Baby Reindeer
Warning : This clause discusses genial health exit , along with rape & the intimate misuse of tike .
At the close of the Netflix miniseriesBaby Reindeer , its protagonist , Donald " Donny " Dunn ( Richard Gadd ) , comes full roach . Over seven episode , the drama series search Donny ’s complex relationship with his sneak , Martha(Jessica Gunning ) , and its connecter with other facets of his life . Written and make by Gadd himself , Baby Reindeeris based on a haunting true storyof the stalking and vilification he face by a woman over four years and is adapted fromhis solo stage production of the same name .
After an attempt to dissociate himself from Martha once and for all , the stalk come in to a crescendo when Martha regain Donny ’s new phone number and , in lieu ofsending more misspelled substance , threatens to stab Donny ’s parent . That is the concluding straw for Martha from a legal perspective , and she is arrested after Donny goes to the police force . Martha is ultimately brought to judicature , and after she pleads guilty , she is doom to legitimate time .
Baby Reindeer’s Final Scene: The Free Drink & What It Means For Donny Explained
Has Donny Become Martha?
Baby Reindeer ’s final scenery sees Donny place a vodka Coke , perhaps in memory of Martha , who would always order a Diet Coke at his pub . However , he gain he ’s allow for his wallet at home base . The bartender , a handsome red - headed man , look at Donny with the similar mix of shame , sympathy , and pity with which Donny looked at Martha when she ’d first walked into his gin mill and allege , " Do n’t care about it . It ’s on me . " Donny looks up at the barkeeper , move by his benignity and generosity but also with a potential pinch of infatuation .
After Donny ’s interaction with the barkeep , the show cuts to black , and the end credits roll , withDonny comingfull lot and being in a standardised position to Martha at the origin of the serial . This open end could suggest that in come to to Martha and spending weeks obsessing over her voice mail and emotions , Donny has himself become like her : a mess - up and mentally inauspicious stalker . This ending would align with the series ' constant blurring of the business line between dupe and perpetrator and its focus on the toxic dynamic between Donny and Martha , fueled by their respective traumatic past tense .
This ending would be in line with the serial publication ' never-ending blurring of the lines between victim and perpetrator .
Custom image by Yailin Chacon.
However , this ending could also betoken Donny ’s own growth and coming - of - ageover the path of the show . He has confronted his sexual assault trauma , sharing it not only publicly but also with his parent . He has have up to his mistakes and his own toxic traffic pattern . So , perhaps he looks at the mixologist with a profound sensation of self - cognisance about the fact that he ’s in a standardized lieu as Martha was , but that he has the power and agency to do differently , to demonstrate effective judgment , and curb his bad potential impulses . It ’s for the viewer to settle .
The Origin Of The “Baby Reindeer” Name Explained
It Reflects Martha’s Traumatic Childhood
When Donny enters the pub in the final scene , he is listen to one of Martha ’s voicemail , which he had coded as " free , " as he go on to attempt substantiation from her words . He then switches to the " Not listen to " category , where Martha partake in the origin of the titular " Baby Reindeer " name and why she call him that . She explain that as a nipper , she used to have a little , cuddly , fluffy infant reindeer toy – with " big lips , huge eyes , and a cute teentsy bum " – that she would carry everywhere and still has to this Clarence Day .
Martha recollect an early puerility memory during Christmastime , a photograph of her sit with the baby Rangifer tarandus toy beside her , which she describes as the only good thing about her puerility . She would hug it every time her parents agitate , which was very often , and would seek vast comfort in it . Donny reminds her of that sister caribou , she says , with " the same olfactory organ , same eye , same cunning bitty bum . “Donny ’s eyes replete up as he hears this , and he begins to sob as he gains a deeper insight into her childhood and the origins of her twisted psyche .
What Was Going On With Martha: Why She Isn’t A “Villain”
She is a Deeply Troubled Soul With A Mental Illness
If the rootage of the " Baby Reindeer " name is any indicant , Martha is a deep troubled soul who suffers from a traumatic puerility . The Divine , Richard Gadd , has talk extensively about how he thinks the real - life Martha is a victim rather than a baddie and should not be blame . Gadd criticizes media depiction of stalk and stalkers , arguing that they ’ve create wild stereotypes of a stalker as a wispy figure lurking in the wickedness when in realness , it is often an conversance , coworker , or someone from a past relationship , wherein the existing intimacy and conversance only rarify matters further .
Gadd criticizes mass medium depicting of stalking and stalkers .
More importantly , Gadd figure stalk and torment as symptoms of mental unwellness . paint Martha as a baddie would seem unjust to him , considering her mental wellness struggles . Gadd believes the arrangement has failed her . He regrets that Martha never received the essential genial health support she needed , leading her to project her harm and suffering onto him for over four years . Baby Reindeer ’s ending reflect Gadd ’s scene , as in a weird way , Donny related to Martha , her insecurities and care , and felt a unknown combination of enchantment , empathy , and guilt feelings towards her by the end .
