“East of Eden” is a show made for those who enjoy watching a villainous Florence Pugh surrounded by sad men.
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Pugh → make → men
Netflix’s new seven-episode miniseries — based on the classic 1952 John Steinbeck novel — isn’t flawless, but it’s an emotional, sweeping story that does justice to the widely beloved book.
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that → base → book
Set in the early 1900s, “East of Eden” follows brothers Adam (Christopher Abbott) and Charles Trask (Mike Faist) as their lives are turned upside down by Cathy Ames (Pugh).
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lives → Set → Ames
The decades-spanning story also dips into Cathy’s youth, her life in a brothel, and her sons Aron (Joe Anders) and Cal (Joseph Zada), as they grapple with their parents’ legacy.
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they → span → legacy
The story focuses on the relationships between both sets of brothers, as jealousy, secrets, and lies get in the way – mixed with the damage that Cathy inflicts on multiple generations.
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Cathy → focus → generations
For anyone unfamiliar with the source material, don’t let the word “classic” intimidate you as there’s plenty of betrayal, sex and murder.
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word → let → betrayal
In between the drama, “East of Eden” also has quiet stretches where men are depressed, and discuss morals and the Bible.
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men → have → morals
It’s not boring content, but it does require the viewers’ patience and full attention.
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it → ’ → patience
Brimming with rolling hills and ornate parlors, the show looks great, even though it’s been criticized for filming in New Zealand (as a stand-in for California).
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it → brim → California
You can practically feel the “California” dust, in the scenes at Adam’s ranch.
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You → feel → ranch
It’s also a family saga in front of the camera and behind the scenes: co-showrunner Zoe Kazan’s grandfather, Elia Kazan, directed the 1955 movie starring James Dean as Cal.
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grandfather → ’ → Cal
Pugh shines in the complex role, and carries the show on her shoulders.
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Pugh → shin → shoulders
Like many antiheroes from TV’s golden era – Walter White and Tony Soprano – Cathy is an awful person, and yet so captivating to watch.
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Cathy → watch → era
Similar to “Game of Thrones” character Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Cathy is a woman in a man’s world who navigates it through cynicism and cruelty.
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who → navigate → cynicism
She’s not exactly sympathetic, but she’s the most compelling character.
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she → ’ → ?
If she’s the devil on everyone’s shoulders, Adam’s servant, Lee (Hoon Lee), is the angel.
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servant → ’ → shoulders
He carries much of the emotional weight.
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He → carry → weight
When Cathy and Lee aren’t onscreen, the show sometimes falters in other areas.
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show → falter → areas
Unwisely, the show — which begins with Adam and Charles’ childhoods — cycles through not two but three sets of actors, to depict the boys as they grow up.
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they → begin → boys
This makes it unnecessarily convoluted to keep track of who’s who.
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who → make → track
In the second half of the story, once Cal and Aron take center stage, they pale in comparison to Cathy and Lee.
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they → take → Cathy
They’re fine enough, but they’re less interesting, and feel more like “angsty boy” stock characters.
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they → ’re → characters
However, it’s a daunting challenge to adapt an iconic story that spans generations.
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that → ’ → generations
Especially when you compare “East of Eden” to other sprawling classic novels like “Wuthering Heights” and “Dracula” – which both keep getting butchered onscreen – this is a triumph.
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this → compare → Heights
This miniseries proves that when people proclaim it’s “impossible” to faithfully adapt such books, they’re simply not trying hard enough.
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they → prove → books
Netflix recently announced that co-creators Kazan and Jeb Stuart will also tackle another American epic, “Lonesome Dove,” next.
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Kazan → announce → epic
It looks like Taylor Sheridan can move over, as the reigning king of Americana on TV.
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Sheridan → look → TV
The Kazan and Stuart duo have the chops.
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duo → have → chops
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