S01.E01: Miss Lady Hawk Herself

[paigow]

9 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

I rewatched. I thought it was funny when Mare hurt her ankle after parkouring the chain link fence and says, “F- - -. F- - -. F- - -ing thing.”

And not like it was an obstacle from American Ninja Warrior  either...

[meep.meep]

15 hours ago, kieyra said:

 

If the formula for this kind of show holds, whoever killed Erin is the same person who killed the girl who has been missing for a year. That’s if we’re going serial killer. We might not be. I could see the show doing some trope busting. But I don’t see it being Erin’s father, or her noxious baby daddy and lowlife girlfriend. I do hope they get arrested, though. 

 

I thought that Erin is the girl who has been missing.  That they are using the now tiresome two timelines approach to story telling. 

[paigow]

Just now, meep.meep said:

I thought that Erin is the girl who has been missing.  That they are using the now tiresome two timelines approach to story telling. 

2 different girls

[kieyra]

4 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I thought that Erin is the girl who has been missing.  That they are using the now tiresome two timelines approach to story telling. 

I don't think that's what's happening, no. Mare's daughter Siobhan was there to intervene in Erin's beatfown (before she wandered off), and she had the same haircut and (I'm pretty sure) clothes as we had seen her wearing in earlier scenes, which were 'present day'. 

[One Imaginary Girl]

2 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I thought that Erin is the girl who has been missing.  That they are using the now tiresome two timelines approach to story telling. 

The missing girl's name is Katie.

[Starchild]

Ho. Ly. Fuck. That was amazing!

The writing and characterization on this were fantastic. In just an hour it felt like we got 2 hours of story. I don't think I've experienced that since nuBSG.

And ALL of it was show, not tell. Not a single assumption that the audience wouldn't get it.

And the acting was phenomenal across the board. Every performance was note perfect. Every character sounded and acted like real people would. And I have some level of investment in every single one.

I have fallen in love with this show already. Can you tell?

[Lemons]

21 hours ago, gesundheit said:

That was a real rude awakening for the folks on my couch, looking at all these actors who are roughly our age and normally look so young. Because oh right, this is actually how we look. D'oh.

Probably because we are so used to seeing plastic surgery faces like Nicole Kidman.  I like when they use regular people who look like how most of us look.  

So Mare has the daughter and grandson.  It looks like maybe her son, the father, was killed?   Nothing about the child's mother. The four generation family living in the same house is a little bit of a puzzle.  

[Moxie Cat]

6 minutes ago, Lemons said:

So Mare has the daughter and grandson.  It looks like maybe her son, the father, was killed?   Nothing about the child's mother. The four generation family living in the same house is a little bit of a puzzle.  

I honestly thought that Siobhan was the little boy's mother. Very confusing. So Mare's son had a baby with another girl, whom we haven't seen, and the son (and maybe even the girl) is dead? I hope we find out more about this.

[Moxie Cat]

Not sure if this is a spoiler - it was in an article on Philly website today about how locals are happy with Kate's accent. But just in case. Regarding Mare's son: 

Spoiler

Sheehan had a son who committed suicide, a storyline that the show briefly hinted at and likely will be further developed over the next six episodes.

 

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

I honestly thought that Siobhan was the little boy's mother. Very confusing. So Mare's son had a baby with another girl, whom we haven't seen, and the son (and maybe even the girl) is dead? I hope we find out more about this.

I thought Drew was Siobhan's son at first too but then when Drew asked about his dad I realized Mare had a son that was dead and he was Drew's father. And once Mare saw the figment of her son, for some reason I figured he'd committed suicide.

I am very interested in finding out more about the son and about Drew's mother.

[hoodooznoodooz]

7 hours ago, Moxie Cat said:

I honestly thought that Siobhan was the little boy's mother.

 

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I thought Drew was Siobhan's son at first, too

Mare told Drew, “Siobhan will help you set this up,” instead of, “Your mom will help you set this up.” So that helped me out.

[marybennet]

Loved this.  It is like Happy Valley, but that’s ok by me. I love the slowness and the bleakness and the solid attention paid to people whose lives don’t have much of glamour about them.  
 

Am I the only one who hears a pun in the title?  Mare (which I get called sometimes, too) and, with a pronunciation pretty much like that, mayor.  She is the informal mayor of Easttown. 