Baby Reindeer is a dark comedy series based on a true story and a stage play of the same name. It centers around Gus, a barista who becomes the focus of an intense and unsettling obsession by one of his customers, Martha. After a seemingly harmless interaction, Martha’s fascination with Gus spirals out of control and begins to wreak havoc on his life.
The cast of the Netflix prowler show Baby Reindeer features a variety of up - and - coming external genius , include the show ’s Almighty .
Rather than portraying Martha as a scoundrel , the serial depicts her and Donny as two sides of the same coin , two distressed and damaged individual who get caught up in a toxic moral force as they project their past hurt onto each other . While Martha is unfortunately ineffective to intermit from these harmful pattern of behavior , Baby Reindeersuggests that Donny might be capable to . This estimate is at the core of the serial ' themes and organize the ground of its equivocal closing .
What Happened To Martha In Baby Reindeer
Her illegal activities finally catch up to her
After Martha is arrested , she confesses and pleads shamed to all the separate counts of haunt and harassmentagainst Donny and his parents . Martha spends nine calendar month in prison while Donny also get a lengthy restraining order , and he supposedly never see her again . While Martha may be out of Donny ’s life everlastingly , she still has an impact in the form of the hundreds of voice mail that Donny saved .
Donny’s Final Meeting With Darrien & The Cottonmouth Job
It Represents Another Full-Circle Moment For Donny
While Donny is spiraling down the rabbit hole of trying to decode Martha ’s voice mail , his x - girlfriend , Keeley , pays him a visit and sees how much of a mess he is . He even tells her that he ’s given up on his comedy career , just after it ’s eventually taken off . Out of concern , she invite him to move back into her female parent ’s house , wherehe find a full potation of a playscript titledHangman Harry , whichhe’d written for Darrien , the mankind who had drug , groom , and sexually assaulted him , back in 2011 .
Key Details forBaby Reindeer
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Thisprompts Donny to visit Darrien , perhaps to search some course of catharsis or closure . They have a bittersweet conversation , where Donny initially apologizes for disappear , but then Darrien addresses the elephant in the way : he watched Donny ’s viral telecasting and find it gay . Instead of apologise or train any accountability , Darrien extend Donny a writing job on an upcomingCotton Mouthreboot , assuring him that it " wo n’t be like last time . " Instead , it will be pay , formal , and catapult Donny ’s vocation . Donny reluctantly accepts and forthwith breaks down after bequeath .
From veteran favorite to new hits and hidden gemstone , here ’s a rundown of the unspoiled Netflix reliable law-breaking shows fans of the literary genre can stream .
Donny ’s coming upon with Darrien also signals a full - circle moment , butDonny is no longer powerless and ego - loathingnor vulnerable to exploitation . When he enters Darrien ’s house , he honor unlike aspects of it , remembering the drug - induced insult he faced . While there was no expressed acknowledgment of what Darrien did to Donny , this interaction bring home the bacon a fiddling closure to enable Donny ’s journey toward healing and feel more self-asserting .
What Happened To Donny’s Father & How It Reflects On Donny’s Past
Donny’s Father Was Also Sexually Abused As A Child
When Donny ’s stand - up video go viral , and his career finally consider off , he by chance gives Martha his number , and she call him to imperil to reveal his gender and sexual assault to his parent . This forces Donny to jaw his parents in Scotland , where he sits them down and tells them everything . He first comes out to them before sharing that a writer tap him . While Donny worries that they will label him and guess less of him as a valet , this conversation is super healingand affirming for him .
Not only do his parents bid him empathy , buthis father also shares that he , too , was sexually abused growing up . He does n’t express this explicitly but implies it by saying he produce up in the Catholic Church . It takes Donny a moment to understand what his founder is say , but once it dawns on him , the family partake a profound moment of intimacy . What Donny fears would be a mo of shame and judgment ends up being immensely releasing . It makes him feel tripping , and avail him shed his rich signified of shame and self - hatred .
How Accurate Is Baby Reindeer’s Ending Compared To The True Story?
It Captures The Essence of The Resolution Between Gadd/Donny And “Martha”
InBaby Reindeer , Martha gets arrested and charged with three counts of stalk and torment . At her plea listening , she plead shamed to all the numeration : the stalking and harassment of Donny and the harassment of his parent . Martha thus owns up to her law-breaking , she gets condemn to 9 months in prison , and a five - year restraining decree is issued against her . It is the last metre Donny ever sees her . This ending captures the excited accuracy of what happens in reality , though the specific are a little different .
Fiona Harvey , the real - world breathing in for Martha , sued Netflix for defamation in June 2024 due toBaby Reindeer ’s depiction of her .
In reality , Richard Gadd was loth to jail someone struggling with such severe genial health outcome . About two and a half long time into the stalk , Gadd managed to receive a restraining order against the substantial Martha . However , the tangible Martha Scotthas continued to roam the streets freely and , until lately , persisted in harassing his fellowship and friends . Baby Reindeerthus takes some cinematic liberties to provide more closure and a sense of Justice Department than the genuine tale , though it capture the essence of the solution between Martha and Gadd .
