This scene was incredibly difficult to watch especially when he said his brother looks so young. When I was 16 I had a serious relationship and it wasn’t anything similar to Claire and Eric, no massive age gap/abuse of power but it’s been 10 years and I’m still emotionally destroyed. I thought I could cope and act mature but realistically I was still just a child.
I was dumped in High school by a girl my age that I was madly, deeply in love with. She destroyed my heart.... It caused to me to stay in another relationship I shouldn't have been in out of fear of being alone. It's taken me almost 10 years to recover and am now engaged to the woman I actually want to be with the rest of my life. No one talks about the damage that can be done by predatory people of your own age group... whether they meant to or not.
He was 18 and I think at 18 yo you understand very well love and emotions. And more today than ever. In my opinion, with my experience and what I saw in my life, there is no problem in a relationship between a 18 yo boy and a 30 yo woman if the intentions are pures. 16yo or 40 yo trust me, a great relationship between two people is terrible when it ends. It can destroy anyone. Love is terrible and if you accept to fall in love, you have to accept the fact that it will end someday.
@@daria5846 You are not a kid at 18 yo, at this age I was working, I had a girlfriend and this kind of love story is probably the best thing that could happen to a young man without this terrible ending. There is no responsabilities here, because there is no shame and no fault.
This was 100% the best way to end this series. Such a chilling ending. I spent the whole series really confused by how I could possibly still sympathize with Claire but that final scene really killed any sympathy I ever had for her.
Help me out here, because what Claire did was 💯 wrong and she deserves the consequences. However, I’m still confused why she shouldn’t be absolved. I still sympathize with her. She turned herself in, served time, and she did admit wrong of taking advantage of Eric/called him victim, and showed contrition. What was it that she’s not taking responsibility for? Because honestly, if this were a male predator, you’d never hear this kind of contrition!
@yourlarkivist Claire didn't do anything wrong. It is more social shaming than anything else. At the end it was just a woman of 30 yo and his student of 18, and the fall in true love. It's a cool story with a traumatic ending for me.
I think it was to show his youngness still. I imagine it takes the audience back to the time. And not feeling he had moved forward perhaps. Just a thought
I agree, very talented actress. I checked imdb because she looked familiar, and she was in a superhero movie I liked growing up about 15 years ago. She played a superhero in the movie.
@@spacelogic101whatif you’re right looking back at this I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re right similar experience happened to me and now You’re right people just don’t care what they do anymore no matter how much it might hurt the other person or what you’re taking from them in the process
I think it was the most poignant scene of the series, I’m glad he was able to stand up for himself as she was continuing to push blame onto him.... I really wish we spent more time with Eric’s attempts at healing, and way less time in the grooming and abuse... it undercuts the intention in my opinion... but overall the story is very raw in its examination of manipulation.
IMHO it was very, very important to show the machinations and processes of grooming at every stage, what it looks like & how it insidiously progresses in the manipulator’s hands. If people don’t recognize it, they won’t see it for what it is. In a fictional story we can fill in the less urgent blanks; we see Eric’s doing good things, healing, hopefully on the road to recovery, whatever that looks like for him. The details we can leave to the imagination. But IMHO it was vital that grooming, specifically, WAS spelled out for the audience. Many really don’t understand this type of predation. That was more important than the usual fictional story beats we see in every other show.
@@ns2110theonly there’s 6 episodes focused on that year of abuse and manipulation, where we see them have sex multiple times, graphically....and ONLY 4 episodes are spent on fall out/consequences; we don’t see the trial, we don’t see her in jail... but we do get two more “kinky”🤢 scenes where she’s degraded? ... we don’t see him go to therapy, we don’t see him helping the kids that have also gone through trauma we see him hook up with an old high school flame....? the structure of the show is flawed, if the message is “this causes damage that lasts a life time”, then let’s spend less time fetishizing it for controversy and explore the ramifications....?
@@Angelica_h023 I don’t get it; I replied to you but it keeps getting deleted...anyway I agree 100% with your last comment, on every point, especially the excessive graphic sex, on a show whose most important target viewers are teenagers.
@@Angelica_h023 👏👏👏 Hollywood loves to glorify things and then tell us it’s wrong. The grooming stage IS important but its presentation was flawed as you stated and undercut the message significantly.
I am just floored by this show. I went into it thinking it was just a weird kinky premise but the true message of this show is just crushing. So deep and a great reminder of the permanent effects that our actions can have on a person’s mental health
This conversation is very interesting because it clarifies the author's objective. She allowed herself to be seen on the scene, this is a liberating thing, since she has experienced violence in the past. In addition, the character Eric was able to express his suffering. And Nick could say that for the actor it is a stressful scene. I loved it. I'm a huge fan of Nick Robinson. Kisses from Brazil.
to everyone not seeing what’s wrong with claire’s and eric’s relationship: would you view it differently if the story was about a 30-something male teacher and a 17-year old female student? probably.
So at 17 no but at 18 yes?, and with Claire and Eric he made the first moves and was like i like you and have f****ng dreams about you and she was like we don't have to do this if you don't want to.
@@legostopmotionguy13 we already got that resolution in the final episode. The only reason they had any problems was because of the legal implications of her being his teacher. Had that not happened... they would have lived happily ever after.
