The first three episodes of FX on Hulu’s miniseries A Teacher are out now, and while it shows promise, it can be undeniably frustrating at times. Hannah Fidell’s miniseries is based on her 2013 indie film of the same name, and focuses on the affair between a teacher and her student.
At the very start of A Teacher, we get a glimpse into Claire Wilson’s (Kate Mara, Pose) life. She’s the new English teacher at Texas school Westbrook High, where she meets student Eric (Nick Robinson, Love, Victor) in her AP English class. Eric is similar to many of his friends; he’s athletic and popular. But he also works a job and is struggling to get a handle on his future. Claire is also struggling with her personal life. Her married life with husband Matt (Ashley Zukerman, Succession) is dull, and it grows more difficult as they weigh the question of how they can have children.
Claire and Eric have another conversation in the diner that Eric works at, and to be honest it’s disturbing to watch as Claire offers him food and then he gets a ride home from her, which leads to SAT tutoring. Then, Claire brings him to UT for a tour which causes a shift in their relationship.
Though Nick initiates many of their interactions, Claire does little to stop them. When she initially rejects him and says that any relationship between them cannot happen, she goes back on her word. The entire time, it’s also clear that Claire is aware of what she’s doing. Not only does she dream of her student, but she lies to her husband about meeting with Eric for tutoring and eventually accepts his follow request on Instagram.
It’s important to note that there’s a content warning right at the beginning, warning us that the show contains “depictions of grooming that may be disturbing.” One might expect that of a show about a series involving a teacher’s attraction to a student, and honestly many scenes were extremely uncomfortable to watch. One scene in which this is evident within the first three episodes is when Claire and Eric appear to sleep together while Eric is still just seventeen years old.
In the first three episodes, we don’t get into the bulk of the drama, nor do we get an in-depth look at the characters or their motivations. There are many one-note side characters and some scenes that fall flat. However, we do get to see the dynamic between Claire and Eric. It’s hard to see Claire and Eric’s relationship unfold, especially when it’s thrown into a “romantic” light. Clearly, they both feel something for each other, but I think the show could do a better job at making it known that this is not positive in any regard. Though the feelings exist, the relationship is a product of Claire’s grooming. She is an adult and should have never encouraged or advocated for this relationship in any way.
Hopefully future episodes explore how dangerous this relationship is. The reality is that many predatory relationships might seem like love to the people involved when it isn’t, which is what Claire and Eric seem to think of their affair. But as I said previously, I feel the miniseries should depict the relationship as predatory, even when the characters may not see it that way.
Overall, I do think the series has promise, though I wish it would do better at portraying the dangers of this relationship given the moral and ethical questions at play. In the future, hopefully we get a deeper look at some of the characters and hopefully the story handles the situation and more carefully. I think as it goes on we might see more of the horrible effects of an adult having a relationship with a minor. All in all, A Teacher intends to make the viewer uncomfortable with the reality of perverted relationships and in that regard, it succeeds.
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