How “The End Of The F**King World” Nails Dialogue
4 Examples of The Netflix Original’s Pitch-Perfect Writing
Dialogue is hard to write. You want to say something profound, develop your characters, advance the plot — and sound like something real people would actually say.
The best way to learn how to write dialogue is to listen to a lot of dialogue. I love it when a show makes me feel something.
The Netflix original The End Of The F**king World is one of the best displays of honest, hilarious and heartbreaking dialogue. The dark drama follows James and Alyssa’s existential journey, and their lines deliver an opening to their shared anguish in a way that is comprehensive and succinct. The viewer also gets to hear their inner monologues, almost breaking the fourth wall, in a way that reads like a novel. They never rely on overwritten exposition, which adds strength to the characters’ words.
Fair warning, by the show’s title around alone, there is a lot of profanity and dark subject matter, so it isn’t for those sensitive to stronger content. I’ll gladly censor any profanities here, as the quotes still are powerful.
- “I’m James. I’m 17, and I’m pretty sure I’m a psychopath.”
- “Being with Alyssa had started to make me feel things. She made me feel…