[kieyra]

13 hours ago, MaggieG said:

I'll always be thankful for that show for introducing me to Joel Kinnaman

Tangent, but he’ll be on HBO himself next month on the new season of In Treatment.

[Cheezwiz]

45 minutes ago, kieyra said:

Tangent, but he’ll be on HBO himself next month on the new season of In Treatment.

Ooooh, thanks for the tip. He was the only thing that really kept me watching The Killing series. I couldn't get into Altered Carbon, but this might be worth checking out.

[Haleth]

This was very good.  Oh, poor Erin.  What a miserable life, surrounded by awful people, and that poor baby is going to end up with his loathsome father?  

Kate Winslet was superb, conveying hopelessness, anger, disappointment, envy, frustration, so many emotions without saying a word.  I hope she and the writer get together.  (Unless he is the killer, heh.)

[Starchild]

11 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

 

Mare told Drew, “Siobhan will help you set this up,” instead of, “Your mom will help you set this up.” So that helped me out.

Plus, he called her "Siobhan", not "Mom."

[peachmangosteen]

All of that just made me wonder if they weren't telling Drew that Siobhan was actually his mom tbh. But once Drew asked about his dad it was completely obvious Mare had a son that died and he was Drew's dad.

[Cheyanne11]

17 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I am very interested in finding out more about the son and about Drew's mother.

I read somewhere (sorry, can't remember where)

Spoiler

that Drew's mom is in rehab (or absent because of addiction) and comes back and wants him back.  And in the previews for the season there is a scene with a young woman yelling "you can't keep my son from me!" 

 

[BC4ME]

I liked this first episode quite a bit. Good character developement and in general good quality. I'm excited to see the rest.

[ShadowHunter]

On 4/20/2021 at 11:29 AM, meep.meep said:

I thought that Erin is the girl who has been missing.  That they are using the now tiresome two timelines approach to story telling. 

Where did you get that from? Mare's friend Dawn from the basketball team daughter has been missing for a year. They are bringing in a Detective to help out. Now we saw Erin is dead a year later. Maybe they were killed by the same person? That's not two timelines though. 

I agree that shows using multiple timelines in general is getting old. 

 

 

 

[gesundheit]

On 4/20/2021 at 2:32 PM, Lemons said:

Probably because we are so used to seeing plastic surgery faces like Nicole Kidman.  I like when they use regular people who look like how most of us look.  

I think it's more that these are very familiar actors who are normally glammed up, so it's jarring to see them looking their age and reminding all us regular folk their age that that's closer to how we look.

[LoveLeigh]

On 4/19/2021 at 12:35 AM, Irlandesa said:

 But there are a lot of characters so I guess we did need time to get to know who everyone was.

 

Who is Drew's Mother? And how many children does Mare have? 

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, LoveLeigh said:

Who is Drew's Mother? And how many children does Mare have? 

We don't know anything about Drew's mother yet. It seems that Mare had a son that died and she has a daughter, the girl with blond, short hair that saved Erin from her baby daddy's girlfriend.

[buttercupia]

it was a nice touch that our first look at Erin, laying on her bed talking to her baby, was echoed in her last pose in the stream. heartbreaking. the poor kid never had a chance.

I know it's the US version of Happy Valley and I don't care, I'm in.  if it's half as good as HV, that'll be good enough for me, especially if the grandson starts calling her GRANNEH!

[Mrs Shibbles]

On 4/20/2021 at 1:08 PM, Starchild said:

And ALL of it was show, not tell. Not a single assumption that the audience wouldn't get it.

 

This is what Mr. Shibbles and I loved about it.  I hate being spoon fed the story.  

[pasdetrois]

Definitively derivative, and the first episode began to lose me with too many characters and the relentless misery. But once a new murder occurred, the episode finally took off.

The opening scenes made me think "The Deerhunter," and then we saw strong similarities to "Happy Valley," which is one of my all time favorite shows.

So many people get slaughtered in movies and TV that it takes care to make those deaths memorable. Poor Erin trying for hope and happiness despite being a teenager with an infant, a depressed angry father, and an absolute asshole for a babydaddy. Long ago my high school boyfriend dumped me and I coincidentally ended up working with his new girlfriend, who taunted me about their relationship. I was devastated and never forgot it, so that horrible scene with the crowd of bullies, new girlfriend leading the way, resonated with me. It's heartbreaking to know that Erin experienced such misery and pain in her last moments.