Nick Robinson is undeniably gorgeous and I'm glad his character emerges from the emotional turmoil of his relationship with Kate Mara more empowered and in control. The message that goes out to audiences in the end is the right one... that it is never right for anyone in a position of power to abuse that power in any setting.
When I was 16 I had a 30 year old guy I was dating and I literally seen nothing wrong with it. If I could go back in time I would report him for rape. Sometimes kids are oblivious.
At 16 you should have known though, and with Claire and Eric he made the first moves and was like i like you and have f****ng dreams about you and she was like we don't have to do this if you don't want to.
@@nicolekalasuva9812 Oke that's messed up but still Sometimes kids are oblivious? We should make sure that they are not when it comes to things like this.
At 16 the 30 yr old man should not have been dating you or preying on you , I believe we’re still growing up at 16 and vulnerable to men of that age, easily seduced even - it wasn’t your fault. He should’ve known better and left you alone. I wish your parents had of protected you from that . Be kind to yourself 🌹
Well... I’m glad they made it. Really gad, but I won’t watch it, can’t watch it. I was 16 and it took me years to understand the damage my high school teacher did to me. How it effected my relationships, my education, and my life in so many ways. I’ve never had a chance to confront her, never been able to bury it. Glad they made the movie. I would rather put my hand on a hot stove than watch it.
you could write her a letter and express all the hurt she caused you. you don’t have to try and find her and send it to her, you can even burn it afterwards if you want to, but it may be a very cathartic and healing experience for you to get it all out there. i’m sending you all the love and light i can possibly muster!
Writing out things is very healing, I’ve had to do it in my life for specific abusive situations I experienced as a naieve young adult of 19; with my hairdresser boss who took terrible advantage of me sexually after getting me drunk; then with Christian youth group leaders I had grown up with who blamed me for what my boss did and aggressively performed an exorcism on me - it was so horrible…they really hurt me and their actions, words and attitudes towards me in a vulnerable and confused state was very damaging; I hope oneday there’s justice for me regarding what these people got away with. Forgiveness is key to healing and moving on in life. I’m now a wife and mom to young adult children and I’m doing well ; I still journal and need to look after my self. Life isn’t easy for survivors of abuse. 🌹
the nurturing archetype of a woman causes too many people to overlook female predators, i think this show will be even more appreciated as time goes on
everyone says how underrated nick robinson is which sort of reflects how much he cares about acting and not the fame that comes with it. i feel like nick has always gone for roles that develop him as an actor and not to increase his popularity. he just loves acting for what it can teach him. also from all his interviews you can tell he takes the meaning behind each film very seriously. also he’s one of the most low-key and down to earth celebrities i know! i adore him so much
I agree with you 100%!!! That is why I love him so much. He is such an incredible actor and such a decent human being , so kind and so down to earth. He is the real deal and a role model of his generation.
I assume Eric knows what Claire’s husband looks like because he has googled her otherwise they could have had Eric meet Claire’s husband somewhere and have him invite Eric home to dinner to meet his wife and kids! Imagine how awkward that would have been but then none of the final scene and the sort of catharsis achieved in the final episode could have been executed so brilliantly. I have to say I loved the ending and my heart went out to Eric who has had time to reflect upon what really happened all those years ago when he was just 17 like his brother is now which finally empowers him to walk away from Claire without the burden of guilt he has had to carry all his life. Eric’s naivety and innocence are beautifully portrayed in several sensitive scenes. Nick Robinson was perfectly cast in this role.
Nick Robinson is a wonderful actor. He plays all roles very competently. I'm a fan of his and wish him much success in his beautiful career. Kisses from Brazil.
When Eric realised what claire did to him used him for her own desires n loneliness at the time when her marriage was not working Eric was young n naive ...even in the last scene all claire did was talk about herself,how lucky she was,her husband ,how she could not find a job not once she actually realised how she had emotionally damaged n scarred Eric for life.She has narcissistic qualities.
But isn’t that because Eric said she’s living a perfect life, to which she was just responding she doesn’t and just detailing how. She was also contrite with what she did to him. What am I missing?
I understand what they wanted to do with this show and I think the goal was admirable but I don't think that it really worked as intended. I never felt at any point that Eric was groomed. There is an order to grooming, a specificity to how one person interacts with the other. A subtle power play and Claire didnt do any of those things. This entire process--except for the last show--seemed like a love story and one to root for. At the end, Eric even appears to rewrite the narrative with his comment about 'setting up the little moments'. Ultimately, I felt sorry for both characters, not angry at Claire. Both actors were fantastic. I just wish they had shown a realistic grooming process between the two characters. My Dark Vanessa is an excellent example of how the grooming process works and it is positively devastating. I think this show could have had the same punch but lacked all of the teeth to do so.
I disagree I think there was grooming but it was very subtle so if you weren’t paying attention you wouldn’t notice it. Like there were so many instances where Eric apologizes to claire (for a variety of different reasons) and I feel like that is grooming. Like making Eric feel like he did something wrong in so many cases where he didn’t. If you ever watch it again pay attention to how many times Eric apologizes throughout the series. But I do agree with you that at some points it did sort of feel like you were suppose to root for them
the beginning was supposed to be from Eric’s view and give the audience a chance to feel the same way as him. only if you really pay attention do you notice the grooming, like her immediately going on a first name basis, going to a party with him, tutoring him privately simultaneously - none of it is appropriate.
