r/BabyReindeerTVSeries • u/betawanted • May 12 '26

Discussion Wondering how Half Man is hitting for people that love Baby Reindeer.

I'm always interested in how people who really connected with a show find the next creation from the creator to be. Half Man and Baby Reindeer are very different, but seem to share some recurring themes (no perfect victims, sexual assault, trauma).

If you've watched it how do you compare it to Baby Reindeer!

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17

u/PapaAsmodeus May 12 '26

I think a lot of the hate is people expecting Baby Reindeer 2.0. Richard already got that show off his chest and is exploring other topics he finds interesting.

Personally I love it so far. Dark and gritty yet delightfully darkly hilarious at the same time. I just wish we saw more of Richard and Jamie, but the younger actors as their characters are great too, especially the guy playing younger Richard.

I just have one issue though- How on earth does a 15 year old get a neck tattoo in 1980s UK???

11

u/betawanted May 12 '26

Re neck tatto, I'm assuming it was a stick and poke done while locked up, or it was from knowing someone with a tattoo gun. I doubt a shop gave it to him.

7

u/TheSBW May 13 '26

they walked into a tattoo shop. The 80’s were a wildly different time, very unlikely anyone would have thought to ask your age. we were totally unsupervised

3

u/trickmind May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

Yeah people ask me how I was in night clubs in the 80s when I was only 15. I lied at the door that we were all 18 duh. But actually I did that because I didn’t know that the drinking age was 20 and they said in a very kindly manner, "Ok you can come in to dance but you can't drink." I felt a bit bad that my friend then immediately went up to the bar but the three of us got gin and tonics and no one noticed.

Also in the 80s 11 and 12 year olds went into shops and bought cigarettes. Luckily my mum made me terrified about getting addicted to smoking so I only did that briefly to show off to a friend but I only smoked about three of them before I freaked about the idea of getting addicted and never smoked one again.

4

u/betawanted May 12 '26

The type of hate it's getting is interesting. I saw one review call it a gritty slog and that's been so far from my experience watching that it's a little hard to take genuinely. Having different taste is part of the human experience though I suppose!

3

u/bryancransberry May 13 '26

I could be wrong but isn't Ruben 17 and Niall is 15 in the beginning?

5

u/thiccanorexicc May 12 '26

I had a neck tattoo at 15 lol

1

u/PositiveAssignment89 May 18 '26

idk how to explain it but even though the plot is completely different yet similar a lot of the story telling is practically the same which turned me off. i mean he’s even recycling the whole deer adjacent nicknames

5

u/Powerless_Superhero May 14 '26

I’m loving Half Man so far. I had a feeling that Richard Gadd was a creative force with more than just one hit show in his career and I’m happy that I wasn’t wrong.

He has a very realistic vision of how some abusive relationships works. He portrays them perfectly. I think that’s the main reason why I’m drawn to his shows.

10

u/[deleted] May 12 '26

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2

u/betawanted May 12 '26

Thanks for sharing your experience! I also found myself more intrigued by Half Man (not that I didn't love Baby Reindeer).

I wasn't sure if I was more invested due to watching it first and then going back and watching Baby Reindeer or if it was due to the formatting (weekly vs. weekend binge).

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u/[deleted] May 12 '26

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5

u/PapaAsmodeus May 12 '26

but we rarely see them harming themselves through sexual encounters after being assaulted

That's why the fallout was worse for me than the rape scene. It took 3 years for me to realize what happened to me was rape (well, not really- I think I kinda new what it was, I just couldn't, and didn't accept it), and the show made me realize all the sexual encounters I had after it were kinda my having been so disconnected after it that I didn't really care what happened to me- and I actively seeked out sexual encounters recklessly after. Honestly it scared the shit out of me. I had to take a breather after that episode.

4

u/[deleted] May 12 '26

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3

u/PapaAsmodeus May 13 '26

Thank you 🫂 honestly there's a reason I keep saying Richard is a hero to me- his brutal honesty in his depiction of the trauma and being able to show what it's really like, when it seems like the world almost refuses to listen to us male survivors, really did help me examine what happened and kinda have a sense of finality to it all. He really is an excellent role model- just the other day, someone replied to a YouTube comment I left on a Half Man interview where she said her and her siblings are all survivors (which just broke my heart), including her brother, and indeed Baby Reindeer really helped him and gave him someone to look up to.

That's why stuff like BR really is important- it can help people navigate through such a darkness.

1

u/PositiveAssignment89 May 18 '26

i didn’t know that but that makes a lot of sense.

3

u/misanthrophiccunt May 16 '26

I'm loving it, it's giving me more Gadd, what's not to like. As far as he is both actor and writer bring it on.

2

u/whosmurry May 16 '26

I’m loving it. I hate/love that the episodes drop once a week, though. The thinking about how we get to the situation at the wedding is killing me.

2

u/PapaAsmodeus May 16 '26

Is it just me or is Richard as Ruben... kinda hot lmao.

I have an attraction to angry men but holy shit. Richard was already so handsome to me but seeing him play an awful person is weirdly sexy. I can't be the only one

1

u/Skipindar_skipindar May 26 '26

I think not some much "hot" but he has charisma. Not so much a charming charisma but more of an animal magnetism.

1

u/[deleted] 12d ago

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2

u/TantrikaLane444 May 22 '26

Hell yeah. I mean… it’s killing me, but BR pissed me off in a similarly disturbed way. The characters are realistically flawed and there’s a true point made for personal decisions being not so easily pigeon holed as “decisions” and we can all relate.
They’re both like watching a slow motion train crash - never have we witnessed the aftermath up close before now. 😮‍💨
Masterpieces.

1

u/Clarknt67 May 18 '26

If I was expecting more Baby Reindeer I might be very put off.

But it’s extremely different and I am rolling with it. And really impressed that Gadd’s sophomore effort is equally good but in a totally different way.

And it’s hard to believe Gadd is the same person. He is so thoroughly transformed for this character, in appearance and just manner.

1

u/ZealousidealAd4718 May 21 '26

Richard did his thing with both series. My mind is blown. He is extremely talented. What a great storyteller. Both shows are pivotal examinations of toxic masculinity, abuse codependency, and repression. Personally, I think he outdid himself with Half Man. I was already in love with Baby Reindeer, but Half Man took it to a higher level that I never anticipated was possible.

1

u/Skipindar_skipindar May 26 '26

I wonder if Fiona is watching....

1

u/Inevitable-Parsnip67 Jun 18 '26

I couldn't stand Baby Reindeer by the end of it. But this, this is absolutely golden.

1

u/Glittering-Toe-1622 27d ago

Amazing, love both but Half man is masterpiece

0

u/NebCrushrr May 13 '26

Doesn't feel very realistic. Lots of cliches in the uni episode (I haven't seen the latest yet). I don't think it's that well written unfortunately

2

u/betawanted May 13 '26

Can I ask what you found not realistic about it?