Wife picked this out to watch and I figured its 4 episodes, how bad can it be.
Well, as others have said, I thought the acting was pretty good, especially adjusting for the one shot production method which means they have to get the scene right about 100 times in a row to make that whole shot work. Very impressive, and the kids were great. Jamie in particular was good, although in TV shows they always show people being too self-reflective. Jamie was mad enough to shout in her face and hit his cup across the room but 3 minutes later he's apologizing and says he doesn't deserve it? And he 180 flipped from not cooperating to basically confessing as well. I didn't really buy the switch, it seemed like they wanted to have the angry antagonizing scene and then the pour your heart out scene and kinda flubbed the transition between the two.
The dad actor was also really good and I thought he sold the distress of the situation he's in pretty well.
That said, come on if you guys can't see that this was INCREDIBLY preachy, I don't know what to tell you. Every single white male in the show is villainized. The dad is portrayed as an angry white male. The good characters are all black or women.
This kid, they had him distribute pictures of the chicks tits and then ask her out. Basically they had him "neg" her so that she'd be vulnerable and see him as a safe refuge. Who the fuck comes up with this? Then she calls him an incel, and he kills her for it.
Well her reaction is understandable, right? He instigated everything. At first you're led to believe maybe she instigated by calling him an incel, but nope, he started it all. The (of course white male) friend who helped him is naturally a bad guy as well.
The black girl totally assaults the friend in front of everyone, nothing happens to her. The police were literally on the field when she did it. How is she not arrested? How is she not even in detention? That fat teacher just let her run out. Absolutely no consequences. But she's black so it's fine, she's a victim of white male violence. Her acting out is understandable. No consequences.
The last like 30 minutes of the last episode were all a complete waste of time to guilt parents of white males into "educating them" about girls and minorities so this kind of thing doesn't happen. 2-3 minute crying scenes about "could I have done more?" "Is this my fault?" (The dad of course, not the mom). Wife and I were literally watching reels and laughing during this entire part of the show.
The "message" is so ham fisted and obvious. Unless you have a bone to pick with the "manosphere" while ignoring anything women do, this is a 100% propaganda piece, skip it.