@@user-bk8qv4lv6o yeah I have to agree the grooming is very subtle and if you’re not paying a attention it seems like a consensual relationship and that’s why it’s so dangerous cause you can’t see it till it’s too late
Also, not to mention, how she dressed herself for him, making her cleavage pop up, before their private tutoring session AT HiS HOUSE. She also was adamant about how if anyone found out, it would ruin HER life. Also, from the very beginning she made comments that she shouldn’t have, like when she made fun of Eric’s friend when they first were introduced to her in the restaurant. She also shared with him personal information about her childhood.
I arrived here because I mistook Kate for someone else ( I didn't even know who Kate Mara or Nick Robinson were) and recorded A Teacher, then deleted it, then undeleted it and decided to watch it, anyway. I often have alternative viewpoints on many aspects of life, this is just my interpretation! For me and speaking somewhat from experience, it is a tragic story of a future that should not have been, fraught with hypocrisy, the abuser and victim swap roles, the acting, however, I feel was excellent. Claire, clearly damaged from her childhood and married to a man that doesn't seem interested in her adding to her pain, is awakened by the attention of her student and in a moment of weakness puts into motion catastrophic sequents of events. Eric, a male student that made the first move and pushed himself on Claire after seeing her inability to reject him, exploiting the situation as many males of that age would. with a compliant attractive older woman. The retreat kitchen scene, take your underwear off, throwing Clair into the counter, and having pretty forceful sex with her, was borderline rape, no, probably just rape, in this split second the victim becomes the abuser. Again exploiting her weakness for one last fling, Eric convinces Claire to skip town, another poor judgment call for Claire, Eric then decided to bail, this seems to be the part that landed Claire the custodial sentence. The end scene was about apportioning blame and while Claire abused her position Eric is still not willing to concede that he was also responsible, sure at 18 you are not matured, but you are responsible for your actions. How the future may have been! Of course, not the intention of the story: - Claire was stupid, her one rule, tell no one, yet confided in a colleague, knowing she was doing wrong, the outcome from there was inevitable, although seems like deliberate self-harm... - Claire Could have just waited until the end of the semester, it may or may not have ended badly, might have run its course without catastrophic incident, they may have been damaged anyway, but without doing anything illegal and her career intact, or even got a divorce from her uncaring husband and lived a happy life together, again, clearly not the intention of the story.
Thanks a lot for your comment. I thought, I was the only one, who was outraged by the one-sidedness of the interpretation of this show. I would go even further than you do. I felt throughout the whole series that I'm fully on Claire's side (including the very last scene, which I found a bit "dogmatic" and not sincere, honestly speaking). I think, 18 years old man is a MAN, not a kid. And he is and should be FULLY responsible for his actions. That might be an unintentional result of Kate's beautiful playing, but I absolutely trust Claire, when she says that she really loved him. Later on she started to deny that herself (to him, in order to free him up from any moral obligations), while in reality she DID love him. And she was not an abuser at all. She just tragically overestimated abilities of Eric to love. He was not ready to love anyone. Because love is always and first of all about taking real responsibility. So he enjoyed sex with her (for that he was not "too young"), but to take proper responsibility for the person whom he made trust him - that he turned to be not ready to do, for that he was like "too young"; what is that if not just disgusting double standards and hypocrisy? He seduced her and then cowardly betrayed. That's what really happened. And thanks to his petty infantilism an innocent and deeply suffering woman got in jail. And what is even worse she became the object of public condemnation. And all these people around her, who threw stones of accusation at her with such a "righteous passion", are in reality much worse sinners than she is. They just demonstrated a typical pharisaic behavior. And it's them all (including Eric) who should be ashamed, not Claire. That's just another example of the awful hypocritical society of nowadays. The only worthy exceptions from this disgusting "social surrounding" are Claire's father and Clare's new husband. Partially also her brother (but obviously not his wife). All the rest deserve the finale of "Dogville" (by Lars von Trier), when the whole town was burned to the ground in order to clean up the environment a little bit. By the way, a similar finale is in "The Dressmaker" (with another Kate in the title role). So if the authors of this show wanted to make it "an edifying morality", demonstrating how bad everything may go if you dare to break the social rules, they completely failed, sorry! Kate Mara created such a beautiful, attractive and subtle character, that you feel true compassion only to Claire and you start hating and despising all those people around here, who are blaming her and making her suffer just for her ability and courage to LOVE.
