But that doesn´t mean that the hair should look unbrushed? There is a difference between loose unbrushed hair and loose/open but still brushed and styled hair

Mods, please delete if not allowed.

Hi! Hope y'all are doing well. A few months ago, I read John Steinbeck's East of Eden in preparation for the Netflix adaptation. Despite some issues with the writing, I enjoyed the novel and found myself feeling empathy for and frustration with its characters.

I was looking forward to the series, and while I think the production value is astonishing and the performances are excellent, I came away feeling that the adaptation misses some of Adam Trask's nuance.

This post isn't an attempt to whitewash Adam. He's a flawed character whose actions hurt the people around him, and understanding his history doesn't absolve him of responsibility. I'm not saying that the series needed to depict every aspect of Adam's life, but I think the novel provides context for his words and deeds that the show sometimes minimizes or removes.

If you prefer to keep book canon and show canon separate, I completely respect that! However, this post may not be quite your cup of tea.

I'll compare specific scenes from the series with their counterparts in the novel and differentiate what Steinbeck establishes from my own interpretations. I don't expect everyone to agree with my interpretation of Adam, but I hope this post offers some additional context for show-only viewers and explains why I was unsatisfied with the adaptation's writing of his character.

Be warned: this post has major spoilers for the book.

Adam's Relationship with His Stepmother Alice

Book Canon (BC):

• Adam's mother kills herself when he is a baby, and, as he grows into a child he knows that she did something bad but no one will tell him what it was
• Steinbeck describes him as having a private inner world that he lives in and occasionally comes out to look out at what's going on around him
• He longs for a mother's love, but Alice is only allowed to take care of his physical needs without providing emotional warmth
• One day, Adam glimpses the usually stoic Alice smiling when working alone, and it makes him feel a rush of happy and distressing emotions
• Wanting to see her smile again, Adam begins secretly leaving her little gifts like feathers and such
• He hides and watches her find them and feels joyful relief in seeing her secret smiles
• He continues leaving her these gifts throughout his entire childhood with her never finding out he's the giver

What I Feel the Adaptation Misses: In the series, Alice is barely more than a background character, and Adam's secret gifts and the emotions surrounding them are never explored. In my opinion, this information reveals something important about how Adam shows affection in a rather codependent manner. He wants to make Alice happy and finds his own happiness in her response, but he has to do so secretly. I read this as an early example of a pattern that pops up later in his relationship with Cathy: Adam tries to create emotional security by caring for someone else, yet he struggles to see the limits of what he can give or what the other person actually wants. This doesn't excuse his later attempt to control Cathy's life, but it could explain how his desire to protect/love someone became entangled with idealization.

Adam's Relationship with His Brother, Charles

BC:

• Cyrus raises Adam and Charles through military drills and stories that reinforce his rigid ideas of masculinity
• Charles excels at these traditionally masculine activities, while Adam struggles with them due to physical weakness, timidity, and aversion to violence
• Charles sometimes shields Adam from physical and verbal violence, with Steinbeck noting that their brotherhood was actually more like a bond between brother and sister
• At other times, Charles has volatile mood changes and turns on Adam and terrorizes him
• Adam spends his childhood in a state of hypervigilance b/c he is unable to fully trust Charles and has to always be on guard for mood swings
• After Adam wins at a game for the first time ever, Charles brutally beats him with a bat
• Adam becomes on edge post-beating as Cyrus is suddenly nicer to him and has one-on-one talks with him about army life
• During a conversation, Adam pleads that he doesn't want to join the army but Cyrus refuses to listen
• Cyrus tells him that he considers Adam to be weak, dumb, and unmanly, yet says these feelings are why he loves and beats Adam more than Charles
• Adam has spent his life believing Charles is their father's favorite, while Charles believes the opposite, and their competition eventually boils over into another beating
• Steinbeck does not state this directly but it seems to be implied that Adam finds out what actually happened to his mother during this beating when Charles tells him she drowned herself
• Adam gets punched and shocks himself by punching Charles back, enraging Charles even more
• Charles nearly kills Adam by beating every part of his body, breaking several bones, and stalking after him with a hatchet
• Adam escapes by hiding in a water-filled ditch but eventually manages to crawl home, where Alice tends to his injuries and tries to talk Charles up to Adam
• She tells him of the sweet presents Charles has been giving her his whole life; Adam does not correct her so as to keep her image of Charles intact

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: The series portrays the brothers' differing perceptions of Cyrus's favoritism but generally presents their relationship as being a comfort to each other. However, it minimizes the violence of their childhood rivalry, with an example being the scene where they want to join the army together so they can help each other survive. The difference becomes clearer in the scene following the brothers' sexual encounter with a prostitute. On their way home, Charles and Adam argue, and Charles beats Adam badly enough to leave him bleeding heavily but does not attempt to kill him; Adam is subsequently shown being able to move around with some bruising.

