Baby Reindeer may still be the top Netflix darling of the moment, as it very well deserves to be, but the ever-so-slight caveat to its growing popularity is that nothing in the world could prepare some viewers for what they’re about to dive into.
Indeed, the brilliance of Baby Reindeer is entirely rooted in its ability to keep a firm head on its shoulders as it navigates topics that are so often met with nuclear attitudes. Toss in the fact that it’s a piece of autofiction, and it only becomes more gutting, especially for those who were unprepared in jumping on the Baby Reindeer train.
And in saying all of that, it’s entirely likely that many regarded Donny and his actions, among other things, with pretty severe disbelief that’s maybe tangential to judgment. One such action was the scene in Episode 5 where Donny seemed to show up on Martha’s doorstep before passionately throwing himself at her.
In later episodes, neither party seemed to act like that ever happened. But why is that?
Did Donny sleep with Martha?
The reason the aforementioned encounter is never spoken of again is because it never happened; that entire scene was one of Donny’s sexual fantasies that began after the police managed to get Martha off of Donny’s back, as it were. Donny, we find out, had come to rely on the chaotic intensity that Martha brought to his life; one that allowed him to ignore his other troubles. Coupled with the fact that most of those troubles boil down to his sexual trauma and self-hatred, Martha not only allowed him to ignore them, but enabled his doubling down on them as well.
Donny’s imagined encounter with Martha, then, was his way of maintaining an erection so that he could have sex with his then-girlfriend Teri. Teri, a trans woman and, by all appearances, a healthy partner, does not enable Donny’s unhealthy troubles; he genuinely loves her but doesn’t believe he deserves to feel that, and that’s compounded by the shame he’s still internalizing as he grapples with his sexual trauma, which makes it hard for him to maintain an erection for Teri. He doesn’t communicate this to Teri, who then assumes that his inability to maintain one is related to her transness, which damages their relationship even more.
But in fantasizing about Martha and generally just engaging in self-destructive behavior, Donny’s love for hating himself allows him finally keep an erection and have sex with Teri, which rewards him with an improved relationship with her, and the cycle continues.
Baby Reindeer is available to stream on Netflix.
