As the fourth episode of Baby Reindeer begins, Donny (Richard Gadd) says it had taken him six months to report Martha. He speaks to Daniels (Thomas Coombes) about his problem. Donny admits he didn’t start with the attack or Martha’s previous crimes. When Daniels asks why it took so long to report it, it all came flooding back. Five years earlier, Donny went to the Edinburgh Festival. It isn’t what he thought it’d be. He annoys everyone who probably just wishes he’d leave. The shows were awful and people often didn’t turn up. One day, the bartender gives him a card that fell out of someone’s pocket. It’s a VIP members card to the Luna Bar.

He tries to mingle with some of the guys there, but they just blow him off. Then, he speaks to Darrien O’Connor (Tom Goodman-Hill) about his comedy. He’s the actual writer of Cotton Mouth. Darrien explains he’s a televisual prostitute and will take whatever anyone gives him. Darrien shows up to one of Donny’s shows. After the show, Darrien tells him he didn’t get a goodbye last night so he thought he’d come get it. He gives Donny his card and suggests they talk since he might have a few pointers for him. Darrien became involved in the show for the next few weeks. With his help, the shows flourished. Every night, Donny went out with Darrien and lived life like a celebrity. Darrien says they need to get him to do a show in London. At some point, Darrien pushes him into the bathroom so they can do drugs.

Darrien went back to London early so Donny didn’t hear from him for the rest of the festival. Then, Donny went to acting school in Oxford. He admits he missed Darrien and the confidence he gave him. One day, Darrien calls him to say he wants Donny to write with him. Donny meets him and reveals he’s already written a couple of scenes. Donny pitches the idea, but Darrien says it needs more work. Darrien asks if he wants to get high and grab a drink. They get high and talk about celebrities. Donny accepts Darrien’s offer to get really high. Donny asks what was the celebrity’s secret to get where they are. Darrien says it was listening to him. They threw themselves into everything he asked of them. Darrien tells Donny to sit next to him before giving him a bomb of MDMA.

Donny also gets GHB. He admits it was like nothing he had ever experienced before. Donny gets sick and throws up in the cat bowl. Darrien begins rubbing his back before putting his hand down his pants. He likely fingers him until Donny says stop. Darrien offers him a glass of almond milk. Donny apologizes. Darrien says it’s okay and they’ll just go slower next time. Donny admits it went further than that. Darrien calls him to say they love his wrestling story. He takes Donny through everything the channel said and they spoke about series commissions and option periods. Donny did drugs with him again. He explains he believed Darrien’s promises and thought success was right around the corner. He went on week-long benders high on crack, meth, and heroin.

Donny passed out multiple times in his company. He’d wake up with Darrien’s hands or mouth in various places of his body. Then, Darrien would tell him his script is crap and ask for overnight rewrites. Donny tells Keeley (Shalom Brune-Franklin) he’s going to Darrien’s so he is going to miss her birthday. That night, Donny takes acid with Darrien. Once he gets high, Darrien tells Donny to see him as something strong. Donny begins worrying that he is trying to control his mind and he should get out. He begins screaming. Darrien tries to give him more drugs to relax him. When Donny is out of it, Darrien begins taking advantage of him again. Darrien tells him he should shower when he finally comes back to reality. In the shower, it seems Donny realizes what’s happened.

Donny opens the door to Darrien who puts a towel around him and hugs him. Donny admits he strayed for days after that. He meets Kelley and tells her felt bad about how he left things. Donny wonders what Darrien got from it. Keeley gets upset because he doesn’t want to have sex. Donny confesses he fell apart when she moved out. He felt sexual confusion as a result of what happened. Donny says he thought about killing Darrien. One day, he was left with no choice but to watch gay porn. He felt his desires had shifted. Donny started having sex with people of all genders in a desperate pursuit of the truth. He claims this is what Darrien saw in him all along so he had been vindicated somehow. He went on dates hoping they would give him answers. He spurned them all until he met Teri (Nava Mau).

He felt shame and anger that he was falling in love with Teri. Donny admits he may not have felt this way if Darrien hadn’t done it. When Martha showed up, all that confusion faded. He couldn’t stand the irony of reporting Martha and not Darrien. Donny felt she was ill and Darrien was a groomer. That’s why Donny struggled to explain why it took so long to report it. Daniels asks for proper evidence so Donny was back to square one.

 

Baby Reindeer Review

Baby Reindeer could’ve been an interesting, compelling, and even important story, but it’s quickly gone off the rails. There’s been countless side stories to try to justify Donny’s behavior, but it’s really hard to justify. Some viewers may still be able to muster up sympathy for Donny. Some may also be able to accept this at face value.

However, others may feel that the lead character is just debasing themselves at every turn to create a story that they think people will enjoy. Truthfully, Baby Reindeer tells a much more important story that will likely be missed by many viewers. It’s a good example of taking the worst of society and putting them on a pedestal as a celebrity. The Donny character is either a fabrication or a complete imbecile who continually objects himself to one disaster after another.

This is a good illustration of how people are willing to idolize folks who make them feel better about their own situations. The episode scores a 4 out of 10. Recaps of Baby Reindeer can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our site at this link. Learn more about advertising with us here. Discuss this show and others at the Reel Mockery Forum.