A Teacher

57 replies

purrswhileheeats · 18/11/2020 21:02

New show on FX (probably not available in the UK yet) Kate Mara plays a young teacher who becomes involved with a 17 year old pupil. It's horrific and compelling - some awful scenarios of grooming.

I think these series eventually get moved to Netflix, look out for it.

OP posts:

Songsofexperience · 16/01/2021 20:12

Totally unjust that Claire seemed to come out relatively unscathed despite spending time in jail and obviously having a criminal record. Whilst poor Eric was still suffering as a result of the trauma.

Yes, it's never clear what drew her to Eric beside her own selfish motives- which she admits to in the end. Of course you have to be selfish to do what she does. However I don't know if she got such a happy ending. Why does she reach out to him? Because she still feels guilt and as Eric puts it, she's sick of it. The guilt is there nonetheless and she comes across as someone who will never be satisfied with her lot. So they're both saddled with it for the rest of their lives.

Songsofexperience · 16/01/2021 20:16

He acted like a love sick puppy but to look at him, he was like a fully grown man!

I thought that bit was well observed. Teens may sometimes look quite grown up, even act grown up at times but the point is they're not. They can't have the emotional tools to deal with complex adult situations and when they do it leaves scars- which is why it's so unfair on Eric.

VenusStarr · 17/01/2021 09:13

Why does she reach out to him? Because she still feels guilt and as Eric puts it, she's sick of it.

Im not sure she does feel guilty. I think she's repeated her earlier pattern of going for a man who doesn't fulfil her but is socially acceptable - so on the outside she has settled down, done her time etc but it's just an illusion. I think when she saw Eric she felt a thrill again and wanted to know she could still influence him and was desirable to him.

She just used him and was only centred on herself. She didn't really see how much damage she had done to Eric. I think she wanted to meet up with him to reminisce of that crazy time - like it was consenting adults who had a fling - and I think she still kind of believed that's what they'd done. Not that she had groomed a child and completely changed the trajectory of his life. I think that's where it was cleverly casted and filmed because he didn't look like a 17 year old, but is baby faced. When he saw his younger brother and he has his whole life ahead of him, it's heartbreaking. I don't this Claire understood the gravity of this. She compartmentalised it and moved on.

SunsetBeetch · 22/01/2021 12:07

I'm not sure she felt guilt, but she felt resentful about the effect it had had on her life, and was hoping that Eric would reinforce her illusion/lie that what she had done wasn't so bad, iyswim

Meredusoleil · 22/01/2021 13:09

@SunsetBeetch

I'm not sure she felt guilt, but she felt resentful about the effect it had had on her life, and was hoping that Eric would reinforce her illusion/lie that what she had done wasn't so bad, iyswim

I agree.

emmalynn · 26/01/2021 22:57

I just finished it and really enjoyed it.
Agree with PP first few episodes are a bit like the cringey day time films you get on channel five but it was really interesting watching the relationship unfold and how it ultimately effected both characters in the future.
I would have liked to see more of an explanation of how much it effected Eric and felt the last episode was really rushed.

EarringsandLipstick · 09/03/2021 21:45

I know this is an old thread - I'd recorded this & was about to delete them all the other night. (In Ireland so can't access BBC Player here). I started watching & was hooked. Binge watched them all.

I thought it was amazingly scripted & acted. Felt so authentic, in terms of dialogue & narrative, so unusual in terms of the usual cliched US fare that we get.

I too was devastated by the ending, the brokenness of Eric. I thought it was so clever in terms of avoiding cliches & forcing us to confront the manipulation & power imbalance at play. Ultimately Claire had no insight into what she'd done & the legacy of her actions.

I thought that was so well demonstrated when she tells her teacher friend & who switches instantly from giggly 'how's the d?' to utter shock & horror when she realises it's a student. Claire looks stunned, like she can't believe the reaction

Excellent series.

Flip

1 2 3