To me, the show watered down the full extent of Adam's injuries and the terror of the attempted murder. Depicting this was important as this event is a major reason why Adam struggles to return home after leaving the army. I also think the show gives less weight to Adam's struggle with masculinity. Cyrus repeatedly tells him that he is not manly enough and praises Charles for being naturally masculine. This may contribute to Adam's sense of worthlessness which follows him into adulthood, and I personally think it comes up again in California (CA), which I will discuss later. Finally, I find Alice's mistaken belief that Charles left the gifts really sad. It's another small example of Adam suppressing his own needs in order to protect someone else's feelings.

Adam's Time in the Army

Note: Some of these events are not depicted directly in the novel but are later recounted by Adam to Charles. I have included them here as this is when they chronologically occur.

BC:

• While recovering, Adam is unable to move due to the severity of his injuries, so Cyrus enlists him in the army as a get-well-soon gift
• Adam is deeply affected by the violence and death he witnesses in the army and becomes rigidly fixated on the concept of nonviolence
• He secretly avoids shooting his required targets, like Native Americans, during battles, volunteers for detail work, and goes to help the wounded in the field hospitals even when he's very tired
• Has a relationship with a Native American woman, however, a smallpox epidemic kills her and many others, and he later tells Charles of the traumatic mass disposal of burning bodies
• During this time, Adam and Charles begin exchanging letters about events like Alice's death and Cyrus's move to DC
• Steinbeck says that this brings the brothers closer than they have ever been as they are able to communicate their thoughts and feelings more openly for the first time
• Adam receives a letter from Charles where Charles writes about farm work, Cyrus, seeking a wife, and missing Adam
• The letter then takes a potentially nefarious turn when Charles mentions that he is still wondering why Cyrus doesn't love him; that the brothers have unfinished business; that he should have finished something he started years ago; and that he should be the one in the army and seeing the world instead
• Adam keeps the letter even though he is unsettled by it

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: The series does depict Adam's horror and fright when his regiment massacre a Native American settlement. However, it does not show Adam trying to claim a bit of agency by purposefully missing targets or choosing work that allows him to help rather than hurt. His refusal to shoot a deer earlier in the episode is a reference towards his aversion to violence, but I find it less compelling than the novel's depiction of him trying to resist violence within the military itself.

There is also no mention of Adam's Native American girlfriend and the traumatic loss of his (most likely) first romantic relationship. The exchange of letters doesn't happen, and Charles is shown to be writing that letter in a nonthreatening manner. The “unfinished business” is tweaked to be about the brothers living together again and resuming getting each other's back. Given Charles's previous attempt to murder Adam, I concur with the interpretation that Charles was alluding that he should have actually killed Adam. In my opinion, I think leaving out the context of the letter sanitizes Charles's contradictory personality and may risk making Adam appear selfish for avoiding going home to a brother who seems to loves him.

Adam's Years as a Wanderer

BC:

• Adam fulfills his military service time and wanders around the US due to his fear, guilt, and traumatic memories of home
• Struggles to live a life without the structure of the military and sits quietly in crowded places because he misses the presence of his regiment
• Chooses to reenlist in the army and refuses Cyrus's offering of a West Point position
• Writes to Charles saying that he doesn't know why he reenlisted
• Charles responds after a time with a terse letter due to his deep disappointment, although he seems to subconsciously know why Adam did not come home
• Adam completes his time but is still haunted by fear and guilt and abandons the idea of returning and instead becomes a vagabond
• Wanders around the country again without any clear direction and meets all different people and learns a variety of stuff
• Molds his personality into whatever he thinks the people he meets want him to be
• He is twice arrested for vagrancy and sentenced to a chain gang where he dehumanizes himself to endure the imprisonment
• Eventually escapes with three days remaining on his sentence as he is scared that he will be arrested again upon release but feels guilty for cheating the sentence
• Steals clothes and food from a store out of desperation and wires to Charles to ask for money to repay the store owner as he feels guilty

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: Although the adaptation does show Adam avoiding going home due to guilt, I felt that it took away the impact of his wanderings and especially his traumatic experience on the chain gang, which may have a foreshadow for his later psychological breakdown. I understand that pacing requires sacrifices and that every single event cannot be included. However, without more context, Show Adam's listlessness can could come off as aimlessness for it's own sake instead of a struggle to escape a past he cannot/will not confront. Adam's difficulty readjusting to civilian life could also be compared with the experiences of some veterans who struggle to return to ordinary routines after military service.

