The Hulu series Little Fires Everywhere is now available to stream. In the first episode, we meet the Richardson and Warren families, who live in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Mia Warren (Kerry Washington) and her daughter, Pearl, have always been on the move. Now, they’re trying to settle down somewhere. But will Mia and Elena (Reese Witherspoon) become actual friends?
Mia starts her new job
As could be gleaned from the first episode, Mia took the house manager job at the Richardsons so she can keep an eye on Pearl as she spends time with them. Elena explains what tasks Mia can do around the house, and Mia leaves and says she’ll be back in the afternoon, much to Elena’s surprise.
Later, while Mia is working (and smoking weed), Elena comes over and brings her the key to the house. She brings up the reference that didn’t check out, so Mia gets one of her coworkers Scott, at Lucky Palace where she works nights to call Elena and pretend to be a glowing reference. Mia is suspicious, and asks her cop friend to do a background check.
Pearl’s math class
Pearl has moved around a lot, so she’s already taken Geometry, which is what sophomores are meant to take. When the guidance counselor doesn’t listen to her pleas to be placed in a higher math class, she writes a letter, which she asks Elena to read. Elena decides to go into the school and fix the situation herself.
On the day of the book club, Pearl and Moody grow closer. He comes over, and they smoke some of Mia’s pot together. They write lyrics on each other’s arms and hold hands. Both talk about their parents and their different attitudes towards sex.
Izzy is being bullied
Ono her first day of high school, Izzy opens her locker to find the Time Magazine cover of Ellen DeGeneres in which she came out as gay taped to the inside. This kind of bullying continues throughout the day. When she gets home, she connects with Mia again, who encourages her to stand up for herself.
At orchestra practice, Izzy’s former friends continue to tease her regarding her sexual orientation. The teacher yells at another student, causing Izzy to snap, and yell at her. This coincides with Elena leaving the counselor’s office, having fixed Pearl’s problem. Izzy gets sent home, and leaves with her mom.
Could Elena and Mia become friends?
During book club, Elena is asked a question by her friend, Liz, the one who chose The Vagina Monologues, much to everyone else’s dismay. Elena didn’t read the book, so she’s struggling, but Mia, who has, swoops in and makes an interesting point about how women (including Elena) are afraid of speaking about female anatomy or addressing it at all.
After the book club, Mia comes clean to Elena, telling her she saw the fax containing the background check and that she lied about her reference, because most landlords won’t take a chance on her. The two drink together and connect, but Mia grows cold again when she finds out what Elena did for Pearl.
What could happen next
Elena doesn’t want her kids to experience any hardship. That’s what all her planning is for. But the need to have everything be perfect, to be perfect, is her main character flaw. And clashes with Mia’s philosophy, that we all have to learn to be independent and take care of ourselves. Clearly, their parenting styles are going to come into play here.
Pearl’s comment Mia’s sex life certainly points to her sleeping with Bill, or someone else inappropriate. We haven’t seen much of Lexie, but it looks like she’s going to use Pearl’s letter for her Yale admissions essay. Trip and Pearl in the same class could lead to trouble for Moody, and we don’t think this is the end of Mia’s bond with her coworker, Bebe.
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