What was effective about the opening of Utopia, Season 2, Episode 6?

2 weeks ago we were set a homework task to write an answer to the following question: What was effective about the opening of Utopia, season 2 episode 6?

We have now been asked to upload it onto our  blog; here was my response:

The makers of Utopia were very brave to start the episode with such a  casual approach to violence towards a child.  Discussing slitting a child's throat is an emotionally disturbing subject and featuring it in the first five minutes was a risk because it could drive away viewers, particularly parents.  However, this opening was also very gripping and could make people at home who were just skimming through the channels stop and watch it. 

Right from the beginning the man is presented as very over powering and dominating.  We see this when a point of view shot from the little boy is used. This shot could also be called a low angle shot as the boy is small so the camera is low down pointing up. This highlights the size difference between the two characters and the power the man could potentially have over him.  Furthermore this foreshadows what happens later in the scene where he threatens to kill the boy. 
 The creators of 'Utopia'could have decided to use the environment as one of the man's motives because people are extremely worried about the environment and we are constantly bombarded by images in the media of ice caps melting and deforestation.  Therefore this scene reflects the time in which it was set (the Zeitgeist). 

my target for my next piece of written work is to comment on how the makers used sound and mise- en- scene.