A Teacher

I am not one to binge-watch a series which has become a popular activity these days. I prefer to consume a show in the weekly format. But I make an exception for this one, as I found myself inadvertently hitting "play next" through episode 4, which is the latest episode when I discovered this provocative show. The content offers so many layers, mostly questionable, just like pork rinds. You know the stuff is bad but the packaging makes it so engaging to consume so you keep at it anyway. Kudos to the lead actors and production crew for packaging up this content in a way that's weirdly entertaining, disturbing, and thought-provoking. For starters, this show would not be the same if the gender roles were reversed. As much as some people would like to believe, men and women are not equal and this show reminds you of that. Now I await episode 5 next week and thank Hulu for making the rest of the episodes available on a weekly basis.

So many people left a review defending Claire and the whole situation. The show makes you feel like it's not right but not that bad. Unfortunately so many people that left a review got invested in the characters and their feeling rather than taking a step back and seeing the situation in the show for what it is. Keep watching and finish the season so you can get your heads out of the clouds and realize what you just watched. It ended how it does in real life, and I hope people come back to change or delete their silly reviews that they left after only watching a few episodes and thinking they are watching some sexy affair.

As a teacher, I am in no way condoning the relationship in this show. What I do want to comment on is everyone's criticism of how poorly developed Claire's character was. As a woman that has struggled with fertility and had several miscarriages, I can relate to the inner turmoil Claire is experiencing. Her mental state is clearing affected by the stress infertility can have on a woman. It can completely change your personality. Perhaps the series could have delved more into that, but having experienced it myself, I could see how damaged and lost her character was and how she was doing things that she may not have done otherwise. She felt alone, like less of a woman, and abandoned by her husband for his musical "career". It's unfortunate that she turned to the arms of a student in order to feel something, but when I watched her navigate her situation, I could relate to the depression and irrational decision making. I feel like the writer did a good job portraying a woman with immense internal sorrow and struggle, But perhaps failed to portray her in a way that others who haven't been through this experience could relate to.

I rank this as a 7 because I think it's well-done but I can't say that loved watching it, because the subject matter is a bit uncomfortable. It's like watching a train wreck with a bunch of characters that you kind of like, kind of don't like and ultimately disapprove of... and then it goes from bad to worse. Well-done storytelling and acting. Kate Mara is very good.

First off, I want to say that the people leaving one star reviews complaining about how this is glorifying statutory rape have missed the point. Shows like PLL and Riverdale- where they portray the teachers as great romantic interests who are genuinely good people- those are glorifying these relationships. This show does not paint the teacher in a positive light. It's very clear that this relationship is problematic; just because they don't villainize the teacher doesn't mean they're condoning her actions. No awful person is 100% evil, and that goes for this character as well. If you think the show is actually condoning the student teacher narrative, something is wrong with your perception.

Now, regarding the show itself- it starts off pretty great. The first three episodes are captivating and keep you wondering what's going to develop next. However, it steadily declines from there. I'd say that after episode 3 or 4, they sort of run out of material. The episodes drag on and there's only about 8 minutes worth of interesting content in the 20 minute time frame. Episode 7, which focuses solely on Eric, is dreadfully boring in particular because half the excitement is seeing the dynamic between Eric and the teacher. So should you watch it? I would say that if the subject matter doesn't bother you, give it a watch. The episodes are less than 30 minutes so it's not too much of an investment. The show isn't really groundbreaking in any way, it plays way too much into high school stereotypes, and it can be a bit repetitive (we don't need that many scenes of high school parties, they all look the same). BUT- the acting is great, the storyline is intriguing, and the characters are fleshed out which keeps you invested in them.