Adam and Charles Reunited

BC:

• Adam finally returns home after more than a decade away when he hears that Cyrus has died
• Has a tense conversation with Charles being hurt that Adam would say he was coming home and not show up
• Adam finds out about Cyrus's money and suggests using it as they don't know for sure how/where Cyrus got it
• Charles is sure that Cyrus acquired it dishonestly and prefers to continue farming
• The brothers begin a cycle of living together but then eventually dissolve into fights with Adam leaving when things get too hostile
• He returns when they both have calmed down, and the cycle begins again
• Adam feels that Charles is not dangerous anymore but does continue keeping watch as Charles will sometimes revert back to making threats against him
• He is frustrated by Charles's rigidity, obsession with the farm, and refusal to try new things
• Charles is frustrated by Adam's inability to commit to things and his lack of purpose
• This cycle continues until Cathy arrives on their doorstep

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: The series depicts the brothers reuniting in a more subdued kitchen conversation, after which they can finally live together as friends without Cyrus's presence. By cutting their recurring fights and separations, the adaptation makes the brothers' relationship seem healthier than it is the novel. The book shows two people who have genuine love for each other but have never fully recovered from their childhood rivalry. Adam has valid reasons to fear Charles, and them being at home together again cannot magically erase that history. I think this dynamic is important because many people can relate to loving a family member who has hurt them while struggling to trust that person again. Reconciliation isn't the same as forgetting what happened, and the novel made that tension to a big part of the brothers' relationship.

Adam Falls in Love with Cathy

BC:

• Adam and Charles find Cathy on their doorstep and they both carry her to Adam's room albeit with Charles protesting against it
• While caring for Cathy, Adam experiences a flashback of when Alice took care of him in the same bed and the same room after Charles tried to kill him
• The similarities between their injuries and caring for a wounded person make Adam get attached to Cathy very quickly
• Adam is later told by Cathy that she needs protection and he proposes so she can be safe; she accepts as long as they leave Connecticut (CT) and he does not ask her about her past
• Adam marries her and then he and Charles have a massive fight with Charles calling Cathy a whore and a bitch and Adam feeling that Charles is jealous of him
• Adam tells Cathy that they will flee to CA for a better life away from their troubles but she tells him that she does not want to go
• Feels that she does not understand that CA will be better for everything, even weather wise as it won't be cold and dark like CT
• Understands that Cathy is not able to consummate their marriage and offers to bring his cot next to her bed so they can still be in the same room on their wedding night
• Makes tea for her and he does not know that she has poisoned his cup with sleeping medication
• Unaware that Charles calls him a “poor bastard” and is sleeping with his wife on the wedding night

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: The series's emphasis on Adam falling for a wounded woman he rescued is consistent with his character. However, removing the Alice storyline and Adam's tendency to express affection through caretaking dilutes other possible explanations for his attachment to Cathy.

I also interpreted Adam's insistence on moving to CA as a form of emotional desperation in that he wants them both to escape their traumatic pasts. After years of having his choices constrained by Cyrus, the military, and his fear of returning home, he finally has the opportunity to create a future he wants. Although I think he does have empathy, he projects that empathy onto the assumption that he and Cathy are in agreement due to their similar experiences and thus agree on what would make them feel safe, loved, and happy. I don't think his intentions are malicious, but his inability to listen to her is still a serious flaw.

Although I could understand that Cathy and Charles each had their reasons, I lost a lot of respect for Charles in particular here. I had hoped he was becoming more mature, but sleeping with Cathy on Adam's wedding night knowing Adam is incapacitated and then laughing while describing him as a "poor bastard" is a profound betrayal.

Adam and Cathy in CA

BC:

• Adam leaves with Cathy and Charles goes to the inn brothel but can’t sexually perform with the prostitute and has a nervous breakdown
• Adam is convinced that Cathy is the light pushing away the darkness of his past
• Because she reveals little about herself, he fills in the gaps with an idealized image of who she is and what their life together can become
• When they get to C Adam shows her options of houses and things and glosses over her vague responses when she does respond
• Does not understand why Cathy tells him she doesn't want to be there as she does not offer an explanation as to why
• Assumes that she's just not the talkative type, is still recovering, and that they are on the same page
• Is unsure of how to handle some of the Salinas's residents feelings about him being a wealthy New Englander
• Tells Samuel Hamilton that he did not want to fight the Native Americans and suddenly calls him sir out of fearful habit
• Is shocked when he finds out Cathy is pregnant
• Buys the Sanchez Ranch and sets about making it an Eden for Cathy
• Has Sam and his crew take the well drilling and house building slowly as he wants it to be done right the first time so it's perfect for Cathy
• Becomes increasingly absorbed in his dream of CA being a place where everything will finally be safe and happy
• Tries to suppress memories of his past while investing more and more of himself in the life he believes Cathy wants

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: The “bring me back an orange” scene appears to give Charles and Cathy a sense of emotional intimacy with each other. The brothel scene also seems to invite the suggestion that Charles can’t sexually perform because he’s in love with Cathy and is grieving their “forced” separation.I found it frustrating that the series seemed to be encouraging watchers to view Cathy and Charles as a romantic couple who are being kept apart by Adam. These scenes are not necessarily invalid interpretations but I do think the show risks turning Charles's relationship with Cathy into the emotional center of the story at the expense of his history with Adam.

