East of Eden (Netflix) Review: Epic Family Saga

Set at the turn of the century, Netflix’s East of Eden is an epic tale of a family torn between good and evil.

Despite Charles’ distrust, Adam decides to marry her anyway and move to the Salinas Valley in California where his twin sons Caleb (Joseph Zada) and Aron (Joe Anders) will be born shortly after.

The performances are excellent throughout the entirety of East of Eden, from actors who may have less screen time like Mike Faist, Hoon Lee, Ciarán Hinds, to the protagonists of this story. Florence Pugh and Chrstopher Abbott are wonderful as Cathy Ames and Adam Trask as they both do an excellent job at exploring the deep complexities and multiple layers of these flawed and certainly imperfect characters. 

Ultimately, East of Eden portrays a character driven story where the protagonists are not necessarily likeable, but they are certainly fascinating in their flaws. Lee (Hoon Lee) and Samuel Hamilton (Ciarán Hinds) are undoubtedly two of the best characters. Not only are they wonderful individually, but they are a pleasure to see on screen together with the show using the scenes to showcase some of its best writing, such as their very relevant and timely discussion on racism in the United States.

Much like in the book, East of Eden is filled with Biblical references throughout the entire show. From direct citation to less obvious parallels, the show is a clear retelling of the story of Cain and Abel through two generations of the Trask family. The references to the Bible remind us that the themes of violence, hate, and family relationships are “at the heart of the oldest stories,” to borrow the words of the show itself. At the same time, the course of this narrative feels almost inevitable, as if a bond between brothers is doomed to be tragic. The show also references “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Caroll on a few occasions, with some less obvious but very interesting parallels that are especially present in Cathy’s story both visually and thematically.

“I believe there are monsters born in this world to human parents,” says one of the characters at the beginning of the show, hinting at one of the key themes of this story from the very beginning. A lot of these characters may be flawed, but some of them are truly despicable, immoral and wicked in their actions and thoughts. The exploration of evil is fascinating as the series constantly asks us one question: are people truly born evil? Or can they choose to alter their destiny and nature for a better life? East of Eden, and perhaps Steinbeck himself, would like us to believe that we may.

Unfortunately, the first two episodes are entirely too introductory and relatively slow compared to the pacing of the rest of the show. Admittedly, the set up is necessary for the audience to understand the narrative but the story takes too long to get started as episodes one and two focus too much on the backgrounds of the main characters. I also wish we had seen more of Charles after the first half of East of Eden. Not only was his relationship with Adam fascinating to watch, but this would have made the parallels to the next generation, as well as the reference to the Bible, more powerful. 

Overall, East of Eden is an excellent show that explores many complex and important topics with ease while always giving them their importance and relevance in the story. This is a complicated balance to achieve, as it also never preaches to or lectures its audience; instead, it prompts us with thought provoking questions about human nature and the inevitability of evil. 

East of Eden is now available to stream globally on Netflix.