What Baby Reindeer’s Creator Has Said About The Ending
The Ambiguous Ending Is His Favorite Part Of The Series
The creator , Richard Gadd , deeply appreciatesthe equivocal ending ofBaby Reindeer . It is his favorite vista of the series . hesitating to bring down a specific interpreting on it , Gadd believes it can be understood in various ways and is meant to be capable to multiple interpretations . to boot , the actor Jessica Gunning , who plays Martha , bring out that the most of import moment for her character reference was the voicemail where she shares the origins of the " Baby Reindeer " name . That captured the kernel of Martha for her .
Gunning added thatBaby Reindeer ’s ending does not have a clear " winner,“but it was about how the toxic dynamic leave alone Donny and Martha anguish and scarred other than . Looking beyond the moral implications of the narrative and the gender - have-to doe with discussions palisade haunt and harassment , Gadd aspires forBaby Reindeer , a deeply personal and autobiographical piece , to resonate with audiences on an excited level . He hop it offers solacement and katharsis to those who have find similar bewildering trauma . Undoubtedly , it fulfill that function for him .
Will There Be A Baby Reindeer Season 2?
At this point, it seems unlikely
WhileBaby Reindeerwas for certain a major bang for Netflix , it seems unlikely that there will ever be a second time of year , at least not as a prolongation of the story of Donny and Martha . Series Godhead Richard Gadd has been very open about how unmanageable it was to revisit the troubling upshot that inspired some of the show ’s most difficult - to - vigil sequences , so it ’s not hard to guess that he does n’t want to go back to the well again .
In June 2024,Baby Reindeerbriefly cracked Netflix ’s Top 10 Most Popular Shows List , the running game list of the most popular shows in the swarm Jagganath ’s history .
It ’s possible that the show comes back in an anthology mother wit , with theBaby Reindeertitle acting more as a brand name than a unmediated story reference . That also seems unlikely given the extremely personal nature of the show ’s content;keeping theBaby Reindeertitle on a different report feel like it would be inappropriatein that regard . There does n’t seem to be any justifiable way to continue the series , mean that season 1 ’s " limited series " denomination is potential to adhere .
The Real Meaning Of Baby Reindeer’s Ending
There Was No Real Villain In The Film
The primary idea ofBaby Reindeeris howtwo let out people can foregather and make things worsefor each other in the farseeing run . Martha was never a straight scoundrel , although she did get jail clip and a restraining ordination , thanks to her stalk and compulsion . However , her genial wellness proceeds make her as much a dupe as Donny . At the same meter , Donny ’s trauma opened him up to falling into this situation to begin with . The termination of the photographic film really demonstrate this with the text messages .
When they found each other , they just repeated their cycle of abuse .
get word Martha talk about her child Greenland caribou toy dog as a child and how it was the only thing that made her finger dependable exhibit that she needed something to hold onto , and that was Donny . She needed something to make her feel secure and whole , and it made affair complicated because what she found to throw onto was another human being . moreover , Donny understands trauma thanks to his previous intimate assault . These are two people who needed help , but when they launch each other , they just repeated their cps of abuse .
How The Baby Reindeer Ending Was Received
The Series Was Almost Universally Acclaimed
Baby Reindeerreceived almost universal acclaim from fan and critic alike . Critical review were almost pure with a 99 % wise Rotten Tomatoes rating , certify refreshful . It also picked up an 80 % military rating from the audience score on the same site . However , not everyone was satisfied with the ending . Oneaudience reviewercomplained about the end , write :
" I think they ultimately fumbled in say the story . It was very well acted , and I opine it demonstrate the ultimate close of unchecked self loathing and pathos . However , I do n’t see any kind of redemptive intellect to tell the story this way . Did he ever get aid / therapy ? Did he ever adjudicate that he had means to make better determination ? "
However , other fans go out the redemption in theBaby Reindeerending . In aRedditthread , Soladein830 write , " I felt like the stop scenes with the voicemail from Martha and with Donny ’s drink at the bar did a good job of really push home the theme of complex and nuanced emotion and experiences .. That nobody is strictly good or purely bad , purely free or purely guilty . " Other Redditors gibe that Donny related with Martha , which just added to the cycle of ill-treatment .
Professional critics agreed with the congratulations . Richard Gadd ofEmpire Magazinewrote , " Everything from shame and mental illness to inept policing and interiorize homophobia combine here to destroy the lives of two give away people , which means Baby Reindeer is n’t an easy scout by any means , but it is a vital one , especially to anyone who ’s endured something similar . " Most people agreeBaby Reindeeris a picture about broken masses digest bang-up trauma , and the ending crowd that musical theme to its limits .
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Baby Reindeer is a blue drollery series based on a lawful story and a stage gambling of the same name . It centers around Gus , a barista who becomes the focus of an acute and unsettling obsession by one of his customers , Martha . After a seemingly harmless fundamental interaction , Martha ’s enthrallment with Gus whorl out of control and begins to work mayhem on his life .
