Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated Netflix limited series of the year, East of Eden has finally arrived. The series comes from Zoe Kazan as an adaptation of the classic John Steinbeck novel and features Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, and Mike Faist in the leading roles. From the very first episode, you will be hooked on the series and hanging onto each performance.
East of Eden episode 1 begins with Florence Pugh's Cathy Ames, battered and bloodied, crawling onto the doorstep of brothers Adam (Christopher Abbott) and Charles Trask (Mike Faist). Charles initially holds their intruder at gunpoint before Adam intervenes and carries her inside. After lying her down on bed, Adam asks for the doctor in spite of Charles' push for the sheriff.
Following that chilling introduction, the episode flashes back 25 years earlier in 1874 when Adam and Charles were children. Adam's mother died when he was a baby, but his father, Cyrus Trask (Tracy Letts), remarried and had his brother, Charles. Cyrus taught the brothers to be soldiers, but Adam wasn't as strong as Charles. Adam was beaten by his dad for not loading his gun fast enough.
Charles watched his father whip his brother, wearing his own whip mark from their father on his cheek. Adam practiced loading his gun faster and found a puppy in the field, which he gave to his father as a present. Charles is hurt when their dad pays no mind to the knife he got him for his birthday, causing tension between the young brothers.
How Adam and Charles' father pinned them against each other
Ten years later, in 1884, Adam and Charles practice shooting together while hunting. Charles expresses his desire to leave home as soon as the army will allow him and Adam hopes they could enlist together. When they return home with a rabbit, Cyrus has a visitor from the GAR. He's planning on leaving for Washington and announces Adam will be enlisted while Charles will work on the farm.
Adam assumes that his father doesn't like him as much as Charles, since he's sending off into the army, but Cyrus admits he loves him more. That's why he was harder on him and hurt him. Charles rushes into town to sleep with a prostitute, and having followed him, Adam sits in the room. Charles believes that Adam knew of their father's arrangements for them, leading him to beat his brother.
After being kicked and punched, Adam lies on the ground close to death. But it's shortly after, maybe even the next morning, that he's riding off to the army with cuts still on his face. He passes Charles working on a fence, the last time he sees his brother before joining fellow soldiers in the war. Adam's clearly against the killings of innocent natives. In 1889, he visits his dad in Washington DC.
Cyrus plans to set him up in Washington after being discharged and asks whether Charles will join them. But he's since helped their farm turn a profit. However, Adam reenlisted in direct defiance of his father's demands, and he's seemingly cut off by Cyrus. Back at home in 1898, Charles digs a grave for his mother Alice after her death. Cyrus offers he join him in Washington, but he declines.
Adam didn't come home because Cyrus didn't reach out and hasn't spoken to his first son since he was discharged. In 1899, Adam is stowing away on trains as a means of transportation trying to evade capture by the police. He quickly runs away and joins a fellow group of stowaway's that evening. They mention California and suggest that he should return to his home.
Adam and Charles reunite and invite Cathy into their home
Following his conversation with his father, Charles decides to write Adam a letter to extend an olive branch. He's been alone on the farm and working on building houses. While working in the rain at night, Charles accidentally hits himself in the face with the handle of a shovel, causing a large, bloody wound. Later that night, he notices the rocking chair outside moving.
The next day, Adam walks up the dirt road to the farm he used to call home. From a distance, Charles spots his brother. With teary eyes, they wave to each other before officially reuniting in the house. While catching up, Charles reveals that their father has died. Soon, they're laughing together and getting to work on the farm as if no time had passed. Charles even gives Adam a haircut.
Adam looks through their father's things and finds a certificate of disability for discharge, which he presents to Charles at dinner. Cyrus was discharged from the army within four months, which tells a different story he's been telling his sons. Charles is angry that they had been fed lies. He shows Adam their dad's will. They received over $100,000 in gold certificates. Charles thinks their dad is a thief.
Despite Charles' anger and worries about the origins of the money, Adam is willing to turn a blind eye and simply accept the money if it could build them a better life. In the midst of their argument, Charles hears a noise outside and spots the rocking chair moving. He grabs his gun and heads out the front door, aiming his gun at Cathy lying on their front porch.
We're back to where the episode began, with Adam demanding to call the doctor before the sheriff. Adam tends to the wounds on Cathy's face, placing a wet rag on the cuts and apologizes when she cries in agony. The episode ends with a chilling closeup on Cathy's eyes as her voiceover insists that she will not disappear. So, how did she end up on the Trasks' farm and who attacked her?
Watch East of Eden only on Netflix.
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