SPOILER ALERT: This post contains spoilers from Episode 3 of “ Half Man ,” now streaming on HBO Max .

“Half Man,” the new drama from “Baby Reindeer” creator Richard Gadd , has split viewers and critics alike thanks to its brutal depiction of misogyny, violence and toxic masculinity.

Following the story of two teenage boys — Niall and Ruben — whose mothers are in a romantic relationship, it is told primarily through their eyes , with Mitchell Robertson, and later Jamie Bell , playing younger and older Niall and Stuart Campbell, then Gadd, playing Ruben.

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In the second episode, Niall meets Joanna, one of his freshman flatmates at university, who, like almost everyone else in Ruben’s orbit, is subjected to his extreme behavior.…