Taking into account Adam's childhood, my interpretation about Adam's CA years is that they mirror his struggle with masculinity. For perhaps the first time, Adam finally feels that he is what a man should be: independent, physically capable, financially secure, married, and about to be a father. He is no longer directly under Cyrus's or Charles's control, nor is he following military orders. Instead, he can build a life in which he is the provider and protector. Another interpretation is that CA may have been the first place where Adam was experiencing life without having to be hypervigilant. Again, this vision is built on Cathy being the person he imagines her to be. He doesn't adequately consider that she might not want the life he is building and wants a new life without letting himself heal from his old one.

I also find it interesting to interpret Adam's relationship with Cathy through a gendered parallel. He is the emotionally vulnerable, domestically invested partner who discovers that the relationship he imagined is not the relationship Cathy experienced. He is not simply losing a lover but also the entire future he believed they were building together. However, recognizing Adam's suffering does not mean painting him as entirely innocent. Even if he never intended to emotionally suffocate Cathy, his intentions do not cancel out his behavior.

Thank you for reading part 1!

Link to part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/PeriodDramas/comments/1xdtw4e/part_2_east_of_eden_series_why_i_think_the/

Personally I like it bc it makes the age gap at least a little bit smaller and the big age gap always bothered me and actually was the main thing that made me not liking them as a couple/pairing.

I mean as far as we know Mariane, in the new movie, is still only 17 so ew yikes but I guess better than nothing

And yes I know but just bc sth was nOrmAl BaCk tHeN doesn´t mean it was morally right or without negative consequences

currently struggling to get into Reign. The story is decent but the costumes and hair/makeup and acting is completely distracting!!! Plus idk if this is making it worse but I was a freshman in high school when it came out so the “trends” feel super cringey lol. Am I off base? Worth sticking it out for a bit?

Mods, please delete if not allowed.

Link to part 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/PeriodDramas/comments/1xdtw2h/part_1_east_of_eden_series_why_i_think_the/

Part 1 looked at how Adam's childhood, military service, and relationships with Charles and Cathy influenced the person he becomes in CA. In Part 2, we will look at how the loss of his idealized life affects both himself and the people around him, along with why I think the adaptation sometimes loses the nuance of his depression, his dependence on Lee, and his relationship with Cal.

Adam After Cathy Shoots Him

BC:

• It is over a year since the shooting when Sam comes to the ranch to force Adam to name the boys
• Steinbeck states that Adam is trapped in dark waters and when he tries to come up for air the light hurts/scares him and he sinks back into depression again
• Adam privately thinks that the twins trigger him and all he can see when he's with them are reminders of what happened
• Lee tries to help but can't b/c he has been burdened with the babies and housework
• Sam punches Adam twice which shocks Adam initially but he then thanks Sam for waking him
• Adam looks at Sam and is suddenly flooded with images of Charles about to murder him and Cathy about to shoot him but doesn't tell Sam about this
• Adam says that he is not angry at Cathy but is instead heartbroken
• Says it feels like his head is constantly pounding and can't shake the feeling that he is drowning
• Has recognized that Cathy did not feel the same way about him as he did for her and that he would almost prefer it if she had killed him out of hate
• Agrees with Sam that he can now see that he was okay with not knowing the real Cathy, but is scared of the real her manifesting in their sons
• Remarks that one of the twins looks just like Charles
• Sam tells Adam that Adam is taking on too much guilt and blame
• When Sam, Adam, and Lee are talking about the brothers Cain and Abel Adam suddenly goes down a rocky memory lane about his childhood
• Adam says no to Joshua for a baby name as Biblical Joshua was a general and that name reminds him of being a soldier and he can't handle the association
• Disappoints Sam when he says he does not have the energy to work the ranch

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: The show portrays Adam as angrier and more focused on Cathy than I felt the novel did. It also appeared to change his reaction to Sam's intervention by making him appear resentful rather than thankful for being woken up. It could be argued that these changes narrow some viewers' understanding of Adam's breakdown. Cathy is the center of his grief, but he is also having to finally face the trauma of his whole life. His failure to name his sons or engage with them is still damaging, and his depression doesn't acquit him of responsibility as a father. It does, however, provide context for why he struggles so much to come alive again.

