What I’m Watching: Little Fires Everywhere (Series Finale)

Little Fires Everywhere: Season 1, Episode 8 “Find a Way” (B+)

This was an emotional finale, one that ended in a surprising way. Due in part to the sensational nature of the events, it seems obvious that this isn’t based on real events, but that doesn’t make it any less of a powerful and very worthwhile endeavor. Everything escalated quickly when Elena tried to wield the information she thought she had about Pearl’s abortion as a weapon against Mia, and her eviction notice was swiftly changed to the next morning as a result. This episode, more than any other, highlighted the Richardson children as Elena blurted out that she never wanted Izzy, prompting Lexi to confess what happened and argue that she wasn’t the perfect child Elena always needed her to be. The kids setting the fire Izzy was going to start showed an acknowledgment on their part of their privileged circumstances and the dangerous cycles the mentality they were raised in creates and enables. No one got a particularly happy ending, with Elena taking responsibility for the fire, Izzy daydreaming about riding away with Mia while she was just on a bus headed somewhere, and Bebe perpetually on the run with her daughter. That last plot point was the most unsettling, though it does show that things have a way of working themselves out even if they’re far from permanent. Pearl forgiving her mother and choosing not to go to New York City but instead to meet her grandparents was sweet, and the best possible result they could have achieved. This has been one hell of a ride, and I’m hoping for lots of Emmy love, particularly for the younger talent involved.

Series grade: B+
Series MVP: Kerry Washington as Mia and Lexi Underwood as Pearl