Whispers of this show and it's watchability has been travelling through the TV world pipeline for quite some time so I have been anxious to get ahold of it. I have never read the book but I have seen the front cover in the windows of various bookstores and it is popular for a reason that I think comes across very well in the first episode. Let me tell you why.
The episode literally starts with a fancy looking house ablaze and consumed by smoke and fire. And the impression is that many relationships and family ties are also being fried to ash too. It pans to Reese Witherspoon holding her gown closed with eyes swimming with tears. She is a cool contrast to the fire. Her blue eyes are the water that you can see that she wants to put out what has been done, but does not know how. The fire was set with little fires all over the house and a character called Izzy is being blamed.
The first episode is called "The Spark" and the episode goes back in time to four months before. It is 1997 and we see Reese's matriarchal character keeping her busy all American family under wraps during breakfast. She has kids going to orchestra camp. She seems to have everything in a tight schedule. She goes to work but on her way there she sees a car with a woman sleeping in it so she reports it to the police. We see that it is not just one woman but two. They are a mother and a daughter who are getting by and who is shown being careful with money and washing themselves in a public bathroom. They are a completely different family unit to that of Elena's and her brigade of assumed perfection.
Elena meets the women in person when they come to the house viewing of a place that Elena is renting out. She does this at a lower price and even knocks off a little rent even more for them. The mother, Mia is naturally suspicious and untrusting of Elena, and the suburb in general. We find this easy to understand especially when they are given a book with town history and town rules. It is a very white, and middle-class town. Mia is an artist and doesn't seem to take authority and convention very well. Her daughter Pearl is optimistic and starry-eyed over being able to have her own bedroom. We get lots of scenes that show they are very close, yet very different in their perspectives. They discuss 'finding a bed' in a skip while lying in bed and we feel that like Elena. Mia only wants the best memories for her child.
Themes build up such as class when Elena's husband criticises Elena's charitable acts when he quizzes her with the proclamation "you rented to a homeless person?". Meanwhile while Pearl is putting together her salvaged bed in the front lawn Elena's son Moody comes over to meet her and they strike up a friendship. There is a lovely montage of them picking paint and painting the house together. Though, Pearl only ever paints one wall. As they move a lot and it is easy to revert back, she explains. Elena's relationship with her children isn't as good as it initially seems. She is disconnected with her youngest daughter Isabelle who prefers to be called Izzy. In TV tomboy style she sets her hair on fire because her mum said it is her best feature and wants to wear black all of the time.
The tension brews like a hot cup of spiked tea between Elena and Mia who meet in the street after Mia finishes work at her part time job. Elena attempts to offer her work at her house like cleaning and Mia is offended by that. Elena also tries to encourage Mia to take up portrait photography as this would be popular in the neighbourhood but it is not the type of photography Mia does. She likes to "show people as they really are" and her voice is shrouded by meaning towards Elena and the mask she seems to wear. Elena means well but she has underlying racism she doesn't realise she has and this is an enticing plot device I look forward to seeing more of. The differences between them are highlighted more and more as the episode continues. The knife is shoved deeper into Mia's insecurity as Pearl gets on very well with Elena. Isabelle longs for no rules whereas Pearl almost wants them and is missing the structure. Both daughters find that in their alternative mothers.
The episode ends with trouble. Moody gets Pearl a bike and he takes her to his den in an old van in a junkyard which they get in trouble for being at. Izzy refuses to play at the orchestra and writes "not your puppet" on her forehead. There is a lot of room for some really interesting developments. I am pumped to see Elena and Mia come to blows, but eventually find more common ground and realise their love for their daughters is exactly the same. I am excited for all of the tension in between. All in all there are eight episodes and I might just binge it all now.
You can delve into 'Little Fires Everywhere' on Amazon Prime!
With love and television buzz,
The Serial Television Watcher
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