Serial Experiments Lain
TV Show • 1998 • Animation
ReportSynopsis
Lain is an avant-garde anime influenced by philosophical subjects such as reality, identity, and communication. The series focuses on Lain Iwakura, an adolescent girl living in suburban Japan, and her introduction to the Wired, a global communications network similar to the Internet.
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Both
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Your Triggers
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24
Needs More Answers
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1
Yes
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1
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Yes
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Abandonment
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1
Yes
14
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Yes
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8
Abuse
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8
Yes
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Yes
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6
Does the abused become the abuser?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
35 supporters
Add comment
Yes
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9
Is someone stalked?
29 supporters
Yes
30
No
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3
Sort of? Lain is followed/ watched/observed by men in black wearing wires and sunglasses.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
21
No
5
4
Lain is neglected and gaslit by her parents
1 comment | Add comment
Is there domestic violence?
National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233)
1 supporters
Add comment
Yes
1
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21
Yes
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8
Is someone gaslighted?
1 supporters
Yes
22
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3
The entire show is about Lain doubting her own reality and her existence, and how several different groups and characters are trying to shape her perception of reality, sometimes in extremely invasive ways.
1 comment | Add comment
Addiction
Yes
34
No
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4
In episode 2, a character uses a fake drug
2 comments | Add comment
Is there addiction?
1 supporters
Yes
4
No
11
0
Lain uses the Wired as a way to escape the real world. She shows signs of addiction to it throughout the show.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
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18
Animal
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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7
Yes
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20
Are animals abused?
1 supporters
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1
No
19
1
A real life experiment is mentioned that involved abuse towards dolphins, but is not depicted or implied in the show.
1 comment | Add comment
Assault
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9
No
14
6
Unsure if it counts, but an implied-to-be masturbating character finds out that they're being watched while doing so and becomes extremely distraught. The perpetrator doesn't touch them whatsoever, but does taunt and ridicule them verbally.
2 comments | Add comment
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8
Yes
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Yes
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13
Is there pedophilia?
1 supporters
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3
No
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S1
No intended pedophilia, though a side characters statement towards the main character could be (mis)interpreted as such.
2 comments | Add comment
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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7
Bodily Harm
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16
Yes
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16
Does someone fall to their death?
18 supporters
Yes
39
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4
The opening scene (and sort of the setup for the show) is a classmate of the main character's suicide - she jumps from a building to her death.
1 comment | Add comment
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Yes
1
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Yes
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8
Is there excessive gore?
1 supporters
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4
No
8
2
S1
E12
AKIRA style morphing of a body, it's a little unsettling.
1 comment | Add comment
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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14
Yes
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19
Does someone struggle to breathe?
1 supporters
Yes
1
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13
1
Lain attempts to strangle a version of herself, but said version of Lain doesn't struggle to breathe or seem to be in pain.
1 comment | Add comment
Children
Does a kid die?
112 supporters
Yes
33
No
0
1
The show opens with the suicide of a middle school student
1 comment | Add comment
Is a minor sexualized?
1 supporters
Yes
9
No
6
5
Lain’s friend is depicted fantasizing about her teacher in a sexual way. It’s unclear if this was actually reciprocated or if it’s just the girl fantasizing about it, but the idea, real or not, is shown to the audience regardless.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
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6
Creepy Crawly
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5
Death
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5
Does someone sacrifice themselves?
1 supporters
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1
Lain could be considered to have sacrificed herself at the end. She lives, but she sacrifices all of her relationships and her life as she knows it
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
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5
Does someone die?
1 supporters
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9
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1
someone dies from suicide
3 comments | Add comment
Disability
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10
Yes
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6
Drugs/Alcohol
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7
Family
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14
Does a parent die?
1 supporters
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3
A background character dies without her son realizing.
1 comment | Add comment
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Yes
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17
Does a family member die?
1 supporters
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no, but
SPOILER
they lose nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons.
SPOILER
they lose nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons.
1 comment | Add comment
Fear
Yes
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Yes
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4
Yes
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Yes
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2
Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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2
Yes
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7
Yes
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Gross
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12
Yes
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6
Yes
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6
Yes
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10
Yes
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16
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Yes
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6
Large-scale Violence
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8
Law Enforcement
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4
Yes
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13
LGBTQ+
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Yes
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6
Yes
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6
Yes
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Yes
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5
Loss
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5
Medical
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Mental Health
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42
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4
the first episode starts with a girl jumping off a building, then later in the episode lain sees a girl walk over and voluntarily stand on railroad tracks while a train speeds towards her (don’t see anything actually happen but it’s implied that the train would’ve hit her). also, at the club in the second episode, a guy shoots himself and dies
6 comments | Add comment
Does someone attempt suicide?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
123 supporters
Add comment
Yes
13
No
0
Yes
6
No
12
0
Not necessarily, but there’s a few scenes of dissociation. (Not self harm, but worth mentioning)
1 comment | Add comment
Are there anxiety attacks?
