East of Eden Review
Director: Garth Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre
Date Created: 2026-10-01 19:23
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East of Eden Review: Directed by Garth Davis and Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre and created and written by Zoe Kazan, the Netflix series is based on John Steinbeck’s acclaimed novel. The series stars Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames, Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask, Mike Faist as Charles Trask and Hoon Lee as Lee, with Ciarán Hinds, Tracy Letts, Joseph Zada and others. The show has seven episodes; each runs for around an hour.
East of Eden Review
Netflix’s East of Eden revolves around the Trask family and their legacy of damage from generation to generation. Adam and Charles are brought up in an oppressive atmosphere by their father Cyrus. His unjust treatment of his sons leads to a feud between them that neither of the brothers can resolve. Many years later, Adam comes back home and runs into Charles. This time, something happens to them because Cathy Ames shows up on their doorstep, injured and hiding secrets that she does not want anyone to know. Adam falls in love with her and marries her, while Charles keeps his suspicions intact.
In the Netflix series East of Eden, the more I watch, the more I sense that everyone seems to be carrying some sort of emotional baggage that they are inheriting from someone else. Adam and Charles are brothers, but the dynamics between them are determined by their father’s actions. Charles envies Adam since he feels that their father favours Adam, and Adam suffers from feelings of guilt and confusion due to the love he receives. Even after they make peace with each other, everything does not just go away.
In turn, this makes Charles another character that I consider intriguing. The character portrayed by Mike Faist has some restrained intensity because there are moments when Charles fails to express how he feels. Charles’ anger is based on something much deeper, mostly the feeling that he spent his entire life compared to Adam. Jealousy that appeared easy at first starts taking other forms and becomes much more complicated. What I enjoyed about the Netflix’s East of Eden series was the fact that it managed to portray Charles as someone difficult, but without turning him into an angry brother.
And then there is Cathy, and it is at this point that the show gets significantly more complex. Florence Pugh is definitely one of the most compelling reasons why the show works for me. Cathy does some truly atrocious things, but the show doesn’t suddenly make those things all right now that we know something about her history. No, what it does is make me understand her without forgiving her.
Right from the start, her opening sequence demonstrates that she understands how to play with people’s perception of her. Upon entering the house of the Trasks, wounded, Adam sees a person in need of help, whereas Charles feels that there is something strange going on. The divergence in the way that the two brothers see Cathy will play an important role throughout the season. She knows exactly how she should look and how to play with people’s expectations. Manipulating Adam into marrying her and later using Charles for her personal gain becomes the manifestation of her ability to survive through controlling others.
One thing that I especially appreciated about this season was the manner in which the story looks at Cathy’s background without making it an excuse. The things she went through as far as men go, her upbringing in an abusive household, and the constant attempts made by others to take advantage of her explain why she is so obsessed with freedom.
However, that does not prevent the series from allowing her to make some morally abhorrent decisions. This is a very important factor since the whole time I did not feel like this show was expecting me to cheer for Cathy. All I cared about was watching her, but not necessarily liking her. That is something that Florence Pugh got to a tee.
The performance of Christopher Abbott as Adam also seems better with each passing episode. Adam is the gentler of the two brothers, having faith that he will have a totally fresh start in California. But with time, his belief starts getting complicated with reality, as his marriage to Cathy and the birth of his children make him a person who has been affected by certain sorrows that affect everyone around him. I liked how Adam’s character was portrayed, as he is not just a good man living among the bad guys. His decisions, too, have their impacts.
Another character whom I began to care more about was Lee from Hoon Lee’s Lee. A potentially peripheral character turns out to be one of the emotional pillars of the narrative. His connection to the Trask family develops through the course of the season, and the inner struggle that he experiences in regard to his identity and the expectations put upon him adds yet another dimension to the concept of choice. The fact that Lee is not portrayed solely as a character whose sole purpose is to assist the family greatly pleases me.
The one problem I encountered when watching the series is its pacing. The reason for that is that the story is quite vast and ambitious; therefore, some episodes may not be as interesting as others. I can see why people who have read the book would feel differently about all the extra focus put on Cathy in the show, but for me, it was quite interesting as well.
From an aesthetic perspective, the show is beautiful. The historical background, landscapes, and cinematography contribute to giving the story of the Trask family a majestic aura, although the performances make sure it remains firmly rooted in individual struggles. More important still, this season has a message about whether individuals are doomed by their past or if there is an opportunity for a different choice. This message echoes in Adam, Charles, Cathy, Lee, and even in the coming generation.
Netflix East of Eden Review: Summing Up
Overall, the 2026 East of Eden series is a great adaptation that is made especially compelling by the family drama at its core. While approaching the show with no particular bias due to my unfamiliarity with Steinbeck’s novel, by the end of the season I had an idea of why it would become an enduring tale. It is a dark story, at times very slow, with characters that are at times very hard to sympathise with, but it was this same aspect of the series that held my attention all through the season.
