As the opening episode of Baby Reindeer begins, Donny Dunn (Richard Gadd) walks into a police station to report a stalker. Daniels (Thomas Coombes) tries to find out more about the female stalker. Although Daniels doesn’t take him seriously, Donny believes the woman needs help. Once Daniels learns it’s been going on for six months, he questions why it took so long to report it. Donny explains he felt sorry for her. While working at a pub, Donny approaches Martha (Jessica Gunning) who seems upset. He offers to give her a free cup of tea. Martha says she’s a lawyer. She rambles and shows Donny the famous names in her contacts list.

Donny wonders why she couldn’t afford a cup of tea if everything Martha said was true. Despite wanting to be a comedian, Donny found himself working a dead-end job and living with his ex-girlfriend’s mother. He tries doing comedy only for the audience to hate him. Donny says you notice someone when they see you as the person you came to be. Martha came in every day with new makeup and new hairstyles. She’d stick around for his entire shift even though she claimed to be busy. Martha would often talk about Donny. He admits everything about her intrigued him. One day, she says they should run away together. Donny explains he thought her about past and started paying her compliments.

At some point, Donny agrees to come picnicking with him. He doesn’t give her his number and instead agrees to meet her wherever. He began to love her laugh and became obsessed with it. Gino (Danny Kirrane) and others begin pestering Donny about it. When Donny says he doesn’t believe in sex before marriage, they pressure him to propose. Martha suggests that’d make him rich. She just needs someone to hang her curtains. Donny blurts out he’ll hang her curtains hoping it’ll get him out of that awkward situation. He knew at that moment that she had taken him seriously. Then, he started receiving tons of emails from her every day.

One day, Martha shows up with an expensive picnic basket. She says it’s her special 43rd birthday and she gets to spend it with him. Donny suggests this isn’t a good idea because lovers have picnics. He says friends do coffee so she quickly agrees to a coffee date. Donny goes out with her. Martha asks if he is serious about her. Donny says he is serious about her as a friend. Martha asks for tap water because she can’t afford it. Donny offers to pay for it. Martha reveals she got his email off his website and she knows his comedy isn’t very good. As Donny talks about his dream of being a comedian, Martha grabs his arm and questions whether someone hurt him. Donny claims he’s fine, but Martha refuses to believe that. She gets upset and begins asking for names until Donny pulls his hand away from her.

They go in opposite directions when they leave the restaurant. Donny says seeing Martha’s madness play out left him with a sense of unease. He decides to follow her to find out who she is. Donny finds out that she lives in a messy flat. He watches her send him a message causing his phone to ping. He has to flee to avoid being caught. Martha tells him that she caught him. Donny tries doing another comedy show but it goes bad as well. Martha is in the distance laughing though. Donny begins using Martha as the brunt of his jokes. Martha says she can sing. Donny eventually stops her and continues the show. It actually goes better. Martha sneaks up on him and says he deserved his win tonight. She asks him to come in for a plate next time.

Martha puts her head on his shoulder and they talk about super powers. They sing together. Martha tells Donny that she loves him before quickly getting upset at herself. At home, Donny finds a friend request from Martha Scott. He checks the pictures and suspects some of them are altered. Donny finds one picture of himself that calls him Martha’s baby reindeer. He searches for Martha and finds that she was a lawyer who was struck off after a stalking verdict. He learns that she falsely reported that her last victim had been abusing his disabled child. Martha allegedly attacked his mother year and received a four-and-a-half-year prison sentence. Donny realizes he has a convicted stalker stalking him. He accepts Martha’s friend request.

 

Baby Reindeer Review

The opening episode of Baby Reindeer was interesting with an original story that can possibly remain entertaining through eight episodes. However, it probably didn’t need to be that long. The dynamic relationship of the characters is very strong while Jessica Gunning is mesmerizing as the stalker. Based on the first episode, Donny may not be the most sympathetic character.

The primary issue so far is the fact that Donny is written to be so naïve and foolish. It’s hard to sympathize with the character because he’s been stringing Martha along for so long despite the red flags being right there in front of him. Truthfully, some viewers may feel that he brought this on himself for being just as responsible. He’s had multiple opportunities to possibly close the door, but he keeps pushing deeper and deeper.

The series may still be a fun, chaotic ride even if none of the characters are easy to root for. The comedy definitely doesn’t hit the target though considering nothing about the opening episode was humorous. The story doesn’t always ring true even though it’s being marketed that way, but again, that may not matter if the series can remain perplexing until the very end.

Despite some issues, this was a good starting point so it’ll be interesting to see where this roller coaster ride goes next. The episode scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of Baby Reindeer can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss Baby Reindeer with friends at the Reel Mockery Forum.