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*** MARE OF EASTTOWN *** (HBO Limited Series)

52,367 Views | 422 Replies | Last: 1 mo ago by AJ02
TCTTS
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AG
Praise has been incredibly high for this so far. Starts tomorrow, the first Sunday night scripted HBO drama I will have seen since the finale of The Undoing last November. Longest gap I've gone by far without a Sunday night HBO drama in my life. Looking forward to it!

Mare of Easttown
Limited Series (7 episodes)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10155688/
April 18, 2021



FtBendTxAg
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AG
Looking forward to it, Winslet can usually do no wrong in my eyes.

Except Collateral Beauty, man that sucked.
Brian Earl Spilner
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Trailers haven't done much for me, and do we really need another detective show? (Seriously, that's by far the most overdone genre in tv, right?)

But, I like Winslet, so I will give it a chance.
Pignorant
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AG
Good first episode. Also Roy from the Office sighting!
TCTTS
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AG
Might have helped to know going in that this is one of those murder mysteries where the murder happens at the end of the pilot instead of the beginning, but overall it was a great, character/world-establishing episode. Feels incredibly authentic all-around. Definitely looking forward to seeing where it all goes.
St Hedwig Aggie
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AG
FtBendTxAg said:

Looking forward to it, Winslet can usually do no wrong in my eyes.

Except Collateral Beauty, man that sucked.

Or that crash movie with the British black actor...god that sucked!!!
Make Mental Asylums Great Again!
tk for tu juan
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Pretty good first episode. Based on the scenes from the trailer, as soon as the girl pulled up to the party on the pink bike, I knew she was in trouble and would be dead soon.
TCTTS
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AG
Yep. I kept wondering how she was going to figure into the plot, as everyone else had a "role," so to speak, or an obvious relationship to Mare, and then right at that moment you mentioned I knew.

By the way, for those who saw Devs on FX last year, that actress plays the teen boy at Devs who gets fired and then eventually jumps off the damn. Pretty crazy. And then Mare's daughter is Gosling's daughter in The Nice Guys, and is also Betty Brant, Peter Parker's classmate in the past two Spider-Man movies.
FtBendTxAg
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AG
Great first episode.

Listening to her accent was entertaining as I have friends and family from Philly.
Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag
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Phenomenal first episode. Love the vibe, loving Winslet's character so far, love how understated everything is. Based on this first episode, unless they pull something crazy like aliens or Bigfoot, I'll probably finish this till the end.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Zombie Jon Snow
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is there nudity - asking for a friend?
mavsfan4ever
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Great first episode.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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Tried to watch but needs captions. Couldn't get although I signed up on the

HBO website.

Anybody know how or if the show has captions. Thanks in advance!
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
TCTTS
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It depends on where/how you're watching it. For instance, I watch via the HBO Max app on my Apple TV. While the show's playing, I just swipe down on my remote, a window comes down from the top, and I can choose SUBTITLES > ENGLISH from the menu. But if you're watching another way, on another device, it's likely going to be a slightly different method.
Zombie Jon Snow
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BigJim49 AustinNowDallas said:

Tried to watch but needs captions. Couldn't get although I signed up on the

HBO website.

Anybody know how or if the show has captions. Thanks in advance!

you watching on a web browser? or a streaming device? or a mobile device?


the answer is gonna depend on that


On a browser just hover your mouse over the bottom right corner looks like a squarish text box, click it and the options pop up for subtitles.
BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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Finally got thru the website!

Many thanks TC and Zombie !
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
oragator
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I've read ahead on some of what's coming and it supposedly picks up so I will probably stick it out a few more episodes.but wasn't impressed with episode 1. Another tough but flawed woman cop, another series of bad men and virtuous women, and a pretty standard murder mystery plot. Well directed, but not much for me beyond that.
gggmann
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Watched the first episode, but it took me two tries to make it through. It got a bit better after finally getting through the character intros. Just one episode, but it's kind of reminding me of The Killing, and I don't think it can match that show if it tries to go down that same path.
TCTTS
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"bad men but virtuous women"???

I totally get not digging the pilot episode, but in this particular instance you're trying to turn it into something it most definitely is not.

The horribly mean girl who catfished the victim? Not virtuous.

The male priest? Not bad.

The husband? Not bad. Seems like a pretty decent guy, in fact, and that Mare was likely the thorn in that relationship.

Guy Pierce's character? Not bad ("yet," as he put it, so sure, maybe he has a secret).

