Little Fires Everywhere Hulu Original Season 1 Review
Major Spoilers are included in this season review. Please read with caution.
On June 30, 2020, I randomly started watching Little Fires Everywhere’s first season—8 episodes—on Hulu and finished on July 1, 2020. Released back in March 18, 2020, the miniseries was definitely about race. I had to get that out of the way before I dove into the plot, characters, and setting of the show.
In short, Little Fires Everywhere was targeted at a specific demography, and how their small suburban world could easily be challenged—to the point of unraveling—when met with the notion that they aren’t as progressive or open-minded as they think they are. It was the best part of the show, especially given the times with the Black Lives Matter 2020 Movement still happening right now. Yes, it’s still happening right now even if it’s not trending on social media. Anyway, now that I said my two cents regarding that important piece of information, let’s discuss what made Little Fires Everywhere so amazing to watch.
Based on Celeste Ng’s novel of the same name, the series takes place during the 90’s in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The opening showed us a fire that burned down the Richardson Family’s house, and then we’re taken four months back to show the events—the first seven episodes out of eight—that lead to that moment. Well, it all started with Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) and her daughter Pearl (Lexi Underwood)—a small Black family—coming to Shaker Heights.
Mia and Pearl were constantly on the move until they arrived in Shaker Heights, getting tangled with the Richardson Family in the process when they needed to rent a place out. Mia is an artist, having come to this place in order to give her daughter some stability by staying in one place. After officially leasing an apartment from the Richardson Family, Mia and Pearl began to get involved in said family’s daily lives.
Pearl also goes to the same public school as the other Richardson children—Lexie, Trip, Moody, and Izzy (Megan Stott)—befriending Moody (Gavin Lewis), Lexie (Jade Pettyjohn), and getting romantically involved with Trip (Jordan Elsass). While Izzy and Pearl don’t share a friendship of any kind, Izzy had instead bonded with Mia, seeing her as a mother-figure. The same had happened with Elena Richardson (Reese Witherspoon) and Mia’s daughter Pearl. This caused an interesting dynamic, as these two women—Elena and Mia—knew the influence they had on each other’s children.
Once Little Fires Everywhere finished setting the table in the first three episodes, the Richardson Family were put in situations that challenged their White Privilege and Fragile White World. Lexie—being a perfected carbon copy of her mother Elena—thought herself as a good person for dating a Black person named Brian (Stevonte Hart), but later she claimed she was “colorblind” when put on the spot about her Anti-Black behavior regarding both Brian and Pearl later on.
Elena Richardson also did the same thing, loving the role of “White Savior” when she offered Mia and Pearl a cheap rate on the apartment and a housemaid job. Elena was willfully ignorant of the racial and class dynamics at play when she offered the job to Mia, but she patted herself on the back repeatedly for being a “good person”.
The polite racism—mostly delivered by Elena Richardson—was real in the series, but only Mia truly recognized the behavior. Pearl subconsciously recognized it too, but she was so wrapped up in her resentment toward her mother and wanting the Richardson Family’s family lifestyle that she allowed herself be blinded to a certain extent.
The plot didn’t really get moving though until the end of episode 3, when a friend of the Richardson’s—Linda McCullough (Rosemarie DeWitt)—adopted a Chinese baby. The inevitable trial and custody battle drove the rest of the season when the biological mother—Bebe Chow (Huang Lu)—discovered her baby girl in Linda’s custody. It’s a complicated and heartbreaking situation that forced everyone to face the ugly truth of what it means to be White in America. This was the best aspect of Little Fires Everywhere, making good choices versus having good choices.
In conclusion (what a cliché way to end this review), this miniseries was most definitely about race and how the unasked questions regarding race benefitted those afforded too much power. Overall, I would highly recommend watching Little Fires Everywhere or reading the novel. I will be hitting the novel in the near future. Believe it!