Is There No Low Stephen Won't Sink to on 'Disclaimer'?

Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for 'Disclaimer' Episode 5.Stephen Brigstocke (Kevin Kline) has gone full-on revenge mode in Episode 5 of Disclaimer on Apple TV+. He's taking no prisoners as he dismantles Catherine Ravenscroft's (Cate Blanchett) existence apart. He is enacting revenge on the woman who is responsible for the untimely drowning death of his 19-year-old son, Jonathan (Louis Partridge), whom she had taken for a lover during a torrid two-day sexual romp on vacation almost 20 years ago in Italy. Kline is knocking it out of the park as the elderly, mischievously sadistic man who has become hell-bent on making Catherine's life as miserable as possible. He has gone to extreme lengths to get his revenge, shifting his sights on her floundering son Nicholas (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Still, it is getting to the point just over midway through Alfonso Cuarón's limited series where you have to begin wondering precisely what Stephen's endgame is and how low he will go to get satisfaction.

Why Has Stephen Catfished Nicholas?

There is a levity to Kline's character, Stephen, as he is a man in his 70s fumbling through the new social media landscape. Having already severely damaged Catherine's marriage to Robert (Sacha Baron Cohen) and compromised her professional status at work, it is clear that the third act of his diabolical plan is to catfish her troubled son and turn him against her. It has reached a critical stage where the audience is perplexed as to why he has stooped to a new low with an emotionally vulnerable 20-something young man.

Certainly, revenge is a dish best served cold, but an interesting question after Episode 5 is whether Stephen is aware of just how much emotional damage he is doing to the boy his own son died saving. By catfishing him and getting him to read his self-published account of the events surrounding Jonathan's drowning and Catherine's involvement, Stephen has sent Nicholas into a desperate, furious, and drug-fueled frenzy that is hard to watch — especially considering that he had nothing to do with what happened.

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How Sadistic Is Stephen Willing To Become?

Parents who have had to bury a child can attest that there is nothing more difficult in life. So, when Catherine tries to go on about her life as if nothing had happened, there is a part of the watcher that completely empathizes with Stephen and Jonathan's mother, Nancy's (Lesley Manville), need for her to comprehend the destruction that she was responsible for thoroughly, In Episode 4, the viewer was privy to Stephen exacting his revenge to the point that Catherine has been forced out of her home by her husband and pushed out of her position at work.

The question remains, however, whether going after innocent children goes beyond what is appropriate. The next few episodes determine whether Stephen is a sympathetic, grieving father or simply a malicious villain. In civilized society, an "eye for an eye" is not how things work. What he has done to her thus far is sad but understandable. Most would even sympathize with his plight as a wounded and lost father. Still, to go any further after watching Nicholas spiral (and knowing that Stephen had vetted him as an emotionally weak person) would make the "comedy" part of this dark comedy nothing more than a horror story.

Nicholas Isn't Perfect, but He Doesn't Deserve Stephen's Torment

Image via AppleTV+

As a 25-year-old, Nicholas acts like an immature teenager. He has no ambition and is turning into most parents' worst nightmare of being a low-energy leech who refuses to apply himself and establish some direction in his life. You're in your mid-20s, Nicholas; you must move on from eating Froot Loops and engaging with random, impressionable teens online. Nevertheless, just because he hasn't yet evolved into an independent contributor to society doesn't mean he deserves the psychological abuse he is getting from Stephen. He has hit rock bottom in Episode 5, and the next few episodes will set the tone for how Disclaimer is remembered.

Disclaimer is a 2024 psychological thriller miniseries following Catherine Ravenscroft, an acclaimed journalist known for exposing the misdeeds of others. Her life takes a shocking turn when she receives a novel from an unknown author that reveals her darkest secrets, forcing her to confront her past.

Release Date October 10, 2024

Seasons 1

Disclaimer is available to stream on Apple TV+ in the U.S.

WATCH ON APPLE TV+