Adolescence: Eagle-eyed fan unearths hidden detail in Netflix series, reveals how Katie Leonard makes her voice heard

Besides topping the charts on Netflix, the crime drama miniseries Adolescence has also opened to worldwide acclaim, earning praise from industry bigwigs like Anurag Kashyap and Alia Bhatt too. Beyond its gripping and intense narrative, the series is also being lauded for its technical brilliance, with each episode of the four-part limited series filmed in a single, unflinching shot.

Created by Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham and directed by Philip Barantini, Adolescence’s official logline reads: “When a 13-year-old is accused of the murder of a classmate, his family, therapist and the detective in charge are all left asking: what really happened?” Starring Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters, Erin Doherty and Owen Cooper, the show has been a major talking point since its debut on March 13, sparking numerous fan theories and discussions as well.

Now, another eagle-eyed fan has stepped forward, unearthing a shocking detail hidden within the miniseries, which many viewers had overlooked. While the story centres on the murder of a girl named Katie Leonard, with her 13-year-old classmate Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) as the prime suspect, Katie herself remains curiously absent from the eyesight of the audience. Her family, too, never appears on screen. Though this absence could be attributed to the fact that the crime occurs before the series begins, it adds an eerie layer to the storytelling.

An eagle-eyed fan has stepped forward, unearthing a startling detail hidden within Adolescence, which many viewers had overlooked. Adolescence centres on the murder of a girl named Katie Leonard, with her 13-year-old classmate Jamie Miller (Owen Cooper) as the prime suspect. (Credit: Netflix Tudum)
Despite her physical absence, a sharp-eyed viewer has discovered that Katie is, in fact, omnipresent in the series, not just through references by other characters. A TikToker with the username @indigoreports has revealed that the makers subtly wove Katie’s voice into the soundtrack, ensuring her presence lingers throughout the series in a non-obvious way.

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“Throughout the show we don’t ever get to hear from Katie. However, the haunting secret detail is that Katie is actually talking to us throughout the show in her own way through the soundtrack,” the TikToker said in a video shared on her account, The Mirror reported.

The fan further highlighted that Emilia Holliday, who plays Katie, recorded several songs featured in the Adolescence soundtrack. “This is really as close as we ever get to hearing from her. This gives the show a much deeper meaning, knowing Katie was essentially a part of the whole thing and expressing herself through the music.”

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Interestingly, the show concludes with an emotional rendition of Aurora’s “Through the Eyes of a Child”, describing the loss of and subsequent longing for a “childlike soul”. Director Philip Barantini recently confirmed the significance of this choice, stating: “The voice in the score is Katie’s voice.”

Apparently, after discovering Emilia Holliday’s singing talent, Barantini and his team decided to have her record the lead vocals for the series’ final moments. “Katie is a part of the whole series. Her presence is always there,” Philip said during a conversation with Netflix’s official website Tudum.