A Teacher (TV Mini Series) Episode 10 (2020) User Reviews

Good, But...

[nickham15 · 7/10 · 3 January 2021]

The most frustrating part of the show is character development. The supporting actors do a great job. I would have loved seeing twice the episodes with twice the story. Therefore, when we get pieces of their stories crammed together, it just makes you want more.

Overall, the plot is okay. I think Claire's reaction and self-centered view is spot on, but I'm not sure if Eric's response is fully realistic. Maybe it is a more accurate representation of how the average person would handle life going forward but I don't know. Seemed a little much given his age being 17/18 during their relationship.

It's worth watching and thinking through.

Root for justice, not toxic "love"

[lydia-m-m-lindgren · 7/10 · 31 December 2020]

This has been a very important story with a good message, and this episode ties it all together.

My experience is that the point of the series is to show that this sort of stuff happens in real life, without romanticizing any aspect of the relation that was built. This was what the show got across by the looks of this episode.

In the finally, Eric (Nick Robinson) and Claire (Kate Mara) stumbles upon each other which makes Claire feel obliged to give Eric an apology for all she did wrong and in the process manages to apologize for letting everything Eric started get so out of control. She feels like she needs to let him understand what she did in order to make peace with herself without regard for Eric's feelings.

It makes sense for Eric to feel and react the way he did after watching this episode. Claire was supposed to be the adult in the situation and she had the sole responsibility for what happened. For this reason Claire should not pity herself for the situation she put herself in, and in addition she put a lot of strains on Eric that he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

Even though this age gap at these ages have turned out just fine according to many people, it's just not the same. The abuse of power that was within the relation between Claire and Eric is enough to see why this is something that Eric struggles to overcome, which is not (at least should not be) present in other relationships with this age gap at these ages that actually make it out just fine.

This is why this story sat so well with me. It's not about romanticizing a toxic taboo or fulfilling some weird illegal fantasy dream. It's about reality and what happens in real life and its consequences. Thank you for bringing such an important story to light in a way that makes us root for justice and not toxic "love".

Okay but a little unrealistic

[schwenke-58006 · 6/10 · 30 December 2020]

I liked most of the show. But when I was 18 I dated a guy like 7 years older than me and no one batted an eye because I didn't start dating him until after high school. My mom met and married my brothers dad when she was 19 and he was 16 years older than her. And he did not in any way groom her and no one was bothered by it. Eric was young yes, and she should not have done anything with a student. But if he was an 18 year old in college instead of an 18 year old in highschool no one would've given it a second thought. Actual predatory grooming scenarios occur all the time with both genders being the victim and perpetrator. But I feel this was not a great representation of that, especially not when Eric did fairly aggressively pursue her. Also, I was in a mega abusive relationship for years and I've been in therapy and also am now in a very healthy relationship. Eric's inability to move on after what is implied years of therapy seems a bit ridiculous. I don't invalidate anyone's experiences or length of time to heal but him not moving on at all after 10 years is insane and not realistic in any way. And the character development is just super lacking. It feels unfinished and like they did a cop out because they couldn't possibly show an ending where they both share responsibility in what happened. Nope they have to place the blame all on the teacher and none on the "child" who wasn't really much of a child.

Pluses and minuses!

[derrims · 6/10 · 29 December 2020]

Although I have liked this series I am a little torn on this last episode. Let me start out by saying this. I understand that a student/teacher relationship is very inappropriate and should never happen under any circumstances. However, when they met in the restaurant and she tried to apologize for her actions and he turned the tables on her I thought was completely wrong. Yes, he kissed her first and her agreeing to tutor him again was no indication that she welcomed the kiss or wanted to see if it will go further. He took it wrong. But my biggest issue is that fact that we're now 10 years later and he's still not figured out how to move on from this. Neither of them have. There are things in my past I greatly regret that have shaped me into who I am today but I do not let those things constantly control my life. Think back to when we all were 17 years old. We weren't that naïve to think we didn't know what was happening. You're hooking up with a slightly older teacher. You knew exactly what you were doing. You share the blame just as much as the slightly older teacher. It's not like she was tutoring him and she came on to him. He pursued her just as much if not more.

Captures gender double standards

[bvedant_ · 6/10 · 29 December 2020]

In this episode it clearly how depicts how this woman benefits from for the apparent rest of her life and what feminists would call "patriarchy", doing their heads in-- the only reason she is not on the streets homeless is because her male family members take her in, she later gets married to a husband who sees her without judgment like every other woman has that she has encountered in these past couple of episodes, and she lives off of her husband's earnings very comfortably. No male predator could ever get away with this, and by no means should he, but look how a woman is able to.

Just...

[ClassicsJunkie · 6/10 · 31 December 2020]

I think I made it halfway through the episode but I was dreading it from the moment I saw she had kids and things.

Nothing left for this.

But the main reason I watched was to see how Nick Robinson has a grown as an actor.

