can you take this spike?

„these guys bothering you bambi” oh okay . oh i get it . oh i need to punch a wall yes yes indeed

I will give Richard Gadd kudos for the decision to have Ruben kill Niall. If Niall had been allowed to kill himself it would have given him freedom over his own death/agency, and thus would have freed him narratively from the cycle of abuse he was caught in. To disallow that reinforces that this is a story that we’ve seen many times in real life. An abusive partner killing their victim. Niall was brutalized from first to last by Ruben. He had no choice. He was murdered. The position Niall lies in in death, the choice of suffocation, and Ruben’s shirtless state only remind the viewer of the continued current of sexual abuse that runs through this story. The banality of the tragedy depicted only reinforces its emotional impact. Ruben does not repent in the end or cradle Niall’s body. The viewer is left feeling hollow.

i like to think ruben lied down next to niall while he bled out. maybe even held his hand. maybe called him bambi one last time.