Little Fires Everywhere Review: Are You My Mother? (Season 1 Episodes 1-3)
There’s a veneer of distrust and resentment in the first three episodes of Little Fires Everywhere.
Hulu’s literary adaptation of Celeste Ing’s novel of the same name walks a fine line, balancing caricature with down-to-earth discussions of race, class, and motherhood.
The series follows two families, the Richardsons who live an idyllic and life in Shaker Heights and the Warren’s who end up renting the Richardson’s duplex. The two families live are intrinsically entwined and the first three episodes lay the groundwork for what the series eight-episode order has to fulfill.
Little Fires Everywhere Season 1 Episode 1, “The Spark,” is just that. It’s filled with rebellion and resentment and it’s layered throughout all the members of the Richardson family and delivers a striking contrast to the Warrens.
Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington deliver strong performances as Elena Richardson and Mia Warren. There’s a dynamic between the two of them that cannot be shaken when we watch scenes with them.
For just a second, it’s easy to forget that bother Witherspoon and Washington’s production companies are behind this series, and that they must have cordially worked together in its development.
Elena and Mia are not fast friends, and that’s a good thing. As much as I love seeing women support each other on television shows, they’re coming from very different backgrounds and there are elements of their relationship that are going to have to be overcome for any kinship to feel natural.
The scene on Little Fires Everywhere Season 1 Episode 2, “Seeds and All,” where they discuss motherhood after the book club feels like they’re getting closer, but there is also an adversarial quality to their relationship that the show doesn’t minimize, but also doesn’t villainize.
It walks a fine line between friend and foe, and the circumstances of identity that create the constructs of our lives.
These episodes really put the women in the cast at the forefront, and it shows. Their storylines are strong, the conversation intrinsic, and their relationships complicated.
While Elena Richardson and Mia Warren are the central characters, the discussion and complication surrounding womanhood and motherhood doesn’t stop there. The teenage actors steal the show and deliver gut-punching scenes in spectacular fashion.
Lexi Underwood as Pearl shows great talent. The first three episodes feel like they’re gearing up Pearl’s storyline so I am hoping this these episodes really just serve to put her character on the runway for launch.
Her scenes with Kerry Washington, particularly those where they fight, feel like they’re charged with emotion that palpates off the screen.
Likewise, Megan Stott’s portrayal of Izzy is dynamic and provoking. Stott brings about a vulnerable and yet fierce side to the character that is intriguing to watch and feels completely believable for teenage rebellion. Her struggles with sexuality and a new school, and the suspicion that she may have set the fire at the top of the episode drive both suspicion and a desire to protect this young girl.
In contrast, her older sister Lexie, played by Jade Pettyjohn, comes off entitled.
Her decision to steal Pearl’s letter regarding her math class and turn it into her Yale applications essay is despicable and it’s easy to see why her boyfriend gets upset at her. Appropriating Pearl’s story is not right, and Lexie didn’t handle that well, at all.
While some of the events that take place on these episodes divide certain characters, it also invites new connections between the characters.
While Elena and Mia’s friendship is non-existent and Mia’s relationship with Pearl strained, Mia seems to be developing a strong bond with Izzy. Watching her give the young girl tips on how to find cheaper spraypaint and standing up for herself is heartwarming, and a relationship that Izzy desperately needs.
In a similar fashion, the way Elena steps in and tries to help with Pearl’s math class is again, sweet, but not necessary.
The way Elena likes to parent Pearl is sweet, but it’s also easy to see why Mia feels threatened by it. The episodes do a good job of giving the audience just a little tease into Mia’s past and it certainly feels like Mia’s hiding something. The question is what.
The best episode so far has been Little Fires Everywhere Season 1 Episode 3, “Seventy Cents,” which delivers the story of Mirabelle.
If Little Fires Everywhere is exploring the idea of motherhood and the ways in which kids are parented by those who are not their mothers then this episode checks those boxes and elevates the stakes. Huang Lu’s performance as Bebe is touching and relatable. Her scream when she sees the baby girl she regrets giving up is jarring.
These three episodes leave a lot to be unpacked, and with five episodes to go it’s easy to imagine that the story is just beginning. The relationships presented here are complex, and there’s a lot of room to grow and escalate.
What did you think of these episodes of Little Fires Everywhere? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Little Fires Everywhere streams Wednesdays on Hulu.
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Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.