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By: Chazley Williams & Jasmin Merritt-Loyd
The Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere is based on a novel by Celeste Ng. The series takes place in the early 90s in a Utopia type of town in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The eight-episode series follows the intermingled lives of Elena Richardson played by Reese Witherspoon and Mia
Warren played by Kerry Washington. This series was chosen as a MamaWoman feature because it touches on some serious issues such as involving mother-daughter relationships.
The complicated nature of the mother-daughter relationship is explored throughout the series. Although the most prominent relationships highlighted in the series differ in class, race, lifestyle, and experience, all seem to surface common themes of dissatisfaction, longing, and the inability to understand.
First, there is the seemingly perfect relationship with Elena and Lexie, Elena thinks Lexie is the most perfect child ever made but doesn’t see that Lexie was pregnant and hiding an abortion.
Then we have Mia and her daughter Pearl. Though, Mia and Pearl’s relationship, we see Pearl’s growing dissatisfaction with Mia’s transient mindset that leaves their lives constantly uprooted without much explanation. Pearl clings to Elena, who in her mind represents a “normal” maternal figure and models her high school experience after Lexie and Tripp Richardson, the “normalized” Richardson children. Pearl learns from Elena (not Mia) about the origins of her biological father. Fearing that she would lose Pearl to the surrogate deal she made with Pearl’s biological father and his wife. The secrets withheld from Pearl have somehow sped up her maturation and forever changed the dynamic of their mother-daughter relationship.
Then there is Elena and her daughter Izzy, no matter what Izzy does it doesn’t seem like her mom will ever accept her because she is fighting the thoughts that she never wanted a fourth child. Elena and Izzy’s relationship unearth this idea of longing. Izzy, Elena’s youngest child, is
strong-willed, uniquely-talented, and has a developing sense of social consciousness of the world outside of Shaker Heights. However, upon peeling back the layers, Izzy’s spirit and focus speaks to Elena’s hidden desire for a much different life than the one she has made for herself. Since
Izzy does not fit into this “perfect child” box, Elena’s resentment is unfairly cast on Izzy and she is routinely ostracized by Elena. As a ripple effect, this creates a gaping sense of longing for acceptance and positive attention which she soon finds through building a relationship with Mia.
Viewers might peg Elena as unable to connect with Izzy because she doesn’t understand the difference. Through a different lens, Elena does have a deep understanding of Izzy as Izzy constantly serves as a mirror to Elena’s true self. Elena chooses to live under a veil of misunderstanding for her daughter to mask the fear and disappointment she has experienced.
We cannot forget Mrs. McCullough and her daughter Mirabelle or Bebe Chow and May Ling Chow.
Mrs. McCullough lost her own baby and tried to replace that child with Mirabelle instead of embracing who Mirabelle was. The custody battle between Bebe Chow and the McCulloughs for May Ling/Mirabelle showcased a common belief that financial security does provide a stronger support system for raising children. Despite Bebe Chow being May Ling’s biological mother with a deep-seated connection and love fostered in the womb, her inability to financially provide automatically excluded her from a seat at the table in determining what would be best for he own daughter.
Bebe Chow loses the custody battle but metaphorically has the final say when she steals May Ling out of her crib from the McCullough’s house.
We cannot wait to see if there will be a second season, so much was unpacked in one season.
Check out the series only on Hulu or the book Little Fires Everywhere.