I've also been checking out the comments on the episodes and the series. Many comments either or both see their story as a love story and/or think that they would have been happy if society hadn't come down on them. It took me many times of watching to pull away from that view and have of more nuanced view point. I think several things explain this: in épisode 5 they both say I love you, have very gentle sex and you see them bathing in the sunlight happy with each other, with the farm animals... and then everything comes down as soon as society knows. So the series does not leave space to see how it would have affected Éric from the relationship itself, he feels guilty from her going to jail but we don't see the other impacts not related to her jail sentence. Also, Claire does take a horrible beating from society and life: she can't get a job apart working for her dad, while she wanted to be à teacher, what is lufe worth where society doesn't allow you to sustain yourself? The scène with the Mother in the clothes Shop is heart breaking and she litterally asks that Guy to hit her, she feels so bad. I think the séries went too far in blurring lines, so yes it did create conversations, but their chemistry on screen, the definite romanticizing in épisode 5 specifically, and other things just mentioned have left many confused and/or rooting for the couple
Hannah and the other writers try way to hard to make Claire look like a victim. There real was no reason to go into her drunk father past or her husband Mat. They made this characters so people would blame them and not Claire for her actions. Hannah aid she pick Nick because he look the same age as Kate. She said she wanted them to look like a couple . If he looked younger it would make them look weird together. So they keep mudding the water to make sure some people will feel sorry for her. When Claire went to jail that should be the end of Claire . Then they could of Shown Eric dealing with all. But they keep her on and did two shows of pity party for Claire .
Good point. Also my one critique of this show was that Claire was way too unforgiving and hard on her father. She wanted Eric‘s forgiveness yet it took her 30 years to forgive her father for less? And they made a point of showing her Steely look once she went into the house and put on her happy face after their reconciliation. That was to show that although she made peace with him she still harbored bad feelings. It was a hypocritical; she kept victimizing herself with respect to him, but if he’s an alcoholic, then he’s a victim as well. Why is his suffering less important than hers. So I agree the show was too easy on Claire, because she was categorically a predator, full stop. Regardless, there will always be nuances and things to discuss in a series like this. Still brilliant.
I don’t think the point was to make people feel bad for her necessarily... it was more to show her thought process. We got to witness Eric come to terms with what she did to him, but we also got to see how Claire excused her actions. She blamed her bad past with her father, so her lack of forgiveness to her dad was somewhat because she wanted to use that as a scapegoat. If she forgave him, she wouldn’t be able to blame her actions on him. When she was let out of jail, we then watch her life go on while his really doesnt. I think it was a good reminder that a lot of abusers slip through the cracks and get to be ok after their “punishments.” I think the show did a good job of showing both sides of the story, but never once did I feel sympathy for Claire. I guess it depends on the viewer, but any “pity party” that was held for Claire didn’t change my mind about her.
@@ab-zf7bf Great comment and yes you are right of course about using her dad as a scapegoat. This is a problem with many offenders of many crimes and offenses. Victimize yourself, don’t accept responsibility, blame others. Excellent points all around, great comment.
I agree. I think the actor who plays Eric is a great actor but his older look played into Claire’s own narrative that it was consensual and just inappropriate. She abused him and he made the comment that his younger brother looks so young. And he’s right - 17 year olds look 17. That actor wasn’t 17 and didn’t look it. But I also get not wanting to subject an actor who is younger to such a scene. That would be very weird too.
I've been still thinking about the series which I watched several times, as this is a topic which is close to me. So much to say, the series is very powerful but kind of off on some things in my opinion/feeling. The first one is that he looks clearly over 20 (was 25 in reality) and she looks tops 5-7 years older than him because her skin is so perfect and her traits are child like. So it looks like a 20+ year old guy and a 25-27 year old girl. In addition she looks so fragile physically that for example in the forbidden kiss scene in the classroom the power dynamic is actually not in her favor: he is stronger and taller than she is, and comes on to her very straightforward in a classroom context, without even asking her if he can kiss her, so she is completely caught off guard and paralyzed, in that scene it is not consensual for her and she actually has the right reaction, saying "what are you doing". So up to that point, yes she does create ambiguity by saying he can call her by her first name, she goes with him to a frat party, and opens initimate things about her father, but up until the prom scene, she's OK. Some would say she should have stopped tutoring him but he had no one else to go to for studying, and their meeting was in a public place at the diner. The cross-over though was at the prom scene where she led him to the car for sex, definitely. In the end scene when she apologizes, I also think she does go a long way towards apologizing and disagree with what is said in this RU-vid video, though she should have apologized for the prom scene, not the classroom one. Her co-worker is horrible, instead of being inhuman she should of said this: look this is very dangerous and you risk hurting this boy and yourself, please end this or I will have to report it in the very near future, so that she has a chance to do good and when he goes to college and they have time to step back they can see what they want to do, not this society shaming jail scenario. By the way, the President of France's wife is his teacher when he was a teeanager. Finally Nick's character, 18 at the time of the unravelling does have some responsibility on some things: I am sorry but you do not prompt the woman you are supposed to love to runaway to a motel while she is in deep trouble and then leave her stranded in such a situation the next morning. If he cares for her and does not want to harm her he knows that, as he is shown as a caring person early on. I have been in passionate over my head situations, with depression and melancholy but you don't become another person on these very core things. For a clear abuse portrayal I prefered the modern Lolita movie from Adrian Lyne where there is a much clearer power differential/abuse relationship
I know I'm the only one saying the following, but why is that a kid is raped one day but a day later when he/she is (legal age) it is consensual? What difference does a day make to someone's mental, emotional, psychological 'readiness'? Yesterday i couldn't make a decision for myself, but today I am capable?