Otherwise, I counted two "bad men" (the victim's dad and the crackhead brother, the latter of which the show went out of its way to still have sympathy for) and zero "virtuous women." Instead, I saw a diverse, complex cast of flawed characters, across both genders, each with their own hang-ups and rich backstories. It's honestly one of the most impressive casts of characters I've seen in a while, and I was amazed at how well all the various dynamics and histories were able to be painted in such a relatively short period of time. The only reason I'm pushing back is *because* it distinctly felt so much more unique and so much more nuanced than "bad men and virtuous women."
oragator
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The teens dad, her BF and the drug addict (and the unseen peeper)I think were the first three men shown. The drug addict was offset by the sister who was the virtuous one, helping her flawed brother. The woman calling the cops had her virtue threatened by the peeper. The teen mom was very much made into an archetype virginal innocent character beset on all sides by her dad, baby daddy and his GF. The mom crusading for the her daughters death and not the dad etc. And then when they showed more neutral men, no male character was given any depth. It was the teen mom, Mare, and to a lesser extent her daughter that had any depth to them. The positive men? The police chief who got 30 seconds of air time. The Love interest who was made subservient to her (go back and look at how that convo went, she was always in control before during and after). The ex who is just seen as a thorn, the cousin who got 2 lines or so, and that's it. And in the next episode or two another male gets introduced that was flawed, to put it one way, that Mare has to cover for in a large way. Though that person could be made sympathetic, we will see how they handle it.
Sorry if you disagree. I wasn't offended by it, it just wasn't great writing. As I said I read that it gets better, so I'm not jumping ship yet. And maybe in the end a woman is the murderer as a sweet twist as that almost never happens. Guess we will see.
Diggity
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yeah, seems like you were looking for a reason not to like it.

I didn't notice any of that.

The main character seems pretty damn flawed.
TCTTS
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So focusing primarily on women is "not great writing"? Otherwise, I legitimately don't understand the issue here. Across the literally thousands of shows and movies over the past, say, hundred years or so, in which the vast majority have been written the opposite - where the men are the focus and the women around them aren't given a ton of screen time or depth - were you complaining about "not great writing" then? What on earth is wrong with Mare being "in control" of that conversation with Guy Pierce? All in all, she comes across as a deep, complex, blunt, and flawed character, in ways unlike most female leads we seen on screen, which I found unique and refreshing. That, and there was an entire scene devoted to the victim talking about a weak moment she had - a non-virtuous "mistake" - in which she hit up her ex, a slip that ultimately lead to her death.

I don't know, these are some weird observations that I know you say aren't complaints, but come across in a very complainy manner. Had this been a show about a male detective who's ex-wife hadn't (yet) been given a ton of screen time, who was chasing down the crackhead sister of a male friend, whose high school basketball team was honored that same night, who was "in control" of a conversation with a woman at a bar after, all while dealing with a father who gave him a hard time, it would simply be par for the course and I'm betting you wouldn't have said a word about the writing. Same goes if the victim was some dude who got a girl pregnant and was beat up by his ex's new boyfriend. But because a *male* showrunner chose to shift focus more on the women instead, it's "bad writing"?

Also, have you already seen the next couple of episodes? Because I'm legit curious how you know what happens with Evan Peters' character, who will soon be introduced and looks to be the second lead of the show from here on out.
oragator
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Not talking about Evan. The first few episodes were released to the press and some of the details are there in some of the reviews.
And yes, I have had similar complaints about male based movies, it's not misogyny. To bring up a an example that will surely raise hackles, that was my biggest problem with the first few season of breaking bad. They had no idea how to write basically the only female character they chose to have, and she ended up coming across as weak and whiny. Thought they got better as the series went on.
And no problem with female lead characters, in fact if you gave me a choice between watching a female centered movie and male one I often choose the female one because the character studies are often better. And I agree that Kate's character has depth even if the idea is somewhat cliched, that's why I will keep watching. My point on the writing, male or female is that you can target that audience and still make other characters whole or not be so transparent about it, in fact that's what good writing is and why I was a bit disappointed.
But not going to belabor the point, disagree all day. No worries.
TCTTS
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Fair enough. I hear you.
King Me
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Enjoying this so far, character building / depth has been the best part
tk for tu juan
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That twist at the end would ruin the show if it is true. The mixture of drama and humor was good, an interesting story was developing, milk was being tossed thru windows, then that happened.
TCTTS
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What an episode!

