Little Fires Everywhere

Starring: Kerry Washington (8 episodes), Lexi Underwood (8 episodes), Reese Witherspoon (7 episodes), Joshua Jackson (7 episodes), Rosemarie DeWitt (7 episodes), Jade Pettyjohn (7 episodes), Megan Stott (7 episodes), Gavin Lewis (7 episodes), Jordan Elsass (7 episodes), Lu Huang (6 episodes), Stevonte Hart (5 episodes), Geoff Stults (4 episodes), Colby French (4 episodes), Isabel Gravitt (4 episodes), Paul Yen (4 episodes), Jesse Williams (3 episodes), Sarita Choudhury (3 episodes), AnnaSophie Robb (2 episodes), Tiffany Boone (2 episodes), Luke Bracey (2 episodes)
Directed by: Lynn Shelton (4 episodes), Nzingha Stewart (2 episodes), Michael Weaver (2 episodes)
Rating: TV-MA
Genre: Drama
2020

Seasons Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Two very different families collide in northeast Ohio, and neither will ever be the same as their result of the other.

Review:
Tim: I was definitely a fan of Celeste Ng's 2017 bestseller, Little Fires Everywhere. As someone who grew up near Cleveland, Ohio, I felt a connection to the book. While the events and the characters depcited are very different from my childhood, I found the immersion into these characters' lives fascinating. Ng's ability to craft characters that feel real is one of her biggest strengths. Since I was a fan of the book, I was looking forward to this miniseries.

Now, I can say with certainty that the miniseries is effective and it's a worthwhile adaptation of the work. The series expands on themes and characters from the book, while staying true to the heart of the story. I didn't find the adjustments made to be very disorienting. The book and the series are two different things. The series does align with Ng's original vision. I know she was involved in the series deeply, so it's not a surprise.

I will say that while I enjoyed both, the book was definitely better. The series tends to go on a bit too long. 8 episodes was quite frankly, too much. It would have been better served with 6. There are times in every episode where it feels like filter, like the story doesn't have the required momentum. It felt like the book was stretched too far to fit these 8 episodes. Now, in some places, this is great- it allows the series to expand on these characters, to give us scenes we never got from the book. That helps our understanding of these characters. However, in other regards, it hurts the series. There's too many lulls, too much that felt stretched too thin. It does occasionally give the episodes a redundant quality. At some point, we get what these characters are about and seeing them interact head-to-head loses some of its effectiveness.

While I really like the cast members and overall think they were exceptionally strong, I do want to hit some of the nuances here. I always like Kerry Washington more in my head than in her actual performances. I think she's good, but rarely ever great. I liked her Mia, and she certainly made the character her own. At times, though, the series just pushed us too far and I felt exasperated by Mia. I don't mean in an intentional way. The characters in Ng's book are all complex and no one deserves our complete and total respect. They are all flawed characters, which I appreciated, since that reflects real life. However, Mia just got on my nerves too much as the series progressed. It started to hurt my enjoyment of the episodes. Reese Witherspoon is in a similar boat. Her performance was exceptional- she truly is a talented actress and some of the things she does here are incredible. However, Elena here is so often a terrible, unlikable person. The book gave her more shades of grey. The series pushes her too far to the extreme. I violently disliked her in a number of scenes. This is a testament to Witherspoon's acting, but the writing was at fault. We needed to not quite hate Elena, to not see her fully as a surrogate for awful white people. The character needed more of the complexity of the book and that doesn't quite translate to the screen. All this being said, it was wonderful to see Washington and Witherspoon face off like this. I liked those moments, even though they were nearly all added since most of that didn't happen in the book.

I liked the supporting cast. I loved seeing Joshua Jackson here. He gets a few great moments, but isn't give much to do overall. Lexi Underwood was solid as Pearl. Jade Pettyjohn was definitely a standout. She did some fantastic things as Lexi. I really enjoyed Megan Stott as Izzy. Both Pettyjohn and Stott brought those characters to life so effectively. Gavin Lewis was well cast as Moody. I didn't like him quite as much in the series as the book, but you can't fault Lewis for that. Jordan Elsass was also well cast as Tripp. I didn't care for Lu Huang as Bebe. I just never believed her performance for a second. Rosemarie DeWitt didn't get any favors with her role, but she played it well. I really enjoyed seeing Jesse Williams and AnnaSophia Robb- both were strong, but had limited opportunities. As a whole, the cast for this miniseries was quite good.

I felt a lot of emotions while watching Little Fires Everywhere. At times, I felt the rage and unfairness that we're supposed to feel from Ng's characters. I felt the ambiguity and complexity of some of the situations and struggled to find the "right" solution, even in my own mind. However, I also felt bored at various points. I felt exasperated and annoyed by some of the character portrayals. I felt a connection to the characters, almost like they were real people. It's all a mix. While this miniseries definitely has its flaws, that doesn't mean it is weak. It's a truly effective, entertaining, dramatic series. I enjoyed watching it and give it credit for adapting Ng's work so well. This is a series I watched in a week and had a lot of fun doing it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: N/A



If You Enjoyed This Series, We Recommend: Fringe, Yellowstone