‘It’s giving me nightmares’ say Baby Reindeer fans who can’t sleep and ‘switch off after episode 4’
BABY Reindeer fans have been reaching for the remote after suffering ‘nightmares’ sparked by the trauma of episode four.
Viewers have admitted they have switched off after finding the fourth instalment of the hugely popular Netflix series too harrowing.
The flashback episode sees lead character Donny – played by writer and creator Richard Gadd – fall victim to grooming.
Donny’s predator, Darrien O’Connor, goes on to sexually abuse him throughout the episode while plying him with drugs and alcohol.
But fans who have tuned in to watch Baby Reindeer are finding the horrific scenes too tough to make it though to the end.
The very graphic episode, which is based on Richard’s true story, has even sparked nightmares among some viewers.
Sharing their thoughts on X, formerly known as Twitter, one viewer admitted: “Predictably I didn’t sleep at all well after watching episode 4 of #BabyReindeer.
“I know there was a warning but I wasn’t really prepared and it’s just so incredibly grim. Gonna leave the rest of it for a while and come back to it..”
Another agreed: “Episode 4 of Baby Reindeer is the most disturbing yet raw portrayal of SA I’ve seen since I may destroy you.. but MY GOD I couldn’t watch it in one sitting.”
A third said: “I was going to continue watching #BabyReindeer but after watching episode 4 last night I’m not sure I can tonight. Try again tomorrow but that was a rough watch.”
A fourth added: “I don’t know if I can finish #BabyReindeer after watching episode 4… I don’t know if I have the capacity.”
And someone else asked: “Soooo how did y’all cleanse your mind after episode 4 of #BabyReindeer I’m in no way minimising what happened, I just hate seeing people being mistreated and hurt like that. Stays with me.”
Baby Reindeer has now been devoured by 22 million people worldwide and counting.
It is based on the real-life experiences of writer and creator Richard.
Richard is a Scottish comedian and he has taken on the lead role of Donny – a fictional version of himself.
The seven-episode series sees Donny as he is relentlessly stalked by a loner ex-lawyer called Martha, played by actress Jessica Gunning.
Baby Reindeer by numbers
The Netflix series has become quite the breakout smash hit...
- 7 Number of episodes in the series
- 30 Number of countries the series has topped the Netflix chart in
- 64 Percentage increase in viewers the show earned in its second week, compared to its first
- 97 The show’s percentage score on industry bible Rotten Tomatoes
- 41,071 Amount of emails Richard claims he was sent by the real life Martha
- 13.3 million Number of viewers who tuned into the show during its first week
It all begins when he gives her a free cup of tea while working behind the bar of a pub.
But the fourth episode takes viewers away from Donny’s stalking hell and transports them back to when he was a budding script writer in his 20s.
Viewers watch as he is befriended by Darrien, an older TV writer who he meets at the Edinburgh Fringe festival.
Darrien – played by actor Tom Goodman-Hill – offers to help Donny with his career and stand-up show, but things quickly take a very dark turn.
Donny soon realises that he is being abused by Darrien when the pair routinely take drugs together and he passes out.
Richard has deliberately kept Darrien’s real identity a secret but felt it was important to show the scenes nonetheless.
Speaking to The Guardian, he said: “It’s a true story, based on my early 20s when I went through some pretty crazy thing.
“There’s a flashback episode where we actually go back in time to Donny going to the Edinburgh Fringe and meeting someone in the industry who helps them in their career but goes on to abuse Donny and that’s obviously taken from my real-life experiences.”
Richard went on: “It was a hell of a thing to write and shoot. It shows a side of abuse that I don’t think we’ve seen before.
“I still think there’s an idea that sexual abuse is a pill in a drink and dissolves and someone wakes up and doesn’t know where they are and that does happen, and it’s a big problem, but a lot of abuse occurs in very intimate relationships.
“I wanted to show how complicated and psychologically messed up situations could get to.”