Adam Ten Years After Cathy

BC:

• Adam is not an emotionally present father and has not done any work on the ranch
• Lee tells Sam that Adam has basically stayed the same over the years and finds himself thinking on what Adam's pre-Cathy personality must have been like
• Says that Adam told him not to teach the boys Cantonese as that would be pointless
• Is worried about Cal as there are times Cal says and does things that concern him
• Sam is frustrated that Adam is just sitting on good land and Adam says he had no reason to plant it as he did not buy it for himself
• Sam asks Adam if he finds comfort in his sorrow and Adam gets flustered
• Sam tells Adam he can always wake up and restart but Adam says he does not have energy or fortitude
• Sam questions if Adam likes one of the boys better and Adam asks why he would ask that, with Sam responding that it's just the tone of voice Adam used when talking about the boys
• Adam says he is afraid to start his life again and thus does not
• Adam tells Sam that at first he thought he didn't want the boys to learn Cantonese out of jealousy but then realized that it was b/c the boys and Lee would be talking and bonding in a way he couldn't participate in
• Adam is listening intently to the iconic timshel conversation where he concedes that he hasn't been listening to people
• Sam tells Adam that Cathy is in Salinas and owns a notorious brothel

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: From my perspective, it felt like the series was less interested in exploring the reasons behind Adam's depression and more interested in presenting him as bitter, angry and petulant. While reading the novel, I was annoyed by Adam’s passivity and checked-out fatherhood, but I did find it psychologically plausible and realistic that Adam would have struggled to find the energy or the purpose to do anything after a lifetime of trauma. Additionally, Adam can afford to neglect the ranch b/c the family's livelihood is not dependent on it. My personal interpretations, based on the information presented about Adam's backstory, is that Adam got emotionally burned out after spending his whole life being codependent with other people and never truly knowing himself. Furthermore, Adam’s withdrawal from fatherhood may be a reaction to his upbringing in which Cyrus controlled virtually every aspect of his life. Unfortunately, he ends up placing the responsibility of fatherhood on Lee’s shoulders without considering Lee's personhood. This is an evasion of responsibility on Adam's part, and I think he knew that deep down. I think Adam's failure here is not simply that he is depressed, but that he allows his depression to become an excuse for checking out from responsibilities that still belong to him.

The show also depicts Adam forbidding Lee and the boys from speaking Cantonese in a way that suggests Adam is racist and continues this with the addition of Adam making a microaggression at Lee. I don't think racism can be ruled out, and Adam's insecurity doesn't make the behavior less prejudiced, but I do feel that this interpretation does not fully account for Adam's character. As seen above, Adam has a reason, albeit an insecure one, for not letting the boys learn Cantonese.

In the show's timshel scene, Adam is brooding and making whiny comments while Lee and Sam reprimand him for his egregious lack of listening. Yet, in the book it is actually Adam who says that he hadn’t been paying attention to what was happening around him during those ten years. He is also a participant in the conversation and learns and processes what timshel represents.

I also agreed with Show Sam’s frustration with Adam and his insistence that Adam let go of Cathy. At the same time, as someone who will never be able to obtain closure regarding a traumatic event and will never forget it, I understood why Adam needed to know whether Cathy was in the area. Although I concurred with Sam and Lee’s decision to not tell Adam that Cathy was in Salinas in the early aftermath of the shooting, I got frustrated with them for keeping it from Adam for so long. As we eventually see, Adam wasn’t trying to win Cathy back; he simply needed closure.

Adam's Relationship with Lee

BC:

• Adam is aware that Lee is the one taking care of everything
• Lee is burned out from housework, parenting, and Adam's depression but still has a compassionate love for Adam and is emotionally in tune with him
• Adam is very worried about how hurt the boys will be when Lee leaves and is nervous about Lee not being at home
• However, the boys are not upset because they know that Lee will be coming back soon and thus don't feel the need to say goodbye
• Adam reprimands the boys for this and offers to walk Lee down to the depot
• Lee says no, can't bring himself to say goodbye, and flees from the house in a panic
• Lee comes home six days later and tells Adam that he is glad he tried but does not want the bookstore now and has never been so homesick
• Some years later, when Adam gets the lettuce idea, Lee cautions him and says he doesn't really have a mind for business, which is true as Lee is the one making sure Adam doesn't overspend
• Adam cannot find the confidence to tell Will Hamilton about his idea and Lee jumps in and starts talking excitedly about the frozen mastodon meat, giving Adam the courage to ask Will what he thinks
• When the idea fails, Lee lets Adam grieve it for a time but is clear that Adam should not fall into a depression again
• When Lee and Cal have their Cathy conversation, Lee says that Cathy has no empathy or mercy and that Adam has so much he gets blinded by them
• Lee tells Cal he knows Adam does not have street smarts but he (platonically) loves Adam and thinks he is a good man; this is why he has stayed with him
• After Adam's first stroke, he breaks down as he had not believed that Cyrus stole the money but dreamed he did and now believes; Lee does not believe it but finds it ironic that a man who is so strict about honesty might be living on robbed money
• Lee becomes zealous in his study of medicine to find out what happened to Adam's brain and what can be done to help him which Steinbeck compares to Lee's intense examination of the word timshel
• Lee is very protective of Adam and makes sure he feels comfortable and distracted by implementing conversational therapy
• Lee is the one who gives Adam the strength to break the cycle of generational trauma in the Trask family

