his component Alyssa and embarks on this journey with her to eventually fulfil his desire. Until it came to actually killing a human, his fantasy, he was far beyond his comfort zone. You then see this serial killer wannabe unfold into a damaged weak boy with mental health issues. In one episode, the show reflects on depression and suicide as you learn James’s mum suffered from the illness and commits suicide in front of James whilst he was still young. There’s so much in the show that the mass audience in any generation could relate too, bringing light on taboo topics.

 

We got Dr. Ullah, a GP in Southwark, to watch the series with his teenage daughters and give his professional expertise. Luckily, he had a positive reaction, even though he prefers American sitcoms so this was far from his usual taste. “The storyline is observably unrealistic for entertainment purposes, but individuals like Alyssa with the disorder would resort to running away for a few days for attention. In Alyssa’s case, an absent father and her mother remarrying and forming a separate family contributes to how a disorder as such can develop.”

 

As the generation obsessed with serial-killer documentaries, this series was definitely for us with anticipating twists and a cliff-hanger ending. Even though James was no Charles Manson, he was an intriguing strange character that we’re all rooting for if there’s a second series. Fingers crossed. Hopefully there are more television series that focus on characters mental health in the future.