Tuesday, December 22, 2020

What I’m Watching: A Teacher (Penultimate Episode)

A Teacher: Season 1, Episode 9 (B+)

I found the scenes where Eric and Claire were together to be very worthwhile early on in this show, and I can appreciate why we’re not really seeing those anymore and instead following them both as they deal with their issues as individuals. I’m continually impressed with the guest talent this show is able to attract, inviting Michael Angarano from “This Is Us” and Grace Gummer from “Mr. Robot” to provide some form of socializing for each of the characters in this episode. Angarano’s Tinder date initially seemed like he might be a great match for Claire, but then he made their sex all about punishing her for being a bad girl as a result of her history that he had researched. She seemed to feed into that and feel like it was a way of atoning for her actions, and meeting Matt to go over divorce paperwork didn’t make her feel any less guilty about what she had done. Eric, on the other hand, finally met people who weren’t aware of who he was, and he got set up with the relatively sweet Chloe. Her expressing difficulty getting over her past relationship and not wanted to just be set up with someone else seemed to push Eric to realize that he needed some help. Both of them eventually went to their parents for comfort, which is interesting, even if Claire wouldn’t want to admit that her father can be helpful. I’m not sure what to expect from the series finale, or even if for some reason this show might continue beyond its initial order given the strength of these characters and their possible future plotlines.

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