Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Mare of Easttown Accent Critique Week 5

Well, that was rough. Rougher than a Monday morning commute on the Blue Route between exits 3 and 9 (just to add some local Delco color). Poor Colin Zabel. I really liked Evan Peters’ performance here as well as his spot-on accent and accurate impression of a drunk townie.

 

The signs were all there that Zabel would die: The understanding between him and Mare leading to a kiss, his mother implying Mare was trouble, the confession that he didn’t solve that case in Upper Darby. But I didn’t see it coming.

 

Everyone continues to have their Delco-O’s down, with Mare’s talk with her therapist all “diagnoese” and “coepe” and “hoepe.” I could reiterate that I’m hoping for more of the “A” sound or the multisyllabic “yieahh” or “noewuh” but what’s the point? It’s not like the actors will read this and adjust; the show is already in the can. Maybe the rest of these reviews should focus a little more on the show?

 

Anyway, plenty of heartbreak this week. Mare’s conversation with her therapist linking her father’s suicide with her son’s and asking if suicide runs in the family (sadly, yes) was devastating. Also devastating was her lack of awareness that she is a very depressed person. Kate Winslet (one of my favorite actors) has just been so, so good—I loved the fear she communicated when they realized they were confronting the women’s kidnapper. 

 

Did anyone else’s stomach lurch when they thought Lori’s husband had molested their son and Lori was implying it had happened before? I never thought I’d be relieved to find out it was just an affair.

 

Plenty of amusement this week, too. It was nice to see Mare get a good laugh at her mom having an affair with the widower. Of course, Helen comes back with a “What kinda smacked-aehiss makes that kind of announcement at his wife’s funeral reception?” Her “Jesus, Mare” prompted a reflexive “and Joseph” from me.

 

Plenty of local color, too, with the tour of the different home styles of Delco while they searched for the kidnapper. There were Wawa hoeagie wrappers on the cawfee table, a mention of Pennell Road (flashbacks to my commute to Neumann), and Bryn Mawr used as a class signifier.

 

Which diner is that? It definitely wasn’t Llanerch because it was too big and the color was wrong. The pastry display reminded me of the Country Squire but I don’t know if that’s right. Of course, it’s not like I know every diner in the area. They should have just made it Tom Jones. I would have shrieked if I saw that orange décor.

 

The kidnapped women are free but we still don’t know who killed Erin. I don’t even want to guess because I never see anything coming so I’m bad at guessing these things. I’m very much enjoying Mare of Easttown. It’s really good at depicting an area where everybody knows everybody else and that’s very true of Delaware County. I haven’t lived there in 15 years but it’s still so easy to play the “who do you know” game with someone else and find some connection with a stranger.

No comments:

Post a Comment