Nah

[kjelly_dude · 3/10 · 11 February 2022]

The way Eric puts all the blame on Claire in the end was just cheap. But of course it fits right in today's standards. An 18-year-old guy who needs to be treated like a fragile baby. I agree that Claire used him but him saying he has to live with this his entire life is beyond ridiculous. He was 18. Old enough to know what's right and wrong. I mean he basically forced himself on her in episode 5. His heart was broken and that hurts but you were in it too. I love Eric but the last scene was beyond absurd.

Tedious attempt at moralising climax

[priapismick · 10/10 · 5 January 2021]

The final conversation in the restaurant rang so false it was just not true, and came across as some awful government message about the perils of cross teacher/pupil fraternisation rather than some honest result of what happened in this story. The indications were of a genuine coming together of kindred souls and it could have been an opportunity to have delivered a soul searching epilogue to the unrequited love that withered and died through the moral conscience of societal rules. Instead we got an antiseptic lecture with all the charm of an army film on the dangers of venereal disease. Opportunity lost.

I can see some good details, but still messed up

[gemoktupos · 4/10 · 29 December 2020]

The characters do not change much physically even AFTER 10 years. Yes I can see some comparisons and details drawn,but still there are many parts that are just irrelevant and the script is just bad. As a audience, I'm confused in a way of what it really wants to tell us from the start to the middle. At least for the end, it is what the director said this show is not about love/ sex, but what comes after, punishment, for student and teacher's love.

A satisfying and hard-hitting ending that no one asked for in the beginning

[aaronwstern · 10/10 · 29 December 2020]

I walked into this series with the perception that it would be about a sexy secret relationship between the two main characters, and although there was a lot of that (including much glorification of that relationship in earlier episodes), the finale truly summarizes what scars a relationship like this would bring. This episode takes a deep dive into the lasting effects on the human psyche in both of the parties of this circumstance. Ten years later, despite the physical profiles not changing all that much, we see the downtrodden, hurt, Eric that lives with the burden of what had happened to him a decade before. Yes, this series ends by teaching of the woes of grooming, but for the first time in a while, the cautionary tale works to the benefit of the whole series. Even though most people may have wanted a reunited Claire and Eric, this brings satisfaction and clarity to the topic and uncovers the darkness that goes with it.

Decent Actors + Bland Story/Finale = Conflicted.

[noahsmithmichael · 5/10 · 30 December 2020]

This finale leaves me conflicted for a number of reasons: on one hand, it gives me a sense of closure to see where the characters end up after 10 years and what the situation has done to each of them, but on the other hand, it still feels VERY unfinished (not to mention the episode itself feels very bland and all over the place).

I'm mostly angered by the lack of character development in the show, especially considering the fact that the finale takes us 10 years into the future and the main characters are almost the exact same people that they were in the very beginning, motive-wise. While Eric has learned and changed a bit, Claire hasn't changed at all, besides being a mom. She doesn't take responsibility for her part in their relationship and puts all the blame on Eric ("I should've never let YOU kiss me... I should've never let YOU take it that far...) even though she is just as much at fault as he is, if not more at fault. Eric isn't innocent but at least he owns what he did and has grown from it while Claire develops a "woe is me" victim attitude and fails to grow at all.

There are good parts within it, especially the performances of Nick Robinson and Kate Mara, but most of those parts get overshadowed by the messiness, dryness and weakness of the entire episode. Sadly, I was left dissatisfied.

Rating: 5/10 stars

Eric was at fault, not Claire

[mnk277 · 1/10 · 30 December 2020]

I don't understand why Eric is blaming Claire all of a sudden? Eric was almost 18! If this happened outside of school no one would be batting an eye. Why is he crying like she victimized him? He pursued her!

Good

[thecasualty · 10/10 · 1 January 2021]

The last scene was great. She still doesn't get it. She groomed him and tried to blame it on him when she said sorry. The people here feeling bad for her are gross.

Took a tumble fast

[spyder_2172 · 1/10 · 29 December 2020]

I was on board with this show in the beginning, but it started slipping. Then this episode hit and boy is it a low point. Eric is just too much of a whiny brat. Claire accepted her responsibility, good on her for doing that, but Eric only blaming her. That's just too much. The show has no basis in reality anymore. And I'm not even going to include the fact that he's going to have the same phone number after 10 years, and she has kept it, in that assessment. I'm done with this show.

Oh give me a break...

[xjay1 · 1/10 · 3 July 2021]

I lost my virginity when I was 16 to a 25 year old. I wanted it just as much as they did. I didn't spend 10 years crying and trying to blame someone. We both wanted it and were happy. The end. I wouldn't have sex with a 16 year old when I was 25, not for me. But even at 16 I felt plenty mature to make a conscious and willing decision. I didn't feel taken advantage of or let it ruin my life. It was almost the exact same situation as what happened in the show and I didn't have 10 years of trauma. Eric was 18 and acted like it ruined his life. Cmon now.