Mare of Easttown S01E01 is the pilot episode of an American crime drama miniseries created by Brad Ingelsby and directed by Craig Zobel. The miniseries stars Kate Winslet (as main character Detective Mare Sheehan) and is set in the fictional township of Easttown.
Entitled “Miss Lady Hawk Herself”, Mare of Easttown S01E01 sets up the background of Mare’s situation before concluding with the inciting incident that will no doubt drive the narrative forward for the remainder of the miniseries. But we will leave that event for the viewer to discover as that would be a spoiler, of course.
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Considering that Mare of Easttown is supposed to be a crime drama, S01E01 is light on serious criminal activity till its very conclusion. Instead we are introduced to Mare Sheehan, a divorced detective residing with her mother, daughter and grandson. Throughout this pilot, Mare’s characterisation is somewhat unlikable especially when in this episode, Mare discovers that her ex-husband is getting engaged.
The other two key plot points relate to a missing girl – Katie Bailey – a case that has gone cold much to Mare’s chagrin and the tragic figure of Erin McMenamin, who will prove to be pivotal by the end of the first episode. Other than that, most of this pilot comes across more like a family drama than anything else.
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Presumably, Kate Winslet’s acting is meant to carry Mare of Easttown along and if that is conveyed by her looking pissed off all the time, then job done! To be charitable, the pace of Mare of Easttown S01E01 was fairly ponderous and unless the pacing of the remainder of the miniseries seriously picks up, there is precious little to recommend this with, thus far.
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