It's been over a week since the final episode of the limited series Mare of Easttown. I've watched all the episodes at least twice. I also caught parts of two different marathons.
I had a few reasons for watching the show: Kate Winslet, Jean Smart, and the Delco accent. I grew up in South Jersey outside of Philadelphia and am familiar with the area accent, WaWa, hoagies, and cheesesteaks.
The first episode did a good job of setting up the characters and their relationships and the various plot threads without too much exposition. I especially thought this today as I watched Episode 1 for the third time.
In my first watch, I thought the show was very bleak. When Erin went to meet "Brendan" in the woods, I expected something horrible to happen, though I didn't predict her murder. For a brief moment, I even wondered if I should just turn the show off: it was that bleak. I'm glad I stuck with it. I couldn't stop thinking about the show. The acting was good across the board; the setting and the relationships were messy and real.
I read many comments on Primetimer forums and stories about the show. In a way, I'm sorry I did. I read so many theories--maybe it would be have been better to let the show unfold on its own.
Several theories were based on casting, rank in the cast listing, and listing on the HBO website. Some people had a had time believing that Guy Pearce would take a role just as Mare's love interest. It ended up that he replaced another actor at the last minute as a favor to Kate Winslet. I remember a story about Darryl Hannah. Some were speculating that she was a loser for taking a small role in Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men. Her answer: it was a good opportunity to work with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau. There are many legitimate reasons other than size of the role or of the paycheck to take a particular part.
While I don't want to see a second season of Mare, I want to see more TV like it.
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