@@hippyhappy97 it’s just the Power Dynamic imo. That age gap wouldn’t matter if they met as strangers in a bar or something like that. The fact that she’s a person of authority to him is what makes it wrong
They were too close in age he was 18 but mature and she didn’t look older. Had you seen them at a restaurant you wouldn’t think twice. Nowadays young men older women it’s not turning heads. To make a point was when he saw d he couldn’t move forward that was the only time you saw an emotional trauma for him. You look at cases prior of age 12 and 30 then you scream hell wtf this it was too close in age at least it looked. It was deceiving to the eye. Honestly I thought they were ten years apart no more than that. 18 and 28 ????
She did look older than him and even acted like it which is the point, he was younger and naive and she’s the more mature one who took at took advantage to rebel since she kept saying she missed out her younger years and felt suffocated, she liked that attention and manipulated it. And besides 10 years is a very big age gap, maybe not for older generations but for my generation if someone said they’re dating someone 10 years older, there would be a lot of questions and some may feel grossed out.
Please make more seasons PLEASE verry good series ended when they didnt even start please dont give UP on it ❤❤ love from Poland if someone can please send this to people Who are in power to make this happen i would love to See a happy ending LOVE
The show did not portray any kind of abuse what so ever. It's about 2 ppl who fell in love. So if ms. Hannah is so adamant about eric being abused she should have showed it through the show, but she did an atrocious job at trying to bring to the screen her true intent. Claire cant be in denial bc she did NOTHING wrong!!!!!!!!! So hannah maybe next time show what you mean as opposed to showing 2 characters falling head over heels madly in love.
You don't see anything wrong? She was supposed to help this boy make it to college and instead she used him for her own pleasure. The fact that they both romanticized it and enjoyed this affair during it, does make this less of a crime on her part. He was a college bound vulnerable young high school students with no father and is a caretaker to his whole family. He never finishes college, he abuses alcohol and can't have normal healthy relationships with woman because of the guilt he felt because she went to prison, She was a predator! She's a typical narcissist who plays the role of the victim. She was an adult and a teacher. The fact that she had a horrible childhood is not a defense for her abuse. The last scene is amazing.
@@justsaying1198 what are you forgetting that he was also the one who made the first move and begged her to still tutor him and telling her he was having dreams about her.
Exactly. I think back to that age and while sure we were young, and even a bit naive…but we weren’t complete idiots @18. They act like he was 15/16. I was quite aware of the drama I was capable of causing, as well as going after guys 15yrs my senior knowing what I was in for (tho I wouldn’t have EVER gone after a married man). I certainly wouldn’t have ever blamed them, for my own persistence.
I still don't see how Eric was "abused". He initiated the relationship. He was involved in the progression just as much as she was and he was mature enough to know it was wrong too. She really didn't use her position as a teacher to manipulate or draw him in. She shut it down at first and refused to tutor him. He begged her to continue. They seemed like two people that genuinely cared for one another in a relationship that was just never gonna work. She didn't groom or assault him or abuse him in any way in my opinion. She just should have known better than to entertain it in the first place
I really wanted to like this show because of Kate (loved her in House of Cards) but I didn’t. The half hour episodes were too short for the very poor storyline, so sorry.
I wasn’t a fan of the last few episodes they kind of seemed like a waste, and then jumping ahead into 2024 felt like an unrealistic cop out, they just seemed the same. Wish they had delved more into the process of her arrest instead of skipping ahead in time
I recorded it off BBC 2...2 episodes every night. Then i watched it all... over 2 nights. The scene when she tells her colleague is so powerful because i think it wakes the audience up too as before then we were in a bubble of Claire's perspective. I was on the edge of my seat for that scene. And then the final scene was so raw. I started watching it from the start again and its very obvious now she was bored. Like when she stole the lipstick just to get a cheap thrill.
I thought the acting was great and most of the writing - however I wish they had more character development. And the last episode seemed very rushed it was super disappointing. The last scene was amazing but it was all so rushed 😞
Eric is also a bit of a hypocrite. I don't like the final scene of the series. He starts blaming her for everything as if he had been forced to do something he didn't want to. Every time he slept with her, he looked at himself in the mirror and told himself that he was the fucking master. He is begging her to give him private lessons to pass the university entrance exam. There is consent. They love each other. He is kissing her. She saves him from the booze party mess with his brother who is a cop. I mean, what are you telling me, Eric? It may have traumatized you or it may have been the best experience of your life. But now it seems that she is the bad one of everything that has happened. Who has gone to jail is her. He's put his fucking life on the line for Eric. What I want to say is that everything is not black and white. Eric plays the victim (victimism) and does not accept his actions.
You are not alone. I think Eric has to take responsibility too. Life is not black vs white. I think the problem with him is that he can not move on due to the fact he perceives himself as victim. Eric was not a child. He was not 7. Sex was not violent. As therapy teaches is not a question of culpability but responsibility. I think that if Eric takes the appropriate part of responsibility for his elections ( and I think he did wrong elections. Of course Claire too!) he could move on. Sadly it was not the case. And watching the scene I felt so sad for him. I was in tears. I was crying like and hour after the end. I felt devastated for almost a week. Just broke my heart. I think when one realizes that it is important to change the discourse of victimized or culpably for responsibilities, is in that moment when one can forgive and move on without more pain ( sadly it was not the case for Eric).
