East of Eden Review: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
East of Eden is a dark, absorbing adaptation of Steinbeck’s classic novel, anchored by a fascinating, unpredictable performance from Florence Pugh and an ensemble cast that honors the original story’s weight.
Rating: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Platform: Netflix
Genre: Period Drama
Episodes: 7
Showrunner: Zoe Kazan
Cast: Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, Hoon Lee
Based on John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel, East of Eden has arrived on Netflix as a seven-part limited series, adapted for the small screen by Zoe Kazan. With Florence Pugh taking on the complicated role of Cathy Ames alongside Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist as brothers Adam and Charles, this new adaptation brings a genuinely strong cast to one of literature’s most enduring explorations of human nature, and unlike previous film versions, it finally has the room of a full series to let its sprawling story breathe.
Set in California’s Salinas Valley in the early 1900s, East of Eden follows the turbulent Trask family across two generations, as Cathy Ames becomes entangled with brothers Adam and Charles. As their relationships slowly unravel, jealousy, betrayal, and long-buried secrets threaten to tear the family apart, with consequences that echo well into the next generation.
The series is structured with real purpose, occasionally jumping back and forth in time while still keeping a clear sense of where you are in the overall story. The first two episodes do a fantastic job establishing tone, taking us through the brothers’ upbringing into adulthood, shaped by jealousy, resentment, and a constant, unmet desire for their father’s approval.
The story then circles back to its opening moment, where Cathy arrives bloodied and broken on the brothers’ doorstep, leading into her own full backstory and the deception that will eventually reshape everyone’s lives around her.
Florence Pugh is easily the most fascinating presence throughout the series. There is a deceptive innocence to her appearance, but Pugh quickly reveals a far more sinister edge whenever the role demands it, particularly across the first four episodes as Cathy becomes increasingly determined to get what she wants by any means necessary.
Her traumatic upbringing clearly shapes her relentless need for control, and in an era when women were expected to be controlled by the men around them, Cathy’s refusal to be caged makes her a genuinely compelling, if deeply difficult, character to watch.
Christopher Abbott brings real quiet depth to Adam, a man shaped by unwanted military experience who desperately wants to see good in everyone around him, even when that instinct becomes his own undoing with Cathy. Mike Faist, meanwhile, plays Charles with a surly, bottled-up intensity, a man whose grief over a life he feels he never got to live pushes him to become something of a devil on Cathy’s shoulder as things unravel.
The series grows even richer once Hoon Lee’s Lee and Ciaran Hinds’ Samuel Hamilton enter the picture, giving the world around Adam and Cathy a genuine sense of family rather than just a story centered entirely on two people.
Steinbeck’s original inspiration, the story of Cain and Abel from the Book of Genesis, remains deeply woven throughout the series, exploring themes of jealousy, guilt, the capacity for self-destruction, and the freedom found in choice rather than fate.
Zoe Kazan’s adaptation gives Cathy noticeably more motive and interiority than Steinbeck’s original novel did, without ever softening her edges or excusing her actions. The camera gives her understanding, but never sympathy, which feels exactly true to what Steinbeck’s work was always trying to say.
Though East of Eden releases in full on October 1, there is a strong case that this kind of deliberate, character-driven period drama might have benefited from a weekly release instead, giving audiences more time to genuinely sit with these characters between episodes rather than consuming the whole thing in one sitting.
In the end, East of Eden is a series that clearly understands the weight of what it is adapting. With stunning performances, cinematic presentation, and a genuine willingness to embrace the darker corners of Steinbeck’s novel, it makes for a genuinely absorbing watch, one that deserves more than a quick binge before disappearing into Netflix’s crowded catalogue.
If you’re looking for something lighter after this, our review of Dupahiya Season 2 is a good change of pace, and for everything you need to know before diving into this series, our East of Eden release guide covers all the details.