Lord of the Flies
May 7, 2026 · 17m
Summary
Host Glenn Weldon and guests Netta Ullaby and Walter Chow critique Netflix’s new *Lord of the Flies* miniseries. They argue the adaptation is overly sanitized, protracted, and didactic, lacking the raw dread of William Golding’s novel. The panel discusses how the show clumsily makes subtextual themes explicit and fails to capture the original’s horror, despite strong child performances.
Topics discussed
Sponsors and intro to Lord of the Flies discussion
Guest introductions and plot summary of the series
Netta's critique: superficiality and lack of dread
Walter's critique: over-explanation and aesthetic choices
Glenn's perspective: hating the book vs. praising child actors
Discussion on sanitization, naturalism, and direction
Critique of heavy-handed political allegory and racism
Analysis of racial politics and homoerotic subtext
Comparison to Adolescence and British satire elements
Conclusion, credits, and final sponsor messages
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