The series received positive reviews. Rebecca Nicholson in The Guardian gave the series a perfect five out of five stars Anita Singh in The Telegraph also gave it five out of five stars, praising Gribben's performance and dubbing the show 'unforgettable'. Nick Hilton from The Independent gave the first episode four out of five stars
This series contains tropes of:
- Ambiguously Bi : A rare example where it's his different sex attraction that is in doubt Danny tells Aaron he masturbated thinking of Jeanne Boitel it's ambigious if he said this to try to fit in with Aaron (and knowing how isolated Danny was how much he knows about the topic). He has a date with Ash and has sex with him on episode 7
- An Aesop: Not everyone in your life will have your best interests in mind or even help you but the people that care about you will always support you no matter how hard your circumstances may be.
- Archnemesis Dad : Steve, could be considered somewhat this, the whole trauma that was caused by him is the cause of why Danny is so out of touch with reality even if he is dead by the start of the first episode. Played straight in Episode 8 when it is revealed he tried to kill Danny
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other : Aaron is outright unpleasant towards Danny in the start but over the course of the first season after many of the incidents, he starts to grow a brotherly bond with him, he is the one who is the most regretful of sending him to a warden and he is heartbroken when he temporarily leaves in Episode 7.
- Bittersweet Ending: Danny is unable to seek revenge. Ash and Daisy both lose interest to Danny and Aaron respectively but Danny finally starts to accept that not everyone is a monster and the bond between Aaron Danny and Sue grow closer by the end of the first season
- British Brevity : There are 8 episodes of about 20/23 minutes at most.
- But Not Too Gay : Aaron having a crush on Daisy is focused from episode 4 through 7 while we only get to hear of Danny crush on Ash on Episode 7 and most of the episode focuses more on them hanging out at the beach and at the fair, than actually acting as a couple.
- Coming of Age Story: An interesting example since by the time the series start Danny is already 18, but since this is the first time Danny is finally a member of society the whole premise of the show is a darker Coming of Age Story where he explores things he could not explore during his teenage years.
- Cradle of Loneliness : A non object example, the reason why Steve keeps Danny locked away from society is because Danny reminds him of his wife he lost and Steve does everything in his power to keep the last thing it reminds him of her safe from any danger.
- Creepy Good : Danny, unintentionally, comes off across as this over the course of the season, he does not talk a lot wants to seek revenge on the man who killed his mother and has a certain cold tone to everything and can get too overly attached to everything (to the point of stalking Ash when he meets him). While it's understandable since we know the context why he is the way he is, for someone who does not know him he can come across as rather creepy.
- Creepy Jazz Music : There are interludes in the show where we see different old jazz songs and scenes of Danny with his abusive overportective father. The type of music Steve likes it has a negative connotation.
- Excessive Mourning : Both Danny and Steve grieve massively over losing their mother, thankfully Danny gets over it over the course of the first season but that grieving is what kept Danny locked away from society for 18 years.
- Generational Trauma: Danny is a 18 year old man that was locked up by his dad for all his life, during the entire show he is forced to confront that his father abused him and forced him to live a life he was clearly not prepared for. During the Flashback B-Plot that we see of Steve and Danny by each episode Danny's memories of Steve get worse signifying he is starting to accept the abuse he put him through. Steve takes such extreme measures after his wife is killed by a driver.
- Flashback B-Plot : Everything we know about Danny and Steve is told through the use of a Flashback explaining why Danny is the way he is and all the harm Steve caused.
- Foil : Aaron and Danny are more similar than what they both would like. Danny is a Creepy Good guy that has to confront that his dad was a bad person, has a heart of gold that draws everyone in, Aaron is a guy with a Inferiority Superiority Complex that can be too abrasive at times but tends to know more social cues than Danny.
- Horrible Housing : Steve house where he kept Danny locked throughout his entire childhood is rather small, in bad condition. Judging by how agressive Steve got where Danny said anything negative to Steve it's no wonder it was kept this way the 18 years Danny grows in.
- Sliding Scale of Parent-Shaming in Fiction: Steve is a Type III he does care about his son(in his way) but there is no excuse to being so overprotective that you have to lie to your own son about the outside world and you deprive your son of his adolescence regardless of how well-intentioned his lies were. It is not only ilegal but pretty bad parenting. By episode 8 and knowing the full context he becomes a type IV when it is revealed he tried to kill Danny
- Stranger Safety : Even if it is justified with Danny it is almost ridiculous how Danny and Aaron trust Mark to not kill them, From what little they both know of him he killed Danny's mother and could kill them too. This is also inverted and Ash completly trusts Danny (a complete stranger he saw on the beach) to go on a date with him and even have sex with him on the hostel he was staying in.
- Straight Gay : Danny being gay does come off as a bit of a surprise after living with a conservative father that shielded him from knowing what even being gay is (and him only knowing straight relationships).This is not revealed until Episode 7. Though he does not quite get how to have a relationship with a guy (Ash breaks up with him due to him being unintentionally creepy)he does not seem to have a problem with the fact that he likes guys.
- There Are No Therapists : Double subverted while Danny has access to the social service therapists they do such a minimal job, it is almost like if they were not there in the first place, one could argue if Steve could had acessed a therapist for his mental problems he could had been a better parent.
