Expert explains clever hidden meaning behind psychologist's blue shirt in Adolescence

After rattling through all four episodes of Adolescence in just one sitting, I'm sure many Netflix viewers out there are eager to find out all the nitty gritty details surrounding everyone's favourite series right now.

From behind-the-scenes blunders and the casts' audition tapes all the way through to the show's real-life inspiration, it's clear we love nothing more than learning all there is to learn about a series after devouring it in no time at all.

Additionally, it's also evident that people are very much so invested in a number of hard-to-catch symbolisms peppered throughout the series, with the latest seeing an expert explaining the seriously clever hidden meaning behind the psychologist's blue shirt in the third episode.

The third episode of Adolescence arguably features one of the most dramatic pieces of dialogue in the entire series.

We see 13-year-old Jamie Miller, played by Owen Cooper, who is accused of the brutal murder of his female classmate, sit down with psychologist Briony Ariston (Erin Doherty), who is called in to assess his understanding of the severe situation at hand.

Our first introduction to Briony sees her bring Jamie a hot chocolate, as well as half a cheese and pickle sandwich, before the pair sit down for one of the most haunting scenes of the show where the teen's character begins to unravel and we're given a glimpse into his dark and violent nature.

Psychologist Briony Ariston dons a blue shirt in her session with Jamie in Adolescence (Netflix)

What is the significance of the psychologist’s blue shirt?

During the scene, Doherty's character dons a blue button-down shirt - something which a real psychologist has since explained was no accident.

Speaking exclusively to Tyla, Dannielle Haig explained that the colour blue in therapeutic settings is often used deliberately.

"It’s associated with trust, calm, and professionalism," she pointed out.

However, according to the expert, it can also signify a controlled distance as the psychologist is 'warm but guarded'.

"This aligns with how psychologists must build rapport while maintaining boundaries," Haig noted. "Her blue shirt might visually reinforce her attempt to be a calm presence in Jamie’s fragmented world, while also mirroring the emotional restraint everyone seems to adopt in the series."

Jamie's parents, Manda and Eddie, also wear blue in the final episode of the hit limited series (Netflix)

What is the significance of the parents' blue shirts in the final episode?

It's not only Briony who dons a blue top in the series, as both of Jamie's parents, Manda and Eddie (Christine Tremarco and Stephen Graham), similarly opt for the same colour in the fourth and final episode - something Dannielle says is incredibly 'significant' given just how much attention is awarded to Eddie's choice of attire.

"It may suggest emotional numbness, a kind of subdued unity in the face of devastation," the expert said. "Blue is the colour of grief without overt emotion - it’s the silence after the storm."

Dannielle went on to note that Eddie’s Lacoste shirt, which was a gift from his wife, represents something 'deeply personal and human' with symbolisms of connection, memory, love but also, in this context, loss.

"The fact that it’s repeatedly referenced shows how meaning becomes attached to the ordinary when everything else falls apart," she pointed out. "Their shared blue attire might also reflect the breakdown of traditional parental roles - they’re united, but subdued, holding grief in rather than expressing it."

The police interrogation room we see in the first episode is also blue (Netflix)

What is the significance of the blue-painted police interrogation room?

The importance of colour theory is clearly something relevant from the get-go.

The police interrogation room we're shown in the very first episode when Jamie, along with his dad Eddie, is taken in for questioning by DI Luke Bascombe (Top Boy's Ashley Walters) and DS Misha Frank (Fresh Meat's Faye Marsay) is painted blue too.

"This setting amplifies authority, surveillance, and emotional coldness," Dannielle tells us. "Blue is often used in institutional settings because it’s non-confrontational - but in this case, it serves to underline the power imbalance.

"Jamie is in a blue box - contained, scrutinised, silenced."

Adolescence is available to stream on Netflix now.