Netflix viewers have been left horrified by a disturbing pillow scene in a steamy series.
The streaming giant has a history of having some of the raunchiest films and shows available in its catalog.
Content such as 365 Days, S**/Life and S** Education were all huge successes and massively discussed upon release.
But now there is a new show on Netflix that has people talking – with one scene in particular going viral.
A dangerous obsession
The series centers on William Farrow, a successful surgeon who has just completed a groundbreaking operation separating conjoined twins. His seemingly perfect life includes a stable marriage and a close relationship with his son.
However, everything changes when he meets his son’s fiancée, Anna Barton. What begins as an inappropriate attraction quickly spirals into a full-blown affair that threatens to destroy everything William has built.
The show explores themes of s**ual psychology and the destructive power of obsession. William becomes increasingly consumed by his relationship with Anna, a woman with her own dark past and psychological complexities.
As the affair intensifies, William finds himself unable to focus on his work or family, trapped in what has been described as a psychological snare that he cannot escape.
Viewers left speechless
Social media erupted with reactions after audiences discovered the now-infamous pillow scene.
Many viewers took to platforms to express their shock, with some admitting they weren’t prepared for just how explicit the series would be.
The scene has become so notorious that it’s spawned countless memes and discussions about Netflix’s boundaries when it comes to adult content.
Several viewers confessed to watching the series alone and quickly clearing it from their Netflix history to avoid awkward conversations with family members or partners who share their accounts.
The scene’s intensity has made it a talking point that extends far beyond typical Netflix buzz, with many saying they needed time to process what they’d watched.
“The pillow scene was absolutely wild,” one viewer wrote.
“I was howling with laughter and cringing at the same time,” another tweeted.
“This might be the most bizarre thing Netflix has ever done,” said a third.
The scene everyone’s talking about
The show, which dropped on Netflix in 2023, follows a surgeon called William (Richard Armitage) as he has an affair with his son’s fiancée Anna (Charlie Murphy).
The Netflix thriller is an adaptation of the erotic novel ‘Damage’, which was also made into a 1992 film starring Jeremy Irons and Juliette Binoche.
The four-part series is one of the most talked about shows at the moment due to its erotic scenes.
However, there is one scene involving a pillow that has everyone talking.
William follows Anna and his son Jay to Paris as the couple are enjoying a mini break away.
After the couple checks out of the hotel, the surgeon asks Anna to meet him outside – leading to the pair getting intimate in an alleyway.
Although, Anna is not impressed with him as he is breaking the rules she has laid out.
As she heads back to London with Jay, William checks into their room – which has since been cleaned.
He lays on the bed and starts sniffing the pillows that she would have slept on and then begins pleasuring himself.
The actors’ approach to intimacy
Lead actor Richard Armitage, known for his roles in various dramas, revealed that approaching such explicit material required careful preparation, per MailOnline.
He studied European films, noting they tend to be ‘much more laid-back about nudity on screen, not as prudish as us.’ The actor explained that European cinema treats such scenes as simply depicting life and the human body without making it sensational.
Armitage also drew on his background in dance to inform his performance, explaining: “The body is amazing, isn’t it? I do tend to fall down a rabbit hole when it comes to watching dancers doing extraordinary things with their bodies.”
He brought a surgeon’s perspective to his character, focusing on anatomical details and the physical landscape of the body.
For the first time in his career, Armitage worked with an intimacy coordinator, Adelaide Waldrop, who he described as part director, part choreographer, and part psychologist.
The coordinator helped establish boundaries and encouraged the actors to think about their characters’ bodies rather than their own, creating necessary separation between performer and role.
The series required ten days of filming intimate scenes, during which both Armitage and his co-star Charlie Murphy spent much of their time naked or near-naked.
Armitage admitted: “You can’t always be in charge of your body when someone touches it. You can’t switch it off.” He noted that he developed a platonic but sexually charged connection with Murphy during filming.
This explicit scene has been widely discussed on social media.
One person says: “The pillow is disgusting lol.”
Another viewer comments: “I’m absolutely howling what is he doing to that pillow, god this is tragic.”
“Settled down to watch my guy Richard Armitage on Netflix only to see him f***ing a pillow,” someone else adds.
A disgusted viewer pens: “That pillow scene on Netflix was exactly what I needed to turn my laptop off and never watch that f***ing show again. Nasty.”
The racy nature of the show has forced Netflix to issue a warning for when all the intimate scenes take place.
In a post shared on its UK and Ireland Twitter account, the streaming service says: “If you’ve made the (questionable) decision to watch Obsession with your parents, these are the moments you’ll probably want to excuse yourself.”
Watch the trailer for Obsession here…
Obsession is now available to stream on Netflix.
