The new Netflix series Eric has a pressing mystery at its core: What happened to Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe), the young son of Vincent (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Cassie (Gaby Hoffman), when he disappeared on the way to school? As with many sprawling crime stories, Edgar’s fate is both simpler and more complex than it initially appears, and the series draws connections (though ultimately more thematic than plot-based) between this boy’s story. inpidual and a larger story about the state of New York City (and America in general) in the mid-1980s. But to explain this dynamic, we need to review a spoiler-laden account of what literally happens in the sixth and final episode of Eric.
ERIC ON NETFLIX: PLOT SUMMARY
It was established earlier in the series that Edgar was not actually kidnapped by sex traffickers, as some of the characters suspected or feared, but he is in great danger of that happening before he can return home. Fleeing another vicious argument between his parents on that fateful morning depicted in the first episode, Edgar tracked down a homeless graffiti artist living in the subway tunnels, which is where he had been staying, not exactly a captive. But a raid on the homeless population on the New York subway during the fifth episode caused him to fight, separating himself from his friend Yuusuf (Bamar Kane) and threatening to put him in the hands of desperate sex traffickers. As the final episode begins, Vincent has just missed his son in the tunnels, and after fighting with himself (in the guise of Eric, the walking puppet he’s been hallucinating in an addiction-fueled haze), he has a brainstorming. He hurries back to the studio Good morning darlinghe Sesame Street-similar show that he co-created and was fired from, he puts on the Eric costume, which Edgar designed, and rushes to a televised rally protesting the crackdown on the homeless. His speech and his promise to do better as a father and as a man apply in some ways to both his daughter and the broader problem of the city at hand. Edgar, whom the police fear may have been murdered after finding his torn jacket, escaped from the sex traffickers who were threatening him at the end of the previous episode and sees the message that convinces him to finally return home.
Meanwhile, Ledroit (McKinley Belcher III), who has been leading the search for Edgar and is convinced it is connected to the recent disappearance of teenager Marlon Rochelle in the same neighborhood as Edgar, sees a security tape that reveals what he happened to Marlon. Basically, he was trafficked into a local club, where he was forced to perform oral sex on Richard Costello (Jeff Hephner), the deputy mayor who led that big bust. The police showed up and beat Marlon to death, and Costello allowed them to dispose of the body in a sanitation truck.
So, two disappearances, with two very different fates: the white boy is safe and sound, while it is too late to save the black boy. The program then moves forward a few months and communicates with both families. Vincent has apparently sought help for his addiction problems (which are revealed to be more serious than alcoholism, although it is not exactly specified further) and is back on his television show, happier and healthier, although his partner (Dan Fogelman ) commits suicide after being involved in the case. sex trafficking ring at the club he attended when he was a closeted gay man. (This horrible tragedy doesn’t seem to have shaken Vincent much.) Edgar visits him on set, and although the relationship between the two is clearly still a bit shaky (probably mostly because Vincent and his wife Cassie have porced), a bond It is formed when Edgar puts on Eric’s costume and starts talking to his father in character. Vincent, wiping away his tears, is moved by his son’s joy and plays along.
ERIC ON NETFLIX: ENDING EXPLAINED
Once again, the show presents a less overtly hopeful set of circumstances: interspersed with the final scenes on the set of Good morning darling, we see Ledroit visiting Marlon’s mother, Cecile (Adepero Oduye), and bringing her some shopping. He looks into her living room and sees Cecile’s grandson, watching Good morning darling. Ledroit is clearly thinking about Marlon, the young life cut short and failed by the system, even if his killers were caught. The happy and healthy childhood represented in Good morning darling It does not apply equally to all children in the city.
It’s a juxtaposition worth exploring, although not necessarily one that Eric explores particularly well. The real mystery that requires solving and processing in the final episode is Marlon’s sad fate; It turns out that Edgar was only really in danger by coincidence. But the episode spends a lot of time with Vincent, and he belatedly learns that he needs to be a better father, while many of the actual details of Edgar’s return are chalked up to coincidence. Episode five ends with Edgar and a potential dealer slipping and ping into the darkness of the sewer; The sixth episode reveals that, wow, the bad guy died and Edgar didn’t! Edgar then finds himself in the right place at the right time to watch his father’s televised message, one of several strange acts of faith for which Vincent is rewarded (the other being his strange interpretation of Edgar’s map that turns out to be correct). ). leading him to where Edgar went to look for Yuusuf, although Edgar did not know that he was actually looking for Yuusuf). Is this better parenting or just acting erratically in a different direction?
Maybe Eric is trying to point out which groups are “allowed” these lucky breaks and second chances, as opposed to minorities and other disadvantaged classes who are often ignored or mistreated by city authorities, such as the homeless population who will be abused for the sake of a public relations campaign by the mayor’s office. But it’s the show, not real life, that’s giving us these improbable turns of events and rushed, coincidental happy endings for the white family at the center. There’s a fine line between telling the story behind the story and making both stories seem ultimately false and arbitrary. Eric crosses it repeatedly.
Jesse Hassenger@rockmarooned) is a writer who lives in Brooklyn. He is a regular contributor to The AV Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts on www.sportsalcohol.comalso.