Granted, shooting the ex boyfriend *does* feel like a bit much, but I'll wait to see how that plays out. Other than that, though, I thought that the twist with Mare's ex was inspired, and that, overall, this was a masterclass in writing. THAT is how you balance multiple spinning plates in combination with continually compounding issue after issue for your main character. Just so incredibly well done, and will echo that the character work is so damn good. What a rich, increasingly addicting story. Started out as a slow burn and now it's absolutely crackling.
TCTTS
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Shooting the ex boyfriend or Mare's ex potentially being the father? Again, IMO, I think the latter is such a great twist. Hinted at perfectly and ever-so-slightly with the nod to him having been her teacher.
Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag
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TCTTS said:

What an episode!

Granted, shooting the ex boyfriend *does* feel like a bit much, but I'll wait to see how that plays out. Other than that, though, I thought that the twist with Mare's ex was inspired, and that, overall, this was a masterclass in writing. THAT is how you balance multiple spinning plates in combination with continually compounding issue after issue for your main character. Just so incredibly well done, and will echo that the character work is so damn good. What a rich, increasingly addicting story. Started out as a slow burn and now it's absolutely crackling.


I thought it seemed in character for the father to try to kill the ex. He seemed like he was teetering on the edge even prior to his daughter being murdered. And I agree, I thought that twist was phenomenal even if it is just a red herring.

I wish I could just binge this show. I don't think I can stand waiting 5 more weeks for the conclusion.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag
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I'm curious what people's opinions are of Guy Pearce's character (Richard). He's obviously not the killer, as Mare leaves his place at sometime likely around 3am (she gets home at 3:30am), and we know based on the cellphone data that the abduction of Erin likely occurred before and no later than 2:30 am.

I'm interested in what his role in this story is going to be. My suspicion is that he latches on to this case and/or the unsolved case as inspiration for a new book. It is stated that he has not wrote another book since his most well known one was released, although they don't talk about what this book was about. Him snooping around this case would obviously lead to significant conflict between him and Mare, but that also seems like such a minor role for such a major actor, so I wonder if there is something more important than just a minor side plot for his character.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
tk for tu juan
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TCTTS said:

Shooting the ex boyfriend or Mare's ex potentially being the father? Again, IMO, I think the latter is such a great twist. Hinted at perfectly and ever-so-slightly with the nod to him having been her teacher.
Mare's ex being the father. Does the story really need a teacher statutory rape arc? Already have teen suicide, murder, and pregnancy. Add in some satanic virgin sacrifice and headlight flashing gang initiation, and we can call the show Parental Nightmares in Easttown. It is over the top just like the previous sentence.

Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag
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Teenagers that end up murdered typically don't have perfect lives. Most have pretty tragic stories. It seems like a pretty odd critique of the show to be annoyed that the teenage girl who was murdered might have had sex with one of her teachers. It's not like teenagers having sex with their teachers is that uncommon. Nothing that has been presented so far seems particularly far-fetched. Delco is a sh*tty area IRL with a lot of f*** ups and burnouts living there. It would be weirder for a show set in Delco to not have all these flawed characters. Honestly, we see weirder stuff on the true crime documentaries on Netflix.
No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
oragator
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Well, the episode was titled fathers, and they set one up as a potential child rapist, one a seeming murderer and one a stalking felonious harasser. This was my beef going into this episode. At least this episode they gave motivation to two of them anyway as grieving dads and gave them some depth, and I did like this episode much better regardless. And from here on out I don't know anything, thankfully, because Breanna's comeback at her about her son would been an amazing moment if I hadn't known that piece.
But by the way, they set up another potential red herring or final solve that no on here seems to be mentioning, Didn't she tell her mom that Erin said nothing to her, and told the cop that they had a conversation? So if I heard right daughter is lying about something. And now it's in the context of her dad potentially having an affair with the girl.
So there's that.
tk for tu juan
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oragator said:

But by the way, they set up another potential red herring or final solve that no on here seems to be mentioning,

Deacon Mark? The guy that mysteriously had to transfer away from his previous location and the episode preview mentions that "his phone was the last one called by Erin".

Went back and watched both episodes to get some timelines:

  • Kevin killed himself "2 years ago this coming February"
  • DJ just turned one recently meaning he was conceived roughly about the same timeframe
  • Katie Bailey went missing a year ago, was a "drug addict and possible prostitute"
  • From the "In the weeks ahead" preview after ep1, there is a shot of Jess (Erin's "best friend'), Dylan, and the dude that filmed the fight standing in a dark room looking down at someone/something. Guessing it is some time in the past, maybe around the time Katie went missing.

When Brianna walks up behind Erin in the woods, it sounds like she says "Erin, I want you to save us again?"
walton91
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Really have enjoyed these first two eps. I'm getting strong Broadchurch vibes (Netflix, highly recommend btw)
 
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