30 supporters
Yes
13
No
11
1
S1
E13
3 minutes into episode 13, Mizuki has what seems to be a panic attack
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
10
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0
Yes
9
No
0
0
basically the entire show is about it so yes
1 comment | Add comment
Does someone suffer from PTSD?
1 supporters
Yes
2
No
6
2
No, Lain rewrites/reprograms the world to forget about her and everything that happened, so Alice (Arisu) doesn't get PTSD from her trauma.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
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6
Yes
6
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0
Yes
2
No
5
Yes
9
No
0
Is there body dysmorphia?
1 supporters
Yes
23
No
1
3
Lain is shown to have out of body experiences where smoke comes out of her hands and not feeling real in her body.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there D.I.D. misrepresentation?
1 supporters
Yes
0
No
7
2
No.
Some people interpret that Lain has OSDD, but these people are in fact mostly systems theirselves ^^
So that's not misinterpretation, just theories/headcanons of ppl
Some people interpret that Lain has OSDD, but these people are in fact mostly systems theirselves ^^
So that's not misinterpretation, just theories/headcanons of ppl
2 comments | Add comment
Does someone say "I'll kill myself"?
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
1 supporters
Yes
19
No
0
4
Lain says a similar phrase in the episode Rumors.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there misophonia?
1 supporters
Yes
17
No
0
5
Not sure if it fully counts but the show is filled with power line white noise that can be annoying or ominous.
4 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
No
17
Is there autism specific abuse?
1 supporters
Yes
4
No
17
8
Technically no, but a lot of people interpret Lain as autistic, and relate the way the other students treat her to a kind of bullying due to autistic behavior
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
1
No
9
Is there a claustrophobic scene?
1 supporters
Yes
22
No
0
2
Some scenes are designed to make the viewer feel as if they are in an oppressive space
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
0
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6
Noxious
Yes
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5
Yes
6
No
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Yes
25
No
0
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
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No
1
Yes
4
No
9
Yes
0
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13
Paranoia
Is the fourth wall broken?
1 supporters
Yes
14
No
0
2
S1
E13
at the start of episode 13 Lain is presumably talking directly to the viewer, this happens again towards the end of the episode.
smaller fourth wall breaks are littered throughout.
smaller fourth wall breaks are littered throughout.
3 comments | Add comment
Yes
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1
Pregnancy
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Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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10
Yes
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Yes
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Prejudice
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14
Yes
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Yes
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Yes
1
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Yes
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18
Yes
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Yes
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7
Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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18
Yes
0
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6
Yes
0
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16
Race
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4
Relationships
Is there a large age gap?
1 supporters
Yes
7
No
5
2
An underage girl is shown to have a crush on her teacher, and a rumour is spread around her school that they were involved in some way; however it’s not clear if anything actually happened and it could easily be argued that it was just false gossip that simply evolved from the girl’s crush being outed.
3 comments | Add comment
Religious
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0
No
4
Yes
7
No
0
Sex
Yes
0
No
6
Yes
1
No
7
Is there sexual content?
1 supporters
Yes
26
No
1
5
Implied masturbation, but there's no nudity shown and no sexual audio - it is only depicted to portray a breach of privacy.
5 comments | Add comment
Are there nude scenes?
1 supporters
Yes
10
No
3
1
at the end credits, we can see a picture of lain naked.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
No
5
Are there incestuous relationships?
National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.4673
1 supporters
Add comment
Yes
0
No
23
Yes
0
No
7
Sexism
Yes
0
No
9
Sickness
Is there dementia/Alzheimer's?
42 supporters
Yes
3
No
4
0
SPOILER
a prominent character loses nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons
a prominent character loses nearly all mental functions because of the sci-fi reasons
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
0
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4
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
0
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6
Social
Yes
7
No
1
Yes
0
No
7
Yes
0
No
5
Yes
0
No
5
Spoiler
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0
No
18
Does it have a sad ending?
1 supporters
Yes
27
No
0
3
Not exactly super sad, but not happy either (despite the happy music playing)... It's a bittersweet ending? A girl loves her friend so much she rewrites the world for her, to spare her trauma, and erases everyone's memories of her. She still exists, but no one remembers her. She sacrifices her identity and role in the life of the person who mattered most to her. She visits her in later years to see that her friend is happy.
2 comments | Add comment
Yes
1
No
3
Vehicular
Yes
0
No
16
Is someone hit by a car?
1 supporters
Yes
7
No
10
2
the automated driving systems in cars glitch out early in episode five and it’s mentioned that there were accidents and a fatality, but the most you see is a car speeding towards a bunch of people
1 comment | Add comment
Does a car honk or tires screech?
1 supporters
Yes
8
No
1
0
S1
At the beginning of every episode, there are city-sounds that includes cars honking and some tire screeches.
1 comment | Add comment
Yes
1
No
14
Violence
Yes
0
No
14
Yes
1
No
15
Is there blood/gore?
1 supporters
Yes
20
No
0
3
Although rare, there is a few scenes. The 1st episode has a suicide and the 2nd has a shooting.
2 comments | Add comment
Is there gun violence?
1 supporters
Yes
28
No
0
5
The second episode has a shooting
2 comments | Add comment
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