MIDNIGHT REVIEWS Eric Episode 2 & 3 Review
Midnight Reviews features reviews and thought pieces written and edited by a parent, at night, after bedtime.
Eric Episodes 2 & 3
Series created by: Abi Morgan
Featuring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Gaby Hoffman, Dan Fogler, McKinley Belcher III
Synopsis: Vincent (Cumberbatch) and Gaby (Hoffman) continue their efforts to find Edgar (Ivan Morris Howe). However, they have different ideas of how to do it; it’s not helped by a deadline that will seal Vincent’s professional future.
Review: A double review was chosen for these two episodes, not out of expediency or even laziness. The reason why is clear if you have seen these two episodes, but if not, please be warned: serious spoilers ahead for both instalments.
The main reason for the double review is that episode two is mostly plot, the show moving things forward at a relatively lively pace. There isn’t much that could be said about it. It is, unfortunately, on the brink of feeling like filler after the interesting opening salvo. Each character mills around, failing to get anywhere in their own respective way, but rarely does it feel interesting.
[Peters] doesn’t stop the rest of the episode’s quality dipping.
The episode hinges on the interrogation of building super George Lovett (Clarke Peters). His arrest and questioning by Detective Ledroit (Belcher) leads to some engaging questions about how black police officers react to the intrinsically racist institution they’ve joined, especially when Ledroit so clearly wants to do the right thing. It also brings up some questions about how race will affect the plot, and how things might’ve played out had the time period been different.
Peters as George is consistently excellent as he simultaneously wrestles with terrible memories and regrets from his past, whilst just trying to be helpful however he can in his present.
This doesn’t stop the rest of the episode’s quality dipping, however. Sure, what happens is probably realistic and is necessary to tell the type of story this series is trying to tell. But there isn’t much to write home about.
Episode three steps back up towards the generally higher level of the first episode. It feels more complex and ultimately more interesting with how its characters deal with the situation, but instead of how they all try to find Edgar it’s showing how they must deal with their day-to-day lives not being put on hold.
It still leaves us on the back foot when it comes to who might be involved, or even who out of the entire group has a morally corrupt past.
This is aided by being set in a time period where certain facts about people had to be kept secret. The most obvious case in Eric is that any homosexual man had to play with his cards very close to his chest. Using this, the show can make a character seem suspicious when, really, they’re looking out for their own safety.
As clever as this seems, it feels like a mechanical device that can be heard when it’s being used; after a short amount of time it’s not as convincing.
[A certain choice] spoils some of the immediate drama.
The show is excellent at getting us to ask the question of what we would do in that situation, before having us really analyse our answer and decide if we’re being honest with ourselves. In this way, it’s not too far from recent Netflix hit Baby Reindeer.
The revelation that Edgar is still alive perhaps spoils some of the immediate drama, as we now have a distance from the characters instead of being in there with them. It’s up to future episodes to try to use this information to build tension, or simply allow the plot to play out as it needs to.
Eric is available to stream on Netflix.
Matthew D. Smith likes to overshare his views on movies and TV shows whenever and wherever he can. Indulge him, and follow him on Twitter or listen to the podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai.