And I wondered if the actress was a Tilly. Apparently not.

Guy Pearce's appearance is a bit of a trope. Long-haired, slightly seedy looking writer who now teaches. Would a detective be able to afford that big house?

I'm not a huge fan of Kate, but I'm satisfied with seeing her in this. Love the natural appearances and locale.

Quote

I'll always be thankful for that show for introducing me to Joel Kinnaman

He was damn sexy in "The Killing."

Edited April 24, 2021 by pasdetrois

[lakin1013]

On 4/20/2021 at 11:14 PM, kieyra said:

Tangent, but he’ll be on HBO himself next month on the new season of In Treatment.

I LOVED The Killing, both with Enos and Kinnaman.

[raven]

I was drawn in right away and really liked this.   I've always liked Kate Winslet and thought she did a great job here - actually everyone did.

I didn't find Mare unlikable.   She has a tough job but still shows compassion (the cop; the drug addict brother).  She was irritated in the pet store but didn't snap at the guy pushing the expensive stuff.  Her mother appears to prefer going to her ex-son-in-law's and the daughter obviously prefers being there as well - notice how happy she is about her dad's engagement.  That's good of course but I can see how that might not bring joy to Mare's life.  Siobhan is also at the age where she naturally clashes with her mother; add that on top of having to help raise her nephew, I can see why things are tense between them.    Mare's mom is kind of an ass to her - when Mare comes in after her sex date with Guy Pearce (get it, girl! hopefully he's not the murderer) her mother tells her "there's a lot of things I don't like about you but you're not a fool".  Gee thanks, Mom.

The actress playing Erin did make her mark in a short time.   Ugh, first the awful baby daddy and worse girlfriend; awful father; then the first group at the party of girls I assume she used to hang around with and then getting beaten up by that bimbo and friends with loser baby daddy watching.   One kid was filming though so I'm hopeful that they will all get busted, though I'm sure none of them had anything to do with her murder - too easy.

Anyway, I'm in.

 

[cardigirl]

On 4/23/2021 at 1:07 PM, buttercupia said:

it was a nice touch that our first look at Erin, laying on her bed talking to her baby, was echoed in her last pose in the stream. heartbreaking. the poor kid never had a chance.

I know it's the US version of Happy Valley and I don't care, I'm in.  if it's half as good as HV, that'll be good enough for me, especially if the grandson starts calling her GRANNEH!

Is this official? Is it really the American version of Happy Valley?  UGH! I generally dislike U.S. remakes of British shows (The Office is an exception). This article references what a lot of people are saying here on this forum, about the show being familiar to them in the style of other shows, and yet it is it's own creation.  I don't think there is a direct link to Happy Valley at all, other than we are looking at a seasoned female police detective. 

Edited April 25, 2021 by cardigirl

[Pike Ludwell]

One thing that drew me in right from the beginning is the incredible acting - Kate and everyone. Even the old lady who reported the prowler. Exceptional all around. I would think the director has something to do with it too. You can tell a lot of work went into doing the lines well, but it all seems natural.

[burghgal]

I teach in a town within Western PA and wow this whole scene hits deep especially during the winter months, not sure if its like Eastern PA or not.   The importance on sports, the desire to leave the small town and everyone knowing everyone else.... Enjoy the series but I like mysteries, enjoy the setting, and have always liked Kate Winslet

[chediavolo]

On 4/19/2021 at 3:11 PM, BingeyKohan said:

If I'm going to watch a squalid crime drama for some reason it's easier for me to get into it if it has a Southern setting, like Sharp Objects, or S3 of True Detective - but I liked this. I'm surprised they went with such a pretentious and old-fashioned sounding title. And Easttown inevitably makes me think of Eastview, from Wandavision. Maybe the turtle is secretly a spell-casting witch!!

Lots of guys in hoodies, I notice - probably at this point to make us think any of them could be the ferret-faced peeper. And I would imagine Mare's insistence that the original missing girl (Katie?) absolutely never being found means she absolutely will be.

Speaking of the turtle.  It really pissed  me off that Mare is enabling her grandson to let this turtle die. After he neglected the lizard.  Be an adult and give the turtle to someone who will care for it and not let it die a horrible death. I hate casual animal abuse references on tv shows. 