I am not a survivor myself, Alley, but I agree that the show does enjoy shifting the victimhood and the sympathy back and forth between Eric and Claire. The scene that I think is most obvious that Claire is grooming Eric and training him to feel special is when she tells him to keep a secret. But the scene where Eric literally orders Claire to strip shows that he did have power over her - he could choose to blow up her life anytime he wanted. And of course physically he’s a big, imposing guy whereas she is still frankly a small woman - I found that reversal to be quite a scary scene actually.
This show definitely highlights thats boys go through situations like this that can ruin their lives too. Confronting your abusers is the biggest relief in the world I definitely can relate!!!!
I wouldn’t see it as a problem. There’s loads of genuinely happy couples with that kind of age gap. It’s just the being his teacher thing that makes it wrong
The teacher-student relationship dynamic is unequal therefore unethical, although it happens. The show is not just about his age. It’s actually about misusing power, I believe.
this show was amazing in my eyes,i was blown away by how powerfull it was,,,,,iam from scotland,,,it was my experience that i had too hide my first love because it was gay,,,not the exact same but here it really feel the same,,trying to love somone ,its impossiple unlesss your straight
I see a lot of females perspective on this so I figured as a guy I'd put in my two cents 😆. No, really I normally don't watch this kind of show but I seen the previews for it a few months back and thought wow that looks like it might actually be good and WOW. Freaking epic performance by Both Kate and Nick both. Watched all 10 episodes in a couple days I was just glued to my screen. I think they should make more shows like this too and to hear Hannah talking about her own experience of getting raped, I honestly think about every 9/10 females I know and that I meet tell me they have had this sort of thing happen to them too except most of them were much younger. As a 35 year old man it makes me sick to hear these 14-15 year old females and sometimes younger have gone through this. I mean I can't speak for females because I'm not one of course but I can say if you have experienced anything like this PLEASE PLEASE KNOW YOU ARE NOT ALONE! TALK TO SOMEONE, GET HELP, DON'T LET IT DESTROY YOU. WE ALL ONLY GET ONE GO AROUND IN THIS WORLD SO PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND LIVE LIFE TO YOUE FULLEST, BE HAPPY, ENJOY LIFE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY (AND I WISH I HAD THE CHANCE) ENJOY BEING A KID WHILE YOU CAN, BECAUSE TRUST ME YOU HAVE PLENTY OF TIME TO BE AN ADULT. ENJOY YOUR YOUTH AND FREEDOM WHILE YOU CAN AND IF THIS HELPS EVEN JUST ONE PERSON IT'LL MAKE ME HAPPY BECAUSE IT LETS ME KNOW MY WORDS MADE A DIFFERENCE.
I actually liked her as invisible woman ofc she could never outdo the original but I liked how they added more to her character than just being invisible
@@kwazykoala931 would you like to see Kate play Barbera Gordon aka Oracle/Batgirl in DCEU and see Nick Robinson as DCEU's Dick Grayson aka Robin01/Nigthwing?
I just binged watched the entire show and the idea of that Claire "groomed" Eric is total BS imo. The two were at 25% 75% fault (Claire being the 75% fault) They both fell madly in love with one another its just difficult for me to hear "predatory" because she didnt persue him. In fact he persued her, she was just way to weak to say no. If they wanted to make it more a predatory relationship they should have had her persue him the entire way, there just seemed to be to much grey in it.
Oh my god... For starters, his character is 17 at the time they meet and have sex for the first time. I don’t know what planet you’re living on, but where I’m from, that is UNDERAGE. Eric was not legally an adult at the time a 32 year old woman lured him into her car and pursued a very predatory, toxic, manipulative sexual relationship with him. It doesn’t matter if he kissed her first. Claire got it right the first time, saying no and informing him she’ll find him a different SAT tutor. Her dumbass should’ve left it at that. And on top of that, he didn’t pursue her again until she made it abundantly clear she wanted him to. That is grooming and manipulation. Claire takes 100% of the responsibility. Eric was a young, impressionable high school student (underage at the beginning) who it’s clear did not come from a prominent background filled with many opportunities and Claire preyed upon that. She liked the attention she was receiving, knew he didn’t have a car, lived with his single mom supporting him and his two younger brothers, had to work to even earn his scholarship, knowing full well the rest of his peers did not have those same issues. Everything played to her advantage to make him feel special and manipulate him and boost her ego. The entire time, while she is messaging him titty pictures and telling him she loves him and how badly she wants to fuck, she is only concerned with herself and the repercussions it will have on her life, not giving a shit how any of it will and did affect Eric. He was a child. He was not in love, he was groomed and assaulted and it’s people like you who are part of the fucking problem.
@@alib3208 you are completely entitled to have your opinion. At no time did they ever talk about how old she was. She clearly was a young teacher. I think it's unfair that you said people like me are part of the problem. I don't condone this type of behavior at all..but completely bashing Claire as if there was malice involved like if she said "if you f**k me I'll give you an A" is wrong.
