Review

East of Eden is an historical seven part drama series based on the novel by John Steinbeck and created by Zoe Kazan whose grandfather, Elia Kazan, incidentally directed the 1955 film version starring James Dean. The series premiered on Netflix on 1 October 2026, starring Florence Pugh as Cathy Ames; Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask; and, Mike Faist as Charles Trask. The book recounts the lives of two families, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, although the series concentrates more on the Trask family and the consequences of the arrival of Cathy Ames in their midst.

A badly beaten Cathy Ames is found in the barn of the Trask farm which is being run by Charles Trask and his brother, Adam. As Cathy recovers from her ordeal, we learn that Adam and Charles are actually half-brothers who were raised by their father, Cyrus, who deliberately kindled resentment between them. After their father dies, Adam and Charles broker a fragile peace between them, realising a lot of their antagonism was caused by their father, but their relationship is blown apart by Cathy. Adam falls in love with Cathy but his decision to marry her causes a rift with Charles who senses there is a darkness within her.

Learning she could manipulate men at an early age, Cathy seduced a schoolteacher and was harshly punished by her father for ruining the man. Cathy retaliates by murdering her parents and then burning down the house to make it appear they all died together. Cathy becomes the mistress of a brothel owner who later beats her almost to death when he suspects her of stealing from him. It is this incident that leads Cathy to the Trask farm where the brothers nurse her back to health. Realising she is out of options, Cathy accepts Adam’s marriage proposal but is horrified when he tells her they are moving to California. On her wedding night, Cathy seduces Charles who is later tormented by his actions.

After settling in Salinas Valley, Cathy is horrified to discover she is pregnant but a self-induced abortion fails and she later gives birth to twin sons that she shuns. After the birth, Cathy decides to leave and shoots Adam when he tries to stop her. While Adam recovers, he falls into a deep depression and neglects his sons who are cared for by Lee, a Chinese American, who Adam hired to run the household. Meanwhile, Cathy changes her name to Kate and finds herself working in another brothel. Kate eventually kills the kind-hearted madam after ensuring she is named as the main beneficiary in her will. Kate transforms the brothel into a den of depravity where she encourages sadism and blackmails her clients.

East of Eden was regarded by Steinbeck as his most ambitious novel which was inspired by the story of Cain and Abel, the first two sons of Adam and Eve, and has many Biblical references scattered throughout. However, this new series throws the spotlight squarely on the character of Cathy Ames who is a deeply immoral character. Cathy leaves a trail of dead bodies and broken hearts in her wake and never feels the slightest remorse which makes her deliciously wicked. Although the story comes across as quite soapy in parts, Florence Pugh is obviously relishing playing such a dark character and she puts in a fine performance. She is supported by Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask and Mike Faist as his younger brother, Charles Trask, who are torn apart by the arrival of Cathy. Charles fades into the background as Adam and Cathy move to California but his presence still looms large over the show.

My favourite character though is Adam’s servant, Lee (Hoon Lee) who is left to pick up the pieces when Cathy leaves and Adam falls into a deep depression. Lee sacrifices his own dreams to devote his attention to the twins and he is more of a father to them than the remote Adam can ever hope to be. The twins, Cal (Joseph Zada) and Aron (Joe Anders), are poles apart with Cal holding the most interest as he fights for his father’s approval which seems an impossible task at times. When Cal discovers that Kate is his mother, he is hurt by her lack of interest but he keeps her identity a secret from his brother until he weaponises it to hurt him. The characters are battling with the age old question of whether we are bad or have the free will to make our own decisions in life. Even Cathy engenders some sympathy as her psyche has been formed by the abuse she has received at that hands of men, however it does not excuse her actions.

Another character who provides a moral compass is Samuel Hamilton (Ciarán Hinds) who nudges Adam out of his depression for the sake of his sons. Samuel’s presence is sporadic on the show which is a great pity since the Hamiltons have a much larger part to play in the novel, however it seems sacrifices had to be made.