[chediavolo]

On 4/19/2021 at 5:24 PM, GussieK said:

They made Kate Winslet look kind of tired, shall we say, but Guy Pearce thought she looked hot.  Guy Pearce looked a bit haggard, and I didn't recognize him at first.  I had forgotten he had been in Mildred Pierce. 

Needs a haircut! He is a good looking man when groomed. 

[cpcathy]

I haven’t been affected by a murder in a show like this in a long time. Great work by Cailee Spaeny. She played a Manson-girl type in Bad Times at the El Royale.

[FemmyV]

Rewatching this episode right now and you know, one of the art direction things that is just so right in telegraphing who these people are, is the afghans you see in Mare's home. When you've grown up without money for the nice things you see at Macy's, the emotional link from having that afghan your grandma made, even after you're doing well enough to afford a Suburban, is huge.

 

Edited April 30, 2021 by FemmyV

[MBayGal]

On 4/19/2021 at 12:38 PM, tennisgurl said:

She's not the nicest person, but her prickliness seems to hide something really sad and weary. 

Beautifully put, tennisgurl

[huggybear]

Kate Winslet is a goddess. I love that she is fearless in taking on roles that require American accents, and it's clear that she puts in the work. And I am grateful that she doesn't have a face full of plastic surgery. No one looks younger, just like they have a face full of plastic. Except maybe Dolly Parton and Cher.  Mare has a rough-hewn kind of beauty to her.

I agree that the acting is spot on. I rewatched this episode to nail down the characters as I was a little confused first time around but it's due to the quality of the work that I was that invested.

Even the house that Mare lives in is perfect. A lot more people in America grew up in a modest home like that with the spindle railing near the stairs than most of the houses you see on TV.

All around, very well done.

[Violetgoblin6]

On 4/19/2021 at 1:07 AM, aghst said:

I liked it, guess they wanted to establish how much she is a part of the community, as she's about to investigate another murder of a young woman in the community.

But the mother of the missing girl in cold case from a year ago was her teammate on the high school basketball team?

Mare is a detective but she's also mother and counselor to a lot of the people.  She's usually dealing with petty problems, though maybe the peeping tom thing may turn out to be significant.

I don't know how typical Kenny, Erin's father is in this community.  First thing he grabs when he gets home is a beer and then starts complaining about having to support his grandson.  But he hates his job and now he's got to support his single mother daughter and her infant son so there's resentment there.

  Hide contents

Wouldn't surprise me if in a drunken rage he hit Erin, killing her.

So in a way, the town kind of looked bleak.  I don't know much about PA but in the western part of the state, there are a lot of rust belt towns, long abandoned by steel mills, with high unemployment and high opioid addiction.

I don't think this place was that bad but still maybe a working class small town where things aren't booming like they did decades ago.

Inside the Episode the creator was rhapsodizing this small town, with salt of the earth people, kind of like a place out of Springsteen, except of course, these small working-class towns are never as idyllic as they seem.

It's not a new TV idea though, a murder that rocks a small community.  Except there won't be supernatural events as in Twin Peaks.  Instead of whimsy and homeyness of Twin Peaks with Agent Cooper going on about coffee, this show is going for more grit.  Mare is eating snacks with cheese whiz while downing some beers, after she gets home, after she goes over to Lori's and then at the little party commemorating her game-winning shot.

Between the exhausting job and town, she needs some drinks?

It's DelCo, Delaware County, which is actually pretty nice, pretty upscale. Media, Wayne, Swarthmore, Chadds Ford...all near the Dupont/Brandywine Valley area. But yeah, to the east is more working class: Lansdowne, Upper Darby, Yeadon, Sharon Hill. 

Okay, I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs myself (Bucks) and I actually thought at very first that it was Western Pennsylvania, rust belt, lol. They apparently filmed in Coatesville PA and Mare's split level is in Wallingford PA. Very, very typical suburban Philadelphia house. The house Evan Peter's character lives in with his mom is classic old Philadelphia stone, probably on the main line. I read the director is from Berwyn.

Some of the Philly accents people are attempting are kinda bad, like Siobhan's girlfriend. Like when Jimmy Fallon attempted a Philadelphia accent on SNL and it totally came off southern. It's apparently one of the most difficult accents to get right. 