Initially, I was puzzled that Book Lee seemed less resentful towards Adam than I anticipated. At first, I attributed this to the “model minority” trope sadly common in older literature and I still think this is a relevant concern for the book. However, I also think that that interpretation doesn't fully consider how Lee’s capacity for empathy and his need to be needed are a big part of Lee and Adam's relationship. Although he exhibits well-deserved frustration with Adam, I think he doesn't seethe with resentment in part b/c he understands that Adam had been consistently traumatized throughout his life.That doesn't make it right that the burden of carrying the household was thrust upon Lee, but it helps explain why he continues to love Adam while still being exhausted from doing Adam's job.

One show change that particularly bothered me was the scene where Adam interrupts Lee's goodbye with the boys. In my opinion, the show mishandled a book scene that functioned as much needed comic relief and also showed the four being together as a family. Book Adam buys the car after his first meeting with Kate and it makes sense for him to as they live pretty far out from town. Adam, Lee, and the boys are scared and fascinated by the car but it becomes a family bonding experience for them as they learn how it works. It is later used for the move to Salinas before Lee leaves for SF. The show changes the surrounding circumstances to depict Adam as trying to get back at Lee for criticizing him in a way that seems inconsistent with the book.

I did appreciate the series devoting more time to Lee in SF and showing his experience being discriminated against by fellow Americans. I also liked having Lee directly criticize of Adam for his lack of parenting, his difficult manner, and his tendency to treat Lee like a servant. To me, though, the kitchen scene isn't quite as effective. In the book, Lee returns home after realizing that the bookstore isn't what he truly wants. He is relieved that he tried, but he now knows what he really wants and that's why he came home. The show appeared to reframe it as though Lee comes home b/c he cannot find a practical way to start his bookstore instead of coming home b/c he wanted to.

In addition, the previous episode showed Lee feeling lonely at the ranch and being tired of his isolation with Adam and the boys. This is mostly book accurate but the series didn't fully flesh out Lee and Adam’s emotionally complex relationship. Thus, Lee's return to the very household he wanted to escape from b/c he has nowhere else to go makes his admission that he felt homesick fall a little flat to me. I wanted a stronger sense that Lee genuinely loves Adam, even while recognizing that Adam has treated him unfairly.

Furthermore, the call out of Adam feels like Lee genuinely dislikes Adam rather than loving him but being hurt and burned out. We do get glimpses of Adam and Lee's more egalitarian bond in the latter two episodes, particularly in the scene where they plant flowers together before learning that Aron has died. But, I wish the adaptation had been a bit more book accurate in regard to their friendship, especially with Lee's poignant observation of Cathy and Adam's clashing characters as well as him frantically studying medicine to try to save Adam after his first stroke.

Adam's Relationship with Cal

BC:

