The show places heavy emphasis on race and systemic injustice, shaping its narrative around identity rather than a more balanced exploration of the broader issues affecting all youth in the justice system. Character portrayals and narrative framing are clearly chosen to highlight modern ideological talking points, leading to a sense that narrative comes second to messaging.

The traditional justice system, authority, and established societal norms are largely depicted as corrupt or broken. There’s a strong undercurrent suggesting that foundational American cultural and legal principles are fundamentally flawed or outdated, with little room given for the complexities or merits of those traditions.

Alternative viewpoints, such as arguments supporting the justice system or offering different interpretations, are not sincerely explored. Dissenting perspectives are only represented through negative or villainous figures, and the moral assumptions of the narrative are uniformly aligned with a single ideological perspective.