[bosawks]

I have to keep telling myself that the show says it's DelCo and not Chester.

But if you made me guess I would totally guess Chester County or Chester itself.

[Maximona]

It did seem more like eastern PA than western PA to me.

Fun factoid:  Much of eastern PA is technically part of Appalacia (pronounced, by the way, Apple-LATCH-uh by its inhabiitants.). 

But that's a mere quibble.  I thought this first episode was exceedingly good.

[Affogato]

On 4/27/2021 at 6:48 AM, chediavolo said:

Speaking of the turtle.  It really pissed  me off that Mare is enabling her grandson to let this turtle die. After he neglected the lizard.  Be an adult and give the turtle to someone who will care for it and not let it die a horrible death. I hate casual animal abuse references on tv shows. 

Mare doesn’t need the responsibility but she will make sure it is ok. She is just not being gracious about it. She is venting. She will be fine with Drew. 

Edited May 21, 2021 by Affogato

[LuvMyShows]

On 4/19/2021 at 10:27 AM, Pop Tart said:

This was certainly a slower start to a series than we've seen recently, but I'm in. The character beats all felt like they will have a point as the series goes on. And the acting was stellar throughout

Basically nothing happened in a lot of the first episode, yet I was almost instantly hooked.  I agree that the characters and acting are top rate.

On 4/19/2021 at 1:40 PM, ShadowHunter said:

This is already better than The Undoing lol.

Soooo much better!  I tried hard but couldn't get past about the second episode and just went to the recap sites to find out what happened in the end.  For this one, I'm enjoying the whole journey...

[Anela]

On 4/18/2021 at 11:36 PM, topanga said:

I enjoyed this premiere. The characters are pretty authentic to working-class Philadelphia-area people.

Mare is not very likable, but it it’s Kate Winslet, so I still like her somehow. And when did Guy Pearce get so hot?

The mystery took a while to develop, but I figured it would involve the young mom. She had tragedy written all over her face from the start. And I couldn’t believe that her baby daddy watched while his friends assaulted her. Whatever your relationship is now, she is still the mother of your child. He’s such a piece of crap. So is his current girlfriend. They deserve each other. 

I'm watching it now, and I thought that her family was unlikable. I'm only part of the way through the episode, though. They all seem to be happier for her ex, and his new fiance. 

[TV Diva Queen]

late to the party - me and the hubby started this last night.  He comes in and i say "lets start this series, Kate Winslet is in it, so it will be good"  about a half hour in, I say "wonder when Kate's gonna show up"  he looks at me like I have 2 heads and says "um, she's right there"  and then an  abbott and costello routine ensues. 

We're all in for this.....

[aemom]

On 4/20/2021 at 11:57 PM, marybennet said:

Am I the only one who hears a pun in the title?  Mare (which I get called sometimes, too) and, with a pronunciation pretty much like that, mayor.  She is the informal mayor of Easttown. 

I actually thought that Kate Winslet was going to be portraying the Mayor of this town and that her name was a clever play on words, so imagine my surprise to find out that she's a cop! 😃

We were letting these build up on the PVR and watched the first episode last night.  So far, so good.

[LisaM]

I started this last night and am all in. I watch a lot of foreign mysteries on Acorn and Britbox; Mare reminded me a lot of many of the older female detectives in those shows: tired, world-weary, competent, beaten down by life. 

 

[FoundTime]

I grew up in Reading, PA, about 60 miles NW of Philly, so this isn't exactly that, but a lot of little things took me back -- the row houses, Rolling Rock beer... very regional.

And don't judge PA by the relatively depressed area this seems to represent; it's beautiful, with lots of rolling hills.

[Milburn Stone]

I'm from Baltimore (originally), where the accent is pretty darned similar. I've been reading a lot about how Kate really nailed the Philly accent. IMO, that would be the reaction of a TV writer who doesn't really know the accent. She does nail it sporadically. And then other times, not. If you're not from there, it probably works well enough.

The look of the town was total Pennsylvania, though. Looks to me more like towns I've seen in central and western PA than the Philly area, but that doesn't bother me. Every time I've been in one of those towns, I want to say "How do people live here?" Since that seems to be the point the show is making, it works for me.