@@davidalbergo2 Uh who? Eric and Claire never talked about it? Or they never brought it up on the show? Because if you’re talking about Eric and Claire, I’m really not sure what it matters if they never brought up her age, because she brings up multiple times how it will ruin her life, her marriage, how she’s “risking it all for him” knowing full well what she is doing is wrong. As for the show itself, they have brought up her age more than once. I’m not going to go through the time stamps, rewatch it if you want to know. It’s clear she’s a 30+ year old woman who should know better. And here’s the thing, you ARE a part of the problem. Victim blaming is detrimental and having the mentality that Eric is at fault (even if only at “25%”) is a huge reason why victims stay quiet and why they do blame themselves. There is a reason there are laws in place protecting kids and teenagers. Even at 17, you are not at the emotional and mental capacity to consent to and make decisions like Eric did. At 17, that is still an incredibly young age with someone who does not fully understand the consequences and repercussions of their actions, ESPECIALLY when it comes to sex. Even at 18 years old, like her teacher friend Kathryn said in the show, which sums it up perfectly “that is a monumental abuse of power”. It doesn’t matter if they are “legally 18”, she was still in a position of power over him. Teachers are entrusted to protect their students, to guide them and teach them and give them the tools to go out and succeed in the world. She completely violated that by putting her needs first and only thought about being satisfied sexually and having her ego stroked. I’m BEYOND thankful that teachers can still be persecuted even if the student is 18 because that is still abuse and still predatory and people like Eric are still barely old enough to understand just how serious and unacceptable it is. Also, you do realize most sex crimes are committed by someone the person knows? And that it doesn’t always have to “be violent or malicious” to be abuse? It’s called grooming. Where they don’t even need violence to achieve what they want, that they are able to get it by building trust with their victim, and making it to where it’s a lot easier to keep them quiet? Claire and Eric were never in love. She preyed upon him to satisfy her own urges. And just to add to this, another thing that bothers me about them “being in love”. What does Claire “love” so much about Eric? He was a 17, turned 18 year old high school student struggling to get by and get into college. Eric’s feelings I understand, he was infatuated with a beautiful teacher who was helping him prepare for college and teenagers are shamed soooo so much for having sexual thoughts and urges. It’s completely normal for them, and that’s why it’s up to ADULTS, like Claire, to take full responsibility and say no.
I totally agree. I honestly thought they were deeply in love and it was mostly society's view of their relationship that was the big problem, not their actual relationship itself lol my perception is starkly different from most commenters in this thread.
I think so many people missed the hidden meaning behind the depictions of this show... this was a middle finger to most of modern day mainstream society. I almost cheered when Eric (Nick Robinson) told the feminist how stupid she was in her dorm room when she tried pulling that stupid leftist college girl shit. Guys... what was depicted in the show was true love. Intense love. But a love that is shunned in society. Forbidden Love. Let's get real: He was a 17 year old who had fling hook-ups all the time, he drank and partied with his friends every weekend, he took care of his younger brothers and was the patriarch of his home in the absence of his father... he was perfectly fine with the relationship with Claire. Oh sure, the show has to paint the picture as condemnation in their press tours and this final scene and so forth otherwise the MeToo crowd would cancel culture this show. Just think about the creative decisions that were made: It's the least offensive version of this type of situation, (17 turning 18 soon Male, with barely too old 30 something Female teacher) the only reason it was illegal was because of the Teacher-Student dynamic (17 is the legal age of consent in Texas), she had solo scenes showing her obsession with Eric, the only reason anyone found out about them was because of how happy they were together, the only thing that kept them from living happily ever after was the legal ramifications of her being his teacher... society, what their friends thought, and the legal justice system are what caused all the emotional trauma of these two characters. Other people telling them how they should feel. This series was screaming out that love is complicated... and that age differences aren't the end of the world. Hannah can act as if this was catharsis for being "raped" but in my opinion, maybe even subconsciously, she's really being therapeutic about being ok with her feelings of love she had for the older man she was with at the time. I'm not saying that's 100% the case but that's the vibe I got from watching the show and how it was produced.
@@ikikeudobong9529 I just think it's funny that people were more upset about the age difference than about her cheating on her husband. 😂 How screwed up is society?
What her character did was very wrong and very stupid. But the show was done in a way that I can't help but empathize with her. Empathize, NOT agree, I'm not crazy yet. Like, I feel bad for her whenever she suffers. N then I feel bad that I feel bad for her. Does that make sense? Their relationship literally ruined his life. I dunno how he can ever trust a partner properly again n I feel like I should hate her but the empath in me just can't do it. This is probably why they say empath attract narcissistic or abusive partners. *shrug*
But, if the society didn’t brainwash people with moral judgment, rather, allow people enjoy true passion, would they feel so bad and traumatized? I don’t mean that’s what should be, I was just wondering if a 17 year old truly falls in love with his 30 year old teacher and the society allows it, how would they feel? Normal as other couples? Their lives might not be ruined?
this is so true ......without society's influence on the genuine love they both had for each other, I feel their perception of the situation would be undoubtably different. like even if this where to be the other way around i.e.' a 30 something year old male teacher and a 17 year old girl, if the feelings were just as genuine as in the series.