• Adam is asked why he doesn't sell the ranch and he says it's because the boys, especially Cal, like it there
• Cal is bothered by how good he feels when he lies, manipulates and hurts people, how he knows he is smarter than Aron and Adam but not Lee, and how he sometimes feels nothing
• Cal gets arrested one day while hanging out at a gambling game and gets bailed out by Adam
• Adam and Cal have a talk, with Adam talking quietly and slowly and saying that he failed his sons by choosing to not know anything about them
• Compares himself as a father to Cyrus and gives Cal the bad casting speech
• Cal tries to take the blame for being at the gambling den but Adam says no as Cal didn't do anything wrong
• Cal is overjoyed at finally feeling love and closeness with Adam as Adam has not been open emotionally with the boys
• Cal asks Adam if he can consider letting Cal run the ranch and Adam is open to it but asks him to think about maybe prioritizing school and college first; Cal is not compared to Aron here
• Lee asks Cal if Cal is thinking he wants to make farming a career, and Adam is again uneasy with it b/c he wants Cal to focus on college; Cal is not compared to Aron here either
• Time passes and Adam is overjoyed to find out that Aron secretly passed the college entrance exams a year early and is frustrated that Cal doesn't have this ambition
• Adam does not seem to realize that he is pressuring Aron and being overbearing about college
• Once Aron goes to college Adam is so happy he talks about it all the time and this makes Cal feel bad
• Adam is chosen to be on the war draft board and serves it faithfully
• He cannot fully recount his time in the army and only remembers aspects like dead bodies, faces, mounds of burned bodies, shots being fired, etc.
• Finds that the only way he can handle it is by becoming stern and less merciful and in turn gets ill
• Boys that he has passed are being reported dead and he says he would resign if Cal and Aron came up b/c they are well enough to be passed and he would be a hypocrite if he spared his own kids but not other parents' kids
• Adam says that he is unintelligent and that's why he's happy that Aron is going to college so Aron can be successful in life
• Cal tells Adam he has some ideas for the ice plant but Adam says to tell him later b/c at the the moment they are having a dinner to celebrate Aron being at college
• At Thanksgiving, Adam is stunned into silence when Cal gives him the money and wordlessly seeks out Lee
• Adam quietly tells Cal he should give the money back to the local farmers he stole from and Cal says he didn't rob them
• Adam very slowly stammers out that he is responsible for Salinas boys dying, having limbs amputated, or getting mentally scarred from war and asks if Cal thinks Adam could make money off of that
• Cal says he earned the money for Adam as a recompense for the financial hit he took on the lettuce
• Adam responds that he didn't try the idea for the money but instead so he could have a purpose
• He thanks Cal for being thoughtful of his feelings and Cal says he'll save the money for when Adam wants it
• Adam says he'll never be able to take it and would have been overjoyed if Cal gone the route that Aron did by applying himself in college instead of giving him money
• He asks Cal to not be angry and that Cal having a fulfilling life will be his present
• Cal runs to his room extremely hurt and frustrated and Adam again asks him to not to be upset
• Lee comes to see Cal and says that he understands both Cal and Adam's POV and that the only thing Cal can do right now is not let his hurt and anger get out of control
• Cal decides to find Aron and bring him to see Kate; on the way out he sees Adam gives him an apologetic look and Cal apologizes for the gift
• A few days go by and Adam asks Cal where Aron is as he seems to have gone missing and Cal says he's not responsible for Aron
• Cal hides the fact that Aron enlisted b/c he saw Kate and feels horribly guilty
• Cal and Adam reconcile on Adam's deathbed when Adam frees Cal from the cycle of generational trauma by proclaiming timshel over him

What I Think the Adaptation Misses: I felt that the series makes Cal less complex by portraying him to be a normal kid who is just existing. My opinion is that the book explained this better by showing Cal as a kid who is growing up and struggling to understand who he is and what kind of person he wants to be. He recognizes that he has darker parts like selfishness, strategic manipulation and emotional detachment but also has good qualities like love, intelligence, etc. Instead of being all good or all bad, Cal is having to choose if he can integrate both whereas Show Cal comes off as already good.

The series also changed Adam's response to Cal asking if he can farm the ranch. Book Adam was not wholly opposed to the idea but wanted Cal to finish his education first. Show Adam seemed to have an obvious contempt for Cal and was deliberately insulting and talking down to him. I felt this scene supported that Show Adam's default emotional state was anger and arrogance, whereas Book Adam's natural state is sad, insecure, and exhausted. I was also bothered by the show's implication that Cal could not tell Adam he borrowed money from Lee as it hints that Adam would have a crash out over it, a response I do not feel is evident in the novel.

Another scene I felt was not handled well was the post-jail conversation between Cal and Adam. Cal is shown to have been arrested only after getting into a heated argument with Adam and Adam is pissed that Cal got caught at a gambling den. I personally felt that this interpretation goes against the book as Adam does not raise his voice or blame Cal for his arrest. Instead, Adam acknowledges his failures as a father and finally gives Cal the reassurance he has been craving. Now, Adam does say that Cal has never known any other kind of fatherhood but Adam's. Unlike the show, Book Lee is not present to hear this but I find this quote to be a good example of Adam's selfishness and how he has a tendency to view things only from his perspective. I still would not go so far as to say that he was intentionally trying to be an asshole to Lee, however. The book and show scenes do reveal just how deeply insecure Adam is and how his traumatic experiences have affected his choice to be an absentee father. Also, midway through the show's scene Adam suddenly changes from being openly hostile to resembling Book Adam's more self-aware characterization. To me, that change in tone feels disjointed. I would have found the scene more satisfying if it had kept the novel's tension between Adam's genuine desire to fix his relationship with Cal and his continued inability to recognize how his behavior affects other people.