Finally somebody that knows how to think and not just "follow the crowds" (in the wrong direction, as usual)! It is so rare to come across people that could actually think for themselves and look at the situation analytically and from all the angels (not just the one that everybody is so "sure of") .Thank You so much for your insight! I was also looking at the situation from many angles but you also added the most important ingredient for this brainstorming! Its always seems so difficult for society to see things through...
So at 17 no but at 18 yes?, and with Claire and Eric he made the first moves and was like i like you and have f****ng dreams about you and she was like we don't have to do this if you don't want to.
@@spacelogic101whatif Exactly! He was using everything in his power to seduce her and everyone is acting like "kids" (at 17?,lol) are so "innocent" !! Give me a break! Like sexual power at that age (for both genders) is not a real power and like "kids" are not aware of it? I was pressured 24/7 by my "innocent" boyfriend at a time to have sex, why is that ok and legal?? And who is to say (judge!) that my first experience would not be 100 times better (and less traumatic!) with a teacher I admired instead?! But, hey, all these self-righteous hypocrites know better.
@@LunaLu-00 Also in episode 5 Eric was 18. As far as the 17 thing if they are mature which is ( very ) rare and it's consensual the way it went with Claire and Eric is fine provided she was honest with her husband and divorced him ( though she should have done that years earlier if she was unhappy/did not love him or better yet never married him in the first place that's only fair to him ) and doesn't take have his shit.
My opinion might be shut down, however I don’t think Claire intentionally groomed Eric. I think the ending was bad, honestly. I understand that it’s illegal and wrong in most cases but I felt that these two really did love each other and I thought it wasn’t entirely fair to give Claire all the blame. He was still 18. Sure you don’t know much about anything when you’re 18, but you’re old enough to take responsibility for your actions.
I thought in the end scene that she was doing as Best as she could, ok she slipped up with a over age student she was very attracted to and had a connection with, people are human and make mistakes. Also, he will need to get to the compassion stage if he wants to heal, anger is very much at the beginning, they probably will need to meet several times. In this situation this is largely feasible, while recognizing that in more dramatic situations such as rape it isn't always possible
Maybe if it was a completely different set of actors and characters. The story of Eric and Claire is over... I think adding more would actually take away from the story.
Eric was not raped ,he loved it as much as Claire. My only problem with the teacher was she cheated on her husband but she was having a unhappy marriage without a child. It was the society who failed them. People can tell that Eric was 17-18 years old. But he was very mature and confident for his age. Some people don't even show that kind of maturity and confidence on their 30's. They should have both waited 2-3 years and reunited so that the sh*t society can't put their double standards on them.
I have just finished this series and I still have doubts about their relationship. Wasn't him an adult being 18 years old? I do not know the laws in Texas, but in the country I live one is considered an adult once 18. That was why I thought their relationship was agreed. Again, I do not know when a person is considered an adult there.
she began grooming him when he was 17 & they were involved then too. she took him to the ranch for his 18th bday, but her being his teacher also makes it an uneven balance of power
The last scene is sad, its also a little disturbing that she goes to jail and takes so much s..t from society when he was 17-18 (no jail if that age) the actors were also too close in age in reality for the abuse to really be realistic, especially with the male female dynamic being so different. I know something about abuse and their is a disproportion between the situation in the movie and the consequences portrayed,
Ok sorry if I this is a retarded question but just finished watching the series - was Claire actually in love with Eric? Was she in denial about this? Or was it all a power trip for her - Because I noticed twice in the latter episodes and the end scene she makes a point of saying she didn't and it was just a way to end her marriage.
I think she is in love with him. I think it starts out as something simple for her, a way to react against the problems in her marriage. She doesn’t plan or mean to fall in love with him, but it’s an unforeseen consequence of her actions.
Yeah even in the movie that the series is based upon that main character of the teacher though she doesn't start off with that being the initial draw ends up falling in love with her student even though he was the aggressor so to speak and in the movie she actually has a mental breakdown when he finally leaves her she even goes to his house and tries to give him to talk to her and he ignores that she's even there ending their relationship and the last scene of the movie she has to go to a hotel and like live out her breakdown because he doesn't want her anymore. It was something completely different for the two characters in the movie but ultimately in both the movie and the series the teacher actually falls in love with the student and I think when those Dynamics are such a way where you could lose everything you built for yourself with this one attraction you almost have to be in love in sense to risk everything especially for a female I believe. Sometimes in a male relationship of this sort it's simply about power I believe that power comes from a different for ce from a female perspective. I actually have some insight in this I know of a teacher who has done this to a student completely out of left field for her generally she dated my cousin growing up so when this became national news especially knowing the lengths she went through to conceal it as if there was no way for her to get caught I believe for a female it's something entirely different and it's depicted very well in this series.
Ok so apparently that was an abusive relationship but I don't get how? I mean he was 17 at first but it was consensual! She never did anything that he didn't want to do, even in the first car scene she says "you don't have to do this if you don't want to" and he says he wants to. I mean how's that abuse can someone please explain? Not trying to be disrespectful or anything I just want to understand