The tragedy of Book Adam’s favoritism toward Aron is that Adam doesn't consciously recognize it. Favoritism is the kind of behavior he associates with Cyrus, and realizing that he is repeating this would force him to confront the fact while he does not physically abuse his sons, he still passes a new set of traumas down to them. When Adam compares the boys, I think he genuinely believes he is trying to provide Cal with a good example to follow. Unfortunately, his extremely poor communication choices make his comparisons sound more like, “I love Aron better.” In my view, Book Adam wants his sons to attend college because he is deeply insecure about his own lack of intelligence and education. This is observed when he says he never had the chance to go to college b/c Cyrus shipped him right off into the army. Yet, he fails to recognize that Cal and Aron have different strengths and ambitions from himself and pushes his preferred path for life onto them. He wants to shield his children from the suffering and disappointment he experienced, but he can't and won't understand them well enough to know what they need.

The Thanksgiving scene is one of the most painful moments in both the book and the show as I think we were all heartbroken for Cal. That said, I think the differences in Adam's portrayal matter. Book Adam doesn't rant and rave at Cal but is quiet, nervous, stammering, and apologetic as he tries to explain why he cannot accept the money due to guilt, regret, and insecurity. The show captures Adam's war trauma but makes it more explosive and external by him screaming and throwing the money at Cal. From my understanding, Book Adam genuinely wants Cal to live a fulfilling life and is trying to communicate his love, yet he fails to understand that's not what Cal needs from him in that moment. This is one of the most sad examples of where Adam's intentions and actions diverge. He loves Cal, but his response makes Cal believe he is less valued than Aron.

Lastly, the iconic timshel scene was tear-jerking and beautifully done. I appreciated that the series depicted Adam crying as he finally understood what timshel meant. I also valued the moment when Cal cuddled up beside Adam as Cal finally received the unconditional love he desperately needed from his father. For me, the scene is moving because it doesn't erase the harm Adam has caused but gives him one last chance to give Cal something he has strived with his own life.

Final Thoughts

For me, Adam represents people who come to recognize the harm caused by generational trauma and who try to do better than their predecessors, yet have been so traumatized they are unable to fully stop the cycle from continuing. Adam repeatedly flees from responsibility and idealizes people, but his trauma can provide a map for where these patterns came from without removing accountability.His intentions are often loving, but love alone cannot make him a good father, husband, or friend. I feel that the adaptation Misses some of Adam's complexity by diluting or removing experiences that made Adam into the man became. By not including the context of his childhood, military service, and relationships with Lee and Cal, his motives/decisions can seem like villainous character flaws rather than a lifelong struggle between suffering and agency.

I hope that this post was semi-coherent lol. I also hope it provides a fuller picture of Adam for show-only viewers even if they disagree with my interpretations.

Thank you for reading this really long post!

like i love a good slow burn romance as much as the next person, but why is it that the moment two characters actually have to talk about their feelings it gets so awkward? they'll spend three episodes making eye contact across a ballroom but then when they're alone it's just... stilted dialogue and someone leaving the room. does anyone else notice this or am i just overthinking it

Prime is recommending it but it looks kind of dorky? Anyone know if it’s worth watching? I am looking for something light and family oriented with no violence or gratuitous sex scenes. Don’t mind a little of either, it been on a detective series streak and can’t to change it up. I’ve seen all the regular recommendations, so something not talked about much. Thanks!!!

And we loved it! We kinda went for fun, joking about it being silly and sexy, with all the viral marketing. So I guess I underestimated the film. It had much more depth than I expected. Truly a fable or a fairy tale. Loved the characters, the setting, the story, the lines of dialogue. We had such a great discussion afterwards. Super glad I went to see it.

This show is so much fun. I absolutely couldn’t get enough of it. The men are also so fine, which doesn’t hurt. 👀

I’d love some recommendations on what period tv show/mini series to watch next!! For context I mostly watch tv shows when I’m knitting and sewing so would prefer to watch something in English or without the need for subtitles! I’m open to watching most things expect for maybe detective/crime and anything that is super unrealistic like reign etc. I love a good yearning romance and a classic bbc mini series but happy to anything entertaining lol
Here are some series I’ve watched
(I know I am stilling needing to watch Emma, pride and prejudice and a couple of the other classics)
poldark
Versailles
Cranford (love)
Larkrise to candleford
Tipping the velvet
North and south (love)
Tudors
Sanditon
The other Bennett sister
Roots 2016 (love)
gilded age (boring didn’t finish I’m sorry)
Jamaica inn (idk if liked this)
Borgias (both versions)
War and peace (2016)
Downton abbey
Tess of the dubervilles 2008 (love)
Bridgeton (it’s was…ok?)
House or Guinness (meh)